This is the SKMEI 1888 operation instruction, set out in the order you actually use it. Every step follows the leaflet supplied in the box, and every picture is that leaflet's own. The short notes in between only explain what the leaflet assumes you already know.
The 1888 is a four-key digital watch with a step counter built into it. The leaflet gives the feature list as:
- Time display: hour, minute, second, month, day, week, 12/24-hour format
- Auto calendar from 2000 to 2099
- Countdown
- 1/100 second chronograph with split function
- Dual time
- Daily alarm, snooze, and hourly chime
- Pedometer: steps, calories and distance
- 7-day storage of pedometer data
- EL backlight
Jump to: Keys · Modes · Time and date · Pedometer · Chronograph · Alarm and chime · Countdown · Dual time · 7-day history · Display symbols · If something looks wrong
The four keys
Each key does more than one job, so the leaflet labels every one of them twice: a name, and the work it does. A and B are on the left of the case, C and D on the right.
| Key | Leaflet label | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A | EL / Set / Reset | Lights the EL backlight for 3 seconds in any mode; hold it to open a setting; press it to leave one |
| B | Mode | Steps to the next mode; inside a setting, moves to the next item |
| C | Start / ADJ | Starts and stops the chronograph and the countdown; increases a flashing value; in alarm mode, switches the alarm, chime and snooze on and off |
| D | DEC | Decreases a flashing value; in alarm mode, steps between ALM, SIG and SNZ |
In any mode, a press of A lights the display for three seconds. That is the only job A has that does not change with the mode.
The six modes
One press of B moves forward one mode, and only forward. The leaflet draws the loop with B key arrows between the screens, and it closes back onto Time Mode.
Time Mode shows the time on the top line, the step count, calories and distance underneath, and the weekday, month and day along the bottom.
Setting the time, the date and the two step values
Everything you set on this watch is set from Time Mode, with the same three keys, in one loop of nine items.
- In Time Mode, press and hold A. The seconds start flashing.
- While the seconds are flashing, press C or D to set the seconds to zero.
- Press B to move to the next item. The leaflet's order is Second, Hour, Minute, 12/24H format, Year, Month, Day, Weight, Step distance, and then back to Second.
- Press C to increase the flashing value by one, or hold C to run it up. Press D to decrease it by one, or hold D to run it down.
- Press A to leave the setting.
Left alone for a minute without a key press, the watch leaves the setting and returns to Time Mode on its own.
The 12/24-hour format. This is one of the nine items rather than a separate switch, so the display format is changed in the same loop as the clock. In 12-hour format a P on the display marks the afternoon.
The last two items. Weight and step distance are not clock settings. The leaflet lists both under step-counting parameters, and they are the numbers the pedometer works from. Weight runs from 20 to 200 kg with a default of 75 kg; step distance runs from 30 to 180 cm with a default of 70 cm. If your step count reads high or low, these two are the things to check.
Switching the pedometer on, and clearing it
The pedometer keeps its own count and can be switched off without disturbing the clock.
- In Time Mode, hold C to switch the pedometer on or off. A pedometer symbol appears on the display while it is on.
- In Time Mode, hold D to clear the pedometer data.
The leaflet gives the counting ranges as steps 0 to 99,999, calories 0.0 to 9,999 kcal, and distance 0.00 to 999 km.
The chronograph, and the three ways to time something
The chronograph measures 1/100 second up to 99 hours 59 minutes 59.99 seconds, and stops when it reaches that maximum. Press C to start it and C again to pause it. While it is paused, a minute without a key press returns the watch to Time Mode.
Timing does not stop when you leave the mode: it keeps running in the background while you use the alarm or the countdown, and picks up where it got to when you come back. If you change mode while a split time is on the display, the watch drops back to elapsed time.
| What you are timing | Keys, in order |
|---|---|
| Elapsed time | C Start → C Stop → C Restart → C Stop → A Clean |
| Split time | C Start → A Split → A Split release → C Stop → A Clean |
| A second runner finishing | C Start → A Split → C Stop (second runner finishes) → A Split release (display time of second runner) → A Clean |
A split freezes the reading on the display while the timing itself carries on behind it, which is why the same key releases the split and hands the display back to the running count. A is the clean key at the end of every one of the three patterns.
