Sportline 240 Stopwatch - How To Stop The Alarm

October 23, 2008 · 59 comments

One of the “tools of the trade” in my fitness and weight loss journey is a Sportline 240 Stopwatch. I use it to time my outdoor runs or swimming sessions and it also came in very handy when I was coaching soccer. It’s a very economical, low cost timer - I think I bought it on Amazon but now you have to buy them there in Quantities of 6!

So why am I writing about this simple little device? Because the alarm keeps going off and before this morning I wasn’t able to figure out how to turn off the alarm! The Sportline website no longer seems to work and of course I tossed the manual away the day I opened the package. I found a couple of other people through Google searches with the same problem but no definitive answer (someone had previously answered that the manual was available on the Sportline site but that doesn’t appear to be available any more).

So as a public gesture of goodwill towards all those Sportline Stopwatch sufferers out there who have been at their wits end trying to turn off the alarm, here is how you do that:

Hold down the right button labeled “Start/Stop” and simultaneously hold down the left button labeled “Split/Reset”. Repeat those steps to set the alarm.

I hope it works for you and glad I could help!

One of my readers pointed out another irritating beep that can occur that is different from the alarm - and that is a beep that goes off every hour on the hour. Here is how you make that stop:
While at the Alarm set time hold down Mode until all the bars under the days of the week disappear. That will stop the hourly beeping.

[easyazon-block asin="B001CD9LJK" align="left"]

Amazon.com Widgets

Like This Post? Give me the thumbs up

The Thesis Theme from Chris Pearson and DIYthemes

Similar Posts:

{ 59 comments }

Cynthia October 31, 2008 at 3:51 pm: Just a tip, but I like to download PDF file manuals for products I buy and then just stash them on my computer in a folder labeled with the product name. That way, if I lose the paper manual or the company stops keeping the legacy manuals on their web site, I’m still good!

Glad you got it figured out though! I once had one of those “Play N’ Squeak” cat toys start non-stop squeaking after one too many hard whacks by my kitty’s paw. Boy was THAT annoying until the battery ran down!

That is a good tip and I wish I was as organized as that!
Jennifer November 3, 2008 at 4:52 pm: Thanks so much for the secret! This silly stopwatch won’t be so annoying at work now.

You are welcome Jennifer. I see I am #1 in Google for my stopwatch alarm keeps going off which is how I am going to guess you found me. Really glad to have helped someone so quickly after I posted that!
JACK WARNECK November 13, 2008 at 2:24 pm: My stop watch doesn’t beep in the middle of the night!!!!
Thank you soooooooooo much!!!
JACK
John December 28, 2008 at 10:43 pm: this must be for just the alarm that you can set. Mine goes off every single hour at the top of the hour. The alarm icon is not on and its not the alarm going off its just beeping every hour. do you know how to fix that? I tryed what you said to do then i set the time 1 min till the top of the hour and it still beeped
John December 28, 2008 at 11:15 pm: I fixed the beeping every hour at the top of the hour, while at the Alarm set time you can hold down Mode till all the bars under the days of the week disapear. BAM fixed. now i dont have to smash it with that hammer
Kay February 1, 2009 at 9:22 am: Thank you so much! I keep the stopwatch in my work bag and every other week the timer gets set. Of course it always manages to go off at the worst possible times.
Brian April 5, 2009 at 10:57 am: The instructions to turn off the hourly chime/beep were not clear to me at all. Here are proper instructions:

First a common understanding:
Split/Reset Select button = C
Mode button = A
Start/Stop Set button = B

Pressing B and C simultaneously turns the alarm on and off. The little sound waves on the right will appear and disappear.
Press and hold C - the alarm time will appear. You will probably notice a bar on the display under each day of the week.
While still holding C, press A. All the bars should disappear.

That should stop the watch from beeping on the hour. Good luck.
Jen April 13, 2009 at 10:30 pm: Thank you, thank you, thank you!
spence May 15, 2009 at 10:27 pm: DEAR GOD. THANK YOU JOHN
Bobby June 17, 2009 at 10:10 pm: My wife bought the sportline stopwatch to time her contractions. The hour chime was quickly becoming annoying and the last thing I want is an annoyed pregnant woman. Thanks for the help.

Oh I know what you mean there, glad to help!
suzanna June 17, 2009 at 11:56 pm: Hey John
thanks for that, now my friend ellie can keep her job, she was about to get fired b/c it kept going off during filming.
she thanks you as well as she is a single mother supporting 4 kids and really needs this job

cheers

Glad to help!
Jodi July 4, 2009 at 9:22 am: Thank You! I was contemplating whether I should bury it in the backyard or smash it with a hammer! You saved the life of a stopwatch.

