Bridgeclock

bridgeclock

features

• Different sounds for "end-of-round", "Warning, end-of-round is nearing" and "Start the round".
• Easy-to-use user interface for adjustments.
• Big display.
• Preset programs. Allow you to quickly change between different settings (e.g. for the beginners-evening where the rounds are slightly longer).
• Visible difference between "time left to change" and "time remaining in round".
• on-the-fly adjustment of the playing and changeover time.

normal use

The bridgeclock is simple to use. Just plug it in and it starts running "P1" at 10 seconds left of "changetime". The ten seconds gives you time to adjust that time or to press the start/stop button to pause the clock before the first round timer starts.

If during play some event causes the current round to require an extension, you can hit plus to increase the current time by one minute. If you want the first round to be longer than the rest (e.g. to allow people to get settled or to allow them to deal the cards) you can also do that by advancing the clock to the first round and pressing UP a few times.

Similarly, if e.g. you find everybody is ready for the next round, you can decrease the time by one minute by pressing minus.

You can also stop (and then restart) the clock by pressing start/stop.

A warning sounds (by default 5 minutes) before the end of each round.

A different warning sounds at the end of the round.

The clock will then animate the first digit to indicate that it is time to change tables. This allows users to see the difference between "2 minutes left to change" and "2 minutes left in this round".

A third sound is produced when the next round starts.

Adjusting the clock

To adjust the clock press "prog". Now + and - will select the preset-program. Press "start/stop" to start this program, or pres "prog" again to make adjustments to this program.

For each program there are three settings: time to play, warning time, and changeover time. Each is adjusted with the + and - keys. The changeover time is adjusted with 20 second increments. The other two with 1 minute increments.

Pressing "prog" will move to the next option. The changes are automatically saved for the next time.

Unused programs start out at the defaults of 30 minutes playing, 5 minute warning and 3 minute changeover time.

technical details

(the geeks may want to read this, the others can safely ignore it).

The clock runs from 15V. Not 12. The led segments require 12V of running voltage, and there needs to be some margin for the current source circuitry to work.

If you open up the clock, there is a small blue-and-white pot to adjust the volume.

The two PCBs inside are identical, only one is populated as the master, the other as the slave.