Clock radio: Escalating wakeup volume, independent music volume

I use my cellphone in a similar way by using the calendar feature to log appointments or wake up times. The setting allows me to set alarms 5, 10, 30 and 60 minutes before the appointment time. It let's me set snooze intervals at 5, 10 or 15 minute intervals. I can assign custom alarm sounds to each as well as volume levels.

It also has a separate alarm clock function with similar customizations.

Some days before i injured my back, it took all of them to get me awake and moving at 5am to head to the city pool for my lap swims.


You might consider your cell phone as an alternative.

I think it's a good idea, but I probably couldn't deal with the complexity of getting everything set up. Since I don't see a company spending the cash to develop this thing, I'm betting you won't find one.

By the way, I have a clock with a bed shaker. There is an approximately 4" diameter plastic that slips under the pillow. It will wake you up. I promise.

Then again, you could copy your topic title into a Google search and get exactly what you are looking for.


Had me fooled, thought it was a legit question, not spam.

Awwwww

Me too

Spam? I believe that a key component of spam is irrelevance to a forum. Why would you malign my question like that?

Same content copy and pasted as this one.

Here
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-7596_102-613125/clock-radio-escalating-wakeup-volume-independent-music-vol/

Here


http://electronics.forumsee.com/a/m/s/p12-32129-0184096--clock-radio-escalating-wakeup-volume-independent-music-volume.html


Here

http://www.amazon.com/forum/clock%20radio/ref=rft_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1YBWVCWFKQQYA&cdThread=Tx3SWH8AU26UU44

Here

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2025242/clock-radio-escalating-wakeup-volume-independent-music-volume.html


Spam, no matter how you slice it, it is still spam.

To Butrflynet:
I posted a genuine question and all you can do is jump all over the irrelevant aspects. This forum does not *own* the content of my question and asking on other communities does not constitute spam. You completely ignored what I pointed out about the definition of spam, both technical and in spirit: The irrelevance and inapproriateness. I spent about an hour finding the forums on which people post about consumer electronics products, found 4 (the 5th you posted is some kind of aggregator). These forums are pretty mutually exclusive in terms of their audience, so I'm willing to guess that you personally did not get assailed by a deluge of my messages.

Basically, it is a genuine question that doesn't fit the technical definition of spam, nor the spirit of spam, no one is harmed, and you seem intent on hammering away at it.

Never mind that you completely ignored the part in the question which says I did my surfing. I'm not looking for anyone else to do that for me. I'm only seeking personal accounts of something that fits the bill.

If you have nothing constructive to add, please take your flame-baiting "help" and help someone on another thread.

P.S. You'll notice that I didn't post URLs or mention companies -- specifically because trolls and wannabe net cops like yourself can't help but try to villify that as spam, even if the context shows otherwise.

My clock radio just goes off, it doesn't escalate volume, but I do have two battery-operated alarm clocks (I like the ones that look like retro wind-up clocks), that both escalate in volume. They're sort of puzzling, in that they start so low that you wake up and you're not sure if in fact the alarm is going off. I'm not sure that's an improvement. That's apparently a comm0n feature in the chips they run off of these days. There is also an alarm clock of sorts that shines a light, which gradually gets brighter until it's allegedly pretty intense--don't know if they also have audible alarms or radios too--I've just seen pictures of them in catalogs, never actually seen one in person. then there's the alarm that some genius at MIT invented, which goes off and then has little wheels, so it rolls off your bedside table and you have to root around on the floor to find out where it's rolled to today to shut if off.

at the risk of being called a troll, I googled "alarm clock with light that gradually brightens", or something like that and got a bunch of hits, including this, which also seems to have a radio that gets louder as well as a lightbut is definitely on the expensive end of clock radios.
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Hf3470-Wake-up-Light-White/dp/B003XN4RIC

As an erstwhile inventor myself, No, I encourage you

Exactly what I saw in the first five Google results when I first googled it.

It is still spam, with a little lipstick added to it.

You'll note that in my first post I described to you an alternative using a cell phone that might work for you. Looking just now at the responses you got on CNET, they are saying the same thing, that it would make a good cell phone application.