LOL, a common comment. Glad to be of help!
Laurie July 8, 2009 at 9:47 pm: I was just on my way to the garage to throw mine away when I thought I’d try the Internet. Thank you!! Mine came without directions!
Cameron July 10, 2009 at 4:14 pm: Thank you, Sir! The hourly chime was driving me (and my cat) crazy. I even had the instruction manual still saved, but the directions regarding the chime weren’t very clear. I too was getting ready to just smash this thing. Luckily, I found your article through Google before having to resort to that! Thanks again.
Jonathan July 24, 2009 at 4:17 pm: OK, I’ve got the chime turned off (thanks everyone), but when in the stopwatch mode there are little lines under the days of the week and three of them are flashing. Not a big deal, but I would REALLY like to get them to stop. Any suggestions? There is nothing in the “manual” about this at all.

thanks.
Michelle J August 8, 2009 at 6:03 pm: Thank you so much! I had this wrapped in a wool sock in the back of my drawer and I could still hear it! Now if there was only a way to just turn the whole thing off without removing the battery…
Mike August 30, 2009 at 10:36 am: Thank you so much! My wife and I will not need a divorce after all! She and her stopwatch can stay, in peace and silence! Amen.
Rhonda September 21, 2009 at 2:32 pm: Thank you!!!!!! OMG I was ready to remove the battery!
Adam September 28, 2009 at 1:21 pm: Haha, too funny. The alarm was so annoying and I had no idea how to turn it off, or how it got turned on in the first place.

THANK YOU for posting this
Michelle September 29, 2009 at 1:41 pm: I am so happy - this has been bugging me all day!!!
Raymond October 9, 2009 at 3:07 pm: Thank you Brian (April 5th, 2009). I was confused about the hourly chimes too, and that did the trick. One more little clarification note: do this at the main clock screen.
Martha October 21, 2009 at 7:18 pm: Bless you for publishing this! That is an altruistic public service, if I’ve ever seen one. My son was being driven crazy by the “mystery beep” when I wasn’t home. He only JUST mentioned it to me. After 6 months. Poor guy.
Clifford Brown November 1, 2009 at 7:10 pm: Thanks for getting me to start experimenting with the buttons on my Sportline after the alarm went off again. However, I have the Model 220 and found that pressing B and C simultaneously does not work. The solution is to *first* press C, hold C, then press B.
Jen November 2, 2009 at 10:30 am: Thanks so much! I’ve had to deal with the stupid alarm for over a year! You have saved me hours of cumulative aggravation.
Colin November 17, 2009 at 9:46 pm: thanks for the super clear instructions from Brian. That did it for me.
Linda November 18, 2009 at 5:16 pm: I thank you, my co-workers thank you and my family thanks you.
Harold November 29, 2009 at 12:46 pm: You can download a manual here.
http://www.recsupply.com/custom.aspx?id=2
annnoyed wife December 12, 2009 at 12:44 am: Thanks! Now I can tell my husband where I hid the battery! The alarm went off every morning at 3:00, but didn’t wake him up at all…
Michelle February 1, 2010 at 9:19 pm: THANKS!!! We were going CRAZY!! now we can rest!
Mercedes February 5, 2010 at 2:38 pm: omg thank u so much i threw my manual out and then my 6 yr old decided she was going to play the button pressing game and ever since it goes off at the most ungodly time in the morning i stumble around in the dark looking for it to turn it off… tried hiding it under the bed and cushions of the couch… u are my savior.
Byron February 21, 2010 at 9:41 pm: Isn’t it sad that so many of us had this issue. Thanks for resolving it for yet another victim!!!

The programmer that designed this thing is probably the same genius that makes my coffee maker beep when its done brewing. Now when I brew a cup of coffee to wake up in the morn i wake up the whole house! grrrr
Jackie February 28, 2010 at 2:54 am: Was going to throw it out the window.

Thank you.
Carol March 23, 2010 at 11:48 am: Thank you
DBC April 5, 2010 at 6:07 pm: My wife thanks you!!
Heather April 12, 2010 at 8:12 pm: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I just bought this stop watch for my Fiance and of course he tossed the instructions because NO MAN needs instructions. hehehe.. That alarm has been VERY annoying! Yayyyyyy it is OVER! Thanks again!
elena April 19, 2010 at 8:43 am: Thank you sooo much I will try this as soon as I get home. My stopwatch came with no instructions and it took me three weeks just to realize the beeping was coming from that. At first I thought it was the smoke alarm’s battery, among other things. when I finally figured it out I started hiding it in the back of my linen closet when not in use. Hopefully I won’t have to do that anymore.
First April 20, 2010 at 12:25 pm: I had been storing mine in the freezer because of all its crazy beeping. Thanks!
bleeehhh April 29, 2010 at 6:14 pm: OMG YOU ARE AMAZINGG!!!!!!! THANK YOU SOO MUCHHH!!!!!
ME AND MY ROOMIE WERE GOING CRAZY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP IT FROM BEEPING!!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!
YOU ARE THE EPITOMY OF AWESOMENESS!!!
Terra May 6, 2010 at 2:51 pm: Wow I can’t believe how poorly designed this unit it - the fact that I found this site is a testament to that. I had been pressing every button in every combination I could think of to find that annoying hourly beep. Who could have known you have to press and hold split\reset\select and then press mode to turn it off? Stupid design, and that shouldn’t be on by default anyway.

