h a l f b a k e r yBirth of a Notion.
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I have a low-cost clock radio that also has a "beep" alarm which can be used in lieu of the radio. It also has a poor excuse of a battery back-up system.
Why a "poor excuse"? Well, IT DOESNT SET OFF THE ALARM OR EVEN DISPLAY THE TIME if the AC is lost and all that's present is the batteries. It only
"backs up" the time so that it'll be correct when the power comes back on-or, at least, that's what it's SUPPOSED TO DO!
I have found that it's nowhere near the right time when the power comes back on-even when it was a 10 minute power cut WITH BRAND NEW BATTERIES!!! It's often 3 to 4 hours off when the power comes back on. Also, it doesnt remember the alarm settings AT ALL, reguardless of how long or short the power outage was! so even if the power cut out for 2 seconds at night, then came back on again, before the alarm was supposed to go off, it STILL wouldn't work! That kind of defeats the purpose of a battery back-up, right? It wouldnt do you any good in ANY situation-ever!
How about a clock where it's 100% functional on AC OR batteries? Everything would function the same either way, including the alarm. It shouldn't be that hard to implement, but I've never seen a clock that does this
Of course you could just get a battery-only clock, like I currently use, but the problem is it SUCKS DOWN BATTERIES! it only lasts about a month or 2, which is not very long for a clock, because I've had watch batteries last for YEARS before they went dead! I guess that's because my clock is just crap, but still, if the clock just had the batteries as a "safety-net" in case the power goes out, it'd last a heck of a lot longer.
Also, just as an added bonus, if you put rechargeable AA or AAA batteries in the clock (whatever it uses depending on design) and then used them as backup while normally using it with AC, the clock would keep those batteries charged. If you DONT have rechargeable batteries in it, and the batteries are low, the display should indicate that somehow, with a flashing battery icon or something.
(?) Got One
http://www.thinkgee...office/lights/9bac/ Got one. Does exactly as specified. [reap, Oct 01 2008]
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I have a sneaking suspicion that a brief
trip to your local neighbourhood hardware
store would address your concerns. |
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I believe that, these days, you can even
buy alarm clocks that are completely
independent of electricity. |
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You described my cellphone
perfectly. |
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I set its alarm to wake me in
the morning, and if the power
goes off while I am sleeping,
the phone's battery will go on
standby for at least 24 hours. |
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Other then that, all the
features you mention are
available in other alarm
clocks other then the one you
have. |
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//other then the one you have// and the one I have. |
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Ugh, it's the return of John James AutoBONE! |
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Me too. See the [link]. I have one of these. It operates exactly as specified, including recharging the battery as well as a bucketload more features. [-] |
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Just plug your clock into a UPS. |
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