The SKMEI 2098 is a 13-digit LCD sports watch with a thermometer built in: hour, minute, second, month, day, weekday and temperature share one screen, alongside a daily alarm, an hourly chime, a stopwatch, a countdown timer and an EL backlight. Four side keys (A, B, C and D) run the digital side of the watch, and a crown at E sets the hands.
This page follows the operation leaflet that ships with the watch, in its own order: the buttons, the temperature unit, the time and date, dual time, the alarm, the stopwatch and the countdown. Every sequence below is the leaflet's, including the order of the items you step through when setting something.
The leaflet lists these features:
- 13 digital LCD display, showing hour, minute, second, month, day, week and temperature
- Daily alarm and chime hourly
- Stopwatch
- Countdown
- EL backlight
Jump to: Buttons · Backlight and temperature · Time and date · Dual time · Alarm · Stopwatch · Countdown · If something looks wrong
The buttons and the crown
Each key has one job, and the leaflet prints that job next to the key on its layout drawing: A is LIGHT, B is MODE, C is SET, D is ADJ/ST/ST P, and E is ADJUST.
| Control | Name on the leaflet | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| A | LIGHT | Lights the EL backlight for 3 seconds and switches the temperature between °C and °F, in any mode |
| B | MODE | Moves the watch to the next mode |
| C | SET | Opens the setting screen for the current mode when held for 3 seconds, and leaves it |
| D | ADJ/ST/ST P | Changes the flashing value; starts and stops the stopwatch and the countdown |
| E | ADJUST | The crown: pull it out and turn it either way to set the hands, then push it back to the closed position |
The hands are set on their own, without the display. Pull E out, turn it clockwise or anticlockwise until the hands read the right time, then push it back to the E key closed state.
Backlight and temperature
Press A in any mode to light the EL backlight for 3 seconds. The same key switches the watch between degrees centigrade and Fahrenheit degrees.
The temperature sits on the bottom line of the display, under the seconds, and it stays visible in every mode — the leaflet's drawings for alarm, stopwatch, countdown and dual time all show it there. In normal time mode the sample screen reads 18°C with the weekday, 6:26 AM and the 25th above it.
The leaflet does not give a measuring range or an accuracy figure for the sensor, so the display value is all it documents.
Setting the time and date
Hold C for 3 seconds in normal time mode. The seconds flash, and the whole setting chain runs second → minute → hour → 12/24H → year → month → day.
- Hold C for 3 seconds. Second flashes.
- Press D to clear the seconds to zero.
- Press B to move to minute, then D to change it.
- Press B to move to hour, then D to change it.
- Press B to move to 12/24H, then D to switch the format.
- Press B to move to year, then D to change it.
- Press B to move to month, then D to change it.
- Press B to move to day, then D to change it.
- Press C to leave the setting screen.
D changes the flashing item one step at a time; hold it down to run the value up quickly. The 12/24-hour choice sits between the hour and the year, not at the end of the chain, so it is easy to walk past.
Dual time
Press D in normal time mode to switch to dual time; a T2 marker on the screen means you are in it. Press D again to come back to normal time.
To set it, hold C for 3 seconds in dual time mode. The minutes flash, and the chain here is shorter than the normal-time one: minute → hour → year → month → day.
- Hold C for 3 seconds. Minute flashes.
- Press D to change the minute.
- Press B for hour, year, month and day in turn, pressing D to change each one.
- Press C to leave the setting screen.
There is no seconds item and no 12/24H item in dual time — the leaflet's list for this mode runs from the minute straight through the date.
Alarm and hourly chime
Press B once from normal time mode to reach alarm mode. Press D to turn the alarm and the hourly chime on and off: when the alarm symbol or the chime symbol is on the screen, that function is on, and when it is gone it is off.
To set the alarm time, hold C for 3 seconds in alarm mode. The hour flashes; D changes it. Press B to move to the minute, adjust with D, then press C to leave. The two items are the whole chain — hour, then minute.
Stopwatch
Press B twice from normal time mode. D starts and stops the count; the leaflet gives three separate key sequences on top of that, one for elapsed time, one for split time and one for two runners.
| Measurement | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elapsed time | D — start | D — stop | D — continue | D — stop | C — clear |
| Split time | D — start | C — split | C — split release | D — stop | C — clear |
| Two runner | D — start | C — split, the first runner finishes and the first runner's time is displayed | D — stop, the second runner finishes and the second runner's time is displayed | C — clear | — |
Elapsed time is the plain four-press run: start, stop, continue, stop, and then clear. Split time adds two presses of C in the middle — the first freezes the split, the second releases it, and the watch is still counting underneath. Two runner uses only four presses, because the two finishes replace the stop and the release.
Countdown timer
Press B three times from normal time mode. The countdown runs to a maximum of 24 hours, D starts and pauses it, and C resets it while it is paused.
When the countdown ends it rings, and any key stops the ring. To change the start value, hold C for 3 seconds in countdown mode: the hour flashes, D changes it, B moves to the minute, D changes that, and C leaves the setting screen.
The leaflet does not say whether the display stays at zero or springs back to the set value after the ring, and it gives no repeat function — one run at a time.
If something looks wrong
Most of what looks like a fault on the 2098 is a mode or a setting screen the watch is waiting in. The three columns below trace back to the leaflet's own descriptions.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A field is flashing and the keys seem to do the wrong thing | The watch is in a setting screen, waiting for that item to be changed | Press C to leave the setting screen |
| A small T2 marker is on the screen | The watch is in dual time mode | Press D to switch back to normal time |
| The watch chimes on the hour, every hour | The hourly chime is switched on | Go to alarm mode with B and press D until the chime symbol goes out |
| The countdown will not stop ringing | The countdown has reached zero | Press any key |
| The backlight goes dark after a moment | It is the EL backlight on its 3-second timer | Press A again when you need it |
Source note: this page follows the English operation leaflet supplied with the SKMEI 2098, and the three figures are that leaflet's own drawings. The button table, the troubleshooting table and the two noted gaps are ours; the steps, the item order and the key sequences are the leaflet's.