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The
Equity 31269 Atomic Projection Alarm Clock is a compact digital alarm clock that displays the
time on its LCD panel and also projects the time in red numbers
on the wall or ceiling. On the LCD panel and in the projected
display, the time is shown as hour, minutes, and seconds. Hour
and minute digits on the panel are fairly large at 3/4 of an inch
tall. Seconds digits are 1/4 inch. And you're
really going to like the projected time display. It's both
larger and brighter than that of any projection clock we've yet
seen (details on this later). Below the time on the LCD panel
are displayed the month, date, weekday, and indoor temperature
in digits and characters about 1/2 inch tall (tenths
of a degree are about 1/4 inch).
This digital atomic alarm clock is designed as a free-standing
unit only and cannot be wall mounted.
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You'll appreciate
both the absolute accuracy and the convenient features of
the 31269 digital atomic projection clock. The time can be displayed in 12-hour or 24-hour
mode. Calendar information is
pre-programmed from year 1998 through 2097. The year is displayed
only during manual setup, which is optional. Month and date are displayed digitally, and
the weekday is displayed as a 3-letter abbreviation in
English. If you
do set the clock manually, you'll need to set the time, year,
month, and date. The weekday abbreviation updates automatically
as the date is set. Successful
reception of the time-synchronization radio signal is indicated
by a radio tower and waves icon just above the "ones"
digit in the seconds display. After synchronization occurs, you can
select your continental U.S. time zone (EST, CST, MST, or PST) by means of a switch on
the back of the clock. The indoor temperature can be displayed in
either
°F or °C, and both the
temperature unit and the 12-/24-hour time mode can be changed at
any time during normal operation. You don't have to reinitiate clock setup to do this. Also, if you
live in an area that does not observe Daylight Saving Time
(Arizona and parts of Indiana), you can simply press a button on
the back of the clock to disable automatic DST changes in the
spring and fall.
The 31269 has a single daily alarm with available snooze. When the
alarm is set to on, an alarm icon appears between the hours and
minutes on the upper display. You can actually set the
alarm with or without the snooze function. The alarm is a
1-minute series of beeps. When
both the alarm and snooze function are on,
"Zz" appears just above the current day. With snooze on, pressing the SNOOZE/LIGHT bar when the alarm beeps
silences the alarm and resets it to sound again in 5 minutes. Also, pressing
the SNOOZE/LIGHT bar at any time lights the soft green backlight
for the LCD panel and activates the time projection. To maximize battery life,
the backlight and projected time have a 3-second auto-off
function. Important
Note on Time Projection: The 31269 clock operates on battery
power (2 x AA) and AC power with the included adaptor for
constant projection. The 31269's projected time display is
the biggest and brightest we have seen yet, and the projector
focus works very well. We took the clock into our low-light
environmental test lab (the windowless restroom in our warehouse
area) and tried the projector. With the clock about 6 feet from
the ceiling (the maximum distance specified for many projection
clocks), we estimate the height of the minutes and seconds
digits at 7 to 8 inches. Also, the digits are bright, and we
used the PROJECTOR FOCUS knob to bring them into really sharp
focus. There is also a PROJECTOR ROTATE knob to adjust the
projected time to which ever angle you like. Just for kicks, we then put the clock on the floor and
pressed the SNOOZE/LIGHT bar. At 10 feet, the projected display
on the ceiling was still bright and sharp enough to read easily
(and, naturally, even larger at about 12 inches, we'd say). This
is impressive performance indeed. The 31269's
case is a semi-metallic
silver color. The bezel around the LCD panel is a darker
titanium color, as are the SNOOZE/LIGHT bar on the top and the clock's
control buttons on the back. Because of this clock's styling and neutral
colors, it will fit in nicely with a variety of interior decors.
As mentioned above, the clock is designed for use as a
free-standing unit only.
Expected battery life is about 1 year. Frequent use of the WAVE
button (to initiate a time-signal search) and the backlight and
projector will shorten the battery life.
Almost anyone can
appreciate and use the Equity 31269.
Naturally, this inexpensive digital atomic projection alarm clock makes an especially thoughtful and
practical gift for family members and friends alike. And because the
projected time is larger and brighter than that of many
projection clocks, the 31269
may work well for people with a mild degree of vision
impairment.
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