Chess clock advice: once more with feeling

All Things Chess
1

I find myself in the market for a chess clock. Sold my beloved Chronos last fall to a nice older club player, due to severe cash crunch. (And got a job offer two days later, of course…)

Now I need something to replace it, no later than the USATE. Advice? We’ve been over this a zillion times on the forums and I am familiar with the main brands of digital clocks, unless there is something brand new out there.

My question concerns quality issues with recent models of clocks that have been discontinued, officially or not. I would pay the premium for another Chronos if I were assured it would last me 15 years rock-solid, as my first Chronos did. But I hear the recent limited runs have not been as trouble-free as earlier models. I also worry about getting a Game Time, now that Excalibur has been defunct for awhile.

I don’t like Saitek—I know there are a few fanatics who love 'em—and the silver Saitek Pro is the one digital clock I have trouble setting. I might get a blue scholastic Saitek as a back-up if I find one dirt cheap, but I still need an increment-capable clock.

So that leaves the DGT NA and the Zmart fun or whatever it’s called. I used the latter once and did not like the disco-strobe lighting effect. I can deal with it for the odd game when supplied by an opponent, but do not want one of my own.

So that leaves the DGT NA. $45 and call it a day. I had one once, briefly, liked it for the most part but sold it to a chess friend, since I figured my Chronos would last till my old age…

Sorry for the long ramble. Any thoughts on this, especially from those who bought a Chronos or Game Time in the last year or two?

Thanks.

2

I bought a DGT 3000 a few months ago. It’s definitely grown on me. I like all the additional information the display gives, and it’s held up pretty well for me.

I do own a ZmartFun II, because I wanted to get familiar with setting it, since I’ve seen it proliferating at tournaments. That said, I share Mr. Mark’s dislike for the display.

I own four DGT NAs (stocking up for eventually running small events with equipment). I really like this clock. It’s held up well for me (as have all my other DGT clocks). If one blanches at the (admittedly high) cost of the DGT 3000, then I’d recommend the NA.

3

I own a first generation Chronos (more than 20 years old and still going strong), three Excaliburs, and four DGT NAs. For the same reasons you and Boyd have mentioned, I plan to buy additional DG NAs in the near future.

4

Our club has 4 DGT NA’s as well as 4 Game Timers for use in tournaments. The kids like them both for ease of use and setting. I use the DGT NA and have retired my Saitek Pro. The latter sits sadly among the analog clocks much like the toys in Toy Story.

I have seen the DGT 3000. It has a better display than the DGT NA. The added features are similar to what the Game Timer displays, but better. I really liked it for tournament play. The price, though, is a little high and the only Chronos-like feature. Maybe somebody will be nice and buy me one for my birthday.

5

So does the DGT 3000 only do Bronstein but not straight delay, a la the DGT 2010?

Thanks.

6

Good plan. I too once had a stash of 4-5 digital clocks, but one of them (Game Timer) broke, the rest I sold or gave away. Never again. I plan to become a chess clock hoarder, especially until/if the market adjusts. I suspect one more manufacturer to appear soon, if Chronos stays near-moribund and Excalibur stays dead.

Does anyone here have and use a Chronos purchased in the last 2-3 years, perchance?

7

I recently got a DGT-3000. I also currently own or have owned Chronos, DGT NA, DGT 2010, Excalibur, ZMF-II, and the Saitek models.

I have not recently bought a Chronos, but the current price is high and I have heard of enough problems with it to keep me away at this time.

I also agree that I don’t like the ZMF-II display lighting effects. I actually sold this one to a student, cheap, just to get rid of it.

The DGT-3000 has all three options, US Delay, Bronstein and Increment. I also like the display as Boyd has mentioned.

In my opinion I would get a DGT-3000. If you feel the price is too high then I would get a DGT NA.

I hear there is a new clock coming out at or around the USATE event. I suggest you call Shelby Lohrman with American Chess Equipment about this. He might have a clock you can use for the event to try out for free before committing to a purchase.

8

Of all clocks mentioned, DGT NA is my favorite. It has all the features that I need ( delay and periods), not difficult to program and it doesn’t produce any noise when you press the button.

Chess Club of Fairfield county (CT) where I play from time to time supplies the equipment and they have two models in use: ZMF-II and they recently upgraded DGT XL to DGT 3000. My experience as a player with ZMF-II clocks have been positive. I do not mind the display and otherwise it appear to be an accurate clock, not noisy at all. I have to admit that I did not need to program those, club TD does that.
I also heard that Zmart Electronics comes with model in a metal body this month (similar to the one Chronos is using).

DGT 3000 is used for master events and those clocks are connected to DGT boards and moves are transmitted to Internet for spectators to view. Two weeks ago, I had a chance to use those. The clock is clearly better than DGT XL, with delay count down visible as one of the improvements. Personally though, I found it too noisy. In the same event that I played, I could hear players hitting the clock in time trouble from the next room.

In the past, I owned Chronos (all models : FX, GX and Full size one, whatever it called) and found it to be a very good clock. However, I struggled with programming and many times needed assistance of TD or other players that was kind of embarrassing. With DGT NA, I no longer experience this problem.

So my personal recommendation would be DGT NA for $45.00.

