Actually Ron I was basing most of my thinking from the sound from Drew Streitmatter’s clock. He even had found like what he had thought was the best setting etc. I can’t recall if he ever used it that way in a rated game or not.
Obviously if he did it wasn’t deemed a problem.
Aside from the annoyance issue, clocks that beep at end of time control must have that feature turned off. This is so that only the players, and not the clocks themselves, call attention to the flag fall. The no beep when a player presses the clock clause may or may not be a distraction intent. I suppose it also intends to make only the players aware of who’s move it is.
Thank you for that information. Had I known that at the time, I certainly would have asked my opponent to turn off the beep, even summoning the TD if necessary.
Bill Smythe
Hmm, that seems at odds with what others have reported. (I don’t know; my own Chronos is a pushbutton model.) Have you tried all ways of adjusting the sound? Maybe both the pitch and the volume can be adjusted. Or, if you turn the pitch all the way up (supersonic) or all the way down (subsonic) maybe it will then sound like the “click” others have mentioned.
Call it “attempted bashing” if you want. My point was that the total lack of sound made by the clock might cause some players to (irrationally) use greater force to try to ensure a successful clock press. A loud thumping sound could result. Thus, the complete lack of sound made by the clock might result, indirectly, in greater, rather than less, annoyance to others in the vicinity.
Bill Smythe
Some players double tap the touch sensor on the Chronos just as they do on the black button models. Just to make sure that it is working. I have also seen players slide fingers across the sensor, touch the sensor with a pinky finger, and even touch it with a nose. What the minimum touch is necessary to activate the sensor is an interesting question. That the pad may be touched and not activated is more than an annoyance; have had that happen twice in tournament play. My preference is for the DGT clocks with the rocker arms.
Why do they even make these clocks with sound? Not only is it against the rules, but it is highly annoying.
I also prefer the Saitek and DGT to the Chronos clocks. I definitely prefer the tactile feedback.
The Chronos non-touch models have tactile feedback roughly on a par with the DGT, and much better than the noisy, clunky, cheap-feeling Saitek.
Bill Smythe
I used to like the Saitek Pro. It was less than half the price of a Chronos. The lighted buttons allowed you to see a distance away if you were on move. They were not noisy. The display numbers were large and easy to read. Its most unfortunate characteristic was the display of the delay which led to confusion in time trouble. That led me to get the DGT NA. In a pinch, though, I would still use the Saitek Pro if I had to. The blue Saiteks are a mess. They freeze or crash frequently. Poorly made. Not easy to set; few presets. You would think that they would set like the Saitek Pro, but they don’t.
Besides analog clocks, the noisiest clocks to bang are the Gametimers and a goofy black clock that is cheap in every way imaginable. The setting of time delay is odd on the latter and you really do have to bang the clock buttons to depress them. I see a few of them in scholastic tournaments. I think they are about $20 and still not worth the trouble.