# Casio Killer? - Detailed Review of Pulsar PW3001 and PW3003 (Picture Warning)



## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

Prepare yourself, this will be a long one. Grab a drink and have a seat.

This started off as a simple review but there are quite a few neat features that I felt needed to be mentioned. The manual is also a little less than stellar; it was likely written by a non-native English speaker. The words are correct and there are no noticeable grammar mistakes but the way in which some sentences are written is a little taxing to read at times. It isn't terribly straightforward to read either. It may just be how I am used to sentences being structured, so take that with a grain of salt.

To preface this review, the watch caught my attention a little over a year ago but for some reason I never pulled the trigger. I can't remember why. It could have been that I didn't like the design (unlikely), biased against a Seiko sub-brand (possible, yet silly in hindsight), or maybe that I thought it was a chromed plastic case (this is entirely possible). Well, I am happy to say I changed my mind. I purchased both the PW3001 (stainless steel model) and PW3003 (black PVD model). At a street price of $30 each they are an absolute steal (I paid $55 CAD each after tax and shipping).

Overview​ 
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Case​
One of the big selling points is the stainless steel case. This should help it wear in nicely and the PVD coating on the 3003 is reported to be quite tough. It is a squat octagon, skewed in width. The watch has 20 mm drilled lugs.

I took the following measurements using a digital calliper:

Width: 41.1 mm (outside of octagon), 43.6 mm (bump to bump), 44.8 mm (adjust button to right bump)
Height: 36.5 mm (outside of octagon)
Lug to Lug End: 45.3 mm
Lug to Lug Hole: 38.3 mm
Thickness: 11.2 mm (underside of backplate to top of crystal)

Both the 3001 and 3003 feature glossy cases with the exception of the top "bezel". This is brushed along the length of the bezel, including at the short corners of the octagon where the small nubs are. These nubs seem to serve only an aesthetic purpose. The brushing is quite light but really makes the watch less blingy, especially on the 3001.

There are five buttons to operate the watch, with the 5th being in the slightly odd 9:00 location. This is the adjust button and is used to switch between modes and when held allows you to enter setting modes (more on this later). The buttons are glossy black (on both) and seem to be made of metal. They took a minute to break in, a few of the buttons were a little sticky at first. A few presses fixed this up. The button press is interesting, especially coming from G-Shocks. It is depresses evenly and easily, though the spring return is a little weak. It makes it feel almost mushy, though this may be due to the activation being further along the travel than the G-Shocks I have on hand; the buttons are almost pushed completely into the case before the switch activates. It isn't a bad thing, it's just different.




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The 3003 has a "stealthed" bezel, both WORLD TIME and CHRONOGRAPH are without highlighting paint. The 3001 has very crisp application of black paint inside the lettering. This is a great detail, it should stop the paint from wearing away, or at least slow it down. This is one of the details that belies its true price point, one must remember that this watch does have an MSRP of $185 despite being regularly sold for $30.

The casebook is a stainless steel plate with four screws. The Pulsar tsunami is featured, along with relevant information regarding its manufacture (China) and WR (10 BAR). Note that the case back lists WR in bar and the crystal decal lists metres. I don't know what the number refers to, possibly the date of manufacture. My two examples have different numbers but I doubt they are individually serialized (though I could be wrong).




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Crystal​
The watch features an octagonal mineral crystal that sits slightly proud of the case (maybe 0.5 mm). It matches the shape of the case and has a sharp curve around the edge that gives a pleasant distortion at certain angles. I would not expect sapphire at this price point but the little curved detail gives it a slightly premium feel. I can see the crystal picking up scratches with use, not that it bothers me with how I intend to use these watches, and having a protruding crystal at least make it easier to try to sand/polish scratches out, though this may affect the curve if you are not careful.

Dial​
The watch has a clean dial with prominently displayed function labels. The black dial decal extends to the edge of the crystal and the LCD itself is exposed within an oval cutout. It is a little odd but with the negative display it doesn't really change the aesthetics. I think a positive display in this watch might not work as well given the oval. As it is now, the screen and bezel play well together and at a glance the digits seem to simply exist in space; a positive display within the same oval might feel too small and crowded. I think in writing the previous paragraph I decided against my plan to attempt a positive mod (changing the polarizing filter) on the watch!

