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Can’t hear the starting Buzzer


Nickel City Dude

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I have a hearing problem (like most of us old Cowboys) and when I put ear plugs in I can’t always hear the starting buzzer.  I let the TO know about this and ask him to pat me on the shoulder when he pushes the button.  This helps but only if he remembers to do it.  I have tried electronic hearing devices that are suppose to allow normal speech threw but stop loud noises and have not had good luck with them.  I only found one set of head phones that have the connecting band that will go behind the head instead of over the top but they didn’t work very good either.

I have the Pocket Pro II and asked the manufacturer if the volume of the buzzer could be increased and they said there isn’t any adjustment for this.  I am in the process of getting a new timer called ProTimer BT.  It has a strobe light on the face of the timer that flashes when the buzzer sounds.  And if it was held so the shooter could see it this might solve the problem.  It also has Blue Tooth and I am wondering if it would be possible to mount a small box with a light on a post or to the table in front of the shooter and have the Blue Tooth send a signal to the box to flash the light.  I have asked the makers of the timer if they had such a device but there reply is not yet but they are thinking about it. 

How do my fellow “half deft” Cowboys handle this?

 

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If I don't hear it the first time I aske the TO to put it closer to my ear. If that doesn't work I have him tap me on the shoulder. Works for me!

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The tapping on the shoulder works but has a lag time.

 

Ask the TO to gently put the timer on top of your shoulder.

When the buzzer goes off, raise the time up and away.

You may still not her the buzzer but you will feel the vibration of the buzzer just before it it lifted up.

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I'm tapped on the shoulder as the TO hits the timer button.  Don't notice any lag.  And we have several shooters that are in this sorry state so our TO's are all well trained.

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1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Wonder why there isn't a timer made that has a light that flashes with the start buzzer?

The ProTimer II that I am getting does have a strobe light in the box that flashes when the buzzer goes off.  We will see if this helps.

 

1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Are both ears the same?  I shoot with some who can't hear the timer but only in one ear.

My left ear is better then my right but most TO's hold the timer on the right side for right handed shooters.

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1 hour ago, Flash said:

Ask the TO to put his hand on your shoulder and when he presses the button remove his hand at the same time.

That's what I like to do for shooters that can't hear the buzzer. Hand on an remove at the same time the button is pushed.

 

Stan

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I've always put the timer on the shooter's body somewhere where it won't interfere with the shooter's movement at the start of the Stage. Pull off the timer at the same time I'm pushing/letting go of the timer start button.

 

I feel this is less distracting then tapping someone.

 

Phantom

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40 minutes ago, Santa Fe River Stan,36999L said:

That's what I like to do for shooters that can't hear the buzzer. Hand on an remove at the same time the button is pushed.

 

Stan

 

This is pretty standard around these parts with folks hard of hearing. Seems to work better than a shoulder tap. Just tell the shooter he ain't gonna get a tap so they're not expecting a tap.

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On the first stage at every match when I get set on the line I ask the TO to test start the timer to see if I can hear it. If I cannot then I ask them to touch me on the shoulder when the timer starts. I have never had a lag or issue with that.

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Recently had a shooter ask to hear the beep before stage 1. Asked to hear it before stage 2. The same at stages 3,4,5. When he asked to hear it before stage 6, I said “you do realize that we’re taking the same timer to each stage”

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13 hours ago, Nickel City Dude said:

> quote <

I have the Pocket Pro II and asked the manufacturer if the volume of the buzzer could be increased and they said there isn’t any adjustment for this. 

> end quote <

 There "is a volume adjustment" ... but if it "isn't" enough ... then ... 

pocketprovolume.thumb.jpg.98d9952f08a474ec248542ce6a763de5.jpg

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3 hours ago, High Spade Mikey Wilson said:

On the first stage at every match when I get set on the line I ask the TO to test start the timer to see if I can hear it. If I cannot then I ask them to touch me on the shoulder when the timer starts. I have never had a lag or issue with that.

The lag issue has more to do with there being a lag between engaging the Timer start and the lifting of the hand on your shoulder.

 

Me...I don't like layin' my hands on folks...I'll touch ya with a Timer though.

 

;)

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7 hours ago, Nickel City Dude said:

The ProTimer II that I am getting does have a strobe light in the box that flashes when the buzzer goes off.  We will see if this helps.

 

My left ear is better then my right but most TO's hold the timer on the right side for right handed shooters.

From what I read, the light is either the start signal or  the buzzer goes. Not both at the same time. 

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14 hours ago, Patagonia Pete said:

There "is a volume adjustment" ... but if it "isn't" enough ... then ... 

pocketprovolume.thumb.jpg.98d9952f08a474ec248542ce6a763de5.jpg

 

Thanks for this info! I wasn't aware that the Pocket Pro II features this setting.

 

I guess for some pards the volume adjustement is secondary. We have one shooter who hears and understands you perfectly while talking in normal loudness (even with his ear plugs in) but he has no chance to hear the frequency of a Pocket Pro beep.

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17 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

From what I read, the light is either the start signal or  the buzzer goes. Not both at the same time. 

Not true!   Both the beep and light are triggered by pressing the button.  The light is optional and the beep has multiple volume settings.  

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15 minutes ago, Wicker Nash said:

Not true!   Both the beep and light are triggered by pressing the button.  The light is optional and the beep has multiple volume settings.  

So, you are say'n the 'beep' and light can be activated together then.....

Good to know!

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The problem with most modern timers is that there is no starting "buzzer."  There is a high pitched beep.  On the left is my 35 year old CED 6000.  On the right is the CED 7000.  (We used these for a couple of years at Winter Range.)  The 6000 has an actual buzzer.  The earth shakes when the thing goes off.  On the 7000 it is a high pitched tone that is like a dog whistle and a lot of us old pharts cannot hear it.  At home I adjusted the volume and the squeal was LOUD and hurt my ears.  Yet I cannot hear it at all with ear plugs in.  The buttons on the old one are starting to wear out and I have not found a modern timer with a BUZZER as opposed to a beeper.

 

 

DSC_0002.jpeg

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3 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

The problem is frequency...someone with clout needs to talk to the "Timer" mfgrs and let them know that high frequencies are no bueno.

 

Cheers!

Phantom (The Bully)

 

BORGbully!     :lol:

 

..........Widder

 

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28 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said:

The problem is frequency...someone with clout needs to talk to the "Timer" mfgrs and let them know that high frequencies are no bueno.

 

Cheers!

Phantom (The Bully)

Now that you mention it the last time I had my hearing checked they told me that most of my hearing loss was in the high frequency range.  But on the plus side women's voices are hard for me to hear. LOL

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I lived thru this over 10 years as first my Right ear completely went away, & then my left. I practiced a lot prior to COVID, & did work out a solution that was okay for practice, but not for matches. For matches, I had to do the shoulder routine. Finally, I got a Cochlear implant, which made a tremendous difference & pretty much fixed my problem for matches. Then, when I got my 2nd Cochlear, about 2 years ago or so, it was GREAT! The Cochlear caps the sound, so you don't even have to wear earplugs. I do, some of the time, for the SG compression on my ear drums. My ear drums don't work anymore, but they can be sensitive (sometimes) to a SG blast.

 

So, I hope your hearing doesn't get any worse, but in the unfortunate event you end up with Cochlears, they'll really open up your hearing world.

 

I wrote an informational piece on the Cochlears for a buddy just getting them, & I've been threatening to post it on the wire. I think this just gave me the push to do it. If you're interested, look for it.

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