Mile High Club! Citizen Blue Angels AT8020 - Review And How To!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 22 тра 2021
- PICK IT UP ON LEATHER FROM JOMA!
jomw.link/joma-blue-angels-le...
PICK IT UP ON BRACELET FROM JOMA!
jomw.link/joma-blue-angels-br...
CHECK OUT THE BEST OF ALIEXPRESS - PAGANI AND SAN MARTIN!
jomw.link/ali-pagani-official
jomw.link/ali-san-martin-offi...
SEE MY SELECTION OF TOP VALUE WATCHES AND ACCESSORIES ON AMAZON!
jomw.link/amazon
USE THE CODE ‘JOMW10’ FOR 10% OFF ANY PHOIBOS!
jomw.link/phoibos
USE THE CODE ‘JOMW20’ FOR 20% OFF ANY XERIC!
jomw.link/xeric
YOU CAN NOW HELP OUT THE CHANNEL BY BECOMING A PATRON! THANKS!
jomw.link/patreon
(The Small Print: Some of the above links are affiliate links. I am an Amazon, Phoibos, Spinnaker, Xeric, eBay, Jomashop, Meranom, and AliExpress Associate. If you make a qualifying purchase, I am paid a small finder’s fee from the companies in question. You don’t pay any extra for the product. Thanks!)
Shout out to David for the tee! Shout out to Jomashop for the watch! It is a big boy, and very intense. But if you like the look, then this this is a true set-and-forget watch. I'm getting into Citizen this year, adn watches like the Blue Angels are the reason why. Cheers, Jody
This watch almost does it all.
- Auto set time - radio controlled
- Has a date function, that knows each month, for example Feb to March.
- Rechargeable
- Chronograph
- leap year knew exactly what date.
Really impressive.
I'm working 4 different jobs at my office at the moment, and I'm still not as busy as that dial...
Haha
this the most stupid watch in my life...never again..i hate it....i never spent so many hours in my f@king life to change the time again and again...
I absolutely love my Blue Angel! It’s complicated and aggravating, just like my wife! Gets all my emotions involved.....:)
And it feels like getting hit over the head with a frying pan when trying to approach it when hammered?
LOLOLOL...
So, basically you have two wifes with same temperament. I'm impressed.
Mate can you have both analog and digital in same time?
You are the only one Sir. Perfect description 🥂🥂🥂
I should have known Jody would have counted all the indices😂
ha,!
Most Citizen sport watches come with that "Do Not Open..." on the caseback.
I have been a fan of Citizen for many years. My first eco drive is 13 years old and still going strong. My brother is a big fan of the blue angels, so I bought him this one for his 50th bday.
This watch is also available in a black and red colour scheme. Featuring the British Royal Air Force - Red Arrows.
Yeah as an Englishman who grew up loving the Red Arrows as a kid, I was surprised that I just didn’t like the colours of that one in the same way I love this blue/yellow version.
I can just see Jody sitting counting every little mark on that dial...I think we answered why it took so long to get the review 😂
I set all of my automatics to this watch! Never really liked large busy watches but this one grabbed me. The blue and yellow look amazing. With eco drive, atomic, sapphire crystal, 200 meter features it is an amazing value. Mine came with the bracelet and is pretty good but I have replaced it with a blue sailcloth strap that looks amazing. It is an absolute keeper for me.
Always for sale in the inflight magazine….I’ve been tempted a couple of times on a long haul flight. Should have pulled the trigger as I normally run out of reading material and that instruction manual would have kept me occupied.😉😂.
"An Instruction manual so thick it would choke a donkey" KEKW HAAHAHAHAHA
Love the Bauhaus aesthetic on this one 🤣
Max Bill just started spinning over in his grave.
This was my first proper watch and I was so excited to see JOMW reviewing it! I have to suggest it on a blue and yellow double striped nato.
That seems like a perfect combination. 👍👍
The bracelet only has 2 micro-adjustments, so will also be hard to get a good fit, fwiw.
