DGT1001 Universal Gamer Timer

This is an initial review after just receiving my DGT 1001 today.This clock is perfect for my basic tournament and club play needs. It easily does basic time controls like "game in 45" minutes... Or 45 seconds if you want a sudden death bullet match. You can set the clock to countdown from 9h30m00s down to 0h00m01s, or set it to "0:00:00" if you want it to count up. "+"s appear on each side of the clock when set to count up.The sound can be turned on/off by holding the power button down for about three seconds when powering on the clock. When the sound is activated, it gives a pleasant beep and a musical note appears on the left side of the clock.With the sound on, as it counts down, a pleasant short beep sounds at 10 seconds, 5, 4, 3, and 2 seconds, and a long beep sounds at 1 second before a flag appears on the side of the player who's time has run out. Then his/her clock proceeds to count up, allowing time to be further monitored if game play is allowed to continue until the clock is paused or turned off.The rest of the clock is EASY to set up. I watched an online video prior to purchasing, but I'm fairly certain I could have bought this with no prior knowledge of the product and got it running without looking at the manual... It is that easy and intuitive.There's only four basic control buttons and the two side buttons for the players to activate at each move.The four control buttons on the center turn the clock on/off, add/subtract game time (only at the beginning of the game), and start/pause/restart the game timer. Each of the four center buttons has a pleasant mechanical deeper click that confirms to the user that the mechanical switch was engaged.Anytime one of the two player's game buttons are depressed, an even more pleasant "mouse click" mechanical sound is heard. This sound is softer than the control buttons and perfect for game play.If the game has not started, the game is paused, or the timer is running on your clock... Pressing the button on your side of the clock/board activates your opponent's clock.If the game has not started yet, the clock's ":"s blink on the left side by default. Pressing the play/pause (⏯) button activates the left timer. By default, this places the clock on White's left for tournament play... unless Black were to start the clock from his plunger with the clock on White's right (or left) side.As for time controls, the model I received can be adjusted by...1 second up to 1 minute30 seconds up to 10 minutes1 minute up to 30 minutes5 minutes up to 2 hours30 minutes up to 9 hours 30 minutesIf you set the clock up for a game time, and at anytime afterwards turn the power off and back on, the clock resets to the last game time used.Through the entire game, the clock shows the hours, minutes, AND seconds of each player (no truncated time). I prefer the ability to see my time count down knowing exactly how many seconds remain.This clock, due to its simplicity, does not have any option to play more advanced time controls involving bonus or delay settings, or 40 moves/2 hours, etc. It does not keep track of the number of moves made. You can't give one player more time than the other (no handicapping), and you can't adjust the time after the clock has started. This will make this clock unappealing to some players. For the price I paid here, I'm not complaining. This clock functions almost identical to the old style analog (except it beeps, and can't be adjusted during a game and it counts seconds). I can't speak to longevity, but if this lasts a year with weekly club play amongst adults, I will be very pleased. I will let someone else speak to durability amongst younger players.If I had a school/youth club, I would probably get a few of these clocks for their price and ease of use.I probably took more time to explain the intricacies of this clock than it would have taken to simply tell you that all the instructions you need are on the bottom of the clock.I don't sell these clocks. No one gave me this clock... I bought it with my hard earned money. No one is paying me for this review. I just like to give fair and honest reviews because I find reading reviews here on Amazon very helpful when trying to decide which product will best meet my needs.Unless this clock dies in a month's time, I'm sticking to my five star review.

The clock works as it says, with a very basic instruction and is easy to use. However, both sides must start with the same time and there are no increments. Great clock for price, but not for any grandmaster who needs different types of clock modes.

Why does it want thickness mentioned in the review? Huh.Anyways, not a bad little clock. Could be a bit cheaper for what it is. It doesn't have many features, including increment. Works perfectly fine for flat blitz and rapid though. Serviceable but not outstanding.

nice clock good looks,but only disadvatage is it does't have time delay or increementso i bought your nicer clock also it does have everthing i was looking for very satisfied with it and love it i recommend it very highly best clock i have ever bought;

I purchased this clock as an extra "throw away' clock to use at work for quick games. If it breaks or someone walks off with it, or to use around water, I didn't invest a lot of money. $20. It's the only reason i bought this one.Well I'm impressed. Then again it's made by DGT. It does seem 'cheap' by look and feel, but it is durable. At 6.1 x 2.4 x 1.6 inches it is pretty small though. This is just a count down/up timer. No frills, no extras.Use for games, music practice, meditation, devotionals, study time, reading, speeches, when to take a break from the computer, debates or cooking.Once the time expires, it counts up. So you know how long you've waited after the original time expires. So you could time your speeches or whatever you're working on to see how long it takes. So you could set the count down for a few seconds, and upon the buzzer, start. When you finish,whatever task, look and see how long it took you.For just an inexpesive simple timer. I can reccommend this one. No delays, increments, etc. This may or may not be a good chess 'blitz' clock for you if you're a hardcore blitz player. Just counting down or counting up time control, with or without a tone at the end. Very simple.It's a good inexpensive clock for timing your game(chess,checkers,backgammon,jenga,scrabble,boggle,etc) to keep your opponent from taking 'forever' to make a move. <wink>Great for other time management needs as well.

Easy to use— a great little clock without complicated instructions. It does the job!!

I have purchased many of these chess clocks for my scholastic chess club. They have withstood the test of time and I am very impressed. The feel is light and cheap but the play is nothing short of fantastic! The best part (aside from keeping time) all my students can set these clocks with ease. If you have a chess club or are just looking for a basic chess clock this is for you.

First of all, this product is NOT as described. It is a count-down timer only, despite the Amazon product description that it has count-up capabilities. Since that's why I bought it, I will be returning it. That aside, it seems very cheaply made (I'm sure it would break into a hundred pieces if dropped, and setting it is a laborious process. Press and Hold does nothing to speed up the counter to add or subtract time. I am most disappointed that I have to pay to return an item that was not described accurately.