At least you have a clock. I have 3 of them myself. I personally like the Advance Chess Clock that wholesale chess sells. Has all the time options you need and is really inexpensive.
Recommendations for inexpensive chess clock
Sort:
The DGT NA is a fine choice! You will be happy with it.
I used Zmart II with my high school chess team they work great and are made in the USA. As far as I know everyone loved the displays. I know I did never found them distracting.
The DGT NA is the most overrated chess clock! The main issue with it is that for delay time controls, it doesn't show the delay countdown and just has the word "delay" flash at you each second during the delay countdown. This can be a real issue when you are low on time since you can't easily tell when your delay time is going to end and when your base time is going to start counting down.
Currently, the main sub-optimal thing with the ZMF II (which isn't as big of an issue as the DGT NA issue mentioned above) is that when using increment, it doesn't add the increment time to your clock right after you press your clock. The clock waits until your opponent presses their clock for the increment time to be added to your clock. This method of displaying the increment is known as "add-before". Much better is the "add-after" method where the clock adds the increment time to your clock right after you press your clock. While both methods give the same amount of time (This is assuming the clock automatically gives the increment time for move one under the "add-after" method like it should. For example, for G/3inc2, each player is suppose to get 3.02, not 3.00, to complete move one.) the "add-after" method is preferred since you can always see on the screen how much time you will have for your next move and it meets the FIDE rule for increment time controls that states "The display at all times should show the time available to complete a player’s next move", which is necessary for a clock to get FIDE certification. I brought this issue up to the manufacture of the ZMF II and he said they are going to add the "add-after" method as an option on all of the Zmart clocks.
I started this thread four years ago, but I never got back into tournament chess, and I never got a clock.
I just put in my order for a DGT North American. I found myself wanting a clock even for some casual play. I'm thinking about going to a tournament in January, though.
It's just that....Hmm...40 dollars USCF membership.
15 dollars Michigan Chess Association membership.
25 dollar entry fee.
Eighty dollars to play chess for a day.
Seems a bit pricey...…..but I'll think about it. At least I'll have a clock.
If this four year old thread shows up on anyone's radar, thanks for the recommendations. The DGT NA was still available, and even though it was a little bit more expensive than the Leap clocks, it just looked a little better. Those Leap buttons looked awfully small, and I was planning on using it for blitz.