This is just a quick tip for psychologists who want a silent or beepless stopwatch, as they are very easy to make.
Stopwatches are often used when psychologists do neuropsychological assessments as they involve the timing of participant responses. Beeps can sometimes be distracting, especially to people who may have brain injury or might be emotionally disturbed, so many assessments recommend stop watches that don’t beep every time you press a button.
Surprisingly, few actually have this option and I keep seeing online discussions about where to get a silent stopwatch. It’s no coincidence that one of the few that allows you to switch off the beep is most commonly sold with books about psychological assessment.
However, you can make virtually any stopwatch silent very easily. If you unscrew the back – you may need a smaller ‘watchermakers’ or ‘jeweller’s screwdriver’ like this one – on the back plate you can see the the piezoelectric speaker (the circular metal disc – on the left in the image). Just cover it with tape and voila! you have a silent stopwatch.
Cheaper than commercially available devices with silent options and works with every stopwatch I’ve found so far.