I sent a clock for warranty repair to DCI in Mountain View, CA in November. I insured it but the post office checked and it was delivered. I have heard nothing from them and though I found a phone number for them, calls are never answered. I wrote to them but have had no reply. I think my clock is probably lost forever. 
Has anybody had any success with Chronos warranty repair?
Richard
Retail of the Chronos clock has passed through several hands over the years. The Mountain View address dates back to the early 2000s. I doubt it is still valid.
The ChronosDealer.com website was last updated in 2005. I have no idea whether the El Dorado Hills address given under Repairs is still valid either. You could try sending an email to see if anyone replies.
Just curious, what is wrong with your clock? It is quite durable, which contributes to its popularity.
Michael Aigner
fpawn.blogspot.com/
The problem with my Chronos is that when I am using it during a game it keeps running out of time. 
Jon
I got the clock from chronosdealer (samtimer). It included a manual with the Mountain View address on the back. I have been going back and forth with chronosdealer who claim that the manual (which he sent me with the clock) was old and outdated and they have washed their hands of it.
I did call the post office in Mountain View and they say the PO Box is still active and DCI still picks up its mail.
The clock simply would not turn on and I tried new batteries which made on difference and the old batteries were strong as well. I had only had the clock for a few months and hadn’t used it much.
In fairness, it was a SamTimer which is a chronos clock with the addition of scrabble timings. Otherwise it looks identical to a Chronos and has all the same settings. I got the Sam Timer because no one had a Chronos (black with touch sensitive buttons) in stock early last year.
I have since gotten an Excalibur which is doing the job for me but I’m really unhappy to have a $100 clock disappear into never never land.
Richard
Actually, what I have found that works best with them is to send them an e-mail. They may not respond, but it seems to get them moving on the repair.
Jon
I have sent Sam so many e-mails he has become very caustic in his replies, and says he takes no responsibility for my sending the clock to the address in the older version of the manual which he sent me with the clock. He did have a paper insert with a new address which I overlooked, believing the address in the user guide. Foolish me.
Richard
Well, with all due respect, I don’t think one can blame Sam here, since there was a notice of a new address included with the documentation.
The interesting question seems to be who in Mountain View is collecting mail for that mailbox. It may be a long shot, but you could try sending registered mail to that address asking for return of your clock.
No, I don’t blame Sam except that he did deny including the user manual which in fact he did. I did call the post office and they said the mail is being collected. A registered letter is a good idea. I’ll do it and post a followup.
Thanks.
Richard
I have an email address for John Dedinsky at a Mountain View address. I haven’t followed the current status of Chronos, so I don’t know if he sold and retired, is still active, or what. But I never had a difficulty with a repair when dealing with him. I’ll pm the email, I have no idea if it is still active, but that email is what worked for me in the past.
Unhappily, the e-mail to the address in your message was undeliverable, and the phone number is the one that never answers. I am going to bit the bullet and buy another chronos clock 
Richard
Moderator Mode: Off
Since you have decided to buy another, new clock, I thought I would share a few locations to buy one.
The first is The Chess House. I bought my Chronos II Touch in black from them, and my Chronos II button model in black as well. They are very nice and provide great service at a very competitive price. I see they also have the touch model in blue as well as black. The blue is a nice, anodized finish if you might prefer that instead of the black. I had a blue clock and sold it to get a black one, only because I really like the black.
chesshouse.com/chronos_chess_clock_s/183.htm
My second choice would be the USCF Sales area. It looks as if they have no Chronos Touch models in black at this time though.
uscfsales.com/category_s/85.htm
I bought a Chronos from the Chronosdealer before Samtime owned it. I have talked with Sam and would consider buying from him again, but with The Chess House providing such good service, and having such an extensive inventory, I would buy from them first. If you have any problems with the clock after buying it, I would call them and I am sure they would help you. The Chess House owner is Rafael and he is really good to work with.
I also found a new place on the web selling the Chronos II Touch in black. It is called Coolest Chess Sets . Com. Here’s the link
coolestchesssets.com/chronos … ck%20touch
I see their price is $10 less, but in your case I would go with The Chess House as they are very reliable and if you do have problems with the clock, they will work with you to solve the problem.
I should add the Rochester Chess Club. They are also reliable and have the clock for sale in both black and blue. Here’s the black clock link:
I currently own 4 Chronos clocks. The oldest is over 11 years old and it is now a wooden clock. My friend and I covered it in wood veneer. It still works great. The next oldest is about 10 years old and I stripped the stinkin’ beige paint off completely, leaving the clock with its ‘natural’ brushed aluminum finish. I use this with my blitz and skittle set. The last 2 are both a year or so old. They are both black with one being the touch model and the other a button model. I put red buttons on that one and it looks really good with the red buttons contrasting off the black body. I have these in one carrier and they are my tournament clocks. I use the touch model for the longer time controls and the button one in G/75 and faster, and when my opponent doesn’t like the touch model.
