Digital Atomic Projection Clock with Time Display, Month, Date, Day, Daily Alarm with Snooze, Indoor Temperature, and Backlight

The SkyScan 31269 Atomic Projection Alarm Clock by Equity Time 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 7/8 inch tall. Seconds digits are half that size at 7/16 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 1/4 inch tall (month and tenths of a degree are slightly smaller). This digital atomic alarm clock is designed as a free-standing unit only and cannot be wall mounted.

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 simply by pressing buttons in the battery compartment. 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 set a switch in the battery compartment 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 above the "tens" digit in the seconds display. You can actually set the alarm switch for alarm-on 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 alarm icon.  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 only (2 x AA). Unlike many projection clocks, it does not come with, and thus cannot operate on, ac house current. As a result, continuous time projection is not possible with this clock. On the other hand, the 31269's projected time display is the biggest and brightest we have yet seen, 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. 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 slide switches and projector focus knob on the sides. While most of the clock's controls are located on the case front, top, and sides, the DST On/Off, °C/°F, Reset, and Time Zone buttons are in the battery compartment on the back of the clock. 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. The 31269 is powered by two AA (1.5V) alkaline batteries. 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 SkyScan 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.

Features:

• Receives 60kHz WWVB time-synchronization radio signal from U.S. atomic clock in Colorado.
• Automatic time and date adjustment after signal reception.
• Daylight Saving Time (DST) on/off option.
• Radio tower and waves icon indicates successful signal reception.
• Calendar with day-of-week display is pre-programmed from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2097.
• Time is displayed as hour, minutes, and seconds in both the LCD panel and the projected time display.
• User-selectable 12-hour or 24-hour time format, with AM or PM displayed in 12-hour format.
• LCD panel has a soft green backlight with auto-off for night viewing.
• Projector can be angled to display the time on wall or ceiling.
• Projected image can be focused for maximum sharpness at any distance within projection range. (Maximum distance is not specified, but we found the time quite readable at 10 feet.)
• Projected time and LCD panel backlight have 3-second auto-off. (Clock uses battery power only, so continuous projection is not possible.)
• Time accuracy when synchronized to U.S. atomic clock is better than 1 second in 3000 years.
• Time accuracy when free-running (not synchronized) is +/-30 seconds per month.
• Single daily alarm has a 1-minute beep pattern and can be set with or without an available 5-minute snooze function.
• Indoor temperature display is user-selectable for °F or °C.

Specifications:

• Indoor temperature measuring range:
  32°F to 122°F with 0.1°F resolution
• Power source: two AA (1.5V) alkaline batteries
• Expected battery life: approximately 1 year (without excessive use of WAVE button and/or projector and backlight)
• Dimensions:
  5-1/2 inches (140 mm) wide
  3-5/8 inches (92 mm) high
  2-1/8 inches (54 mm) deep