Modding a GW9400-1.

Hey guys! First off want to say love the site. Love all the great g ' s that you guys have and post in the wruw threads. Very friendly too. I don't keep a lot of g ' s on hand at a time but whenever I get something new I'm going to have to start posting pics.

Anyway my question is this. I have a black positive rangeman and I want to mod it to a negative display. I'm just trying to decide the best route to make it negative.

I'm looking for suggestions/advice but from what I can see I have several options. Disassemble it and change the polarizing film (my least favorite option), replace the module with one from one of the negative models, or maybe change the just lcd (would that work)?

I know I could buy, for example the rescue red model and change the "clothes" on it but I'm not a big fan of all the white accents it has. The navy one is another option but I have yet to find a good deal on it.

Thanks in advance guys, I really appreciate it. And sorry for the long read!

Welcome friend! The Rangeman is a great model.

I agree that your least favorable option is changing the polarization film. I have done this on other models (Frogman) but there are a couple reasons I would suggest against it. First of all, sometimes when you reverse the display this way, you loose some of the lines and markings that come on the stock module. I'm not sure how the lines in the day section, the markings in the second counter, and the shading in the date section of the Rangeman would react to doing this modification. It could work fine, but there is no way to tell without doing it. The second reason is because Casio already makes a negative module for this model. Given the choice, I would typically not reverse a model if the negative version were readily available. In this case I would purchase a negative module from pacparts. The downside to that is that it is $100. At that point it is up to you to decide if that price is worth it, or if you're better off purchasing the red Rangeman and doing the swap and ending up with two watches (one positive one negative).


I have never changed a LCD, so I can offer no advice on that. Maybe someone more experienced will chime in with advice there. It would certainly be a more cost effective option if it would work.


Also, be advised that a removing/installing the module on the Rangeman is a bit more involved due to the sensor connection. I have yet to change one myself, though I believe vade_R has.


I hope this helps. Please realize that I am no expert, I'm just offering what I have learned through my limited experience.

Thank you so much for the response. I believe I have seen pics of your negative/stealth frogman and it looks amazing!

I am not worried about the price of the module and that was the option I was already leaning towards because it seems the least invasive and the last thing I want to do is mess up my favorite g.

Ironically you touched upon what would have been a follow up question I had about the sensor. I have taken apart g's and removed the modules before for various reasons, battery changes, etc but never anything advanced like the rangeman.

Thank you again!

"Don't Panic!!"
Tapatalk 4_SM-N900V

JSM9872 said:

Hey guys! First off want to say love the site. Love all the great g ' s that you guys have and post in the wruw threads. Very friendly too. I don't keep a lot of g ' s on hand at a time but whenever I get something new I'm going to have to start posting pics.

Anyway my question is this. I have a black positive rangeman and I want to mod it to a negative display. I'm just trying to decide the best route to make it negative.

I'm looking for suggestions/advice but from what I can see I have several options. Disassemble it and change the polarizing film (my least favorite option), replace the module with one from one of the negative models, or maybe change the just lcd (would that work)?

I know I could buy, for example the rescue red model and change the "clothes" on it but I'm not a big fan of all the white accents it has. The navy one is another option but I have yet to find a good deal on it.

Thanks in advance guys, I really appreciate it. And sorry for the long read!

Click to expand...

Good Evening JSM9872,
Check Amazon and E-bay you will always find some Rangeman on sale. I have been able to find all models of Rangeman on Amazon on any given day. The sales varied from month to month and sometimes week to week. However, you will always find various models on sale and in stock. There is only three models which have a positive display and those are the -1CR, -9CR, and -8CR the rest of the Rangeman are all negative display. I would agree with my friend Scott and follow his advice; if you want a negative display just buy the watch with it and this way you won't run the risk of damaging your G-Shock.

POSITIVE DISPLAY RANGEMAN:

View attachment 9526

View attachment 9527




NEGATIVE DISPLAY RANGEMAN:

View attachment 9528

View attachment 9529

View attachment 9530

Maybe not for a first project, but once you "get" how to mod a G-Shock you have a lot of options.



Not mine. From another forum.

Thanks for the input guys. I have also been looking at the GW-9400BJ-1JF but prefer the matte black of the vanilla rangeman. Plus I have a bad habit of loving to tinker with my "toys" and gadgets which is why I wanted to mod in the first place. I am getting itchy and want to order parts, just nervous about the darn sensor. Haven't had a lot of luck looking around online either but I'm going to keep at it.

Thanks again!

"Don't Panic!!"
Tapatalk 4_SM-N900V