The primary function is shown in yellow, the sub-function (or adjustment direction) is shown in white. It is more noticeable than on other watches but at least Pulsar keeps the marketing to a minimum with a serif "PULSAR" and "WATER 100M RESIST" at 12 and 6 respectively. The use of serif in the Pulsar logo is acceptable but it is a little jarring with the water rating. It is probably my least favourite part of the watch and the only aesthetic detail that I would be so bold as to call "wrong". 
Strap​
The stock strap is serviceable, a little flimsy, and I would budget for a replacement if you are thinking about this watch. I do appreciate that it comes with a matching buckle (silver for the 3001 and black for the 3003), this is a detail missed on many watches. My biggest issue was personal fit, I was between holes and wearing the watch loose leads it to be quite top heavy causing it to flop around. I have seen others use NATO straps, mine are now on a Seiko BFK strap and a yobokies Hammer bracelet (both taken from my Black Monster which currently rides on a NATO). I am going to source a PVD buckle for the BFK strap as the current grey one doesn't work at all with the 3003.














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Comparison​
Here is the PW3003 compared with my GW-5000. It wears comparably but is heavier and a tad thinner. That being said, the thickness of the GW-5000 is excusable given the rubber protective bezel and the screwback. One thing to note is the improved side visibility of the Pulsar to the Casio. This isn't conclusive as it is a positive to negative comparison (are negatives known to have a better field of view?) but it is nice to see.








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Module​
The 3001/3003 features the Pulsar Series PW3 (Cal. W602) module. The module uses a CR025 and has an estimated battery life of 3 years. I am assuming this is very conservative, when the CR2025 is featured in G-Shocks it is either used in high-drain applications (like Bluetooth) or in standard modules that claim 10 year battery life. This may be due to the automatic EL feature that will be discussed in detail later.

A bonus to having five buttons is that you can scroll in either direction. The top left increases and top right decreases. This is quite a different layout to what I am used to.

The contrast of the LCD is adjustable with seven settings (-3 to +3, including 0). This is found in the Adjust mode within the Home screen. For part of the picture taking the 3001 was on '0', which is why it may be more washed out compared to the 3003 which was set to '+3'.

The illumination is clear without being overpowering. While it is not restricted to just the digits (the background has a soft illuminating effect) it isn't hard on the eyes when in complete darkness. The EL is two seconds in duration.


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Timekeeping (Home Time)​ 
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The basic timekeeping screen features a day, year, month, and date display. It is switchable to 24 hour time from the adjust menu (some people prefer quick switching from home, I have no preference either way). One neat thing is that the home screen not only displays an icon for major functions (auto EL, DST, alarm) but also when the chronograph or timer are running. As a nice touch, DST is indicated by a small sun icon to the left of the day. Pressing the top-right button changes the day display to show what time zone the home time is set to for two seconds before returning to the day.

Pressing the top-left button sets the chime option (indicated by a small bell). Unfortunately, the button tone is tied to the hourly beep, you have to take both or leave it. This is unfortunate for me as I prefer to have the button tone but never use the hourly chime.

Interestingly, the alarm can be tested from the Home screen and ONLY from the Home screen. You hold the top right and bottom right buttons for several seconds to hear the chime.

Holding the EL button for two seconds activates Auto Illumination (indicated by a semi-circle with beams, similar to High beams on a car), which is an improvement over what Casio uses but falls short of Timex's fantastic Night Mode. When the Auto EL is on, any button press* will turn the light on for two seconds, and if you keep pressing buttons within two seconds it will keep the light on.

*Button presses to adjust functions, such as changing the alarm time, do not keep the light on. Not sure why this is limited.

This picture shows the Auto EL, DST, chime set, alarm set, CDT running, and stopwatch running. To note, the CDT and STW both blink when their functions are running.


