Yes, that’s how you turn off the Chronos. If you just leave it alone after turning it on, it will turn itself off after a few hours (four, I think) of inactivity. Of course, the clock doesn’t really turn itself completely off; it just enters a low-power mode waiting for the press of the center button to “wake up.” So, eventually, the batteries will drain even if the clock is never used.
The Chronos is certainly rugged. It’s versatile, once you figure out all the funky modes (with names in the user manual that certainly don’t help matters, such as “Adagio” for Bronstein mode and “Andante” for traditional delay). But, as far as I can see, it will never win any awards whatsoever for user interface design.
Yes, seriously, that is how you turn it off. I’m not sure about the low power mode after so many hours. My experience is that the batteries just run out.
Once you save the time controls that you will use the most in the first 3 or 4 presets, the clock really is very simple to use.
A similar looking and feeling clock to the Chronos is the V-Tek 300 which has just come available on the market.
Turning the clock on is the same as the Chronos, press the center button, once. Setting the time controls is indeed a lot easier than on the Chronos. But, turning it off is kind of the same. You press the center button while pressing the Right button 3 times. Of course facing East with your right hand on the top of your head is still optional but highly suggested.
More precisely, you hold down the center button while pressing either side button five times. It’s sort of like walking and chewing gum at the same time.
If, while holding down the center button, you press the left side 3 times and the right side 2 times, I don’t think that will work.