Timer Questions & Advice

[Kingman]

Stick with the MKIV, you can't beat them.

[AikiDale]

I have a MKIV and use it for practice and it's my chrono. It is a little awkward for RO use. I occasionally hit the wrong button The Club Timer might be just the ticket though.

[jarcher]

For me, I'm not too worried about RO use. I don't reload but the crono would still be cool. I'll just have to do a feature comparison on the two of them and see what can do what. The warrenty issue another poster raised is certianally signifigant.

[jarcher]

Well, I got Steve's book and, as I was told, I only need basic timer features for dry fire drills.

For those of you with the CED8000, I read here that the mic does not work will when the unit is closed. I know it comes with a belt clip, so does this mean that the CED8000 does not work properly when closed and clipped to your belt?

Do the CED people have the ability to ship you a software upgrade that ou can install?

Thanks...

[CEDUSA]

The CED8000 is NOT DESIGNED to function closed. It never was! When closed, the buzzer and the microphone face each other directly. The buzzer will then activate false readings by too much output directly into the microphone. The LCD display can not be viewed closed and none of the internal buttons / keys can be activated either. The timer was designed to be positioned in a 45 degree angle when on the belt for self use. When running close quarter drills where props might be in the way, you can open it 180 degrees (flat open) and then simply pop up the display when the stage is completed. When holding it as a Range Officer, it should be used in 180 degree position. ALL timers are designed to have the microphone pointing toward the shots being fired. Of course, if the CED8000 is closed, this is not the case. The timer has two sets of START & REVIEW buttons to allow use in either position.

In regard to some feature / function differences between the CED8000 and PACT, I can give you some points. PACT costs $50.00 more! It is bulkier, has a much smaller LCD display, does not have preprogrammed Bianchi, & PPC events, does not have an earphone input jack, does not provide two input jack functions for stop plates indicating both winner and loser, does not have up to seven multiple PAR setting capability with automatic run function, does not have digital sensitivity or filter adjustments, does not have self-diagnostic functions, does not have Gunsmith mode, or give you the same features the CED does for Fixed time and Virginia count, and does not give you both earphones and custom carry case included.

CED offers the best old fashion customer service you can find. We replace warranty product within 24 to 48 hours. In fact any customer who calls us with a CED8000 timer problem, we send them a new one the next day even before we get theirs back! Who else does that? We never look at the age of our product if the problem was product defect oriented. If it is customer oriented, or simply worn out through years of use, then of course, we charge for the repair, but we never charge a customer for a defect that was caused by our product itself.

If you have any questions about CED products, please feel free to contact me directly at info@cedhk.com. I will always be pleased to provide you with complete replies as quickly as possible.

[Dalmas]

I've now had some more training and match experience with my timer and I must say that I'm getting more pleased everytime I used it.

Training (alone)

I attach the timer to my belt and run the cord to the headphones inside my shirt, that makes it possible to run the timer closed (good if you run aroud alot) just play with the sensitivity settings and until you only register your shots, works perfect for me. The memory function is awsome, I usually train with 4 mags and when it's time to fill the mags the timers memory is full and I'll write my 10 strings down, ( i write everything down)

Match,

I RO'd my first level III match this weekend (and earned my red national RO shirt) and did so with the CED 8000 and it saved me having to give 2 re-shoots due to its memory function.

Now I only need Duracel to sponsor me since dry firing 2 times a day eats a lot of battery...

[cledford]

Could you guys suggest the best timer to purchase - price not an issue? The local shop is pushing what they sell(CED) but to me it looks a little cheap. I've got the CED chrono - but this is different. I like what I see with the PACT but the shop was bad mouthing it.

Also, are there any other options?

BTW, I plan on A LOT of dryfire drills.

Calvin

[Putty]

Pact IV with the EricW volume control knob. Get the chrono package from Brian Enos. Nice setup if your serious.

Nice multiple post.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

Can't beat the pocket pro for price and performance.

[shred]

Mod note: I deleted the extra threads

For dryfire you want something with an easy to set and re-set PAR time. The big PACT (get it from BE) is good here as is the CED.

[cledford]

Do any of the timers hook up to a PC for down load? That would be cool for progress evaluation.

Sorry for the posts - there was a problem with the site.

Calvin

[raz-0]

I think the only two real choices are the CED 8000 and the pact IV.

The ced definitely has some major feature wins, which is why I bought it.

LARGE characters on an illuminated display, and earphones for dryfire are probably the two biggest ones that I find useful for practice. Both are quality gear, and the pact IV definitely has some cool features like the chronograph option.

[GRD]

"Pact IV with the EricW volume control knob" Yup.

The only other timer I'd conside would be the 8000...haven't tried it yet, but people say it's very cool.

I wish it had a volume control rather than the earphones, though...

- Gabe

[ErikW]

That was the last straw. There were a half-dozen topics on the same subject found by searching. I merged them into this single topic, edited with both "timer" and "timers" in the topic title to help searchers find it. And I pinned it as FAQ here.