Hellooooo Jody! Excellent review. The ana-digi variant in titanium was one of the first watches I acquired starting down the rabbit hole of this hobby we share. Late in my Navy career I was a station pilot assigned to NAS Pensacola. I flew the military variant of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200 there, the UC-12B it was called, and was assigned as the base's Aviation Safety Officer. Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels and those of us assigned there like me put on their annual show closing their season out in November where they would perform one last time for the home crowd. Every week during the season, on Tuesday I think it was, they would go through their routine above the airfield and it was a privilege to be able to go out on the flight line with my morning cup and watch. They really were outstanding ambassadors for the service in general and Naval Aviation in particular. Their themed watches were among the first I became aware of categorically and once I started collecting I knew I had to have one. And I can tell you the instruction manual for the variant I have is absolutely terrifying! Thanks again for the review and thanks always for being such an enjoyable ambassador of this hobby! Cheers!
Up early getting ready for my Amazon shift. Nothing gets me more pumped than Jody at 5am! Thanks for the wonderful content. You are appreciated!
Too busy for me - and I'm a fan of the Blue angels. Once when I was a mere this, my dad and I were fishing on the coast and we saw them practicing. Amazing!
In love the leather strap - great color combo.
They regularly do shows over Baltimore - when I lived downtown I had a rooftop deck and watching them from there was absolutely amazing.
I have had my AT8020-54L (bracelet version) for over two years and it remains one of my favorite analog chronographs. I especially like the dual mode large seconds hand (running and stopwatch seconds), rather than the typical small running seconds hand. My other watches with this feature are my Bulova Precisionist chronographs and my Casio 5174 module watches (LIW-M610D-1AJF & WVQ-M410DE-1A2JF). My Timex Intelligent Quartz chronographs take that a different approach by using a fourth hand for stopwatch and countdown timing.
Good job reading that manual. I have a 21 year old citizen titanium diver that I bought as a present to myself when I got my PhD, it's still going strong.
"76 pages, all in English"
This honestly sounds like if Jody is complaining that there's no section in Scottish or Australian.
A friend of mine joined the 'mile high' club recently Melbourne to Brisbane. Unfortunately he went solo. Boom boom.
Your friend is a pervert in other words.
I just now sold mine to a work colleague. I've had this watch for about 5 years and it's been a great tool for work and travel. I wore it on a black rubber bracelet when I traveled on a motorcycle for a year from Texas to Argentina. The Sapphire glass is still crisp and clean. It's such a beast of a watch for everyday wear. I'm currently wearing my Datejust 41 mm Rolex and a micro brand watch Vaer Swiss watch so I needed to give the Citizen a good home and let someone else appreciate it. As a person who is hard on tools and toys this one has passed the "Julio Proof Test" Enjoy!
If you're using an app to set time you can use headphones and sandwich the watch between speakers, or use a big bluetooth speaker and raise the volume. It's a magical feeling when you sync the watch this way. I use the WWVB emulator app for the Colorado clock signal. It's a similar noise.
In addition to the 23mm lug width, Citizen also uses CURVED spring bars for this one. The leather strap is curved to fit the case. I could never get it comfortable on my 6.75" wrist, so I opted for a NATO. I use the leather on my Blue Angel Skyhawk. Also, I've read that there is a slight difference between the bracelet version, though I can't confirm this. Prices have gone up. This used to be on Joma for $299 ($319 on the bracelet). JOMW, you are responsible for my first ever comment. Keep up the great work!
I'm glad you reviewed this one, I have been eyeing it on Amazon for quite a while but was sorta intimidated by it. Now I'll have to think about it when I can afford it.
Good on you for giving some love to the eco drive watches. Most of my watches are automatic, but I decided a couple years ago that I should have some quartz watches for travel so I could take them through airport security without them getting destroyed. I wanted solar because I didn't want to deal with batteries, and I selected Citizen just because I could get a Citizen solar cheaper than a Seiko solar. I bought several on ebay - I didn't particularly care about having new at a new price - and love them to my surprise. One is a titanium watch with sapphire crystal I got for $40 used, and I wear it often as a daily beater.
I bought one of these to set my mechanicals to. Amazing watch. There's something to be said for perfect time.
Owned this watch before and really liked it. Just re-bought it as for the money, it is incredible value.
Bought my first Citizen last week and I love it. Great value for money.
Great video! I can't believe you made it through the whole time setting segment in one take. That was really good thanks!
