Chronos Video

Here's a video on setting the Chronos II chess clock.

There is always a lively controversy about just how difficult the Chronos is to set.  It usually goes something like this:

Point:  Wow, I'm having a hard time setting the Chronos for three time periods and a Bernstein delay.

Counterpoint:  What?  Are you an airhead?  If you can't set the Chronos, you don't deserve calling yourself a chess player.  You disgust me !

My opinion is this.  The Chronos and associated user manual are not exactly jumping-off-the-shelf user friendly, but the clock is just so awesome I don't care.  If my house was burning down, my Chronos clock would be the first thing I'd save.

NIce, I love my chronos too! It sits at work, beside a set up chessboard just waiting to play.

The manual though, bah! Once I had watched the video it was all good. Set the first five presets for the games you like to play and your off :-)

My only disappointment is that I wanted a yellow one, but ended up getting a black one. Oh well, black is the new black and all that.

Yeah, I've seen that yellow one online, but I got the black one too.  In a store in San Francisco I even saw a red one.  I have no idea where that one came from, unless it was like a Chronos I or something.  I should have asked the dude behind the counter.

O_o

lol

If you can get a photo of that thing, please put it on this thread or your blog or someplace !

thx

I don't like the Chronos clocks. I think they're ugly, the overall shape is not that appealing, the buttons/sensors are pretty bad and they're so complicated to use! At least a few buttons could be put on those things to make life easier. I think that DGTs are much nicer :)

Actually, thanks for telling me that, because now I know I'm not the only one who is very particular about her chess equipment.  You would not believe how much good-natured abuse I receive from my friends on the subject.

I just bought one for face to face tournament play. Its a nice clock. It works well. And is made in America, but the dang thing has so many settings. Thanks for sharing the video.

Yeah, I think the most difficult part of using the Chronos II is deciding what setting to employ to achieve the particular time control you want.  But once you have your time controls in your presets, you are good to go.

The Chronos is made in Mountain View, CA (i.e., Silicon Valley).  That's where Eric is located, too.  I guess that's just a coincidence, right?

Amy

Now...how long do the batteries last? The ones that come with the clock?

Well, the lit says 900 hours if the LEDs are turned off; 600 hours if they are on.  I assume that is even true for the factory-installed batteries.  But I guess that would depend on how long the clock had been sitting on some distributor's shelf before it gets shipped to you.  The lit also says that the batteries should be replaced after a year and a half, even if the clock is not used.

I've had people tell me that the original batteries are still going strong even after three years.  But that would worry me.  I'd want to open the clock up and make sure the batteries aren't leaking.

I looked into a wind-up analog clock before making my purchase so I wouldn't have to use batteries so much, but the digital seems to be more accurate and offer more time options.

Eh it's ok I found a battery recylcing program here at work.

Now for my next question: where to find chess pieces made out of vegetable plastics??? I'm sure all chess sets today are currently being made from petroleum based plastics and how's that going to work when the petrol runs out?

Just thinking ahead.

 I'm using the original set from c. 13 years ago. Off and on usage--letting it sit for a year or two here and there--but using it intensively when it was on duty. I have opened it up to check for leaky cells and all was ok.

So, expect a good battery life I guess. Eneloop rechargeables would be good for the always-on user. NiMh batteries that hold their charge well for even a year (unlike regular NiMh).

Wow !!!