Best Projection Alarm Clock

Alarm clocks have become a necessity for many in modern society. These are often the only gadgets that stand between us and an important early morning meeting missed because we slept too late. For many who are prone to getting up in the middle of the night, they want more than just an alarm telling them when to get up in the morning. Often they want to check out the time to see if they should snooze a bit longer or go ahead and get out of bed. When an alarm is sitting at an awkward angle behind you, it can be a little annoying to have to look back to tell the time.

Finding The Best Projection Alarm Clock: Four Models Compared

There are many alarm clocks which project the time on the ceiling so that you can conveniently look up at any point in the night and get the time. Here is a look at some of the best projection alarm clocks.

Doctor Who TARDIS

The Doctor Who TARDIS Projection Alarm clock is a lower end model with minimal features. The clock comes in the shape of Dr. Who’s time machine shaped like a London call box, the Tardis. It is quite small at about 4 inches tall, and looks a lot more like a child’s toy than an alarm clock. As such it could be the perfect gift for a kid that loves the show.

Doctor Who TARDIS Projection Alarm clock

However, it only runs on 3 AAA batteries with no electric cord, so if the batteries go out suddenly, your alarm might not go off. Having batteries and power backing each other up is optimal. Additionally, it only stays illuminated on the wall for about 10 seconds at a time, so you will have to reach back in the middle of the night to trigger the display to get the time.

La Crosse Technology WT-5220U-IT

The La Crosse Technology WT-5220U-IT is a more typical projection clock with many more features. It displays not only the current time on the ceiling while you sleep, but also the current indoor and outdoor temperatures. The outdoor temperature is polled from a remote transmitter that is placed outside. This can be very handy in telling you exactly what the temperature it is before you get out from under the warm covers.

La Crosse Technology WT-5220U-IT Projection Alarm Clock

The clock also automatically synchronized the time to the U.S. atomic clock official time using a radio receiver. The time projected in the ceiling is a very visible red, but not too bright; however, the projected numbers are rather small compared to some other clocks, so you might need a different model if you wear glasses. It is also best to let the clock set itself to the U.S. official time as the instruction manual that comes with this model is quite poor.

Oregon Scientific RM313PNA

The Oregon Scientific RM313PNA is considered the best projection alarm clock by many. It excels in display a large display on the ceiling that is very easy to read; yet, it is not so bright that it will disturb most people’s sleep.

Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-setting Projection Alarm Clock

It, like the La Crosse, displays the indoor temperature to let you know how cold it will be when you get out from under the covers. However, there is no outdoor temperature reading. The clock also automatically synchronizes to the U.S. atomic clock so that you are assured it is always on time. The time display on its face also features a 5 second backlight and a map of various time zones if you do business in other countries. It’s also great for teaching kids about different time zones.

Magnasonic MAG-MM176K

The Magnasonic MAG-MM176K is also one of the best projection clocks. This one has tons of additional features including an AM/FM radio so you can wake up to your favorite radio station. It also has a unique dual alarm system so the alarm can be set to different times on weekends and weekdays. This can save you a lot of time in changing the alarm back and forth at the beginning and ending of the week.

Magnasonic MAG-MM176K Projection Clock Radio

The clock automatically sets itself even after a power outage using U.S. atomic clock settings. The swivel projector can also allow you to display the time on the wall or ceiling, depending on the direction it is rotated in. The only problem with this clock is that many people report that the light on the ceiling is too bright at night, which can cause some people problems in falling asleep.