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Chronograph (Stopwatch)

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The watch features a 9 hour, 59 minute, 59.99 second stopwatch in 1/100 second increments. Lap time and split time can be displayed simultaneously. This function is rather advanced as the stopwatch writes to Memory Recall, discussed in the next section. When running, an icon of a runner flashes. As mentioned above, this is also displayed on the Home screen.

Current time is displayed in this mode until you start the stopwatch, once started you get the split time in its place as shown (the following picture shows that 52 memory units are remaining in this channel).


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Once the timer has started, split time is shown as shown, along with the lap number above (lap 1).


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Memory Recall​ 
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This function is similar to a tape on a calculator, it records everything you do while in the stopwatch mode. Data is stored into Channels (not sure how many as the manual does not specify, at least 10) and each Channel can hold 100 units of memory. For example, starting the stopwatch, stopping the time, recording a split time, stopping, then resetting takes 5 units of memory. From what I can tell, each new stopwatch run gets written to the next Channel.

By selecting the Channel, you can enter its recall mode and scroll through total measurement time, every measurement (lap and slip times with lap number displayed), average lap time, and best time. This is considerably more advanced than most digitals I have seen and along with the easy to press buttons this watch could reasonably be used as a chronograph when precision is important. It also saves the date of the event.

To reset a Channel you highlight it and hold the Adjust (left) button until CLR ALL is displayed. This is a little counter-intuitive, when CLR ALL is displayed it is telling you that further holding of the button will clear all channels. Once CLR ALL is displayed a further two second hold will reset all channels.

Count Down Timer​ 
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The watch features a pretty measly 60 minute CDT. The manual claims that it is settable to the second but I have found no way to select the seconds. I will explore this further. The timer gives you a warning when three seconds are left and the watch beeps for five seconds when the timer is up. There is no auto-repeat. The timer is easily the biggest downside of the watch, though I suppose you could set an alarm for longer duration activities. An icon (a circle with a mark in it, maybe a seconds mark?) blinks when the timer is running, and if you press the top-right button to stop the timer, the icon is switched with another icon that reads STOP.

As an upside, current time is displayed in this mode, regardless as to the timer running or not.

Alarm​ 
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The watch features three alarms, settable only to the day. The watch also lacks a snooze alarm. However, the alarm will sound for twenty seconds and is quite a bit louder than my G-Shocks and Pro-Trek, and it is more like a phone ring than the beeping seen on Casios. I can't tell if there are different tones. I will try to record an alarm comparison which will be posted later. An icon is displayed in both this mode and the Home screen when any of the three alarms is activated.


World Time​ 
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The watch features 33 time zones (including GMT separate from LON) which can be manually adjusted to DST (with the exception of GMT). A change to the DST setting in this mode affects the DST setting of the Home time if selected, and vice versa. As mentioned before, you can scroll in either direction, which is very handy. Date, including year (which is handy for that one time a year when you are most likely at your most confused and inebriated), for each time zone is shown, though this information being displayed means there is no room for current time. I consider this a reasonable tradeoff.


Conclusion​ 
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Pulsar has really hit this one out of the park, though I will not pretend that the excellent build quality and utility of standard lugs does not temper sub-par functionality in some modes. This watch definitely leans towards being a chronograph first and a multi-function watch second. The steel case and 20 mm lugs is worth the paltry cost of entry, assuming one likes the aesthetic.

Some improvements that I can suggest:

- Change Auto EL programming for all button presses
- Increase CDT to 24 hours at minimum, settable to the second would be ideal
- Alarm settable to a day, month, or date, and add a snooze alarm
- inclusion of the missing GMT-3.5 time zone for when I visit home

Hope you enjoyed this, or at the very least found it helpful.


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## Watch_Geekmaster (Oct 4, 2014)

Nice watch and thanks for the review! But just my personal taste that I dislike the oval shape motif for both the display and back plate. If the display fills the entire octagon and it's positive, I would get one in no time.


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## GaryK30 (Dec 14, 2014)

Very nice review and great pics.


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

Watch_Geekmaster said:


> Nice watch and thanks for the review! But just my personal taste that I dislike the oval shape motif for both the display and back plate. If the display fills the entire octagon and it's positive, I would get one in no time.