Who the heck needs a stopwatch beeping every hour? Sheesh. Thanks for the info!
Dave May 8, 2010 at 8:02 pm: My C button starts/stops my stop watch and I can’t reset it. There are three bars under the days of the week. Sun/Thu/Sat.
Sunny May 11, 2010 at 11:09 pm: Thanks a lot Brian! Your instructions were really clear, finally the incessant beeping stops!
Jeanine Dumais June 3, 2010 at 1:49 pm: Hi there, My 5 year old daughter first managed to turn on a daily alarm - which took me 3 days and lots of hiding places to fix. Not much later she turned on the hourly beep - not as loud, but just as annoying. Thank god for this website! This stopwatch must be made by kids as they seem to turn it on in a sec and it takes days to weeks for an adult to turn the stupid thing off again! New rule in this household is no kids allowed near the stopwatch!
K Dub June 19, 2010 at 11:22 pm: Thanks so much!! My kids turned on the alarm, but it only woke me up at 5:30.
You are a lifesaver (or at least a sleepsaver)
Tressa June 23, 2010 at 11:42 am: Thank you so very much!! We had resorted to taking the battery out every time we were done using it because I too had thrown out the instruction manual thinking how hard could it be, really?!
Erin June 26, 2010 at 4:43 pm: This isn’t working for me at all. I have the 240 model but when I press the buttons simultaneously they just speed up the time. like instead of going 1… 2… 3… it goes 12345678. I want to turn the damn alarm OFF completely. HELP!
Rachael July 24, 2010 at 11:47 am: Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lynn August 9, 2010 at 10:16 am: WOW! Thank you so much for being plain and simple. I turned off the hour beep in 5 seconds. I had been through the directions a dozen times trying to figure it out. Why can an engineeer design this type of equipment but is unable to make the instructions as clear and simple as you have just done.
Colleen October 1, 2010 at 7:06 am: THANK YOU!!! I’ve had this thing sitting in a drawer for at least 2 years and haven’t touched it…for some reason that stupid thing started chiming at 430 this morning and then every few minutes afterwards…sheesh…woke the whole house up. This tip was a sanity saver for sure!
Kirsten October 2, 2010 at 10:55 am: Thank you so much! As a PE teacher and a soccer coach I absolutely rely on my stopwatch, but the alarm and the hourly beep were driving me (and my family) NUTS!!!
Rich October 7, 2010 at 10:18 pm: I LOVE the internet. My wife bought hers yesterday and today told me she was going to toss it due to the houly beeping. I asked if she searched for instructions online (she hadn’t), and in less than 2 minutes, I had it fixed - now I look like a genious!

THANK YOU for thinking enough of others to post the solution!
anteek October 13, 2010 at 9:24 pm: http://www.sportline.com/manuals/240.pdf

This is the link to the instruction manual for the Sportline Stopwatch model 240.
Sue October 24, 2010 at 9:40 pm: Thank you!!!!!! Mine came without a manuel. I thought, “How hard could it be?” Wow! Was I wrong.
Denise October 27, 2010 at 1:14 am: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jake October 29, 2010 at 11:52 pm: Brian saves all!
Rachel November 2, 2010 at 5:59 am: Thank you for telling me how to stop the alarm.
Do you know of any way to stop the beeping that is made whenever you click to start or stop the actually stop watch part of it? That beeping annoys me too.
George E. Sibthorp November 22, 2010 at 6:20 pm: Thank You!!
Kate December 3, 2010 at 4:10 pm: Thank you for posting this info. I was using the stopwatches for a psych study, and one of my research team members managed to turn the hourly alarm back on without knowing how. (The same team member managed to throw away all of the instruction sheets for all of the stopwatches — no comment beyond that…)

At any rate, having the hourly alarm go off in the middle of experiments was a potential threat to our data collection process. Meanwhile, I’ve been cursing the thing as it goes off while sitting on my desk at home - since we ended up buying a different brand and rejecting the sportlines altogether to solve the problem.

I’m happy that I didn’t have to throw the actual stopwatch in the trash to solve the problem. I’m not happy at all that sportline has created such an incredibly annoying yet non-returnable product - due to the necessary destruction of the packaging just to get to the thing to try it. $40 bucks in the toilet as far as I’m concerned, but at least I don’t have to listen to it remind me of that fact every hour now.

-Kate
Steve February 2, 2011 at 2:33 pm: Yep a little over a year listening to that hourly alarm……now silence.

Thanks
Jan February 6, 2011 at 8:32 pm: Thanks so much for the great info. I was about tp throw this silly stopwatch out the window.