SKYSCAN DIGITAL
ATOMIC ALARM CLOCK

SkyScan Digital Atomic Alarm Clock, retail $TBA
Manufactured by SkyScan (www.skyscaninfo.com)
Last updated 03-14-11



(IMPORTANT!!!)
I've had this for quite a few years now; that's why it does not look brand spanken new in the above photograph!!!

This product does not emit light of its own, so the standard review format will not be used and the product will not be assigned a rating.


This is the SkyScan digital atomic alarm clock.

It keeps correct time by occasionally linking up with the atomic clock in Fort Collins CO. USA; you never really have to reset the time -- not even after Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.

FWIW: This is model number 31981B.
It must be obsolete now, as it was not found on the SkyScan website.


Size of product w/hand to show scale SIZE



To use this clock, install two AAA cells (see directly below), and THEN you can go check the time.

Setting this clock is quite easy...actually, you don't have to set it unless you need to know the time & date ***RIGHT AWAY***.


TO SELECT THE TIME ZONE:

1. Press TIME ZONE button once, the LCD shows the time zone (the default time zone is PST).
2- Press + or - - to set the time zone (PST>MST>CST>EST)
3. Press the TIME ZONE or SET button to go back to the time display or it will automatically go back to the time display in 5 seconds.

TO SET TIME, CALENDAR, 12/24HR AND °C/°F:

1. Press the SET button once to set the Year: digits show '2003" and blink. Press + or - - to set the year.
2. Press the SET button again to set the Date : small digits show " 1 - 1" (i.e. Jan 1st) and blink. Press + or - - to set the date. Press and hold + or - will increase the increment or decrement at a faster rate.
3. Press the SET button again to set the Time : large digits in HR : MIN will show and blink.
Press + or - to set the clock to the current time. Press and hold + or - will increase increment or decrement at a faster rate.
4. Press the SET button again to set 12 / 24 HR readout. Upper LCD shows "12Hr" and blink.
Press + or - to choose 12HR or 24 HR time display format.
5. Press the SET button again to select °C/°F readout: the temperature readout (i.e. 68°F) will blink. Press + or - to choose readout (i.e. 68°F or 20°C ). The default readout is in °F.
6. Press the SET button again to exit the setting mode and return to the normal display. Or it will automatically return in 5 seconds.

**Special attention for usage in Arizona and Indiana.**

Parts of Arizona and Indiana do not have Daylight Saving Time (DST). Please slide the DST switch inside the battery compartment to OFF if the clock is used in these states.

TO SET ALARM TIME:
1. To read your alarm time: press + or - once, the lower Month and Date digits will change to alarm time digits.
2. To set the alarm time: press + or - again, the alarm digits will blink, Press + or - - to set your alarm time. Press and hold + or - will increase the increment or decrement at a faster rate.
3. Alter you set the alarm, the clock will go back to the normal display automatically in 5 seconds.

TO TURN ON/OFF THE ALARM:
1. To use snooze alarm
Press the SNOOZE / AL ON/0FF button until SNZ and (((o))) show on lower LCD.
When the alarm beeps, press SNOOZE / LIGHT bar. The alarm will Sound again when the snooze period is over. (See "To Program the Snooze Alarm " below)
When the alarm beeps, press any key at the front to stop the alarm. The snooze alarm will turn on the following day at the same time.
2. To turn on alarm
Press the SNOOZE /AL ON/OFF button until (((o))) shows on lower LCD.
When the alarm beeps, press SNOOZE / LIGHT. The alarm will turn on the following day at the same time. 3. To disable the alarm permanently:
Press the SNOOZE / AL ON / 0FFbutton until the SNZ and (((o))) clear from the lower LCD.

TO PROGRAM THE SNOOZE ALARM:
1. Press and hold the SNOOZE / LIGHT bar for 3-4 seconds. The small display will blink and show 05 (minutes) the default snooze duration. Press + or - to set the snooze duration from 5 minutes to 60 minutes.
Note: The minimum snooze duration is 5 minutes.
2. Press the SNOOZE / LIGHT bar once to go back to the normal display or the clock will auto exit if no further buttons are pressed after 5 seconds.