I googled your question to see what was out there and that's when the list of links for the Phillips and Roberts items popped up in the first page of results.

With your complaint, I looked again and also found your other forum posts.

It is the same pattern other not so clever SEO spammers use.

If yours is truly a legitimate post, my suggestion would be that, as you said in your original post, when you find clocks that look like they might fit the bill but are unsure because the descriptions are lacking, go to the manufacturer's website, get their customer service number and call them. If their clock isn't what you want, they may know of alternatives to suggest.

Butrflynet, I can refer to the technical definition of spam, and its definition in spirit, until this whole thread turns into nothing but mindless bantering. It won't matter, because you've already ignored it repeatedly and seem intent upon hijacking the thread. Let me repeat myself: Please get off of my thread. I don't want it to be filled up with your petty fanaticism, one-sided accounts of random web searches, or anything from your moniker -- at all. If there's anything here that fits the definition of spam, it is your deliberately obfuscating posts. As a response to your clever suggestion to visit manufacturer sites, I'll just mention that I examined product manuals that before posting. Besides that, your so called suggestion completely sidetracks the intent of the original post -- recall that I've already observed this of your past posts. Since I've already followed your advice, I think it only fair that you follow a suggestion of mine (other than staying off my thread): seek professional help for your single-minded, trigger-happy, shoot-first (and second, and third) maligning ways. Your toxic help is not welcome on my thread. I'm not sure how much clearer I can make this.

I hope I can redirect this thread back to its intended topic.

I'll tentatively make reference to some of my web rompings from before my initial post here, and hopefully not break any rules of decency or good taste for this forum. The most helpful was http://alarm-clocks-review.toptenreviews.com, and the one that looked really promising with #2. I read some Amazon reviews, however, and found that some people had issues with the volume controls, and there is some indication that either they were not as independent has one would like, or the wakeup volume just wasn't adequate under the desired modes of operation. One rather unique bonus was that you could turn off the display of time, but some reviews made me doubt if you could really do that both on the wall/ceiling and the LED display. Besides, that feature doesn't make up for insufficiently independent volume controls.

About bed-shaker wakeup devices, I'm in fact trying to wake up gently, hence the escalating volume (or I suppose it has also been termed gradual wakeup). Due to various commitments, I find it hard enough to get a decent 6 hours of sleep; under such a contraint, I find it better to wake up gently sleep deprived is than to be violently jarred awake, sleep deprived.

Currently, I use my cell phone, but I am concerned about all these crank calls that have come in. Thankfully, no crank calls very early thus far, but on weekends, some can come in during the morning -- prime time for ameliorating the sleep deficit. The only way to avoid them is to turn off the cell, but that's not OK for the weekdays (not because I get important calls, but because I need the alarm). Buying a new cell phone doesn't make sense because I hardly use the one I have now; for that reason, a smartphone would make even less sense. That's why, as this thread is entitled, I set out to find an actual clock radio, which also has the benefit of actually sounding better.

About gradual illumination, I tend to wake up late when the sun is up, so I use eye shades. I really am trying to find a gradaully escalating audio solution. As for robots that scurry around and make you chase them in order to silence them......sounds entertaining and cute, but I'd rather go gentle on the waking up.

As for inventing my own...that would be an interesting hobby when I've gotten on top of other commitments. Right now, I'm seeking a commercial solution -- streamline optimum design in terms of compactness, portability, user-friendliness, etc.

Looks like Phillips makes one.
http://www.mea.philips.com/c/audio-system/aluminium-aj1003_12/prd/

jespah, thank you for the reference. It's a good candidate, but the challenge that I found in my web search is that I might even go so far as examining the manual, but it's not clear that the volume of the wakeup is limited by the volume set by the 1 hour sleep time playing of the radio. The #2 candidate that I mentioned previously seemed like the right solution, until I read some reviews. Some pretty key limitations were described.

