It looks like I have infected a couple members with the desire to obtain a Timex DataLink watch. Here is a thread to discuss acquisitions, programming attempts and any information we find useful about these cool and quirky digital watches from Timex.
This watch is the DataLink 150. This model has spent time on the ISS, making it one of the most affordable space watches that you can find. This example was $9USD shipped on eBay. The DataLink line is one of the few watches approved for spaceflight by NASA. This was thanks to its ability to be programmed with a day’s worth of alarms via a computer.
This is achieved using that circle at 12, which is an optical sensor. Flashes of light from a CRT or USB LED adapter are used to send data to the watch. It is one way communication, but it is still pretty cool given that these watches came out in the mid 90’s.
These are quirky watches that some consider a very early smart watch, so this thread might be moved to the Smart Watch section.
Since CRT monitors and the USB adapters are a bit light on the ground, some have been able to reverse engineer the flashes and use Arduino microcontrollers to program their watches.
A version of the DataLink watch was released under the IronMan line and came in a handful of colors (red, yellow, orange, purple, ???). This version adds a 50-lap chronograph and 5 programmable countdown timers.
The example above was found on eBay in lightly used condition with a $15USD buy it now option.
It should be noted that the lugs on these are 19mm.
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