It seems that my desired product doesn't exist

Can anyone help me to find a simple bedside LED alarm clock that doesn't light up the room up like an Aldis lamp? I don't need radio or iPod docks. Just a nice looking clock with a dimmable LED display with an alarm function.

Help?

I don't think you'll get much simpler than this. And if that's too bright for you, disassemble it, and stick a sheet of Roscolux grey gel (they have a variety) in front of the LEDs.

Or you might try a slightly different direction...

tanstaafl.

I ruled out projection clocks based on the stated desire to not light up the room.

Hmmm... my projection clock does not light up the room, in fact if there is any light at all in the room it completely overwhelms the projection. YMMV, of course.

tanstaafl.

As much as I hate sending anyone there, Radio Shack has a large display alarm clock that's dim setting is quite dim. I bought it 'cos it's readable across the room by eyes that are not quite new any more.

Interesting. I've always assumed that the light used for projection on those must be fairly strong. My daughter has a music box with a projection component, and you can see the image (faintly) in full daylight. At night, it's roughly equivalent to turning on the 40W lamp in the corner of her room.

I've got a Sony AM/FM radio alarm clock, with a red display and two alarm settings, which I bought 20 years ago and is still going strong. The new ones appear to only be green, which would be less desirable to me, since red light throws off your night vision less than other colors.

I'm still using the alarm clock I got as an 8th grade graduation present. One of the best features is the analog dimmer dial.

Heh.. When I first got a summer computer programming job during my University studies (30+ years ago now), I had to buy an alarm clock. So I got a cute little white cube thing with a big LED time display and AM/FM radio built in. It measures about 5-6" on each side.

Still have it, still using it. I did have to open it up and replace all the capacitors last year, to get rid of the ever louder AC hum it developed.

Probably not very power efficient though -- need to measure the current draw sometime soon.

Cheers

My alarm clock has sat unused since the day I got my first iPhone. I can't imagine needing to use an alarm clock again.

I solved that problem by (so far) always getting jobs with flexible start times. I wake up when I wake up. Or when one of the cats wakes me up. I can't remember the last time I set an alarm to wake myself (on clock, or phone).

My alarm clock has sat unused since the day I got my first iPhone our first born came home. I can't imagine long for needing to use an alarm clock again.

Mine isn't bright, sometimes I wish it were brighter.

Attached is a photo shot at f3.2, for 3.6 seconds. Hand-held which is why it is blurry. ISO 800 which is why it is grainy. It was pretty much full dark outside when I shot it, so the fact that you can actually see the window shows that it is overexposed. The piece of furniture on the lower left is being lit by light reflected from a street lamp half a block away.

The clock projection actually appears much brighter in the photograph than it does to the eye. A true exposure would show nothing but the projection, but without any other reference to judge by it would be meaningless.

Anyway, you needn't worry about my projection clock lighting up the room. It's barely bright enough to read, and by the time there is enough ambient light to make out the silhouette of the bird feeders, it is invisible. However, I don't know whether other projection clocks are brighter than mine.

tanstaafl.

I really like my Bose wave radio. Its display dims automatically when the lights in the room go out, via its ambient light sensor. And great sound for when I want music in the bedroom.

I don't know if it dims enough for you though.

LED necessarily? If not, this costs nothing:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70154065/