All the clocks work really well. I have had 2 problems with Chronos clocks in the past. The first one was a clock I bought back in about 1999. We took the clock apart, except for the solder points and backed the LED displays out so we could strip the paint and paint the clock black. We did that twice on this clock as the first paint job was chipping. After about 3 years, the LED displays got weird, presumably from us messing with the displays and the ribbon cable attaching them to the mother board. I sent that clock to the Chronos makers and they fixed it for about $15 postage paid.
The second problem was with a clock I bought from Dewain Barber and his American Chess Equipment company. The clock had a flaw in its programming and Dewain took it back when we realized we would need to wait something like 3 months before the company would come out with new and improved ones. Dewain quit selling the Chronos from frustration with the company. I then bought the black models, first the touch one and then the button one from Rafael and his The Chess House. I had the blue model when a fellow in a club I ran wanted a blue one when I was making a buy from Dewain. He gave me $20 down and never showed up again, so I was left with the blue model. That one still works well too as the guy that bought it from me is using it a lot and loves it.
Anyway, the moral of the story is the Chronos clocks are usually quite reliable. If there’s a problem soon after purchasing it, I find better service working with the place I bought it from. If it is something that is out of warranty, I still would be calling the company to get the best contact information to send the clock for repair. By the way, when I did send the one clock in for repair, I talked with the Chronosdealer guy and he gave me the latest address and told me to include the check and for how much. It worked quite well.
In addition to Ron’s good suggestions, look at chessusa.com and use coupon code IGOR. Also, free shipping starts at $100—5 cents more than a full-length Chronos—so throw in a cheap set or a scorebook as filler and it more than covers the difference in shipping costs.
A Chronos clock and a tournament chess set for $90.90, shipped. Or a Chronos and a scorebook for $86.65. Hard to beat.
I have not ordered from ChessUSA nor do I own the joint, but this looks like a sweet deal. If there was any way I could justify the purchase of another Chronos I might be tempted…
EDITS to add free shipping details.
Moderator Mode: Off
Eric, I forgot about them. I have bought a number of things from Chess USA over the years as well.
With that coupon code, the price is exceptional.
I bought mine from Wholesale Chess, which is offering free shipping on all orders over $50 for the month of February, but I can’t speak to its warranty/repair policies with respect to clocks. The company did cheerfully replace a tournament bag with defective zippers, though.
I’m wondering if you should complain to the Office of the Inspector General for the postal service.
It would seem that even if the mail is addresse to a specific PO Box, if the PO box is getting mail intended for a former recipiant of the PO Box, then the person collecting the mail from the PO Box would be breaking federal law, since the person would clearly not be working for the company that your clock was sent to be repaired by.
Moderator Mode: Off
I had looked at their page and they are currently out of stock of the Chronos II Touch clock in black.
I did just buy their Quality Folding PVC Chess Board and it is excellent. The squares are a full 2 1/4 inches and the colors of the Green and Buff are excellent. The price is also good at just under 10 dollars. I think they now carry the nicest folding vinyl board.
Anyway, they are out of the Chronos touch in black and that’s why I never mentioned them.
With what I have seen lately, I think that the best value for great service would be at Your Move Chess and Games, a.k.a. Chessusa.com, with the coupon code Eric provided.
I called the Post Office and they said DCI is still the owner of the box. I will try a registered letter as someone suggested.
Thanks.
Richard
Ok.
OP, I live in San Jose which is about 16 miles from Mountain View. If you get a non PO box address for Chronos, I could go knock on their door and put the fear of God into them. PM me.
We sell a lot of Chronos clocks on our site. I have been dealing with John at Chronos for a while. There are a couple of things you need to know when sending a clock back to him.
First thing is he is now on a 4 month schedule. It can take up to 4 months for him to fix your clock.
Second is that it has to be a current Chronos. If it is older than 2 iterations before he might not have the correct parts to fix the clock. He does switch manufacturers for his parts every couple of years.
Third is I tell people to put a Money order or check for $20 in the box with a letter detailing what’s wrong
and telling him how much they enjoy the clock. You’d be surprised what a little buttering up can do. The $20 is to cover the parts and the shipping.
As for calling him or e-maling him, good luck. I even have trouble getting a hold of him. Remember he is doing this in his spare time. He has a full time 40-hour a week job where he has to do a bunch of work for it at home. If it is possible for him to fix it, have patience and he will eventually get it back to you.
We’re even giving away a free chronos bag with every Chronos purchase with flat rate shipping. But I can’t tell you where I am from because that would be advertising…so I am told. 