[EricW]

At the risk of hurting myself and Brian, I will say that I have noticed a couple QC issues with the Pacts with regards to how the chips are stuffed into the boards and how things are soldered together. So far,I've been able to fix everything myself with the exception of a defective keypad. If I get something I can't fix, Pact generally can, and will do so for $5 return shipping, so no biggie.

So, the MkIV is not the holy grail, but it's still the best game in town until someone else comes up with a volume knob. (It's hard to believe that timer manufacturers are so dense as to not do this, but here we are.) The headphone jack has to be the silliest thing I've ever heard of. Who the heck want's to practice drills with a stupid headphone cord flopping around everywhere?

What the Pact desperately needs is a flashing LED so you can tell at a glace if you've left the switch on. I really wish Pact would redesign the MkIV using CMOS so the batteries would last more than a few hours. That's the other big downer. Always put a couple extra 9V's in the range bag, because a dead timer is in your future, no matter which one you choose. (The CED 6000 was particularly bad for battery consumption as well.)

[Putty]

At the risk of hurting myself and Brian, I will say that I have noticed a couple QC issues with the Pacts with regards to how the chips are stuffed into the boards and how things are soldered together. So far,I've been able to fix everything myself with the exception of a defective keypad. If I get something I can't fix, Pact generally can, and will do so for $5 return shipping, so no biggie.

So, the MkIV is not the holy grail, but it's still the best game in town until someone else comes up with a volume knob. (It's hard to believe that timer manufacturers are so dense as to not do this, but here we are.) The headphone jack has to be the silliest thing I've ever heard of. Who the heck want's to practice drills with a stupid headphone cord flopping around everywhere?

What the Pact desperately needs is a flashing LED so you can tell at a glace if you've left the switch on. I really wish Pact would redesign the MkIV using CMOS so the batteries would last more than a few hours. That's the other big downer. Always put a couple extra 9V's in the range bag, because a dead timer is in your future, no matter which one you choose. (The CED 6000 was particularly bad for battery consumption as well.)

I want my money back

[cledford]

OK - to boil it down I primarily want the timer for use dry-firing - specifically for use with the book recommended here.

I guess I really need the advice of anyone who might own both.

As far as the Pact, it looks good, doesn't open up and seems to be the crowd favorite. I've got a chrono so don't need that. The volume thing I can take care of - so thats a non-issue.

The CED folds open (yuck), but has a great memory feature.

I guess the real deciding factor is how well the CED will work with the dryfire book.

Calvin

[Loves2Shoot]

The CED folds open (yuck),

It is sort of handy for timing yourself because you can look down and see the big screen staring back at you, it sort of sucks for ROing but for dry fire it is cool.

[EricW]

I don't know about the 8000's usability, but playing musical par times with the CED 6000 was *not* my favorite thing to do.

[rwmagnus]

I use a CED 6000 and a Pocket Pro both work great for dry and live fire. I put duct tape over the speaker for dry fire so as not to wake up the entire house. I agree that the Pocket Pro is the best deal going and works great for matches. It's downside is not showing splits in the display. The CED 6000 is no longer in production but is about the best all round performer for size and features. It's downside is the plastic adjustment screw in the back for sensitivity adjustment, very easy to strip. CED refused to repair the screw under warranty because "it was still servicable", Dillon offered me an exchange to the CED 8000 (how's that for great service) but I'm not a fan of the "gameboy" ugh I mean the CED 8000.

For dry fire get the Pocket Pro works great.

[norbs007]

It's downside is not showing splits in the display.

I'm actually thinking of getting the Pocket Pro for practice, since I got the CED chrono already. Are you saying that it doesn't have the feature to show splits or there's a button for this? Would really suck as it's one thing that I really want to see during live practice.

[9MX]

I got a PACT III last Christmas, it was on-sale and packaged with the carry case, (irresistible). So far, so good!

[rwmagnus]

It's downside is not showing splits in the display.

I'm actually thinking of getting the Pocket Pro for practice, since I got the CED chrono already. Are you saying that it doesn't have the feature to show splits or there's a button for this? Would really suck as it's one thing that I really want to see during live practice.

I'm going from memory as I don't have the unit with me but I don't think it shows splits like the CED. You obviously can subtract the times between shots (PITA). For dry fire you don't need splits although it will pick up the dry fire from my revolver if the unit is positioned near the revolver when firing. This is really of little use because part of dry fire excercises is target transitions which will move the gun too far away from the timer anyway.

Maybe someone who has a Pocket Pro handy can chime in on the split issue. Later this week I'll get home and check it out for you. The biggest advantages of the Pocket Pro are: 1. Small size big numbers. 2. Ease of use. 3. Very widely used at most matches. 4. Most options are on the unit ie random start etc. For a C-Note it's worth it.

[Rob Boudrie]

CED has a well established history of generous donations to matches.

I have found there is a strong correlation between the amount of sponsorship that a company does and their attitude towards customer support. Firms which support the shooting sports tend to be the same ones which offer first rate customer support and are likely to go beyond the strict requirements of their warrantee.

I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between.

[crovello]

I have a pocket pro and it does show splits.

You have to hold the split button and scroll through the shots.

For personal use it works fine and is priced right.

Dave