a couple questions

[blebaford]

Hi everybody! I like flip clocks and recently decided I want to buy a flip alarm clock radio, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the variety. So maybe you can help me narrow down my options.

- Do some have better tuners/antennas than others? (I'm sort of at the edge of the range of my favorite station)
- Do some have better speakers than others?
- Which clocks are the cheapest and most available? (i.e. not inflated in price due to being in a movie, and popular enough that there are a lot of them)
- Do some clocks allow you to turn off the light which shines on the numbers? (if not I would probably manually disconnect it)
- Do some make noise when the numbers flip? (I'm a light sleeper and a flipping sound every minute would not be good)

The last criterion is most important, and I probably would've already bought a Panasonic RC-6003 or RC-6010 if I knew I wouldn't hear the flipping sound from my bed. But now that I'm posting here I would be happy to hear other suggestions given the criteria I listed. Thanks!

[RetroFlip]

-Some allow connecting external antennas for FM, like the RC-6003 has a wire out the back. Some clock radios are AM only so check that before hand.
-Yes, I can't add too much on this but I've had a couple Lloyd that sounded pretty bad.
- As far as buying on ebay, stalk the newly listed filtered by buy it now. You can also search for models # and check show only sold items to get a better idea how often one comes through and the range of pricing. Some patience can get you your chosen model on the lower end.
-Some battery powered ones have a push button to light the digits, most plug ins are constantly lit. The bulbs dim as they age.
-They all make noise to varying degree, maybe humming from the motor, sound of the mechanism moving and the sound of the flap clacking down.

[blebaford]

-Some allow connecting external antennas for FM, like the RC-6003 has a wire out the back. Some clock radios are AM only so check that before hand.
-Yes, I can't add too much on this but I've had a couple Lloyd that sounded pretty bad.
- As far as buying on ebay, stalk the newly listed filtered by buy it now. You can also search for models # and check show only sold items to get a better idea how often one comes through and the range of pricing. Some patience can get you your chosen model on the lower end.
-Some battery powered ones have a push button to light the digits, most plug ins are constantly lit. The bulbs dim as they age.
-They all make noise to varying degree, maybe humming from the motor, sound of the mechanism moving and the sound of the flap clacking down.

Thanks for the input. Are there any flip clocks that are particularly quiet with the amount of motor/flipping sound? Maybe more recent models are quieter?

[RetroFlip]

Hmm, for most of the alarm clocks that are working well, we are talking about very little noise. You might find it helpful to check out various you tube videos that show the clocks running, that will give you a general idea what sort of noise you'd expect. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRBRzWZiqpY People sometimes record short ones when putting them on ebay. The alarm clock radios were made to go on bed side tables and I personally find them less annoying than say an analog clock ticking on the second hand in a quiet room.