Customer Reviews

CDN PT1A Digital Timer/Clock 4 Event Programmable

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I have had 2 of these timers and my mother has had at least one of these. They are great for keeping track of multiple things. That is it's best feature.
My only complaint is that the magnet on the back isn't very strong. I keep mine on my stove hood and it often slides off and lands in the food. I am buying another one because the one I have now just got immersed in boiling water and doesn't work!
My only other problem with this timer is setting the clock. I can never remember how to set it, so it's usually wrong.

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.... N O T E:

Sadly, the PYREX PROFESSIONAL TIMER, which looks EXACTLY like the CDN timer....except for a different logo, in a different colour, (red, not black like the CDN), and which is SLIGHTLY, (VERY slightly), easier to slide between the various controls, and which I had mentiond was, (due to this easier sliding between the controls), even better than the CDN, seems no longer available. The difference, though slight, is greatly missed, (ROBINSON KNIFE COMPANY -- producer of the Pyrex Professional timer...please take note.) However, the CDN timer, described below, is 98% as good....and, as of this re-writing of my intro to my review, is the best timer on the market that I know of, anyway. If and whe the Pyrex Professional Timer ever comes back, I really recomnend it. But don't hold your breath, (sigh!) If you need a timer, NOW...the CDN timer, reviewed below, is definitely the one to buy. As I said, it is 98% identical to the Pyrex Professional. The BEST timer, in my opinion, on the market today.........
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..... ORIGINAL REVIEW
THIS IS THE ONLY TIMER I've ever come across which need
not always start at 0. For instance, if you are timing
how long you want to spend reading, and want to break the
time up into two periods, you can start at 3 hours, time
yourself down to 1 hour and 35 minutes, stop, then contin-
ue on later, for the remaining time.

I use this timer for everything.... As it's sometimes
hard for me to walk for a long time, I simply use this
timer in place of a pedometer, counting how long I stand
up and walk around my apartment! It allows me to stop, keep the amount of time I've used, then sit down, and start counting again, after I have rested, without any re-setting! I also use the 4 separate timers as an alarm clock, setting each of them 1 1/2 minutes apart! (Hmmm...anyone know
why the "1/2..1/4" key that used to be on all typewriters is
nowhere to be found on any computers?)

Anyway...this timer is small enough to be carried in
in your pocket or purse. I got one years ago, and found
it hard, then, to place and remove the battery. I'm glad
this has now been corrected. Like another reviewer, I,
too, have trouble setting the clock. My answer is to wait
until 12:00....then quickly remove and replace the battery.
(The clock starts at 12:00)

99% perfect! That's a difficult rating for any product
to attain -- but in my estimation, this little timer
has achieved it!

This timer has many usefull functions. It tells time, counts up and down, and offers 4 programable timing options. Unfortunately, the buttons are difficult to push, and sometimes get stuck, making it difficult to program. Also, the slide bar function selector doesn't always work, making it difficult to tell if you have succeeded in programming your timer.

It's still more useful than an egg timer, but not as much as a previous timer, which had the problem with the button edges getting stuck on the edges of the holes they are in when you try to push them, but not the slide bar issue.

Try a different brand, but the same style of timer.

I got this timer to replace my Westbend 3 event timer which I have have for years and love. Too bad they don't make that model anymore. But, the button contacts are wearing lose. I had this timer for a week, it has a lot of functionality but the slider used to change between Count Down, Count Up, Program Timer and Clock seems flimsy and cheap. Well, true to form, when I slide it back to Count Down, which is the function I use most often, it would only give me Count Up.... Try after Try, no luck. It seems like it would be a great timer with lots of functions, but reliability does not seem to be one of them.

This timer is fantastic. It can time four events. It has a separate clock which is always accessible. Each of the 4 events can be counted up or down. The timer can be used as an alarm clock, by counting up from the present time to the time to wake up. No need to think about time zones. This type of timer is visible in the background of one of the space shuttles.

This timer works very well and is very versatile. However, what I wish I had known before purchasing (and what would have kept me from buying it) is that the "ringer" is very soft and high pitched. My old timer was great as I could hear it from almost anywhere in the house. This ring is so soft that I can usually only hear it in the room where it is located. My husband, who has some hearing loss, cannot hear it even then.

I wanted a timer with numbered buttons like a calculator on it, but I found there weren't any with good enough reviews to convince me to spend the money on them. Then, I found this one and the event presets intrigued me. I time things frequently for 2, 5, 10 or 20 minutes, so this would be very handy! At least I would only have to repeatedly hit the Minute button initially, then I could program the time to an event preset and have one-button timers!

Out of the box, I inserted the batteries and found the LCD panel displayed garble. I removed the batteries, checked polarity, reinserted them and it seemed to work fine. I had it right the first time, so I don't know why it behaved that way. Oh well, it works now!

I was initially concerned that I'd have to actually read the manual (God forbid) to use it, but I decided to try it first and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use. I've had it now for about 2 weeks and I still haven't read the manual or tried any other functionality except the event presets. But, that part (at least) works great! I set it up by switching it to Program, then set the presets to 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes and 20 minutes. Now, instead of repeatedly hitting the Minute button or even pressing 2-0-0-0 each time I want to set the timer for 20 minutes, I just hit T4, then Start! Very cool! It beeps after the preset time and begins counting up. I hit stop, clear and it's ready for next time.

I can also hit T4 (for instance) and 20:00 is displayed. If I hit the Hour or Minute buttons, I can add to the time. If nothing else, it saved me 20 presses of the minute button.

It does what I bought it for and I'm happy with it!

Timer is OK but I find it very hard to hear the alarm when it goes off, especially if radio or music is playing in the kitchen. Never had this problem with other timers or with oven timers. Right now it is useless to me since it goes off and I am completely unaware that time is up.

This is one of the best timers I've ever used, in the kitchen and out-- I'm a pilot and use it in airplanes as well--it's that convenient. In fact, a buddy of mine at NASA told me that this exact timer has been used for years on the Space Shuttle flight deck by the astronauts! Just look at pictures of the Shuttle decks--exact same timer! Interesting factoid, for sure. I've also dropped mine countless times and it keeps on ticking. That seems to be a rarity these days with electronics.

I bought one of these from amazon last November. It worked okay for the first couple of weeks, but then I started experiencing the problems with the slider bar that other reviewers have pointed out. Sometimes the only way to get the display to come back on was to remove the battery and reinsert it. The battery seems to have too much wiggle room in its slot. Sometimes I could get the display to come back on by gently shaking the timer. Not a good sign. This morning the screen was stubbornly blank. Tried reinserting the month-old replacement battery and the display flickered on and off a few times.
On a barely related note, I noticed several of these on the "dashboard" of the Space Shuttle Atlantis when I watched the IMAX Hubble 3D Blu-ray. Scary to think that the lives of the astronauts were in any way dependent on a piece of junk like this.
Avoid like the plague.