Custom Timers can be set to count up (Duration timers) or count down (Countdown timers). Each timer has a pair of triangles that serve as direction indicators. If the triangle appears as the tip of an arrow pointing up, the timer is a Duration timer and counts up. If the triangle points down, the timer is a Countdown timer. The default colors for custom timers are like the colors of an attitude indicator: blue for up, brown for down. However, these default colors can be changed in the app settings. Each timer can be given different colors as well.
Duration Timer
As mentioned, Duration timers count up. They will count up to 99 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. To start, stop, or reset, simply tap the time. If a Duration timer is currently stopped with a non-zero value, that timer can be converted to a Countdown timer in the app settings. This allows you to time something such as the duration of the battery life of a drone or action cam, then convert that time to a Countdown timer so you can then count down to give you an estimate on battery life remaining.
Countdown Timer
Countdown timers will count down to zero and set off an alarm on expiration. If on the Custom Timer screen, the timer will flash and you may get an alarm sound (if appropriate). If in another screen of the app, you should get an alert popup. The Countdown timer will also have a local notification pop if ZivTimer is in the background or the device is locked (per the notification settings).
Repeating Timer
A variation of the Countdown timer is the Repeating timer. A Repeating timer will have the Down direction indicator triangles, but also a set of labels in the lower corners showing the number of cycles (e.g.: 0 of 5). Tap the time to start, stop, or reset. When a Repeating timer is running, the cycle indicator will show the current cycle of the timer (e.g.: 2 of 5). When each cycle expires, you should get an alert popup and hear the repeating timer expire sound of four quick short beeps (if appropriate). When the very last cycle expires, the timer should flash and you should get the general “timer expired” sound (if appropriate).
Editing Timers
To edit a timer, use the Settings screen in the app and tap the “User Defined Timers” Edit button in the “Custom Timers” group. To add a new timer, click the “+” button. To delete a timer or reorder the current timers, use the “Edit” button then select either the delete key on the left or tap and hold on the sort button on the right and drag and drop the timer to its new location.
To edit a specific timer, tap on the appropriate timer in the table. You can then edit the timer’s name and color. If the timer is a Duration timer and is stopped with a non-zero value, you can convert it to a Countdown timer. If the timer is a Countdown timer, you can change the time to count from as well as whether the timer is a Repeating timer and how many times it will repeat. Tap the “Save and Exit” button to save the changes and return to the Timer List.
Other Settings
In the Settings screen, you will find a few other main settings for the Custom timer screen. The “Show Zero on Expiration” setting determines whether the timer shows a static zero count or whether the Countdown timer will reverse direction and begin counting up to show how long ago the timer expired. The “Order By Active Status” switch determines whether timers automatically jump to the top of the list when active, making it easy to know which timers are currently running.
The “Times to 1/100th” setting deserves a special note. Turning this setting on dramatically increases the refresh rate of the timers and their values to 100 times a second. As such, the CPU is recalculating the values more often and will likely reduce battery life if the device is left on and in the Custom timer screen. However, a screen’s timer does not run when that screen is not the one showing on the device, so switching to another screen such as Clocks, Flight Info, IFR Timers, or Settings will not have a 100 hz refresh rate.