I just received an email blast from U.S. Chess Sales, advertising a “basic” digital clock for $25.00.
I already have one of these, and I agree that it is a good “basic” clock. And the price is right, if “basic” is all you need.
It handles both increment and delay, and has a full five-digit display (h:mm:ss) at all times – except that during the delay countdown, only the delay time is shown, reverting to main-time mode only when the delay reaches zero.
It does not, however, handle multiple time controls, nor does it count moves. For example, if the control is 40/90 SD/30 (with or without increment or delay), you’ll have to set it for G/90, and then add 30 minutes manually after black’s 40th move.
The clock has a nice feel, seems sturdy enough, and is easy to set. I recommend it, especially with increment, as long as there is only one time control.
I don’t know what the clock is, but I have a couple of questions. How easy is it to add/subtract time during the game? Is it possible to set the clock for “unusual” time controls. For example, 55:36 for White and 37:49 for Black?
Very easy. Almost intuitive, especially for those familiar with clocks like the DGT NA.
There are only three buttons on the front: plus, minus, and start/pause/adjust/resume. (These are in addition to the rocker arm, of course.) Just pause the clock with a short press, then long press until one of the digits starts flashing, then short press your way through the digits till you get to the one(s) you want to change, then press plus or minus to change. Keep going like this until you’ve changed all the digits you want to change, then long press until the digits stop flashing. Then short press to resume.
Yes. During initial setup you get a chance to set all digits (hours, minutes, AND seconds) as well as increment (“bonus”) or delay up to 59 seconds. (I wish they had let it go all the way up to 99 seconds for increment or delay, for those who like a 60-second increment, but they didn’t.)
If you turn the clock off and then turn it back on later, it resets to the same initial times (main and increment/delay) you set it for the last time.
How easy is it to accidentally re-set the clock? This should be difficult to do, but for some clocks like the z-mart it is way too easy. We had a situation at the recently completed GA State Championship near the end of the Friday evening round where a player meant to stop the clock, accidentally hit the button twice instead of once, and the clock re-set to the original time control. This clock should be used only for target practice at a rifle range.
I’m pretty sure the “basic” digital clock from US Chess sales is the same clock as the Leap PQ9907S, Wholesale Chess Basic, Chess Armory, and Garde Start chess clocks. It’s not easy to accidentally re-set this clock.
As for the Z-Mart clock, that must have been one of the older firmware versions. There are a number of different firmware versions of the Z-Mart clocks (including the Tap N Set, the “official” clock of US Chess). Each firmware version has different bugs/issues.
I agree that a clock should never reset after just two short presses. The “basic” clock works well in this respect. To reset, a long press is required, then some flashing digits appear, then some short presses, and eventually another long press is required. That should provide sufficient defense against accidentally resetting.
I forgot to mention originally that the display is of nice quality, too. Good contrast, h:mm digits are large, :ss digits are almost as large, and the segments are thick. Should be easy to read even when the lighting in the tournament room isn’t quite up to snuff.
Oh, and one more thing. During initial setup, the clock first asks for main time, then bonus time, then delay time, and finally, alarm (1 or 0).Pleaseeverybody set the alarm to 0. You’ll make enemies out of TD’s and other players if the clock beeps when a player exceeds the time control.
That might be a little extreme. I’m thinking of the guy on board 26 who had his arm cauterized at the wrist because he didn’t turn the alarm off on his wristwatch, but I think it’s appropriate as long as it’s in your announcements. It’s just not sporting to do it without a warning.
I know cell phones and pagers (does anybody still use them?) are banned from playing halls, but what about something like an iWatch? If the cell phone it is paired to is turned off, the iWatch is (probably) off the net, but it could still possibly have alarms on it. (I have several alarms set to remind me when to take medications, for example.)