In the end, whatever choice I make, I'll likely be ordering online because bricks & mortar shopping for something very specific...well...I've never managed to do that successfully. That's why I composed my first post to request confirmation of the desired functionality from someone with first hand experience before I settled on a product. Perhaps, hopefully, someone who has actually owned such a product (either the one you linked to or another suitable solution) can post a confirmation that the "essential" features in my original post are met. If they want to say which of the listed non-essential features are met, and which aren't, so much the better.

I'll also try to find a forum specific to the manufacturer to ask about the features I described in my original post. I tried to do this on amazon for the #2 solution I mentioned, but havent't gotten a response.

Just some supplementary information on the Philips AJ1003 that I was referred to. It seems to be sold in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Since I haven't found a seller on this side of the pond, I'm assuming that if you do find one, it will be imported from overseas and you will still need an adapter. A reviewer also mentioned that it is a french product, and any talking products might speak in french. For non-french speakers, I don't that to be a problem for this clock because there is no indication that it talks, and I suspect that none of the symbols on the controls are language specific.

I begin to think you might be better off with two devices. One to send you to sleep, and one to wake you up. Less complex and more available, and might even be cheaper. Again, I am happy with the bed shaker option.

Plus too much complexity in one unit = higher failure rate and more expensive repairs.

Huh, if the Phillips unit is only sold overseas, it might still be something that people are selling secondhand on eBay. Worth a quick search if nothing else.

Might also want to head to forums for people suffering from sleep disorders, see if they have anything to recommend. Attack the problem from the other end, as it were.

@roger: You're probably right about not necessarily being able to meet all my "essential" requirements in 1 thing, at least presently, and at least with certainty before purchasing. The Philips that jespah linked to is a good candidate, and the instructions indicate that you can set the wakeup volume regardless of whether you choose the buzzer or radio. But not seeing any english reviews, and buying from across the pond brings with it a level of uncertainty (all one has to do is read amazon reviews to realize that the buyer experience can be quite different from the vendor information). Tracking down french websites that *might* be reviews, then google translating it and trying to make sense of it -- I'm not prepared to spend that amount of time for that quality of information at the moment.

As for using two devices, that's pretty well what I do with a ghetto blaster for music or white noise tracks to go to sleep and the cell phone to wake up. The fact that the boom box doesn't time out isn't a big deal. With this solution, the only benefits of a consolidated product is the gradual wakeup, removal of the possibility of ill-timed crank calls, and (very important) the convenience and neatness of having everything in one package so that I'm not moving devices from room to room before bed time and setting things up. An intermediate 2-device solution is to keep using the ghetto blaster at night and use a gradual wakeup device in the morning -- which still entails research and sourcing, but as you say, the gradual wakeup device may be easier to find. I'm not sure if I'd find it worthwhile though. It would take up more room, more cables, etc. Not a show stopper, but nontrivial in the context of my current spartan existence (partly by intent).

@jespah: In general, I agree that complexity makes it harder for a device to be robust. However, I think todays devices are much more complex than these gradual wakeup clock radios. Granted, there is risk to the consumer from the fact that the gradual wakeup seems to be a relatively new idea that is diffusing through the market and it will take some attempts before designers get the functional behaviour right.

As for ebay, I actually found that amazon sells the Philips. It's a matter of whether I want to order from across the pond without having read reviews. I might yet do the google translate to see what I dredge up, but I have to wind down this search for now. I'll keep in mind the forums for sleep disorders as a source of info. The disorders are not a problem I have presently (it'd be nice to get enough bed time for those disorders to be a risk, but presently, exhaustion takes care of that), but I understand that they may know some good tricks.

In closing, I'll report some findings from spending more time on amazon reviews. The #2 that I alluded to on the top-10 comparison site...it *does* allow user determined wakeup volume. I noted that only the buzzer has gradual wakeup, and that despite the poor quality of the built-in nature sounds, people found the bird calls nice to wake up to. And bonus, you can turn off the display of the time so that you're not constantly reminded of how dreadfully late it is when you're still awake. Knowing that, and the fact that many people are happy with the product despite its shortcomings, I think it is a strong candidate.

Speaking of dreadfully late...thank you for your thoughts. And have a good night.