At work, I’d trouble-shoot by putting a small UPS upstream of the device.
Heck, for great troubleshooting, use a monster UPS.
If that doesn’t do it, I’d monitor the humidity at its location, perhaps surrounding it with the kind of devices you use to monitor humidity.
You could try locating it in a low-airflow part of your residence along with a dehumidifier and checking your levels.
They’re two different types of clocks that have done this, now. That’s the perplexing part.
I did get a receipt for the most recent, but apparently He Who Keeps the Books decided to dispose of it. :dubious:
There are no magnets near the clocks, so far’s I know. Although, there are rumours of large amount of silver coins being hidden in the walls of all the houses built by the gentleman who built our house nearly a hundred years ago, so maybe there’s magnets in there as well, who knows.
We live in the high desert, so humidity’s not really a problem.
I think at this point I’m going to beg BB&B to give me another one, and invest in a surge protector. If it happens again, then we can only conclude that we possess the stupidest super power ever - destroying clocks. Sort of an anti-Sylar, if you will.
Could a post-mortem exam of one of the clocks be helpful? IANAelectrician, but it seems like maybe having someone open up and see what killed the device might be a good idea.
Also, I like the way you (mis)spelled alarum. It seems to be more alarming than just “alarm”.
It has been my understanding never to connect an electronic device in the same circuit as an electric motor. For example, when vacuuming, never use the same circuit your computer is using.
Perhaps the swamp cooler created a transient when it started up and zoinked your clock.
It sorta reminds me of the way some people from the south (GA, AL; not FL) pronounce the letter “R”. Instead of saying “ar”, as in pirate aaarrrr, the say it like “ar-uh” with 2 syllables as if they had Mushmouth as an English teacher back in pre-school. I sticker every time I hear it (which is pretty often considering my job includes giving alphanumeric software activation codes).
Wait, you’re in the desert? It seems possible that static shocks are causing problems. If you’re lying in a bed, well insulated from the ground – and particularly if you’re rubbing lots of fabric (you don’t have silk sheets, do you?) – it seems possible that you might end up statically charged relative to the ground, and hitting the snooze bar in the morning is the first chance you have to get grounded, releasing a charge through the clock.
Although, I do this is less likely than just pure bad luck in having two clocks die. Cheap consumer electronics are usually not designed for incredibly low failure rates. When the third or fourth one dies, I’d aggressively look for an outside cause, but two can be coincidence.
Unless you guys are regularly hitting the snooze bar with, ah, lots of enthusiasm.
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That’s the thing though, we are now on our third clock (which is having the bizarre display problem). And these are not cheap clocks either. First two were $80 a pop (though, they replaced it for free), and the current one was about $40.
We do regularly hit snooze a lot, which is why the first, more expensive clock was such a blessing in that it only allowed you to hit snooze twice. After that, it would just continue going until you got your ass up. And we get LOTS of static here.
So, your static theory intrigues me. How would one avoid this?
Try googlefight
Alarm=106,000,000 results
Alarum=232,000 results
Not for any particular reason. It’s just neat…
Alas, I have no newsletter to subscribe to.
As for your case: I’m not saying I necessarily think that static is what’s really happening. I’ve always lived in pretty moist areas, so don’t have much personal experience, but it still seems a little unlikely.
But if there really is a static problem, there are a couple ways to fix it.
If the snooze bar is completely mechanically operated, then glue a nice thick piece of rubber or some other insulator to it, and make sure you don’t touch anything else on the clock in the morning other than the rubber pad above the snooze. (You’d have to figure out some way of also insulating the “Turn Alarm Off Completely” button). Unfortunately, many modern clocks use electrical sensors for buttons, so that might not be possible.
The other answer is to put a piece of metal on your bedside table, and connect a wire from it to the center screw on your electrical outlet (making sure there’s an electrical connection); then, every morning, make sure you touch the metal plate before touching the snooze bar.
Perhaps you should go back to basics?
Or a bigass chain clamped to your ankle and attached to a water pipe?
There’s the problem with modern electronics. There really won’t be anything to see without an electon microscope, assuming you can dis-encapsulate the integrated circuit(s).
As for the spelling, I was just figuring the OP was into Edgar Allan Poe.
There is no clock.
This first began about 6 months ago (May) and there is a swamp cooler on the circuit. That’s the time of the year when you had the most humidity in the room (early in the heating season there is still a little extra moisture in many objects, and surfaces, like gypsum, which are released into the heated air over time; hot air can hold more water vapor) Of course, only you know if you are still having static issues at that time of year
The really nasty in-line voltage spikes come when the motor shuts off, not while it’s on (due to the collapse of the magnetic field that was doing all that work) This inductive kickback can raise impressive sparks. Often there is one or more reverse diode across the motor which doesn’t normally conduct, but which shorts out the spike when the motor is switched off. That diode may be loose or dead. That’s just one way a motors can generate line transients (worn contacts, etc.), but it’s particularly cheap and easy to fix.
Turn on an battery-powered AM radio in the room with the swamp cooler running, The more static you hear when the cooler is on vs. off, the more transients the motor is generating. A loud click or pop on the radio when you turn the cooler off, may mean the diode is bad/loose. (A soft click or pop may be normal) Some AC powered radios are actually more sensitive, because the get a pop from the line transients as well as the RFI.
Checking with a radio isn’t perfect but it only takes a minute, and no technical knowledge.
Am I the only person wondering what kind of high-powered, technologically advanced vibrator is in the nightstand below the clock?
My money is on static, but honestly, I haven’t a clue.