Marc Plum wrote:

I have a Chronos clock, and use it in tournaments when I can. Since it
isn't always my choice, however, I like to be familiar with the quirks of
other brands that I might have to use. At a recent tournament, I saw an
Excalibur GameTime clock (I think it was the GameTime II, but I'm not
entirely sure) do something odd, and I wonder is this is a known problem.

This was the last game of the round, and I had a good observation point
sitting next to one of the players. Time control was 40/2-SD1, with the
regulation 5 second delay. Both players had just slightly over 4 minutes
left in the second time control, and the delay was in the countdown mode,
definitely not the incremental mode where time is added back.

At this point, both players clocks suddenly jumped to exactly 5 minutes.
Other observers said that the delay time also was reset to 2 seconds. What
had apparently happened was that the clock had reset itself to an entirely
different time control. One of the players looked at the clock and made as
if to say something, then shrugged and played on, resigning a couple of
moves later. When I mentioned it to him after the game, he confirmed that
he had noticed it, but thought there was no point in making a protest by
then.

Has anyone else seen this brand of clock do this? Is it a matter of hitting
the wrong control on the clock, or is it just something that happens under
rough treatment? Actually, neither player seemed to be banging the clock
too hard, as last round time scrambles with money at stake go.

Remove obvious part of Email address to reply.

Marc

5 minute starting time with a 2 second delay is actually the
default setting for the Game Time II when you get it from the
factory. I believe it resets itself to that when the batteries
are replaced, as it needs a working battery to give it the
necessary power to remember the current setting. Why this would
happen in the middle of a game, I'm not sure, unless this
particular player's clock had a dying battery or something.
I've had my Game Time II for over a year, and nothing like
this has ever happened to me.

--Richard

Alberich wrote in message ...
In article ,
says...
Marc Plum wrote:

I have a Chronos clock, and use it in tournaments when I can. Since it
isn't always my choice, however, I like to be familiar with the quirks of
other brands that I might have to use. At a recent tournament, I saw an
Excalibur GameTime clock (I think it was the GameTime II, but I'm not
entirely sure) do something odd, and I wonder is this is a known problem.

This was the last game of the round, and I had a good observation point
sitting next to one of the players. Time control was 40/2-SD1, with the
regulation 5 second delay. Both players had just slightly over 4 minutes
left in the second time control, and the delay was in the countdown mode,
definitely not the incremental mode where time is added back.

At this point, both players clocks suddenly jumped to exactly 5 minutes.
Other observers said that the delay time also was reset to 2 seconds. What
had apparently happened was that the clock had reset itself to an entirely
different time control. One of the players looked at the clock and made as
if to say something, then shrugged and played on, resigning a couple of
moves later. When I mentioned it to him after the game, he confirmed that
he had noticed it, but thought there was no point in making a protest by
then.

Has anyone else seen this brand of clock do this? Is it a matter of hitting
the wrong control on the clock, or is it just something that happens under
rough treatment? Actually, neither player seemed to be banging the clock
too hard, as last round time scrambles with money at stake go.

Remove obvious part of Email address to reply.

Marc

5 minute starting time with a 2 second delay is actually the
default setting for the Game Time II when you get it from the
factory. I believe it resets itself to that when the batteries
are replaced, as it needs a working battery to give it the
necessary power to remember the current setting. Why this would
happen in the middle of a game, I'm not sure, unless this
particular player's clock had a dying battery or something.
I've had my Game Time II for over a year, and nothing like
this has ever happened to me.

--Richard


Why can't they make these chess digital clocks have rechargable outlets
for recharging? It would make sense, no? This way you can recharge your
chess clock without worrying about buying new batteries. With the liquid
digital displays I can't see why this would be a problem. It could show
a flashing indicator that the battery level is low and must be
recharged. And why not solar powered panels as well? This way you can
use solar energy instead of using all the battery life when you play
games outside, for instance. These ideas should be implemented for
GameTime 3 clocks when they come out. But best of all would be to have
the Excalibur set have quiet plungers like the DGT clocks which allow
you to bang the plungers without making all those clunking noises.

It seems like a good idea, but the problem is that rechargeable
batteries discharge themselves too quickly. They work best on
high-drain devices, where the self-drain of the battery would not be a
problem, such as digital cameras and the like. That's why you don't
see rechargeables in remotes for TVs and such.

A game clock battery lasts pretty long ... obviously how long depends
on the brand and features, but this is generally some 600 hours or
more. A rechargeable battery would discharge itself fairly quickly
over a month or so, but alkaline can last many years. If your clock
is always on, like 8 hours or more a day, maybe rechargeables would be
beneficial but otherwise would not...

Tom

In article ,
says...
Marc Plum wrote:

I have a Chronos clock, and use it in tournaments when I can. Since it
isn't always my choice, however, I like to be familiar with the quirks of
other brands that I might have to use. At a recent tournament, I saw an
Excalibur GameTime clock (I think it was the GameTime II, but I'm not
entirely sure) do something odd, and I wonder is this is a known problem.

This was the last game of the round, and I had a good observation point
sitting next to one of the players. Time control was 40/2-SD1, with the
regulation 5 second delay. Both players had just slightly over 4 minutes
left in the second time control, and the delay was in the countdown mode,
definitely not the incremental mode where time is added back.

At this point, both players clocks suddenly jumped to exactly 5 minutes.
Other observers said that the delay time also was reset to 2 seconds. What
had apparently happened was that the clock had reset itself to an entirely
different time control. One of the players looked at the clock and made as
if to say something, then shrugged and played on, resigning a couple of
moves later. When I mentioned it to him after the game, he confirmed that
he had noticed it, but thought there was no point in making a protest by
then.

Has anyone else seen this brand of clock do this? Is it a matter of hitting
the wrong control on the clock, or is it just something that happens under
rough treatment? Actually, neither player seemed to be banging the clock
too hard, as last round time scrambles with money at stake go.

Remove obvious part of Email address to reply.

Marc

5 minute starting time with a 2 second delay is actually the
default setting for the Game Time II when you get it from the
factory. I believe it resets itself to that when the batteries
are replaced, as it needs a working battery to give it the
necessary power to remember the current setting. Why this would
happen in the middle of a game, I'm not sure, unless this
particular player's clock had a dying battery or something.
I've had my Game Time II for over a year, and nothing like
this has ever happened to me.

--Richard

Richard is correct. Somehow the GameTime unit jumped to default settings.

This was a known defect in some of the original GameTime units. It was
corrected in GameTime II by adding a delay to the reset switch.

Unless you are very familiar with the Excalibur GameTime units, it is very
difficult to tell the difference (physically) between the original GameTime
and GameTime II. Also, the newest GameTime II's have a quieter "button
action" than the original GameTime II units. (Though still pretty loud
compared to most clocks.)

I have a review of the GameTime II posted at:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/l...s/gametime.htm


Chris Kantack
http://home.earthlink.net/~kantack/lcdchess/home.htm