#36 The Steve Caballero G-Shock

Todays G-Shock is one of the GWX-100 range. I wanted to include a tutorial video of changing the battery on this model, but unfortunately only the intro and the outro were focused. The most important part, almost 6 minutes, was blurred. I must have missed the correct focus point when I started.

The actual changing of the battery was pretty simple, but I had to remove the straps first. The streamlined straps fit pretty tight against the case. It was not easy to remove them, but it was even harder to place them back. Well, I didn’t record that procedure anyway, because I need the watch right under my eyes and it would have been impossible with a camera in-between.

Somehow the DWX-100 series models are not pretty known and often a forgotten. Still 39 versions were released between October 1998 and November 1999. There were two different models between the DWX-100 series released in Japan. The models starting with the model number DWX-110 are “surf models”, with a Tidegraph on board. To make it a little complicated, the DWX-111 and DWX-112 models have the same module as the Japanese DWX-100 models. The basic European DWX-100 has a different module, which looks like the DW-003S module. And we are not there yet. According to the Japanese G-Shock database, this is the DWX-111BD-4AT. Strangely the back of my watch says DWX-112. Also the Steve Caballero signature is not present. I checked my DWX-112AS (Air + Style), which has a special A+S back inscription. The only possible explanation is that the DWX-111BD-4AT was released in the US as DWX-112 model. There is simply no other DWX-112 model with a “standard back” as on this watch. Casio does sometimes bring the overseas model with another model number like the DWM-100, which became the DWM-101 in Europe.

In September 1999 Casio released three DWX-111BD models, which are Signature models of three big skateboarders. There is a Omar Hassan model, a Willy Santos model and of course this great looking Steve Caballero model.

In Japan this models were released as X-Treme G-Lide models, which is pretty unique. In the beginning series of models designed for extreme sports were called the X-Treme series in Japan. Overseas models of the same series were called G-Lide. It seems the G-Lide name was introduced in Japan with the DWX-100 series models.

Steve Caballero (left) and Tony Hawk.Tony Hawk is riding a blue Steve Caballero signature deck  with a yellow dragon.

So who is Steve Caballero. He was born in 1964, the year of the dragon. That’s why the dragon is a returning theme in his graphics. He started skateboarding at the age of 12 and in 1978 he was sponsored by Powell Peralta at the age of 15. He is a member of the Bones Brigade, which was mentioned on 50 Gs before in my article about the Tommy Guerrero. He is considered a legend of skateboarding. Vert Champion and Skater of the Year in 1983 and 1984, World Champion Street and Vert in 1987 and won over 30 titles over the years. Recently in May 2010 he won the Masters Division at the Pro-Tec Pool Party. Even at the age of 45, he proofs to be one of the best skateboarders.

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Steve Caballero skating in the evening of his 45th birthday in November 2009.

Besides skateboarding he likes motocross bikes and collects hot rod cars and toys. He has played in several punk bands (I think I heard a famous musician recently say: “Every good musician should have played in a punk band once in his life”, which I can totally agree with). About 6 years ago he started painting as well.

He shows paintings, drawings, skateboard and family stuff on his weblog called “Have you seen him”. It’s pretty amusing to read and it shows he’s a sympathetic and down to earth man and a gifted artist.

Test screen of the 1978 module. Read here how to achieve
This DWX has an asymmetrical design, which makes this model very ergonomic and comfortable for extreme sports. Since the first DWX-100 models were designed for water sports, there are a lot of design patterns that allow water to drain as fast s possible. Also extra holes in the strap allow water to vaporize fast when worn to prevent irritation and nasty odors, etc.

At the top of the straps there are extra resin inserts. The one on top of the case shows the G-Shock G logo. On the bottom of the case there is Steve caballero’s trademark, a red dragon. While later signatures like these are mostly placed on the strap with the buckle, I like it this way, because now the wearer can see the dragon when he or she sees the watch on the wrist. The strap keeper shows a nice G-Lide logo.

The bezel’s red accents look like a black bezel is placed over a red case, but the case is just black. The bright red contrasts very beautiful with the deep black resin. The buttons on the right side seem to be made out of one piece of red resin. They might be a cover of two real buttons underneath it. A bit similar as is done on Mud Resistant models. Although it probably leaves more dirt out than regular buttons, I think it’s done in this case more for ascetic reasons. The buttons on the left side are more or less regular G-Shock buttons.

The 5th light button also functions as a Start/Stop button in the Stopwatch and Countdown Timer mode. I still don’t know if I have to like this or not. Probably I do not like it, just because I own many G-Shock’s, where the Start/Stop button is placed in the lower left side. I guess if this is your only watch, the 5th button as a Start/Stop button is not a bad choice. You have to figure out where your light button has gone when you use the Stopwatch or Countdown Timer (lower left button).

