The Blammo! Clock

When I took apart my alarm clock to convert it to 24-hour time, I got the idea to tap the "ALARM" output of the controller chip and use it to trigger various devices which would gently assist me in waking up on time. Dropping objects on my face was too unreliable since I tend to move around in the bed, and spraying or dumping ice water would have made too much of a mess.

The Blammo! Clock consists of the modified alarm clock mentioned earlier, connected to a device which ignites a 1-quart plastic zipper bag full of propane and oxygen gas. At a roughly 1-5 ratio, the mixture emits enough of a bang when ignited to rattle glassware, startle people jogging by outside, and completely eliminate any possibility of inadvertently going back to sleep!

PHOTO SHOULD BE HERE

The bag has to be filled and the system set up beforehand. Oxygen gas is supplied by an old medical oxygen concentrator (a $25 Ebay find) which I also use to run my little oxy-propane torch, and the propane comes from a $5 "camping"-type cylinder. The mixture is "eyeballed" since I don't have any practical means of dispensing an exact quantity of each gas (unless I want to contaminate one of my mass flow controllers from the Fusion Project). Ignition is achieved by means of two electrodes inserted through the side of the bag to form a spark gap inside, connected to a high-voltage power supply (which, if I recall correctly, originated from an old photocopier). Power control is taken care of by Mr. Switchy.

Unfortunately, a loud bang every morning for a year would probably result in some sort of hearing damage. In addition, loud explosions in the house at 6:00 in the morning tend to bother some people. Thus, this system is not a solution which is practical for use on a daily basis, although it certainly makes a nice conversation piece.

This page is in progress. More entertaining photos are on the way. Come back in a week or so...