Is there a HARDER to operate Digital Lamp Timer than the Intermatic DT500CL

Can there possibly be a harder to operate lamp timer than the Intermatic DT500CL?

I'm so sorry I bought it!

Reply to
D. Ohl
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There are a few that look like the same thing with different names on them. I have an Ingraham TE 109 that someone gave me because it's so difficult to program. There is a chance this link may help.

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Reply to
Tony

Yup my neighbour gave me two (electronic); cos very difficult to program! Not only that if the power went off they had to be reset! With an electromechanical timer at least it starts again after the power interruption (usually, here, very brief!). In fact it's possible to check how long the power was off by noting later how 'delayed' the setting is!

Reply to
terry

Hmm, Nothing is hard or difficult unless you don't understand what you are doing. All my timers indoor/outdoor is digital.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

I'm actually glad both of you have had "problem" electrical timers given to you; I'm about to mail you mine! :)

I mean, how hard can they make these things to program? Nothing (absolutely nothing) on it is intuitive!

For example, here are the instructions for mine:

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And, here is how to program the darn thing:

3 ¡V Clear Any Existing Programming 3a. Locate the Reset button. It is the small, round hole adjacent to the keypad. You will need a pen or paper clip to press this button. 3b. Press and release the Reset button. The display will light up all the segments and then go blank. 3c. The timer has erased all programming, displays the default settings (MO, ¡§12:00 PM¡¨) and is ready for setup. 4 ¡V Set the Time, Day and Operating Mode NOTE: The time, day AND operating mode must be set before any ON Events can be programmed. Settings for time and ON Events will not be activated until setup and programming are complete. Setting Time and Day 4a. Ensure that the time is displayed. A timer that is just reset will display MO, ¡§12:00 PM¡¨. 4b.The first two digits (hours) of the Time of Day (TOD) display will begin to flash (Fig. 3). 4c.Turn the selector wheel until the correct hour shows in the TOD hours display, along with the PM indicator, if desired. Note that PM indicator will alternate on and off as the time passes through noon and midnight. 4d. Press the ON button to set the new hour. Or, if no change to the hour is needed, press the TIME button to keep the original hour setting. The last two digits of the TOD display (minutes) will begin to flash (Fig. 4). 4e. Turn the selector wheel until the correct time in minutes shows. 4f. Press the ON button to set the minutes. Or, press the TIME button to keep the original minute setting. The Day Of Week (DOW) will begin to flash (Fig. 5). 4g. Turn the selector wheel until the current day is displayed and press the ON button for the new DOW or the TIME button for the original DOW. This completes the time and day setup.

Setting the Operating Mode

4h. ¡§SEL¡¨ will show in the TOD display and the DOW icons displayed above ¡§SEL¡¨ reflect the timer¡¦s operating mode setting (Fig. 6, 7 or 8). The three possible modes are: a. The Daily Mode will allow three events per individual day for a total of 21 events all week. Only the current day (MO, TU, etc.) will be displayed above ¡§SEL¡¨. b. The Weekend/Weekday Mode will allow up to 24 weekend events, Either SA SU or MO TU WE TH FR will be displayed above ¡§SEL¡¨, depending on the current day of the week. c. The Weekly Mode will allow up to 48 events, repeated every day of the week. MO TU WE TH FR SA SU will be displayed above ¡§SEL¡¨. 4i. Turn the selector wheel to sequence through these modes. 4j. Press the ON button to set the new operating mode or the TIME button to keep the original operating mode. . NOTE: Changing the Operating Mode will clear all the events currently programmed in the timer. 5 ¡V Set an Initial ON Event Once the time, day and operating mode are set, events can be viewed and programmed. Viewing a DOW¡¦s Events
  1. Ensure that the time is displayed.
  2. Press and release the EVENT button to view the first DOW choice.Each press of the EVENT button will display the next DOW choice. The DOW choices will vary, depending on what you chose for the operating mode. a. The Daily Mode will scroll through seven choices ¡X each day of the week (MO, TU, etc.) (Fig. 9). b. The Weekend/Weekday Mode will scroll through two choices ¡X either SA SU or MO TU WE TH FR. c. The Weekly Mode will not scroll ¡X MO TU WE TH FR SA SU will be displayed.