The functions on this Caballero model are simple, but good. I has the 1978 module. An Alarm with Hourly Chime, a 24 hour Stopwatch and a 24 Hour Count Down Timer, just the basic needs for a nice sports watch.

When the backlight is activated, the same dragon as on the strap is shown, like he is protecting you from evil. Very nice.

This watch is more than 10 years old, so even as it was released in large numbers, it would have become rare now. The fact that this watch has DWX-112 as a model number, indicates it must have been an overseas model. This model could be found in Japan and outside Japan. You might think it is released in the US, but since Willy Santos is a Philippian skate boarder, it might also have been an East Asian release.

I do not know exactly how I got this watch. It was from an eBay auction, but I do not know anymore where it came from. I think I did not pay a very high price for it probably in the $60 - $80 range. The original retail price in Japan was 15000 yen. The DWX-100 series models are not very big. That might be the reason why these models were not as popular as the DW-003 and DW-004 models at that time, which were much bigger. You also don’t see DWX-100 for sale anymore, although the basic orange DWX-100 (“Red & Bad”) was offered a lot for a long time on eBay Germany at several sellers, with prices around €40.- new in box. Last year Dave from the Singaporean G-Shock Fansite published an article about his Willy Santos model. Maybe I should try search a Japanese Steve Caballero version, just to have the signature on the back. G-Shock Collecting is so addictive…

#31 No Queda el Tiempo

"No Queda el Tiempo", "Not enough Time" or "No Time left". A good slogan for this weeks post. I started with a complete other watch a few days ago. I figured out that inspiration of that watch was an old book. Luckily there was a movie too, so I bought the DVD. I have ideas for the photo's, but no chocolate and I need to look for a model too. Next in line then. My 21st Century Boys G-Shock designed by Tommy Guerrero.

Part One: Time for a Change, a Battery Change:

I had not worn this watch for a long time. It appeared the displayed time looked no where near the atomic time of my I.C.E.R.C. Gulfman. Let's not talk about the date. Is it April 67th already? A simple press on the light button confirms what I was thinking. That battery is almost dead...
It was so dead, the time didn't appear in the display again. I needed to change the battery before I can make a proper photo shoot. Quite some screws have to be removed to remove the back and back protector and distant keepers from the case...
...but finally the watch is open as a patient on a surgery table. Operation "Battery Change" begins.I noticed the module was pop-ed out of the case a bit. If you see this, it might be that the rods of the buttons have slipped under the metal contacts. It appeared this was (almost) impossible with this module. The rods retract almost complete in the case. A gentle push moves the module back in it's place.
With a sharp tooth tweezer you can pop up the battery lock. When it pops open you can remove easily the empty battery. You can do it with the same tweezer (the battery is already dead) or use plastic tweezers. If you don't have these tweezers, a sewing needle might do the job too. Taking out the batter can be done with your fingers.The fresh battery needs to be put in with plastic tweezers. If you don't have those, you must be a bit inventive. You can use a piece of cloth between your fingers. It's important not to use metal tweezers and it's not good for the battery to touch it with your fingers.
On far the most G-Shock module there is a reset contact (probably not on full analog display, because there is not much to reset). It's indicated with the the letters AC, like on the photo below.
Hold your sharp point tweezer with one leg connecting the AC contact, while the other touches the top of the battery and hold it there for two seconds. This should be sufficient for a proper reset in most cases. If not, repeat until the module shows 12:00:00.

What ever you do, never turn around the case and module. This tiny spring (above) is needed for the alarm sounds and sits loose in its hole. After the module is reset it's wisely to re-grease the gasket. Use silicon grease (acid free). I use very pure silicon grease that is actually meant to be used to grease chains of mountain bikes. After the back is closed and all components are in place again it's time for the final test. Does the EL light work. Judging the photo below, this is indeed the case. Another successful battery change.A minute or so later the watch is set to the atomic time. According the photo below it took me 22 minutes to do the battery change. Of course this one took a bit longer, since I stopped several times to take photo's, but for this type of watch you might reserve 15 minutes for a proper battery change.

Part Two: The Good die young

Ship Historian Copper: "Human beings worship the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And evry Christmas people of the UK go to war with the country of Turkey. Then they eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner like savages."