9

Thanks for the advice. Mikhail, since you sell the things I figure you should know: Is the latest generation of Chronos at least close to the quality of the models from 10-20 years ago?

I was so fond of my old Chronos that I am thinking about paying the premium to get another one—even though I know that’s crazy from the purely $$$ POV…

10

Maybe you could buy it back for twice what you sold it for?

Bill Smythe

11

http://blog.chesshouse.com/dgt-3000-chess-clock-has-it-all-with-a-large-display/
The DGT-3000 does both Bronstein, and regular delay.

In fact, looking at the specs, if I was looking for a new clock, I’d get the DGT-3000 over the Chronos. I suspect the Chronos still feels like a tank compared to anybody else.

That being said, looking at the specs, it looks like the DGT-3000 brings the best of Chronos with the better reasons for owning an Excalibre Game Time II.

The review (see link) didn’t specify you can adjust the delay, but I’d think one could specify the length of the delay.

12

Thanks, that’s interesting. I might take the plunge for the DGT 3000 if I can find a screaming deal. Best price I’ve seen is $90. Anyone know where if/where it can be found cheaper?

13

I’ve seen nothing below $89.95

14

For all it does (including interacting with the DGT board), that sounds like a steal. Grab it!

Bill Smythe

15

I have a Chronos Blitz with biosensor pads I bought from Shelby Lohrman & Greg Yanez at the 2012 World Open. I used it for about a year as my primary clock, and still use it occasionally. It works fine for me. However, I have heard enough in the past year or so about the recent manufacturing issues that I would shy away from purchasing a new one at this time.

16

I was off by 4 cents.

ebay.com/itm/DGT-3000-Electr … 5d52edc309

17

The price Kevin quotes for the DGT 3000 of $89.99 includes Free Shipping. It is available on eBay as a New clock, not Used.

That is the least expensive price for this clock that I could find, especially with the Free Shipping.

The next least expensive price is on Amazon at $91.50. As a Prime member I would also receive free shipping.

Interestingly, it is the same seller on both sites with these low prices.

All other places have the clock for $99.99 or more.

By the way, I bought my DGT 3000 when it first came out from one of the other vendors than the one mentioned above.

I own 3 Chronos clocks. One is over 12 years old and a friend and I removed the paint when it was new, leaving the aluminum of the body as the only finish. This is the clock I use for Skittles and Blitz.

The other 2 are Black with one having buttons and the other touch sensors. I keep them together and use them for the slower time control games. The touch sensor I only use for the very slow games where there is less likelihood of a time scramble and the complete quiet of the clock is desirable.

The DGT 3000 has a smaller footprint than the Chronos models and maintains a large display. I had and sold a Chronos GX which was about the same size as the DGT. The DGT 3000 has more information on the display than any other clock except for the Excalibur GameTime II perhaps.

While no one in our local area has recently purchased one of the newer Chronos models, I have heard from some friends across this country of various problems with these new clocks performing consistently and correctly.

Eric, how much did you spend for your original Chronos, that you no longer have?

At $89.99 the DGT 3000 would be my first choice as an only clock.

If the Budget is a big concern then the DGT NA would be a good value at the $45 I have seen it for.

They both operate similarly except the DGT 3000 has a bigger display with more information showing on it. It also is not louder in operation than the DGT NA as another said. The rocker arm mechanism is pretty much the same for both as is the plastic body material.

18

I cannot discern from this forum thread thus far…

A. Does the DGT NA offer both Delay and Increment?

B. Same question, for the DGT 3000?

My 2006 Chronos offers Delay but not really Increment; although maybe CH-P3 or CH-P4 offers Increment?
In any case, the Chronos does not enable the user to mix and match time control features as he sees fit; the Chronos is inflexible, as are most chess clocks.

It is absurd that these semi-inflexible chess clocks cost as much as does my new $120 Lenovo Android 8 inch pad computer that can beat me at chess while it simultaneously plays music from YouTube.com. It is past time for a simple minimal cheap computer to be built into a sturdy housing for a highly flexible programmable chess clock, with time controls specified in XML or JSON.

Presently there are no good chess clocks available to buy.
.

19

The DGT NA supports increment and straight delay, but not Bronstein. The DGT 3000 supports all three: increment, delay and Bronstein, per the DGT site. I have not used it first-hand.

A Chronos from 2006 almost certainly supports increment in modes CH-P5, CH-P6 and CH-P7, for one, two and three time controls, respectively.

What do you want to do in re “mix and match”?

20

Ah, memories. I paid $120-something, including NY sales tax, when I bought my Chronos at the Thompson Street chess shop in NYC in the summer of 1998. The nice man there refused to sell me the then-current version of the USCF-approved delay clock. (Really. He kept one under the glass just to snort at it.)

I was glad to pay it, though I was not swimming in money. Back then the Chronos was so far ahead of the pack the price premium was worth it for a regular tournament player, of any strength.

These days, I play less rated chess and other good clocks have come along. With the prices on Chronos we saw a year ago it’s a no-brainer to give it a pass, sentiment aside. Now the price is back to $114.99—a hair less than I paid in 1998, in real dollars—it’s tempting.

If only someone with a crystal ball could tell me this one would last 16 blissful years, as the first one did…