electronic clocks or the old standerd for racing?

[brotherstwoloft]

I DON'T RACE MY BIRDS BUT I HEAR ALOT OF TALK ABOUT CLOCKING THE BIRDS.THE WAY IT'S EXPLAINED TO ME IS THAT THE ELECTRONIC CLOCKS TAKE AWAY FROM PIGEON RACING.SOME SAY ELECTRONICS IS A BETTER WAY TO SEE WHICH BIRD IS FASTER PROVIDING THE HANDY CAP FOR DISTANCE.I JUST DON'T KNOW,I FEEL THAT THE OWNER PLAYS A GREAT PART IN BREEDING TRAINING AND TAKING CARE OF HIS LOFT AND BIRDS,PUT ALL OF THAT TOGETHER,WITH THE SKILLS OF THE OWNER TO MAKE HIS BIRDS TRAP QUICKLY TO ME IS PART OF THE RACING HISTORY.WITH THE LANDING PAD OF THE ELECTRONIC CLOCK ALL ONE'S BIRD NEEDS TO DO IS LAND ON THE LANDING BOARD AND THE RACE IS OVER.NO ONE EVEN HAS TO BE HOME YOU COULD BE OUT TO EAT DINNER AND STILL BE A WINNER.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS QUESTION.

[Anarrowescape]

wots the point of using electronic clocks the excitment is seeing ur birds return from a race. u should clock them urselves after all the pigeons has came home from along race the least u can do is clock them by hand and hope u get a winner.

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Robert

[WhiteWingsCa]

we finally broke down and got an electronic clock last year.

A few reasons -- one of them being that with our white release business, there were the occasional races where we would not be home for a few minutes during the expected race return time. Our daughter's bird lost a race by 2 minutes, won the club, but missed the combine -- because we were all out -- for a period of 20 minutes. I came home and found the bird sitting on it's perch, having already eaten and drank -- which takes more than 2 minutes, I can tell you! It was definitely in well before the 'winning' bird was clocked.

And -- electronic clocks help you tell far better what's happening during your training flights -- since you can set it to 'clock' the return of the birds from training too.

AND -- because 95% of our race club now uses electronic clocks. Yes, it does make a difference -- you do lose about 5-10 seconds when clocking manually. We don't 'go out to dinner' during a race -- we're still there, whistling a welcome and an encouraging "get inside" to the birds as they come home. It is very rare, even with the business, for there to be absolutely no one home at race time.

[brotherstwoloft]

HI ROBERT,AS YOU CAN SEE I FEEL THE SAME WAY.BUT I SEE MORE AND MORE ADVERTISMENTS FOR THE ELECTRONIC CLOCKS.DO YOU THINK THE OLD WAY OF RACING WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST.

[brotherstwoloft]

HI WHITEWINGCA,AS FAR AS TRAING I COULD SEE USING A CLOCK.LIKE I SAID I DON'T RACE.BUT MAY-BE HAVE ONE RACE WITH THE ELECTRONIC CLOCK AND ONE WITHOUT,I KNOW THAT CAN GET EXPENSIVE.BUT WHAT PART DOES THE FANCIER HAVE IF YOU RACE WITH THE ELECTIC CLOCK ON RACE DAY.

[Lovebirds]

Well, for what it's worth, here's what I think. We've been racing for 2 years and bought a new electronic clock to begin with. It really depends on how the trap is built, but, if you have to chase your poor bird after it's flown it's heart out to get home, just to get the counter mark off, that's seems a little cruel to me. If your birds are trained to trap when they get home, the electronic clock is the best way to go. ALSO, some fanciers get so excited when their birds get home, they get a little rough with the bird trying to pull the countermark off of it's leg, JUST TO WIN THE RACE. We still are in the back yard watching for our birds on race day. Nothing can take the place of that. Electronic clocks are available so that IF you can't be home, you can still clock your birds, but they are not meant to take the place of you being there. It's just better for you and better for the birds. The last thing a bird wants after flying 200 or more miles is for his owner to chase him around and handle him. He just wants to be left alone and rest.

