The Time Mode

The primary operation of MicroSet is to measure the rate of a clock or a watch. This is the first mode of operation, and is simple to use. After you turn on the timer, you press the MODE key once to enter the Time Mode. You can then choose how many beats to average before a reading is given. MicroSet starts out by suggesting ten beats. The default number can be changed if you want to. Then simply press BEGIN and MicroSet goes to work. It measures the time taken for ten beats, divides the total time by ten, and displays the average rate of each beat on the LCD screen. You can configure MicroSet to show readings as Seconds Per Beat to six decimal places:

1.000000

or as Beats Per Hour to two decimal places:

3600.00

MicroSet 3 will also allow you to display the results as seconds per day of error:

0.0 sec/day

You can configure the Time Mode to measure any number of beats from one to 254 before giving you an answer. Usually, only even counts are used. A smaller number of counts will give you an answer sooner, but higher counts will be more accurate. One reading will often be a little different from another because the rate of every clock and watch changes over time and is somewhat erratic. You can greatly improve the accuracy and stability of rate readings by using the Running Average feature which comes with MicroSet 3.