Alright, so today I finally got around to setting my Timex Ironman. You know how it is, these watches are built like tanks, but figuring out the button sequence again after a while, or a battery change, always feels like a mini puzzle. It’s not like it’s super complicated, but there’s always that moment of, “Okay, which button was it again?”
Getting Started with the Button Mashing
So, there it was, blinking at me, completely off. First thing I did was grab the watch and give it a good look. I remembered you gotta hold down one of the buttons to get into the setting mode. It’s usually the top-left one, often labeled ‘SET’ or something similar. On mine, it’s just that. So, I pressed it and held it. Not just a quick tap, you gotta really mean it. After a few seconds, the display started flashing. That’s the green light, means you’re in!
I think the seconds started blinking first. That’s usually the sign you’re on the right track.
Navigating Through Time (and Date)
Once it was flashing, I used the ‘MODE’ button, which is typically the bottom-left one. Every time I pressed ‘MODE’, it would cycle to the next thing I could change. It usually goes something like this:
- Hours (gotta pay attention to AM/PM here, or 24-hour format if that’s your thing)
- Minutes
- Year
- Month
- Day
To actually change the numbers for each of those, I used the buttons on the right side. The top-right button, often ‘START/SPLIT’, usually makes the numbers go up. The bottom-right one, ‘STOP/RESET’, makes them go down, or sometimes it just cycles them up too if there’s no dedicated ‘down’ button. Mine has the ‘START/SPLIT’ for up. I always seem to overshoot the minutes, pressing it one too many times and then having to cycle all the way through again, or thankfully, on some models, you can use the other button to go back. Little annoyances, you know?
For the date, it was the same dance. Press ‘MODE’ to get to the year, use the ‘START/SPLIT’ button to adjust it. Press ‘MODE’ again to get to the month, adjust. And again for the day. You just keep tapping that ‘MODE’ button to move to the next item you want to set, and the other buttons to change the actual value.
I made sure the AM/PM was correct for the time. That’s a common one to forget, and then you’re wondering why your alarm is going off at dinner time.
Finishing Up and Feeling Accomplished
After I cycled through all the settings – hours, minutes, year, month, and day – and got them all looking right, the final step was to save it all. To do that, I just pressed the SET button (the top-left one I used to start) one more time. Just a quick press this time, not a long hold. And that was it! The display stopped flashing and went back to showing the regular time, all nice and correct.
It’s a small thing, setting a watch, but it feels good to get it done. Now it’s back to being my reliable old Ironman, ready for action. Until the next daylight saving change, or battery swap, at least! But hey, that’s the drill. It’s a good, solid watch, just gotta remember the button choreography now and then.