[brotherstwoloft]

hi love birds,you have a good point about chasing the bird to pull the marker off.the world is not perfect,so where is the mat inside or out we can only trust.the way markers are pulled in our neck of the woods is that after the bird enters the trap he enters into a little cage just big enough for him to stand in.we have an opening on the under side of the landing board which exposes the birds leg. we reach in and place both legs in between our fingers and pull the marker to be clocked, then open the cage from inside the loft to let the bird feed and drink.i really understand both sides and enjoy reading everbodies thoughts.i guess i'm just old fashion.again thanks for your replies.

[Anarrowescape]

by the sounds of it it will b a thing of the past clocking ur birds urself my club uses hand clockers and will for a long time to com cause they take pride in there birds. You wouldn't have to chase ur birds if u trained them right i've got mine to com to me when i want.

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Robert

[SmithFamilyLoft]

2004 was the first year I used an electronic timer. I purchased an M-1 Benzing which I am told is considered the state of the art. Once you have used one, you will never want to go back to a manual timer. A case in point was our Combine's 300 mile race this year, which is now referred to as "The Race From Hell". The birds were released Saturday morning at 8AM. I had a diploma winner clocked at 9AM on Monday morning !! I have no ideal where I was at that moment, but the ideal of sitting by the trap for three or four days, sort of takes the fun out of it. The race was finally called off after four days.
If my club or combine members want to use a manual timer because they feel it is somehow "More Sporting" that is fine with me. As far as training to trap, if they come home and sit on the roof, even a electronic timer won't fix that.
I also find it an invaluable training tool, because I now can tell who is going straight home and trapping, and who is fooling around.

[Happy]

I just started using one 2004 after using the countermark/manual way longer than I want to tell ya & don't ever want to go back to countermarks. It is also so much easier shipping night. Just scan the chip band & listen to what crate it goes in. Training with it is just great, as I don't have to drive dangerously fast trying to see how they came in. The only thing I see detramental is the Air Drag, chance of hanging up, & catching a wire as they slip over them in flight from the size & shape of the band. Would hope someday we could get regular bands & chip bands as light & small as our old aluminum bands were though. I still wouldn't miss a bird coming in from race, unless a stated by someone before me a 2-3 day race....

[re lee]

the future is here in clocking birds and computers. The old ways has been used for a great time. STILL works. Does take longer. And the bird has to be in the loft or the trap. Birds over the electronic can back off after clocking and sit for hours. But its the future. And more people can fly there birds now. When they have to be some where else or be at work or such. So it can bring more flyers in to the sport. Birds are trained just as good. And the thrill still is there Either way old or new. Its the sport that is enjoyed.

[brotherstwoloft]

hi everybody, this is an old thread, nice to see it come back up. yes i agree that the new way of clocking can let alot more fanciers get into racing. and yes there are other things to do when there is a race on. but i would say that 99% of us will be home no matter what we are really supose to be doing. unless we were receiving a million dollars and even then i think we would rush home as soon as possible. i guess it's the sign of the times. does anybody know if they hold races where both clocks are used in the same race and is there any kind of handicap to the one with the manual clock?
fly high and strait and keep them healthy. thanks brotherstwoloft.

[re lee]

The local club here The members use both. Depends on how much money you want to spend on a clock. Both cases counter marked birds win there share aginst the chipped computor clocks. But seconds count and more are going to the new type of clocks. A win is a win. no matter what type the clock is. But I would say in a few more years only the new style be at hand Thats just how its going.

[birdy]

Hi Brotherstwo,

It's good to see you posting again. You know, I think some special races like the big Barcelona race require a manual clock even though you use an electronic, and some use both to clock their birds for that race. I know it's pretty complicated how they record the birds' times and there have been some controversial final results.

I believe that England does not allow the use of e-clocks and that manuals have to be 12-hole ones. You get some strong feelings on both sides. Me, I like the e-clocks and would not care to go back a wind-up. I never miss watching for the birds to come in on race day, however. And, like Warren said it's great for training so you can see who's coming on strong and who's not.

Bruce

[pigeon george]

true new technology is every where but a lot of races do not permitt use of electronic clocks as some are set out side the loft so whene a bird lands on the landing it is clocked in and part of racing was getting the bird to trap quickly, as far as yanking the band of the bird do it once that way and the bird will surerly hesitate before trapping next race im sure the debate is endless but we do lose in order to gain