Alarm Clock King

- Are there any dual fire alarms/alarm clocks? How can I make my fire alarm to also be my alarm clock?


A My son could use one of these. His alarm clock is never loud enough to get him out of bed! Well, although I don't think you can just walk into your local Wal*Mart and by this, they do make a stand alone smoke detector that has an ability to work as "multiple stations", i.e. it can be hardwired to other detectors, I think they have new "wireless" ones too!. The basic idea is that if one goes off, they all go off. The trick would be to find out what makes the detector trip, and then wire it to a timer module (your alarm) so that it tripped the detector every morning that you had the timer plugged in. You'd have to be good at figuring out the internal electronics of such a device or buy a 110 volt relay. The timers can be purchased at Wal*Mart, but not the relay. Radio Shack would probably have both. The detector is going to have to be ordered, but here I have provided some suggestion products below. If you are good at "messing with" the internal electronics and are good with a soldering gun, you could just wire the timer to engage the test swtich on the detector, for that, any cheap smoke detector would work, but you are probably violating the listing of the device. Sounds like an interesting little electronics project! Good luck and be careful if you decide to attempt it.

- Where can I have find a dual voltage alarm clock?
Not looking for any transformers or power converters, just need a small dual voltage alarm clock. I can't seem to find them anywhere.

A Are you going to use this clock on the two voltages in the same country? The voltage isn't really the problem. Most clocks are referenced to the AC hertz to keep them accurate. Power Hertz is regulated very tightly because all the generators in the country are tied into the same power grid and they have to stay in synch. Most countries with 120 VAC are 60 Hz and most countries with 240 VAC are 50 Hz. If meant for a country with 120 VAC, 60 Hz the clock will run slow in countries with 50 Hz. If meant for a country with 50 Hz the clock will run fast in a country with 60 Hz. You're best bet is to buy a battery powered clock which will have an internal time base. Then you don't have to worry about voltage or Hertz.