Production comes in batches — famously in and out of stock. The maker, DCI, has no website; the manual survives thanks to retailers.
Before you start
Turn on by holding both play buttons and pressing the small red centre button — the display shows F1 F2. (The red button alone loads your saved presets instead.)
Short-press the red button to step through modes; press the left or right play button to pick the mode shown on that side.
Long-press the red button (it double-beeps) to open set mode: the play buttons change the flashing value, a short red press moves to the next field, a long press exits.
Press your play button to start your opponent's clock.
Set the popular time controls
Pick the control you are playing and follow the steps — nothing here needs the manual.
15+10
Rapid — 15 minutes + 10 seconds a move
Every GX mode has delay and increment fields, so this is one clean pass.
Mode tn-1
Turn on with both play buttons held, short-press red to tn-1, and select it.
Long-press the red button to open set mode.
Set the base time to 15:00 — each play button sets its own side.
Short-press red to dl (delay) and leave it at 0; short-press to in (increment) and set 10.
Keep short-pressing to reach COPY to 0 — change the 0 to a number 1–12 to save it as a preset — then long-press to exit.
15 minutes each plus 10 seconds a move. Note the Chronos does not add the increment for move one.
5+0
Blitz — 5 minutes each
The factory default — zero setup.
Preset 1
Turn on with just the red centre button — 5:00 is already loaded.
Press a play button to start.
Each player has 5 minutes.
3+2
Blitz — 3 minutes + 2 seconds a move
Online-style blitz on the blitz modes.
Mode F2
Turn on with both play buttons held and select F2.
Long-press red; set the base to 3:00 each side.
Short-press to the in field and set 2; long-press to exit.
3 minutes each plus 2 seconds a move.
90+30
Classical — 90 minutes + 30 seconds a move
Long games belong in the tn modes — the F blitz modes cap at 99:59.
Mode tn-1
Select tn-1 and long-press red for set mode.
Set the base to 1.30 (there is no seconds digit in tn modes).
Set dl 0 and in 30, then save via COPY to and exit.
90 minutes each plus 30 seconds a move, from move two onwards.
Handicap
Different times for each player
Odds games — every mode supports unequal times.
Any mode
Open set mode with a long red press.
The left play button sets the left time, the right sets the right — key in different values.
Exit with a long red press.
Each side has its own time; increments and delays can be set alongside.
Tips and troubleshooting
Short press versus long press is the whole interface: a long press has registered when the clock gives two quick beeps.
Turning it off is deliberate gymnastics: hold the red button and press either play button five times. It also switches off by itself after four hours idle.
Save your club's controls with COPY to 1–12 — the twelve presets survive even a battery change, and load from a plain red-button power-on.
Blitz modes reset with one extra press when stopped; tournament modes need four presses, an intentional guard against accidents.
In move-counter (tc) modes, White's clock must run first — Black presses their button to start the game.
US quirk worth knowing: no Chronos adds the move-one increment; American arbiters sometimes add it to the base time.
