The Highly Elusive Garde Electronic Chess Clock
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@GBREAL €375
That auto setting feature just showed just how many moving parts there are in that chess clock. How did the manufacturer design the internals to survive the shipping, travel or game use?
Not really. There are two simple little electric motors inside with an electronic board and LCD display. Buttons (and the flags) are the only mechanical parts.
-Izmet
I bought this clock some years ago and was using mostly to play rapid games with a friend. I see now that I am not the only one who likes it. It shows the transition from analog to digital clocks.
The Garde Electronic shown, which is the first Garde Digital, had its problems, but is still a wonderfully easy to use clock. It does, however, have a problem which is a killer for most people. The battery holder, which holds 2 AA batteries, is a straight holder, and this just puts too much pressure on the case ends, and they eventually crack. I bought one of these clocks from Ifekali years ago, and discovered the problem the first week I had it. I did a temporary fix, but last week it died completely. I'll show the problem and how I fixed it here.
The first picture is of the clock opened up, wires cut, and screws removed from the bracket that supports the battery holder.
The next picture is a closeup of the battery holder. note that it is riveted to the bracket. You can see how the end of the battery holder has cracked. a previous repair effort with glue did not hold for more than a week, and neither did any form of tape, rubber bands, or other "easy" method.
I drilled out the rivets with a 3/32" drill bit.
I used a standard two-battery AA holder to replace the original. This should take care of the breakage issue, as the pressure exerted by the weight of single batteries is not likely to break the plastic. wires reattached using heat shrink solder connectors.
The holder was then attached to the bracket using Gorilla two sided mounting tape for permanence.
The bracket was then screwed back into place and back reassembled. Note the fit of the new bracket -- perfect!
Finally, the finished product -- once again working perfectly!
Cool I’ll give you 500 bucks plus shipping for the next one you fix!
madmacsback wrote:
The Garde Electronic shown, which is the first Garde Digital, had its problems, but is still a wonderfully easy to use clock. It does, however, have a problem which is a killer for most people. The battery holder, which holds 2 AA batteries, is a straight holder, and this just puts too much pressure on the case ends, and they eventually crack. I bought one of these clocks from Ifekali years ago, and discovered the problem the first week I had it. I did a temporary fix, but last week it died completely. I'll show the problem and how I fixed it here.
The first picture is of the clock opened up, wires cut, and screws removed from the bracket that supports the battery holder.
The next picture is a closeup of the battery holder. note that it is riveted to the bracket. You can see how the end of the battery holder has cracked. a previous repair effort with glue did not hold for more than a week, and neither did any form of tape, rubber bands, or other "easy" method.
I drilled out the rivets with a 3/32" drill bit.
I used a standard two-battery AA holder to replace the original. This should take care of the breakage issue, as the pressure exerted by the weight of single batteries is not likely to break the plastic. wires reattached using heat shrink solder connectors.
The holder was then attached to the bracket using Gorilla two sided mounting tape for permanence.
The bracket was then screwed back into place and back reassembled. Note the fit of the new bracket -- perfect!
Finally, the finished product -- once again working perfectly!
Useful information, thanks a lot!
QtoQlevel3 wrote:
Santito1973 wrote:
It was already sold..that is why I offered 150.
For that kind of $$$ you could invest in a VTEK 300 from Shelby Lohrman proprietor of American Chess Equipment. I plan to purchase one of the new colors he spoke about coming soon which will be arriving in the fall.
On the other hand if you are a visual dial clock person, Izmet Fekali's clocks look like a good buy.
I didn't know the VTEK was coming out in new colors, tell me more!
TundraMike wrote:
The GARDE START DIGITAL CHESS CLOCK......Garde has come out with a new digital chess clock but housed in plastic. One drawback I read about the clock is it only has a one-time setting and you can not have something like 40/120 S/D 60 d6 . If I rad that right that is a huge drawback. Why even put out a digital clock if it does not have the ability of a 2 step time function.
They did say it does increment and delay and one reseller says it is good for blitz and rapid. That sure limits it though.
I'm almost positive that clock is the LEAP PQ9907S with the GARDE name on it. If you are using this clock in a tournament with more than one time period, you can manually reset the clock once the next time period is reached. I know doing this in the middle of a game isn't 100% ideal but it's really not that bad either.
I have a Garde Electronic in working condition. If someone is interested, it is for sale.
Debaksteen hat geschrieben:
I have a Garde Electronic in working condition. If someone is interested, it is for sale.
Do you still have it? I'd be intreested in buying it.
Contact me at cjmvdhidde@gmail.com
Hey folks,
I have seen that some here are interested in the Garde electronic. I have one here that is in perfect condition. I bought it new many years ago and have owned it ever since. It has been used very little and the condition is completely like new. If anyone is interested and makes a serious offer, I will gladly send pictures and videos of the clock showing it is like new. (don't know how to post pics here...) Please contact me via gardeelectronic@gmx.de
Digital and analogue are oil and water. They don't mix. Get the original Garde analogue and enjoy its aesthetic beauty (the clean lines of which are ruined by adding a digital window), or get a fully digital modern chess clock like the DGT3000.
It has historical value, showing a rare transition between analog and digital clocks.
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