The nice big incompetents

When looking for an alarm clock that has an analogue time display and hands that glow all night, I came across this model because I could believe the product photos, this would be my new alarm clock.

After exactly 24 hours, he is again packed and on their way back to Germany's largest mail order company ... and here are the reasons:

=== === Readability

_In Hellen_

Why the manufacturer does not extradite this model with a white dial, probably reveals itself only to him. Due to the gray color (yes, gray, not silver!) Of the dial you after only a few meters distance difficulties to tell the time, as the background and the pointer does not contrast enough.

The glass front is strongly curved outwards, resulting in that any incident light is reflected back to the viewer, and also in particular ceiling lighting, which also ensures the readability difficult.

The metal clamps. with which the glass front to the chassis, also reflect any light, dazzle and make it difficult just readability.

_In The Dark_

I need an alarm clock, light up the hands at night ... or ... "fluoresce," as the saying goes. Since my old alarm clock still works, I have the ACTIV II directly placed next to it and ... what do I care for the evening to do so ... off the light.

Immediately it can be seen that the hands glow only very weakly, although I use the alarm clock to "recharge" had even provided throughout the day directly in the window and in the evening the lighted living room. The alleged night glowing strokes, which are glued on the dial in the outer ring in "5-minute intervals," not illuminated.

After an hour I had already pretty tight with his face to come to the clock, so I could see even what time it was. After another hour, I could see nothing. For comparison ... the hands of my old alarm clock shone the next morning bright enough to relax tired, blinking can be seen in every sleeping position time.

Since the ACTIV II so at night hardly or does not light up, the manufacturer has built a small bulb between the bottom glass front and dial that you can activate on the alarm clock by pressing a broad switch above. Unfortunately, this lamp is not shielded and the viewer directly lit and extremely unpleasant dazzling in the face. His real object, illuminating the clock face, he fulfills only sparsely. Only half of the clock face is illuminated, to say nothing of uniformity throughout and the upper edge disappears in the Mausgrau the background so perfect that a reading of the time no problem is ... the subject with the background color chosen by mistake I had already.

=== === The "silence"

Yes, which is needless to say, because it is not existent. The seller advertises "silent" on the packaging is even "absolutely silent". In practice, the question arises how the manufacturer's marketing department the term "silent" defined. I do not have perfect pitch, nor am I a dog, but after I had used the battery, the cockroaches went straight off.

The second hand grinds rasping his rounds and one is inclined to give the whole thing a nudge, to eliminate the sound. And that could be heard during the day ... at night in the quiet bedroom, the sound was more obvious and disturbing by the great sound of the alarm clock.

=== === The Alarm

Anyone who buys this alarm should be aware that you can not make the minute the alarm ... that's when these models so and it was also clear to me. However, the alarm just as "intermittent sympathetic" as a courageous boot of a sergeant during the morning wake up to the office door with an equally "sympathetic intermittent" "COMPANY GET UP!" ... Has to be recovered from the shock ... ok, coffee no longer takes no more after that ... all day!

== == My conclusion

This alarm clock has disappointed me in every aspect. From the non-existent silence to the night not luminescent hands, this model may look nothing of what it promises except chic and keeping time with no apparent discrepancies ... so they are because of the right angle and at close range during the day attempts to read to verify this.