My remote horror stories:

I started out with a wired Canon RS-80N3 remote, but it does not have a timer and I found myself wanting more than 30 sec exposures far to often at night. I was timing with my watch, which actually works pretty good. The accuracy was OK since a 1/3 stop is 20 sec for a 1 minute exposure. But it was a pain at night. So I got a wired (or tethered if you wish) intervalometer (Canon TC-80N3 remote timer). This worked well and never failed until I set up the tripod in 5 feet of water with the camera about a foot above the surface of the water. With this set up I would hang the remote on the ball mount so it would be suspended above the water, or I would tie a knot in the cord so it hung above the water. After doing this several times I got cocky and managed to drop it in the water... felt really stupid. That toasted that remote.

Now I have a wireless Vello Shutterboss intervalometer. It is great not being tied to the camera. This is quit handy, and I am less likely to accidentally drop it in the water (it can stay in my pocket). The problem is it locks up to often (activates the shutter and gets stuck in that mode). You can cycle the power on the camera to close the shutter, but the remote does not clear. Turning the transmitter on and off still does not clear it. The only way to get it to operate again is to pull the batteries from the hand held trigger device and then put them back in. Unfortunately, this happens to often, and usually at night. A couple of times the transmitter changed channels on me for no apparent reason (now the trigger would not work). However, I still have my back up plan: My original wired remote and my watch.

I understand your frustration.

Pat