Fantastic review thank you! I'm waiting for mine to come through Amazon and at the time, just purchased because it looked good. Now that I've seen your review I'm gob smacked! I've never seen so much complication in one watch! Geez, if my car features aren't complicated enough! Having said that it can certainly come in handy to mess around with at the airport etc while waiting for flights. Anyways, great review once again and thanks for explaining all of the features. I'll certainly be watching your video over & over once my watch comes instead of reading through 75 pages of boredom. 😉🇨🇦
Your video reminded me about an old G Shock Riseman that I've never been able to sync, as I'm also in Australia. So I just downloaded the same app you were using, and gave it a shot.
It actually worked to my surprise, I had to experiment with where to hold the watch (diagonally across the top right corner of my phone), and also change my home city time to Tokyo, but after about 3 minutes, amazingly it actually synced.
After many aspirins needed for just thinking about the user manual, I stayed tuned for the long haul, and you kept my attention. Great video, and actually quite an interesting watch. Although I've piloted many of crafts myself, I would never use many of these functions..but I would buy the watch. Thanks for sharing, I truly enjoyed the commentary. Have a great week mate.
I’m normally not that keen on Citizen (except for their rare super high-end, super accurate, ultra-slim and very expensive models made of exotic materials) but this one I really like! A bit like a Navitimer on the cheap. Love that perforated leather strap too. It does seem to be a complicated little bugger to setup though. But then you only need to do that once…
Absolutely incredible. Jody, thank you. I might just buy this watch because of your explanations. I was too scared to use it on my own!
Excellent review. Now i know how to set all the functions of this watch. Thanks so much!
Got the bracelet model as a graduation gift when I finished college in 2018. It's my daily and has been on a few vacations. So handy to change the time zone when I land and just go. Only time it's off my wrist is on more dressy occasions when my Blue moon comes out or if I'm doing something hard on a watch or going somewhere that a nicer watch is a target in which case my Casio makes an appearance
I find the watch pretty legible but it took some getting used to. Only niggle I had was about a year in the pin that holds the bracelet to the end link kept sliding out (it uses a little divot that lines up inside a tube) that said a quick trip to the watch maker and he dipped the ends in locktight and I was good to go. I paid $500 Canadian but I've seen It now down in the mid 400s
It may be the fact I’m feeling slightly fuzzy watching this the morning after only my second trip to a pub in the past 14 months but that run through of how to set the AT8020 was intense. I feel like I need a lie down 🤣
Cracking review as always Jody 👏👏👏👏
I recently picked up one of these and I adore it! I too found a lot going on with the dial, but I've always found mine to be very legible, even at a glance (which is something that surprised me). Overall, I love this watch, but I've also had very good luck with my Citizens. It seems like Citizen is a highly underrated brand, or maybe that's just the impression I get. Great video, as always, Jody!
oh yeah... counting all of the markers on the dial is genius! I was both impressed and filled with laughter by that. 😂
I love this watch, it's an everyday for me. It's full featured and a great supporter and comfort (like my wife!) I put it in the right spot at night, it reliably receives and syncs the time/date, and I never ever wonder if it has the right time/date. The watch is very easy and slick to operate (but you need to spend time using its many features - not for someone who wants trivial operation, best choose a simple 2-hand watch if you are). The watch needs a longer review to really do justice to its array of features. This review is a great summary (nutshell, as Mr Jody says) pretty comprehensive but a bit rushed - as is probably the right choice for a UA-cam review. Thanks for a great if compressed review, it should allow someone to decide if this is a good fit for him/her. Tldr love the watch, wears great on my 6.5" wrist, does everything I would ever want, love the 'intensity' as Jody says, amazing as Jody says, never a worry about accuracy or battery not charged. Recommended!!
Have a coworker who has one of the Blue Angel Citizens with the Digital Display behind an analog dial. Lot going on in that bad boy, but I love looking at it. He wears it more than his Omega Speedmaster
While this watch may feel a little busy, once you realize all the functionality it has, I feel it's an incredible feat in miniaturization of electronics and mechanical features; having all thoses computerized features (without it being a "smartwatch") is impressive.
Thanks for your vid!
Great video. Thank you for the specifications review, but also for the tutorial. I have an early version of this watch from the mid-1990s. It got lost for a couple of years, stuck in a briefcase, and then I found it a few months ago … dead as a door nail. I put it in the sun for a couple of days and, voila, it was running just like new. I was so impressed I bought this version with the bracelet (AT8020-54L). Big fan of Citizen watches!
