On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:54:09 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:35:01 -0500, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:34:53 -0500, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:35:14 GMT, aemeijers wrote:
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
That would keep me from asking to open the box.

Jim Redelfs wrote:

In these cases, particularly if I am familiar with the item, before
agreeing to open the item, I will do my best to inform the customer of
the package contents and/or answer their questions that caused them to
ask to see inside.


This is why stores used to have demonstrator models on display- actual
plugged-in working units, not empty shells
zip-tied to the gondolas.

As to the alarm clocks- don't most have the db ratings listed on the box?

Do any of them have such ratings? Can you name a single example?

And what is the industry-wide measurement standard which would make
this information useful?

You aren't aware that sound pressure levels can be measured?
Never heard of the decibel unit?

There's still a lot of missing standards. What standards are used to
calibrate the meter? Where do you put the sound-level meter? Under the
pillow? 5 inches in front of the clock? What is the "standard test
room" like? How quiet is it? How many square feet of curtains? All
these and more affect sound level readings. Unless measurements are
made under agreed-upon controlled conditions, they're of limited (if
any) use.

This lack of standards reminds me of the useless "peak music power"
ratings on audio equipment.

However, I know of no alarm clock maker that bothers to do so.

BTW, you might know that bels (a decibel is .1 of a bel) are NOT a
unit of sound. They're just a way of representing ratios on a
logarithmic scale. 0db is an arbitrary point.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"The government of the United States is not, in
any sense, founded on the Christian religion."