Looking for ideas on what to add to our chess clock

Pretty sure Eyechess owns one.

Hey, is that Shelby's new chess clock? Is it out for retail finally? (I've been out fo the loop for almost a year now). Back in 2014 I asked for a feature that allows one to download the times for each move into a text file. Is that included in the clock yet?

Edit: Hah. I should have looked at the first page of this thread. Then I would have seen it was started by Shelby himself! Glad to see the clock on the market Shelby. Do you plan to offer a touch-sensor version any time soon?

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From this forum i think eyechess is the only guy that buy this brick 150..

Yes, I believe I am pretty much the only one on this forum that owns a V-Tek 300.  I do know of at least 2 others that own one, but they don't come here.

For quite awhile now, I have suggested people buy a Chronos instead as this clock is not worth $150 compared to getting a Chronos, either GX or II, for quite a bit less money.

Yes, the V-Tek is nice with its larger displays, newer and LED indicator lights with different colors, and newer and simplified programming.  But it really is a newer or upgraded Chronos with the same aluminum material for the body and identical buttons.

There is nothing downloadable in this clock, so you certainly cannot download any kind of game times.

The manufacturer, who is not a Chess player at all, has dropped the ball on getting this clock to market and improved as promised.  And it's not Shelby's fault at all.  From what I understand Shelby has spent his own money promoting this clock and has not received anything back as this guy has stalled finalizing their agreement, even.

And yes, this clock is a brick.

It's too bad that the clock hasn't done well.

I believe that it still has great potential, as I really like it's features. 

I would have bought one if it had touch sensory buttons. I am ok with the price, as you must spend a little more to get a quality product.

Let's hope that the clock improvements happen.

Originally, they planned on coming out with sensory buttons on the V-Tek.  I don't see any real chance of this happening soon at all, if ever.

It's a shame.  The clock is nice.  Sure it's not perfect, but no clock really is.

It's a great clock for slow, tournament games.

Yes, it's a brick and just a bigger, with some newer technology features and easier setting, Chronos.

And from what I have seen, the only reason it isn't selling is because the manufacturer has dragged on and not done the job of getting the marketing and distribution done at all.

It was this same fellow, the manufacturer, that insisted on the high price of $149 with no discount really being possible.

I talked with Shelby a number of times and he also agrees the price heeds to be lower.  Shelby is currently talking with this guy to get him moving and possibly lowering the price, so we'll see what happens.

I am in the market for a new clock, but I have decided to wait to see what happens with the V-Tek.

Since I only play slow tournament games with a variety of time controls, this clock would be perfect.

Let's hope that improvements are made soon.  

Eyechess - Thank you for your posts and please keep posting updates on the clock.

Anyone here still using the VTek 300? I tried to let my blitz players enjoy the clock, but two things that turned them off were:

1. The need to disable the bonus in the time control in the default 5-minute blitz.

2. The inability to set time odds such as 5 min vs 3 min for games between amateurs and experienced players.

Thank you for the tips, Shelby. I thought that I had reset the time controls that came with the favorites. I will double-check but now I know what I'll be looking for especially the time odds.

Lastly, what is the correct process to update the firmware on the clock? Is that user-serviceable, or do I need to ship the clock to your store? I may have to check the version that I'm using just in case my clock is already on the latest firmware version for it.

Thank you.

I own two of these. Chronos is a no go for me, I sold mine (it was an original) on eBay. I found the menu system on that clock to be completely unintuitive and non-user Friendly.

The Vtek is the best digital clock I’ve owned, if I had complete control over what clock I could use, my top clock would be my analog Jerger, but that is a discussion fir another thread.

Advantages of Vtek, by order of what matters most to me:

1- Easily learned menu.
2 - Large readable display for old eyes
3 - Heavy solid construction

What I’d improve:

Make the firmware user upgradeable so I don’t have to ship the clock to get an upgrade.

Drop the price.

Glad to hear Shelby is taking this product on, he’s an influence. I bought my first one from the manufacturer, and the second from Rochester Chess.

Even DGT 3000 picked up a few lessons from the Vtek 300: bigger screen, support more complex characters and a second line for additional real-time information.

This is what I love about competition and the free market: it always brings out better products among manufacturers and the consumers win!

Just to address one point about making the firmware user upgradable. I am pretty sure if that was to be you would never get the clock FIDE approved.  I once asked Shelby a long time ago and I do believe that was the problem. 

What if the clocks will never be used for FIDE games? What if they will just be the best version available for local club play? would it still be a problem for USCF play?

Maybe Shelby can chime in as I know he had to go through all of this. Wgeb he was designing the click that was my first suggestion, having a port to upgrade the clock on a download from the manufacturer.  So it is an idea that has been kicked around and looked into.  Many of the big tournaments these days you can also get a FIDE rating in the open sections.   I know another company which I will not name who has a new clock coming out I believe in 2020 also has to send it in for FIDE certification. Seems to be standard for these top clocks.