The BARM969PA Oregon Scientific Atomic Projection Clock with Weather Station and FM Radio is the most elegant and sophisticated projection alarm clock we've seen to date. The Oregon Scientific BARM969PA is a radio controlled projection alarm clock, an FM clock radio, an indoor thermometer, and a weather forecaster. But that is just the beginning, read on and see what else Oregon Scientific has built into this unit.

Time projector - The time projection function of the BARM969PA is pretty typical of the better projection clocks. The projector can be pointed at the ceiling, or rotated forward or back 90 degrees to point at a wall.  The projector has a focus control, and the projected image is sharp and evenly illuminated, nicely visible in a dark room. The characters are the same unique stylized digits used on the LCD display.  What sets this model apart is that the projected time display includes the status of the alarm. If you are wondering if you remembered to set the alarm, just open your eyes and look at the projected image for alarm status. Of course the radio controlled time, which sets itself using radio transmissions broadcast by the atomic clock source in Boulder Colorado, will be accurate to within a fraction of a second, as long as the transmissions can reach the clock (see limitations below).      

FM Radio - The digital FM radio has scan functions, and station presets.  The station frequency as well as the preset number is displayed on the LCD display.

Alarm functions - The alarm functions are quite sophisticated.  The BARM969PA has two configurable alarms, and is capable of playing the radio, or one of a number of selected melodies, at different times, as either alarm 1 or 2.  In addition, the BARM969PA comes with a wireless remote alarm unit that may be placed under a pillow, or at the other side of the bed, up to 50 feet away.  The remote can be set to be triggered by alarm 1 or 2, both, or neither.  The remote is capable of playing melodies, or vibrating (vibration typically used under the pillow).  Through clever use of alarms 1 and 2, it is possible to have one alarm sound only at the main unit (using the radio), and the other alarm sound only at the remote (using melodies or vibration).

Sleep functions - The BARM969PA has sleep functionality.  The sleep timer may be set for 15, 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. When enabled, the sleep timer will play your choice of one of six soothing nature sounds, through both the BARM969PA's speaker, and the remote alarm unit, turning off at the end of the programmed time.  As the sound effects are independently generated at the main unit and the remote, they are not synchronized.  Sound effects, such as chirping tropical birds or waves breaking on the beach, are thus generated with striking stereo effects from the two units.  

Display Areas in LCD Panel

The large (3 1/2 by 2 inch) LCD panel on the BAR969PA has a momentary electro-luminescent backlight that lights for approximately 5 seconds when the snooze button is pressed. The display has five display areas:

Clock Display - Below the weather forecast is the time display. Time is displayed in 12 or 24 hour format, with either seconds or weekday (your option). The weekday is a two-letter abbreviation in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. You also see a clock radio reception icon, indicating signal strength of the signal needed to maintain radio control of the clock.  Digit size is around 1 inch for the time, 3/8 inch for the day or seconds.

FM Radio Display - At the upper right of the LCD panel is the FM radio display.  The station frequency, as well as the station pre-select number, are displayed. Digit size is 3/8 inch for the frequency, 1/4 inch for the pre-select.

Temperature Display - On the right, below the radio display, is the clock display.  The indoor temperature is displayed in degrees C or F, your option. Digit size is 3/8 inch for the temperature.

Alarm Settings / Date - At the bottom right of the display is the alarm / date area.  Icons are displayed showing the alarm settings.  Below that is the date in your choice of month / date or date / month format. Digit size for the date is 1/2 inch.

For additional information, please see the instructions. (It is a large file, this will open a new window and take a while to download)

Note: The instruction sheet and the bullet list on the box imply that the FM radio can be used in conjunction with the sleep timer.  In our evaluation testing, the sleep timer only seemed to work in conjunction with the soothing sound effects.  The Oregon Scientific site feature list only mentions the sleep timer in conjunction with the sound effects, so I suspect that this was a last minute engineering change, after the printing was done.

Note:  This product has "atomic" clock functionality. Atomic, or Radio Controlled clocks receive a radio signal to set themselves. Like any radio receiver however, they may not be able to receive the signal if they are in a building with a lot of steel in the structure, near computers or other electrical equipment that may generate interference, or if the weather is unsuitable. The signal they receive does not propagate well during the day. That's the nature of the signal, not the clock. These clocks are designed to catch the signal when they can, generally in the middle of the night, calibrate themselves, and then run quite accurately for days until they can catch another signal. When you first put in the batteries, they will most likely not set themselves until the middle of the night. That's normal. By morning, weather permitting, it should be correct. Under less than ideal conditions, it could take a few days. Daylight savings time changes may not be made the first night if location and weather are not favorable.