Amazing in depth review. I watched first review of a watch from you Sir and I admire and appreciate each and every detail offered from you. I will for sure buy this one. Thanks & God Bless
I have this watch and it is GREAT!!! Looks great, runs great and fits perfectly. It's an awesome addition to my collection.
I love Eco Drive watches. I have the non chrono Citizen Blue Angels. It’s a great watch. I’m in Australia and use the clock wave app to set my radio controlled watches. You really need to use ear buds put these next to the watch and turn the volume up. It works every time for me 👍🏻 You might need to set the home city to Tokyo and then when it sets adjust the home city to Sydney
Love the clean dial👍🤣
I take Satellite Wave over Radio Controlled watches. You can synchronise it from anywhere in the world!
Excellent instructional video Jody!! Now you have just confirmed to me that though I don't need a chronograph unless I want to play pilot by setting the screen in the plane to the flight map!, I now want one!! 😂
Being British I feel patriotically obliged to get the Red Arrows version.🇬🇧
Should be issued by the govt to all UK citizens. 😁
Go for it ! I actually like the colors of that version better , but here in the states they are harder to find.
I am in the US and I really want a Red Arrow version. You can find the Blue Angels version in any US shopping mall, but the Red Arrow version is very hard to find in the US.
Sir neither I am American or British. I grabbed AT8020 few days back but I will for sure try to grab Red Arrows version as well :)
Very nice review. This is such a cracking watch, I think it's on my list of 'must haves'.
This is the watch that got me into watches many years ago. I only recently added it to the collection, bit haven't been wearing it much. But I use it often when setting the autos.
I have a couple of the citizen atomic watches, this was my first and still love it. Several good videos on line to set the watch.
Probably the favorite watch in my collection, so much functionality, and all powered by the sun! Do not let the thick manual scare you, just read a couple of pages on the key features and you are good to go. I have owned this watch for four years and have NOT touched the crown, short of a smart watch, who can make that claim? Get the bracelet version it is so comfortable and the clasp works beautifully. I think saying it “has a battery life of 6 months” is misleading. From a full charge it will run down for 6 months, but when placed back in the sun it fires right back up. Citizen says the capacitor (battery) has a life of 10 years, which is a better way to explain the longevity. If you are on the fence, get one, you won’t regret it. I set all my other watches to this reference piece. Lastly, I get the signal every night, no problem, and I live in Northern Canada.
I have one and have had it now for about a year and no problems fantastic watch.
When I got my Navihawk, I searched UA-cam to find the easiest way to set it. Much better than figuring out the manual, and since it's been set, it's never been touched again other than when I change time zones. Citizen themselves has one that's kind of dry, but one of the other watch youtube channels I followed actually had a better one. Seems like it might have been Watch Geek.
Great watch ! ,The dial is " busy " ; but after you wear it a while you get used to it ,and is easy to tell time at a glance.I think it looks much " classier " than a G-Shock with comparable functionality.
Don't skip this one if you are on the fence! I've owned one for about a year now. love it!
This watch has been on my short list for close to ten years.!!! 👍👍
I have one of these, the version on the bracelet. A couple of items to be aware of with this watch:
- It takes a 23mm strap; Citizen does this with some models. Try finding a 23mm strap (it's HARD).
- The lug holes are in different positions in the bracelet vs the strap version of this watch. In the strap version, they're closer to the case but Citizen put a bevel in the case back to keep the strap from scraping the case but you must use curved spring bars (and a 23mm strap to boot). In the bracelet version the lug holes are spaced further away from the case but NO bevel in the case back. So, you must still use curved spring bars if the strap has any thickness to it like a typical leather strap else the case edge scrapes the finish off the strap. If you use a fabric strap you might can get away with straight spring bars if the material is thin enough. It is quite angering Citizen didn't bevel the case back in the bracelet version like in the strap version of this watch.
I know all of this having learned the hard way; I had both version in my possession at the same time for a very short while.