Thanks! The oval is definitely a polarizing aspect of the design. It is interesting, if you look through the crystal at an angle you can see that the LCD is an octagon. Not sure why they went oval. It makes it look very retro, but more 1970s than the G-Shock's 1980s vibe, especially when I light up the oval screen with EL.



GaryK30 said:


> Very nice review and great pics.


Thanks for the kind words!


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## Rocat (Sep 17, 2013)

Very nice write up. Good information. How is the lcd in comparison to a negative GD350?


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

Watch_Geekmaster said:


> Nice watch and thanks for the review! But just my personal taste that I dislike the oval shape motif for both the display and back plate. If the display fills the entire octagon and it's positive, I would get one in no time.


I used to own a GD-350, so I am going from memory. It seems to be at least as good as I remember the GD-350 being. It doesn't seem to get the funny "zebra striping" that I have seen on the digits of negative watches, including the GD-350. It does wash out in certain lighting, and is hard to read in low lighting.

It isn't a great comparison (green vs yellow digits), but I just grabbed a GD-400 from my coworker:





I tried to remove lighting bias (the Pulsar is slightly closer to the window), but the Pulsar looks a bit sharper and clear. Thoughts?


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## Rocat (Sep 17, 2013)

I agree, the pulsar seems to have sharper contrast. Thanks for the photos.


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## ronalddheld (May 5, 2005)

Quite the review. If it had a positive display and I did not have one, I would buy it.


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## John MS (Mar 17, 2006)

ronalddheld said:


> Quite the review. *If it had a positive display *and I did not have one, I would buy it.


I've thought that myself. I wonder how difficult it would be to rotate the polarizing film.


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

You would need another polarizing sheet because the LCD is longer than it is tall (I think 90 degrees is the normal rotation angle for these polarizers). It shouldn't be too difficult to cut a sheet to size.

The benefit to reversing this watch is that there are no printed screen graphics to lose when you swap the sheet.

Also, I have to take back my comment about striping of the LCD. It seems to be a photo artifact caused in certain lighting conditions:










Lastly, I noticed a weird effect when I was taking the photo. I was wearing polarized sunglasses and looking at the watch through the iPhone camera app and the digits were flickering.


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## John MS (Mar 17, 2006)

Is that picture taken with backlighting on?


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

Nope.

That's about as bad as the contrast gets with poor lighting, it is usually easier to read than that.

I also remembered why I didn't buy one a year ago, I had a self-imposed ban on negative displays because I could never get used to the reduced visibility. :-d

I don't think I will make a habit of buying more negative displays, but I am happy with these two, especially at the price point.


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## zabat (Sep 14, 2014)

Thanks for the very useful review, and the great pics. Interesting how, when asked about the contrast, you were able to grab a co-worker, just like that, who had a the right G-Shock, LOL! And I am always grateful to reviewers who give useful alarm volume data! I may have to get one of these, although it is far from my usual wrist-wear. But a good looking piece indeed.


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

zabat said:


> Thanks for the very useful review, and the great pics. Interesting how, when asked about the contrast, you were able to grab a co-worker, just like that, who had a the right G-Shock, LOL! And I am always grateful to reviewers who give useful alarm volume data! I may have to get one of these, although it is far from my usual wrist-wear. But a good looking piece indeed.


Thank you, and you're welcome. It is great having other G-Shock nuts at the office. That reminds me, I meant to get a video of the alarm sound. I'll post up something as soon as I can.


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

Here we go, G-9000, DW-6600, GW-5000 (didn't realize it wasn't on the alarm mode), then the PW3003:



I tried to move them around as it affects the sound captured by the mic.


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## cuica (Feb 27, 2009)

Well, just to say I ordered my PW3001 before I saw this thread and, from what I've seen, looks like it was a good buy. Looking forward to receiving it in about 15 days from Amazon.com (yeah, it takes that long across the pond).


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

I just noticed an odd thing about the adjust button. The other four buttons are similar to other watches in that they activate the switch when you press them in. The adjust button doesn't actually activate on the press, but rather on the release. It makes the interaction a little odd at first.