Programming an ON Event

  1. From the current day¡¦s time display, press and hold the EVENT button. The TOD display is replaced after 2 seconds by ¡§-:--¡§ (Fig. 10).
  2. Pressing the button down cycles through the DOW choices for the operating mode. a. The Daily Mode will scroll through seven choices ¡X each day of the week (MO, TU, etc.) b. The Weekend/Weekday Mode will scroll through two choices ¡X either SA SU or MO TU WE TH FR. c. The Weekly Mode will not scroll ¡X MO TU WE TH FR SA SU will be displayed.
  3. When the desired DOW choice appears, release the EVENT button to enter the programming mode. NOTE: You may also enter programming directly from viewing the desired DOW¡¦s events. Press and hold the EVENT button for 2 seconds until the TOD display is replaced by ¡§-:--¡§.
  4. A flashing cursor will appear at 12 midnight (Fig. 11).
  5. With no button pressed, turn the selectdor wheel until the cursor reaches the time you'd like to turn the device on, for example, 4am (Fig
12).
  1. Press and hold the ON button while you turn the selector wheel, moving the cursor to the time you¡¦d like toturn the device off, for example, 7:30 AM (Fig. 13).
  2. Release the ON button.
  3. You may now follow steps 7 through
10 to program another ON Event for the same DOW choice.
  1. After all events for that DOW choice are entered, press the EVENT button. Depending on the operating mode you chose: a. In the Daily Mode, each press of the EVENT button will move you to the programming mode of the next DOW choice. You may enter ON Events for those days or simply press EVENT to pass to the next day. After programming has sequenced through all seven days, pressing EVENT will light up the RANDOM feature. b. In the Weekend/Weekday Mode, one press ofthe EVENT button will move you to the programming mode of the other DOW choice. You may enter ON Events for that group of days or simply press EVENT. The RANDOM feature will then light up. c. In the Weekly Mode, there are no other DOW choices, so pressing EVENT will immediately light up the RANDOM feature. NOTE: If the allowed number of ON Events for your chosen operating mode has been reached, any attempt to program additional events will cause the TOD display to read ¡§FUL¡¨. To remove events, follow ¡§Changing Program Times¡¨ to turn them off.

And, believe it or not, it goes on and on and on and on like this!

Reply to
D. Ohl

The question is, can you program them w/o having to resort to the instructions?

If you can, you're a genius (did you see the instructions I posted? Theyr'e not intuitive in the least!)

Reply to
D. Ohl

I got one of those maybe 10 years ago, im glad I lost it 10 years ago.

Reply to
ransley

I tossed the electronic timers they are a PIA.

My mechanical ones are very reliable. and dont depend on filament current to operate.

Reply to
hallerb

I don't know what filament current is, but mechanical timers, of course, do need motor current. BTW, I gave up on mechanical timers years ago. Even the expensive, wall mounted, wired in units would break down. It was usually the motor/clock gears. I am now using an X10 widget (1132CU) that you program with your computer. It handles power failures well and compensates for sunrise/sunset changes. It does, however, come with its own set of problems, but for the most part, it works.

Reply to
Art Todesco

I was recently looking at swimming pool controlers. One company has one that is supposed to run a pool, spa, waterfalls, lights, conventional heaters, and solar heaters. It has a small LCD display and about 8 buttons, only two of them are marked and those are for temp. No specific button for even turning on the pump. All those functions are done through the LCD display and cryptic buttons like Aux1, Aux2, Menu, etc.

If I was in marketing or product planning and anyone brought me one of those, I'd throw them out of my office. At least with the mechanical wheel type it's obvious how to turn on the pool pump, which is the most basic thing you want to do.

Reply to
trader4

Hmm, Young generation don't have any problem with today's electronic gadgets. I often have to admit I belong to passing generation. Ever watched kids texting plaing with fancy cell phone? When they get new toys, just open the box and they just start using it.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Mine has a Ni-Cad battery backup! Set it, and forget it!

Reply to
Tony

What are you running? A vacuum tube model? Filament?

Reply to
Tony

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