I have the bracelet version but wear it on a strap. I was able to get my hands on a 23mm strap I liked (a cheap custom strap) and got curved spring bars from Citizen. The strap did not have a curved end version so I steamed that area over a boiling tea kettle spout for about 30 seconds, slipped the curved bars in the strap mount tube and let it 'set'. Not idea but it works; the case still scrapes a bit against the strap when swiveled but it didn't do any damage to the strap.
Spot-on review. You do get used to finding the hands. Reading the slide calculator, however, is difficult to say the least. I have had this watch for roughly a year and I believe it sets daylight saving time automatically thanks to receiving atomic clock signals. It's my second favorite watch. It looks good and the tech of it is cool. Plus has its own style. Not saying it's a trend setting watch but there is something unique about it.
I live like 15 miles away from the US radio tower and Blue Angels fly overs are pretty common here. I don’t know how is that possible I don’t have any Blue Angels Citizen in my collection yet 😅
My old eyes struggle to read a date complication at the best of times, all that text is just going to be one big blur to me,
One of my favourite field watches is my automatic Promaster. Citizen really does create a decent watch.
I picked up a used example of the JY8070-01l version. It is a bit different, but shares all of the capabilities. Mine has much better lume on the indicies. It has become my go to night watch, even outlasting my Seikos!
If you think the dial is super busy and complicated, just look at what a plane cockpit looks like, it's like Citizen has done it on purpose.
Great watch and review, I've got the Blue Angles Promaster Skyhawk A-T on the bracelet, love the thing!
Great video as always!
Feels like Citizen always are flying under the radar for some weird reason when it comes to watches. I got the CITIZEN CA0650-82F and Citizen
AT2437-13E as the daily beater and really like the both of them. Prob pick up something from the promaster lineup next.
I have a Citizen radio-controlled watch as well. To sync it, i use the Clock Wave app with BPC station. I think there’s one other station that worked for me, but it has to play long audible notes rather than short beeps / pulses.
It’s worked for me 100% of the time, other than on Sundays when it just wouldn’t sync.
I've admired this watch for quite some time, but seeing this review has put it officially on my "to purchase" list! ...curse you, Jody! This is getting expensive! lol
Great review you sold me on the Blue Angel!
I like this newer version of the Blue Angels watch. Mine is a Citizen JY8058-50L Blue Angels that is a digital/analogue with a 46 mm case and is 15 mm thick and with the Stainless metal bracelet I am always aware of it when I wear it. But of course, so is everyone else and that is part of why I still love it. Lol
This smaller version with just a few complications feels like a nice in between to wear and get great use out of. I will say that I'm so glad that I live near the Radio signal to set it for me, because that is the feature I like best about it.
Young me with his better-than-20/20 vision would love to have had this one. Current (old) me who can't see anything clearly within 3 feet without reading glasses would never know the time with this one.
Regarding setting time by app - you can use Junghans app (as others suggested), but that didn't work for me for some reason.
I used JJYEmulator (one of my Citizens recieve only japanese band), but the trick with it is to set your phone timezone to Tokyo temporarily, then it works like a charm!
The busy dial and my aging eyes are why I ended up giving my Citizen Nighthawk to my son. They are great...if you can actually read them ;-)
Good morning from Stirling! BB58 fits like a dream and yes the Fubar is still there. 😉Thanks mate enjoying the vids
Still?
You taught me tons about the world of watches! Thankye Sir! I have this watch and the older and newer Navihawk.I live in Denver North Carolina and all my watches catch the signal late night all the way from Denver Colorado! And thank you for introducing me to automatic watches on AliExpress!! Just one more watch!! Not Again! lol
I have this watch for several years and love it. I ended up changing the strap to a Blue and Yellow one from Barton as the underside of the stock band deteriorated over time. This is a great time piece but as Jody said if you have to mess with the settings it isn’t intuitive and needs some attention when doing so.
How does the Barton strap fit? I know there's curved lugs on the original but would switch to a Barton in an instant if it fit. Also what model strap did you get?
I bought this watch a few months ago with the leather strap. Here is an honest review. Overall, it’s a GREAT watch, but a few simple mods would make it outstanding. First, the leather band - 23mm, what was Citizen thinking? Absolutely awful decision and could easily be fixed with 22mm. My band started to crack and I swapped with an aftermarket NATO band and I love it! Second, not sure why there is a twentieth of a second stop watch and in my opinion serves no functional purpose. This could easily be eliminated and replaced with a month and day indicator. Lastly, the lume at night is not good. It isn’t as bright as it should be and it could be a little fancier. However, I do not regret the purchase.