Excerpt from "The Voyage of the Damned" (Doctor Who Christmas Special 2007)
So I woke up this morning and grabbed my iPhone of my alarm clock. Since my son Bram was playing Generals on my computer, I had to do search about Tommy Guerrero on my iPhone. Of course I knew Tommy Guerrero was a pro skater. What I didn't know is that he's also a successful musician and DJ. I found out he has released albums on some pretty prestigious record labels.
One of them is Mo Wax, the legendary Trip Hop label of James Lavelle (UNKLE). I found the album "Soul Food Tequeria" (2003) and downloaded it into my iPhone. His music perfectly fits into the MoWax sound and remind me to DJ Shadow' s "Private Press". A blend of trip hop and laid back rock, soul and jazz.


I have to search for a hard copy. I have seen some on eBay for friendly prices. Never expected to end up with this music when I started this article. You are never too old to learn.
Another label he worked for is "Azuli". When I was a young DJ I was got the tip from my friend "Bleephead" to look out for Azuli records. Those early records were not easy to get (we are talking about the early 90's), specially where I lived. These records had a US sound, but were in fact recorded in the UK by UK artists. By distributing them from a office in NYC it looked like the records were actually from the US and a hype was born. One of their early artists was the singer Romanthony.
Romanthony was quite a misterious guy. Records with his name were pretty hot amongst (European) DJ's. Nobody knew who he was, but his vocals and tracks were always very strong. Later he told he was restricted not to reveil who he was by Azuli, to create his hype. While most people probably do not know his name, he is well known for his participation on the CD Discovery by Daft Punk. He did the vocals on "One more Time" and "Too long". To my big surprise Azuli records is still in business. The album Tommy Guerrero produced for Azuli is "Another Late Night: Tommy Guerrero". On this album (again I can recommend this CD) Tommy has gathered some great laidback soul and funk tracks and features his track "Come Together" too. This track was later released as a limited 7" (2002).
I think I will also try to find a hard copy of this album. It shows also great artwork (which I always love on records and CD's).I am actually curious why Casio picked Tommy Guerrero for designing this watch in this series. Other designers in this series have also been pro-skaters. It might be that Casio was looking for the skater. Maybe Casio took him (like Ed Templeton too) for the combination of what he is doing.
The text 21stC.B. stands for 21th Century Boys. If you look at the G-Shock Perfect Search, you will see that this model (in fact, the complete series) is not present. This means this is an overseas only series. With these models not present in the G.P.S. it's hard to find out when this series was released. It is probably released in 1997 or 1998.I bought mine in Vlissingen (Flushing) in January 2001, so it's one of my first Gs. The shop where I bought it stopped selling G-Shock's and I paid f100.- for it (around €45.-) in the sale. Actually the screen went blanc a few days after I bought it, so I got a free battery replacement and water resist test.

I actually do not know the background of the text "Good die young" and the hand grenade logo. It might have something to do with Tommy's skateboard history. I found out Tommy Guerrero was born September 9, 1966, exactly one week before I was born. He was part of the in 1979 founded "Bones Brigade", a highly successful skateboard team featuring the best riders of that era. Other members include Steve Caballero and probably the most famous rider of all times, Tony Hawk.
The 21st C.B. models all have a double Velcro watchband (there was also a 21st C.B. Mudman released, which has resin straps and looks pretty much like the basic DW-8400 Mudman).
The 1597 module has a funny small eye in the top left corner. I have seen people with the question what it is. There is a little star icon inside it. When this icon is lit (standard after a reset/battery change) the watch will flash the EL every time an alarm sound is heard. I still think this is a pretty cool function. Of course it's not too good for the battery.This FLASH function can be toggled on and off by pressing the lower right button (start - stop button) for about two seconds.
Though I prefer separated sub-dials (like with the 1659 module), I think the display does not look bad. In the middle there is an animated display of the seconds. The 5 red upper parts show every 10 seconds, the lower every second. People who find it distracting, you might see it as a digital form of a seconds hand.
A funny detail. The back of the watch says "WATER RESIST 20BAR" while on the front of the watch is written "WATER 200M RESIST". I have no idea where the mark "-N-" stands for. It might refer to a production unit. Normally this would not be visual, but with a good macro lens...
Finally, the EL back light. It shows the hand grenade that is featured on the straps end too. You might find it a double appearance, but the grenade on the straps is not visual when the strap is closed. Actually the grenade in the display is also only visible when the EL backlight is activated.
This article is written under the influence of elevated music. Prolonged exposure might result in uncontrollable rhythmic movements like nodding the head up and down or swinging the arms in unexpected directions.
Copper: "So Great Britain is part of Europy and just across the channel you've got Great France and Great Britain."
Doctor: "No, no, it's just France and Germany. Only Britain is "Great"."
Copper: "And they are all at war with the continent of Hamerica".
Doctor: "No. Well, not yet."