Review: Shift3 Projection Alarm Clock

Getting to work every day is part of what keeps things going at This D*mn House. It’s an important job – and why I haven’t entrusted it to a digital clock for more than a decade. After we went through a series of power outages in the late 1990s that made keeping time difficult, I switched to battery.

The problem with that though is that when I wake up in the middle of the night I have no clue what time it is – without getting up and hitting the snooze/light bar. I’m generally a light sleeper so sitting up, crawling to the edge of the bed and fidgeting with the clock could actually wake me up. Another thing I hate about a digital clock is having it shine in your face all night.

So, for some time, I’ve seen in passing these clocks that project the time on the ceiling or a wall. I never seriously went out looking for one though. Then, a Tuesday Mornings’ flyer came last week, advertising just such a clock for under $20. Sold!

We didn’t make it to the store on Tuesday when the sale started and I didn’t have a car for a couple days last week so I felt very lucky to still find exactly ONE on the shelf Saturday. I didn’t even know it came with a whole bunch of other features including:
· AM/FM radio
· Six audio settings including woodsy sounds, rain, crashing ocean waves, and cawing birds
· Thermometer for both inside and out

You can program the alarm to wake to radio or one of the audio settings. I don’t use the alarm, but I checked to make sure it works. I don’t think the outdoor temp thing works. I put the remote sensor to it in my window – away from direct sunlight – but while it was warm this weekend, it was telling me it was 68 or 70 when I knew it was below 60 degrees!

Note: The directions for this thing tell you to “remove the battery cover” on both the clock and the remote sensor as each requires the use of 2 AAA batteries. For the clock, no problem. For the remote temp sensor, BIG problem. There is no battery cover! You need a tiny Phillips screwdriver to undo the case to put the batteries in. Wonder why they don’t include THAT in the instructions.

I don’t see me using the radio much. I might get some benefits though from the audio settings as going to sleep to the sound of crashing waves might help drown out a yowling cat!

So far, the light from the projection screen doesn’t bother me. Since it goes upward, it doesn’t shine in my face. It casts both the time and the alleged outdoor temp on the ceiling. It’s been very cool to wake up, look up, and roll back over knowing how long I have ‘til the alarm goes off! If you do want to just use the clock without the projector, it comes with two backlight settings for night viewing.

If you’re interested in one of these, there are some to be found online. Just Google it. I Googled it the other night to see what was up with the battery compartment on the remote sensor. I think the cheapest I found was $25 – worth it if you want one of these like I did!