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## stockae92 (Feb 10, 2006)

nice review. while i am not running out to get one (yet), but i enjoy reading about it


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## idkfa (Mar 31, 2013)

stockae92 said:


> nice review. while i am not running out to get one (yet), but i enjoy reading about it


Thanks!

It is definitely not for everyone. It has 70s retro combined with futuristic high concept, and the original strap looks like the Xenomorph from Alien.


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## Rocat (Sep 17, 2013)

The alarm tone has a Timex feel/sound to it.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Nice review! :-!

Looks to be an excellent value for around $30. Definitely something worthwhile over the DW-5600E... except that it isn't as rugged without the resin bezel. So, will likely get scratched up with rugged outdoor use or just banging around. But for a watch to be taken care of, it could definitely work.

I don't like the "ellipse" cut-out on the dial. It just looks weird... It would have been better if the viewing area had a border that followed the hexagon-like bezel.
The digits look excellent and clear, especially for a negative display.
The case back is strange with those extended "arms" for the screws. I wonder if the gasket is similarly shaped? I'd prefer a more squared off design.

The alarm loudness intrigues me. I've always felt most G-Shocks have alarm tones that are too faint for any usefulness outside of a quiet room.


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## Tsarli (Apr 13, 2007)

The PVD version reminds me of the *Time Humvee*.



I'll have to agree though with Watch_Geekmaster and Xevious, that *oval shape is a real deal breaker* for me. Aesthetically it's just off, as in way off. If it were rectangular like the Humvee, I'd get one.


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## Capt Obvious (Jul 21, 2014)

I just got mine. Love it. I find it easy to read in most light conditions without the backlight. Also it readily accepts a nato.


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## dzlvs8 (Jul 1, 2014)

Although that is honestly a unique looking watch, it's also the worst looking watch I have ever seen. Sorry, but I think Casio will be fine. haha just my opinion though.


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## SSingh1975 (Jul 4, 2009)

It still shocks me that to this day, Casio can't get any displays right. The new TN is a improvement but still doesn't really compare to Timex, Suunto or even the older non solar Pathfinders (PAG40 probably had the best ABC display for Casio). 

I'm not a Casio watch designer but if I were one, I'd go out, buy a cheap Timex, then compare it to a Casio and think hard as to why a $20 Timex has better display/contrast than the top of the line Casio protrek......and reverse engineer it!


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## LiterallyWhy23 (Sep 6, 2015)

There's an amazon review that mentions this watch using fat spring bars (like the Seiko divers) Is that true? 

I was thinking of getting one and putting it on a 20mm mesh bracelet, but if it only takes bracelets made for fat spring bars my options may be limited.


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## Capt Obvious (Jul 21, 2014)

It does come with the fat spring bars. But regular will still work.


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## LiterallyWhy23 (Sep 6, 2015)

You mean using regular sized spring bars? 

I wouldn't. It'll cause uneven wear of the holes and eventually just ruin the watch. 

Still not a deal breaker for me, I'll just use the strap it comes with and save up for a nice super engineer II that works with fat spring bars. Thanks for confirming though


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## LiterallyWhy23 (Sep 6, 2015)

Welp, I just bought one of these and a Lad Weather

Thanks for furthering the massacre of my wallet WUS lol

Now to find a mesh bracelet that fits fat springbars...


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## Ron521 (Feb 20, 2014)

Octagon case with a round display...what in the world were they thinking?!?....;-)


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## Cgull (Mar 28, 2014)

I like it! This is my first digital with a negative display, I think a positive one is better still.
But whatever. Nice little piece!









Sent from my Samsung phone, non exploding model.


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## RNHC (Feb 13, 2010)

I wish there was a solar version of this. Would sure give G-Shock some competition.


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## Fergfour (Jan 4, 2013)

I don't think Pulsar makes them anymore, I don't see them on the website. I think they're well made watches and very affordable. Metal cases but not screwbacks.


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## GEEshock! (Aug 9, 2019)

Is this watch available anywhere on the planet nowadays?

Can’t find it new or secondhand anywhere at all.


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

GEEshock! said:


> Is this watch available anywhere on the planet nowadays?
> 
> Can't find it new or secondhand anywhere at all.


They did not produced them enough.


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