The above instructions were lifted from this web page, as I no longer have the instructional materials that were furnished with this product.



To change the AAA cells when necessary, place the clock face-down on a soft surface like a bed, uphostered chair, couch, etc. and look on the back for a battery door near the bottom. Lift this door off, carry it to a bridge over deep water (the Brooklyn Bridge would be ideal; however, the Juneau-Douglas Bridge would also do in a pinch here), and throw it over the side so that it goes "blub blub blub" all the way to the bottom of Gastineau Channel with all of the bowling balls that were lobbed over that bridge in the 1950s and 1960s...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

You'll see two AAA cells in the compartment. Remove them, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert two new AAA cells into the compartment, orienting them according to the polarity legend embossed into the bottom of the compartment.

Place the battery door back on, and slide it upward until it fits flush with the clock body.
Aren't you glad that you didn't throw that battery door over the side of the Juneau-Douglas Bridge now?


This is what the Juneau-Douglas Bridge looks like...or what it lookED like anyway before it was replaced in 1976.


And this is what the bridge looks like now.



Photograph of this clock's display; backlighting was turned on.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the (suspected) EL backlight.


Spectrographic analysis
Same as above; known dark conditions were used this time in an attempt to (unsuccessfully) eliminate the spectral feature visible in the NIR portion of the spectrum.


Audio (sound) file {.WAV format} of this clock's alarm.

This file is ~0.255 megabytes (267,017 bytes) in size; dial-up users please be aware.








TEST NOTES:
Unit was purchased on Ebay possibly in 2000.

Product was made in China.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 11-23-10
This clock was accidentally nocked off of the night table a couple of mornings ago; when I picked it up, a distinct rattling sound and tactile sensation (where you can feel it rattle as though something with substantial mass was loose at the bottom of the clock) was detected when the product was shaken only lightly. This did not appear to affect the clock's basic functionality.

When I subsequently disassembled it in an attempt to detect what was causing the rattling, I saw that the clock's ferrite core antenna (used for receiving the radio signals from the atomic clock in Fort Collins CO. USA) had come loose from its glued position. I did not see any busted wires, so I simply pushed it back into position and reassembled the clock. But several hours have gone by as of this writing (and multiple presses of the "WAVE" button plus fresh batteries) and the clock still has not picked up the radio transmission from Colorado, so the possibility exists that one or more of the wires leading to the antenna or even one of the wires in the antenna coil itself have become broken.
However, since the clock can still be set manually, I need not dispose of it -- though that somewhat dreadful "" icon will be appended to its listings on this website, denoting partial failure has ocurred but that the product is still very much usable.


UPDATE: 11-23-10
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a same-day update.
I disassembled the clock again to look for one or more busted wires around & leading to the ferrite rod antenna, and did not find any.


UPDATE: 11-23-10
No, you aren't seeing things.
Yes, a third same-day update.
I looked at the time on the clock (which I deliberately misset), and it was correct -- indicating that the clock has indeed received the radio signal from the atomic clock in Colorado and reset itself accordingly. So the "" icon will not have to be used after all!!!


UPDATE: 03-14-11
This clock was accidentally nocked off of the night table a couple of evenings ago by the Metal Series 33cm R/C Coaxial Helicopter; that dreadful rattling sound and tactile sensation has returned, and this clock appears to no longer receive the radio signals from the atomic clock in Fort Collins CO. USA.

Therefore, that somewhat dreadful "" icon will be once again appended to its listings on this website, denoting partial failure has ocurred but that the product is still very much usable.



This video shows the helicopter crashing into the night table, nocking this clock fairly vigorously to the floor.

That music you might hear in the background is from the computer demo "Coma Demo" by Crack Rat of "The Brain Slayer". This product is not sound-sensitive; the audio may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.





    MANUFACTURER: SkyScan
    PRODUCT TYPE: Digital alarm clock
    LAMP TYPE: Possible EL display backlighting
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: N/A
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; display protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 2x AAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: No
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: None
    WARRANTY: Unknown/TBA

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Product was not intended to be a light-emitter, so the traditional "star" rating will not be used.





SkyScan Digital Atomic Alarm Clock *






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