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Posts Tagged ‘timers’

The Stopwatch Usage List

November 9th, 2009

Stopwatches have many uses, but nonetheless the main function is to keep and measure time. This is why coaches, athletes and sports times use stopwatches to set up time indications or keep track of progress by using the clocked times for future reference. However, other types of stopwatches also have other purposes.

Stopwatches are nothing other than hand held devices that clock time for various sports. This includes sports like track and field, swimming, car racing and other types of motor sports. However, stopwatches are also useful for evaluating times achieved when training.

Most stopwatches have to be started manually when an event starts and then manually stopped when it is over with. This is done when, for example, for runners of a certain distance. When the run starts the stopwatch is started and counts time, but as soon as the finish line has been reached the stop button is pushed and you have the exact time the runner needed for the given distance. This is often how trainers and coaches assess performance and progress of athletes.

There are two types of stopwatches used, the analog or digital. They also come in two designs with one looking very much like the familiar pocket watch and the other made to wear on your wrist. For a little tidbit of information the large clocks you are used to seeing in sport arenas, such as basketball or hockey, are known as stop clocks.

The stopwatch with digital technology is most likely more accurate than the standard analog stopwatch. The analog stopwatch, though, is a great gift for trainers and coaches who have just won some kind of competition and this is a practice often done by teams of students in high school or college.

Although there are different designs and models of stopwatches available, the modern stopwatches can come with a lot of functions, features and modes. This still does not make the traditional stopwatch useless, though. In fact, the standard stopwatch is still able to serve its purpose and is capable of countdowns, recording running times and timing laps. The modern stopwatches do have the advantage of having easier access and higher accuracy, on top of the basic functions of tracking laps times and calculating evaluations.

There are stopwatch models that allow for storing records of up to 50 lap times, while others only hold up to 10. Other digital designs allow for calculation of speed and time as long as the distance of a lane or track is known. This is done by entering the distance into the stopwatch. The watch then evaluates the previous records of the athlete and will come up with an average time of how many minutes or seconds it would take to cover the given distance.

Finally, the basic function of a stopwatch is as a countdown timer. The watch basically counts down to zero by setting it to a specific amount of time at the press of a button. Stopwatches are also used by coaches, trainers, and athletes to measure a workout regimen as well as an indicator that a specific exercise has exceeded a warm up period.

If you need to learn more about digital stop watch, drop by this website to read some good posts on mechanical stopwatch.

Oliver Richard Fitness , , , , , , , , ,

Picking Out The Right Stopwatch

September 28th, 2009

A stopwatch is a must for any sporting event. In fact, the event can’t go on if you don’t have a stopwatch and that is why it is so important to choose the right model. Many think it is going to be a simple task, since there is only one kind of stopwatch, but this is not true by a long shot! There are many different models with different functions and you have to know which you need for your intended purpose.

Swimming is a unique sporting event and it is of utmost importance that the competitors accurately be timed. Therefore, you need one that is both waterproof and capable of tracking laps. You can hold any stopwatch and although there is never an intention of letting it fall, it still happens that it drops into the water. This doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does you’ll have to dive in and retrieve it.

A stopwatch that stops functioning because it has fallen into water is not a wise choice for swimming events. Not all waterproof watches are the same, though, and you have to ensure that it is waterproof up to a certain depth. One that is water resistant up to only a foot is not what you need. The stopwatch chosen for swimming events also needs to be splash proof, because you don’t want to lose track of the swimmers because of water drops on the display.

Track and field is another place where you’re going to need a rather specialized stopwatch. For this you will need one that is very durable because track can be a rough sport. You also need one that is able to track the laps of multiple runners and can be reset easily. Track and field is fast paced, so you want to make sure that it has easy to access buttons so you aren’t fumbling around trying to get it to work properly.

Those were just a couple of examples of sports that you need a stopwatch for. Other considerations that you need to make before making a final choice include the instruction manual. Check to see if the stopwatch you are considering has a manual at all and if it does how good it is.

Most of the time people don’t expect to need a manual for a stopwatch. However, it is a great thing to have so that you can look up any unknown functions that you run across when using the watch. For those cases when you don’t know what a function is called or what it does, it is nice to be able to turn to the manual. If it is a good one, it will be much more helpful than one that is poorly written and confusing.

The above mentioned details are just a few of the considerations that you need to keep in mind when looking around for a stopwatch. If you follow the tips given, there should be no problem in finding the right stopwatch for any sporting event.

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