How to turn your DS into a stopwatch

How many times have you wanted a proper stopwatch? Sure, mobiles have them these days but we're talking about a fully functional affair able to rival standalone dedicated units, with lap time options and more.

Well, now you can add it to your DS's ever-growing list of capabilities. Follow our simple steps below and you can rely on your portable friend for timing a race, the boiling of an egg or how long you can hold your breath. Whatever it is, this should prove pretty useful.

Here's how:

Download files The first step is to download the files you'll need. If you are tidy little bod you may want to collect them together in a folder on your PC. You need to download the following: - StopWatchDS: StopWatchDS.zip from here
Unzip the StopWatchDS software Once downloaded, the next step is to unzip the StopWatchDS software into a folder on your PC. 1. Unzip the StopWatchDS.zip file that you downloaded during Step 01. 2. Keep the folder to hand on your desktop or similar location.
Copy to homebrew card StopWatchDS works with a variety of homebrew cards. As there is no file access required, you should be able to copy it across and start using it with no patching: 1. Extract the StopWatchDS.zip Patcher software to a folder on your PC. 2. Copy the StopWatchDS.nds file to the root folder of your homebrew card. - If you have a SuperCard, you should use the StopWatchDS.sc.nds. - If you have a GBA slot style homebrew card, such as an EZ-Cart 2, you should use the StopWatchDS.ds.gba.
Start StopWatchDS You can now fire up the StopWatchDS software. 1. Remove your homebrew card or memory stick from your PC. 2. Insert your homebrew card into your DS. 3. Turn on the DS power and run the appropriate StopWatchDS.nds file for your homebrew card. 4. The software will take a moment to load.
Use StopWatchDS The main function of the stopwatch is the timer with lap times. You can use this as follows: 1. Start: Start the stopwatch by pressing A or tapping the green button onscreen. 2. Lap: Trigger a lap time by pressing A for a second time or tapping the green button. 3. Pause: Pause the time by pressing B or tapping the red button. 4. Reset: Reset the stopwatch by pressing B for a second time or tapping the red button.
Use countdown In addition to the traditional stopwatch functionality, you can use the countdown timer as follows: 1. Switch to countdown mode by pressing Y or tapping the blue button onscreen. 2. Specify a countdown time via the D-pad, or tapping the arrows. 3. Apply the time by pressing X. 4. Start the stopwatch by pressing A or tapping the green button. 5. When the time has run out an alarm will sound. Further information can be found here. As ever, check out our past DS How Tos to discover the many various ways of increasing your handheld's functionality.