I fell SO DAMN hard in love with solar Quartz watches that I am about to Order a Eco Drive Skyhawk JY8081 Blue Angels 💪🙏
Being from the UK I have the Red Arrows version on the bracelet (AT8060-50E).
This is a pretty cool looking watch. I found one new on ebay for only $229
look carefully there are a number of fakes
Love my 2002 c650 Skyhawk Blue Angels. Still going strong!
I have a similar age (maybe 5 years older) EcoDrive GMT that rarely gets in my rotaton, even less so during CV19 period and inadverantly was moved to a no light location for who knows how long.
Even a full day in direct sunlight wouldn't bring it back to life but before accepting the battery was kaput I left it in a window for a few days and amazingly the battery eventually was resurrected. Great piece of tech.
My wife's got an EcoDrive so she had a watch while her Swiss premium watch had a replacement battery/ service at the official service centre and it cost less than the service and has become her go to watch.
This one's a bit too busy for me. But I have the Blue Angels version of the Nighthawk and I love it.
I never read instruction manuals either, the upside being in a couple of years time you often get a nice surprise when you discover something new you never knew it could do.
Great video. I've got the Red Arrows equivalent. Beautiful watch absolutely love it. 👍
Well done. Awesome review. I would rather recommend the CA0649. Looks amazing, but less complicated.
Fantastic Video! Great info!
Pretty much my go to watch! Got it for a Pretty sweet deal too
Big fan of Citizen Eco- Drive watches. I have 3 in my collection. The first one was purchased in 1994 and has only just stopped working! I like the watch so much and will get it repaired. The Blue Angels is a great watch but a but too much going on for my liking. Great review thanks.
Got three in mine as well, the ana-digi version of this and two others and I'm always amazed at the freakish accuracy of the movement!
Thank you so much Sir for the help, I was totally at odds with the watch lol
What took me so long to have this watch? Got it yesterday, and I am in love with it since…
I don't mind the 23mm band only that it's not common to replace. But luckily in these days there is something for everyone. It's a beautiful watch, and I love having the slide rule.
Love your channel. I own this watch, love it. In regards to the radio signal for the atomic click, I live outside Chicago, no problem recieving the signal. Traveled last month to visit the US Air Force museum in the eastern time zone. Could not recieve signal, even though I should have been able too. Our GPS signal was off by almost a mile. Was told this was due to all the different signals coming and going to the Air Force Base.
i know i'm a bit late to the party but i've had mine for a week now and like everything about it apart the thing that you picked up on and that's the depth of the date indicator,it's so low below the dial i can barely see it but that's a small price to pay for such a good watch. thanks for the review,it went a long way towards me deciding to buy it.
Nice presentation and review. One of these days I'm going to buy a citizen. One of these days.
You'll probably crash you plane trynna check time on this watch 😂
I just got mine a few days ago. The caveat I would offer is to also be aware of how to set the references on your watch so that everything lines up where it is supposed to - hands, date, etc. Took me a day and a half to figure that out (being an engineer, I WRITE instructions, I do not care to actually READ instructions.) 😉 The busybusybusy dial is not that easy for geezers my age to read, but that's why they sell reading glasses. So far, I love it!
HA! "Choke a donkey." I'm going to have to use that one! Great video as always and you have a way to make the watches I previously wrote off seem more interesting to me! This one is a bit different than the Nighthawk and the other Blue Angels variants and the lug size... WTH Citizen? But in the end, not sure about this one verses the old Nighthawk. Although the wife cringes every time she here's your famous "Helloooooo..." since she knows a new watch is inevitable, this time I think you've moved up a notch with her, she likes the big niggles portion of your reviews! Thanks for the cheeky reviews as always and Thanks for doing what you do! Cheers!
the beeps just got my tinnitus going.
Nice review as always Jody - for me these watches are a little bit to cluttered, for anybody looking for a cheap (and less cluttered) alternativ I can recomend the Seiko SNDC89P2 (quarz chrono), my summer daily. Not much weight wears and looks great and much overseen I think.