Popular Digital Chess Clock Manuals

Players should know how to:

Set their clocks
Pause during play
Resume play
Add time
Set delay
Set increment
Explain these functions

NOTE:
Please set all audible beeps to "OFF" for USCF rated games.
See The Official Rules of Chess 7th Ed. section 16B2a

Due to the recent proliferation & variety of digital chess clocks as well as the USCF preference for digital clocks over analog clocks for rated games combined with a high percentage of players who still do not fully understand the operation & programming functions of their own clocks, this page contains User Manuals in readable & downloadable files of as many digital chess clocks as I can find. At this time I'm sure the list is incomplete, but I've tried to focus first on the most common types of digital clocks in use in USCF rated tournaments today.
There is some obsolete but interesting information about chess clocks in general in this document produced by TheChessHouse: how_to_chessclocks.PDF
Note however that some of the references to rules & customs in "how_to_chessclocks.PDF" are incorrect in light of the current USCF rules!
These user manuals are posted here as .PDF files which are readable using Adobe Reader. If you don't have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free at:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=DJDVP

How to set the Saitek Pro (gray) clock for G/100 d5

There is some useful background information, including the historical development of electronic chess clocks, & accurate definitions of "Fischer", "Bronstein", & "simple delay" modes on the Wikipedia "Chess Clock" page. Here's a brief excerpt:

Fischer = before a player has made their move, a specified time increment is added to their clock. Time can be accumulated, so if the player moves within the delay period, their remaining time actually increases. For example, if the delay time is five seconds, and a player has four seconds left on their clock, as soon as their opponent moves, they receive the increment and has nine seconds to make a move. If they take two seconds to move, on the start of their next move they have twelve seconds. There is also a variant of this time control that adds the delay after a player makes their move ("Fischer after" or more commonly increment), so the delay is added to the player's remaining time and is available for their next move. If however time runs out during their move, the game ends without the delay time being added. This variant prevents the player who is in time-trouble to take advantage of the extra-time.

Bronstein delay = with the Bronstein timing method, the increment is always added after the move. But unlike Fischer, not always the maximum increment is added. If a player expends more than the specified increment, then the entire increment is added to the player's clock. But if a player has moved faster than the time increment, only the exact amount of time expended by the player is added. For example, if the delay is five seconds, the player has ten seconds left in their clock before their turn and during their turn they spend three seconds, after they press the clock button to indicate the end of their turn, their clock increases by only three seconds (not five). This ensures that the time left on the clock can never increase, even if a player makes fast moves.

Simple delay = when it becomes a player's turn to move, the clock waits for the delay period before starting to subtract from the player's remaining time. For example, if the delay is five seconds, the clock waits for five seconds before counting down. The time is not accumulated. If the player moves within the delay period, no time is subtracted from their remaining time. This time control is similar to a Bronstein with time added before the move.

The September 2016 (70th Anniversary) issue of Chess Life contains an excellent article on chess clocks wherein it is mentioned that both Saitek Mephisto & Scholastic Blue clocks are no longer in production.

Reminder: Your digital electronic chess clock doesn't like the cold either!

"In surface-mount designs, the differential temperature coefficient of expansion between the parts-soldered-to-the-circuit-board and the circuit board can cause large stresses. The stress-strain-temperature relationship often barely works over the specified temperature range. When the equipment is powered up, the hot components can change shape and break the brittle plastic, much like my old ice chest."

"If the equipment is below zero degrees C [32 degrees F] and then you take it into a nice warm, humid office, water will condense on the circuit boards and can cause problems. Presumably a similar thing can happen with frost, depending on the weather. When the frost melts, there can be problems."
For more info, refer to:
Storing electronics at low temperatures
Operating electronics at low temperatures
Most electronic chess clocks are difficult &/or expensive to repair, so don't leave your clock in your car overnight!

Chronos

ChronosManual.pdf

Rugged Metal Case
LCD Display
Three AA Batteries
12 User Programmble Operating Modes
Available with Buttons or Touch Pads
Widely regarded as the best chess clock ever

The Chronos (a.k.a. Chronos II, or Chronos Standard) is considered by many to be the best digital chess clock ever made. They are reliable, rugged & extremely flexible for programming functions. However, in addition to being somewhat confusing to program initially, they are a bit pricey & they have a history of being only internittently available even through major distributors. Chronos Clocks come in either a black, blue or beige metal case.

The Chronos clocks have 68 preset modes from which to choose. Each of these presets can be customized & saved into one of twelve user selectable presets. This may seem overwhelming at first, but in fact you'll find the vast majority of users rarely use more than four or five presets, & once these are set up, operation is simple & minor modifications are easy. You can watch a six minute video on YouTube explaining how to set up a few typical user programs for your Chronos clock here: YouTube Video, "How to set the Chronos Chess Clock II". This will get you started & after you've set up a few presets for your favorite time controls, you'll most likely rarely if ever have to do any programming beyond occasionally changing a delay or beeper setting, which is really easy to do.

Back in December of 1999, Mark Kaprielian at Metrowewst Chess Club published a document "designed to help make sense of the many options available to the owners of the Chronos Clock". This document was revised in March of 2003 & posted on the MWCC site as Chronos_Clock_Tips.htm. A reformatted version with some minor typos corrected is presented here: MK-ChronosTips.html

Since FIDE time controls with increments are becoming more prevalent (in particular both RelyeaChess & Continental Chess Association frequently require increment time controls) & most typical club clock settings involve only delays,
instructions on how to set your Chronos clock for 40/90 SD30 inc30 for FIDE tournaments are presented here.

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