{"id":941,"date":"2014-07-30T14:29:25","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T20:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/night-scenes.com\/?p=941"},"modified":"2014-07-30T14:29:25","modified_gmt":"2014-07-30T20:29:25","slug":"a-review-of-the-intermatic-dt620-and-hb800-astronomical-timers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/night-scenes.com\/2014\/07\/30\/a-review-of-the-intermatic-dt620-and-hb800-astronomical-timers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Review of The Intermatic DT620 and HB800 Astronomical Timers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From time to time I think it&#8217;s a good idea to get other information and opinions from other outdoor living and outdoor lighting professionals from around the country. \u00a0Since I&#8217;ve been doing this landscape lighting thing for quite some time, I&#8217;ve developed some great relationships with others in my industry from around the country.<\/p>\n<p>I asked my friend Bill Smith from Virginia to please guest blog for me, talking about and demonstrating the Intermatic Astronomical timer that we use quite often in our lighting systems and he was, as always, more than happy to help out. \u00a0Here is his blog with attached video, discussing this timer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/night-scenes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DT620.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-943 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/night-scenes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/DT620.jpg?resize=225%2C225\" alt=\"DT620\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One thing I want to add is this. \u00a0Although I really like this timer, I do not recommend using the batteries that come with it. \u00a0We always install brand new high quality batteries when installing this timer.<\/p>\n<p>By Bill Smith, COLD, CLVLT, President <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westarllc.com\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">WEStar Illumination, LLC<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Astronomical timers are the best thing since sliced bread.\u00a0 They both help to conserve energy and make lighting systems easier to own.\u00a0 I recently recorded a \u201cHow To\u201d video for two such timers by<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.intermatic.com\/\">Intermatic<\/a><\/span> :\u00a0 the DT620CL and HB800RCH. \u00a0<iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FpWWoDvCcNE\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>\u00a0both of which I use in my lighting business. \u00a0If you would like to download a PDF of the instructions, here is the link for that\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">https:\/\/www.1000bulbs.com\/pdf\/intermatic-dt620-instructions.pdf<\/span><\/p>\n<p>They both have identical functionality, but differ in that the DT620 is listed for indoor use only and fits inside most transformer compartments, while the HB800 is listed as being rain tight and can be exposed to the elements and is too large to fit into a transformer compartment.\u00a0 You plug the transformer itself into the HB800.\u00a0 I mainly use the HB800 for holiday lighting, and when using a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uniquelighting.com\/\">Unique<\/a> transformer (a number of timers don\u2019t fit inside a Unique transformer compartment).<\/p>\n<p>Both timers function exactly alike and are relatively easy to operate.\u00a0 They consist of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Display panel<\/li>\n<li>Four function buttons<\/li>\n<li>Adjustment knob<\/li>\n<li>Reset button<\/li>\n<li>System status indicator light<\/li>\n<li>Two outlets<\/li>\n<li>Battery backup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What I Like<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of features to like about both the DT620 and HB800.\u00a0 What I mainly like is that:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>They offer a lot of flexibility in programming the on\/off cycles for your lighting system.<\/li>\n<li>The programming can easily be overridden temporarily by the on\/off button.<\/li>\n<li>The system status indicator light is helpful in determining if the lights should be on.<\/li>\n<li>There is a lot of programming flexibility for programming the clock for your specific location.\u00a0 If you in a non-standard Daylight Savings Time area you can adjust the timer to reflect time changes accurately.<\/li>\n<li>The batteries allow you are to program the timer while it is unplugged.<\/li>\n<li>The HB800 can be mounted outside and therefore can be used with any system<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>What I Don\u2019t Like<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although I regularly use the Intermatic timers in my business, there are a few things that I am not crazy about:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Programming both the clock and on\/off events can seem somewhat complex.\u00a0\u00a0 It seems simple once you get familiar with the instructions, but the learning curve is longer than the other timers I have used.<\/li>\n<li>The small text in the upper left hand corner of the display is very hard to read while in the field.\u00a0 There is no backlight in the display and the glare on the screen of the 620 makes it almost impossible to read inside the transformer compartment without my glasses and a flashlight.<\/li>\n<li>No offset programming (programming on\/off times relative to dusk or dawn). The only way you can program the timer to come on at a relative time is to trick it by setting the clock to the incorrect time (by adding the offset duration to the actual time)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Overall Opinion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I like both the DT620 and the HB800 and will continue to use them. \u00a0I have not experienced any problems with them in the field that wasn\u2019t my own fault (Make sure you have fresh backup batteries when you install the timers!) I used to dread having to program them because the process is more complicated that the other timers I use.\u00a0 However, now that I know the process cold (and you can too by watching my video!) it all seems very logical and easy\u2014although I still have to break out my cheaters to read the display.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From time to time I think it&#8217;s a good idea to get other information and opinions from other outdoor living and outdoor lighting professionals from around the country. \u00a0Since I&#8217;ve been doing this landscape lighting thing for quite some time, I&#8217;ve developed some great relationships with others in my industry from around the country. I &#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,5,212,24,1],"tags":[8,9,52,53,299,14,50],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Review of The Intermatic DT620 and HB800 Astronomical Timers - NightScenes Landscape Lighting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/night-scenes.com\/2014\/07\/30\/a-review-of-the-intermatic-dt620-and-hb800-astronomical-timers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Review of The Intermatic DT620 and HB800 Astronomical Timers - NightScenes Landscape Lighting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From time to time I think it&#8217;s a good idea to get other information and opinions from other outdoor living and outdoor lighting professionals from around the country. \u00a0Since I&#8217;ve been doing this landscape lighting thing for quite some time, I&#8217;ve developed some great relationships with others in my industry from around the country. 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