Alarm, hourly chime and snooze
Alarm Mode holds three switches. Press D to step through them in the order the leaflet gives, ALM then SIG then SNZ, and press C to switch whichever one is on the display on or off.
- ALM is the daily alarm.
- SIG is the hourly chime.
- SNZ is the snooze.
- In Alarm Mode, press and hold A. The hour starts flashing.
- Press B to move between hour and minute.
- Press C to increase the flashing value by one, or hold C to run it up. Press D to decrease it, or hold D to run it down.
- Press A to leave the setting.
With the alarm switched on, it rings for one minute when the set time arrives, in whatever mode you happen to be in, and any key stops it. With the chime switched on, the watch gives two beeps when the hour comes round.
Countdown
The countdown runs to a maximum of 99 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.
- In Countdown Mode, press and hold A. The first value starts flashing.
- Press B to move through the items: hour, minute, second.
- Press C to increase the flashing value by one, or hold C to run it up. Press D to decrease it, or hold D to run it down.
- Press A to leave the setting.
Press C to start the countdown and C again to stop it. When it reaches zero it rings for one minute and returns to the value you set, and any key stops the ring. While the countdown is paused, a press of A puts it straight back to the value you set. In the setting, a minute without a key press leaves the setting.
Dual time
- In Dual Time Mode, press and hold A. The hour starts flashing.
- Press B to move through the items. The leaflet labels them Time setting, Minute setting, Year setting, Month setting and Day setting.
- Press C to increase the flashing value by one, or hold C to run it up. Press D to decrease it, or hold D to run it down.
- Press A to leave the setting.
The first item is the hour, which is why the leaflet calls it Time setting rather than Hour setting. Dual time carries its own hour, minute, year, month and day, and all five are set from this one place.
The 7-day step history
Data Storage Mode is where the pedometer keeps its record. Press C to step through the last seven days. Hold A to clear the storage. Thirty seconds without a key press returns the watch to Time Mode.
The leaflet shows the empty screen and a stored screen but does not say which end of the seven days the display starts from.
What the display symbols mean
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ALM | The daily alarm is switched on |
| SIG | The hourly chime is switched on |
| SNZ | The snooze is switched on |
| P | Afternoon, when the watch is in 12-hour format |
| 24H | The watch is in 24-hour format |
| STEP | The step count field |
| KCAL | Calories burned, as the pedometer calculates them |
| KM | Distance walked |
If something looks wrong
None of the following is a fault. Each row is a state the watch is designed to sit in, and the leaflet explains each one somewhere in its own steps.
| What you see | What is happening | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The chronograph is counting and you did not start it | Timing carries on when you change mode | Go back to Chronograph Mode and press C to pause it |
| The setting closed on its own | It leaves after a minute with no key press | Hold A again and carry on |
| The alarm stopped before you reached the watch | It rings for one minute only | Nothing to fix; it will ring again the next day |
| No step count on the display | The pedometer is switched off, so its symbol is missing | Hold C in Time Mode to switch it back on |
| The step count reads high or low | Weight and step distance are still on their defaults | Set the last two items of the time setting to your own figures |
| The countdown snapped back to your set time | It returns to that value at zero, by design | Start it again with C |
| The history screen is empty | The storage was cleared, or nothing has been recorded yet | Hold A clears it; leave the pedometer on to collect days |
Source: the printed SKMEI 1888 operation instruction supplied with the watch, checked against the English leaflet and the illustrated sheet. Steps, key names, field order and ranges are reproduced as written there; the tables, the explanations of why the watch behaves as it does, and the troubleshooting section are our own.