"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

Daughter purchase a radio controlled alarm clock from Lidl a couple of
weeks back but although the clock and alarm function well, the
advertised motion sensing alarm cancelling did not work.

She returned it to the shop and a manager opened another box, waited
for sync (2 AA batteries supplied in clock), set alarm and tried to
cancel without pressing the button but no success with that one
either

Daughter brought this second clock to me at the weekend and I
dismantled it and found the usual RF clock module with black blob chip
but with a second small pcb with another blob and wires to battery,
snooze switch, a copper foil strip on the case front and a couple of
blue LEDs (which were supposed to come on for 3 seconds on pressing
the button - another non-working function).

Examined surface mount component soldering under eyeglass and checked
battery voltage. There were 3 wires to the four tags on the battery
compartment. Tracing them revealed that the clock module worked off
one cell only but the LED/snooze/motion sensor pcb used the full 3
volts - which was absent.

Opened battery container and probed both batteries - ok. Then noticed
the second piece of thin transparent plastic that had to be pulled out
from between the other cell positive and contact.

Assembly was the reverse....

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

On Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:24:31 +0100, Geo wrote:

Daughter purchase a radio controlled alarm clock from Lidl a couple of
weeks back but although the clock and alarm function well, the
advertised motion sensing alarm cancelling did not work.

She returned it to the shop and a manager opened another box, waited
for sync (2 AA batteries supplied in clock), set alarm and tried to
cancel without pressing the button but no success with that one
either

Daughter brought this second clock to me at the weekend and I
dismantled it and found the usual RF clock module with black blob chip
but with a second small pcb with another blob and wires to battery,
snooze switch, a copper foil strip on the case front and a couple of
blue LEDs (which were supposed to come on for 3 seconds on pressing
the button - another non-working function).

Examined surface mount component soldering under eyeglass and checked
battery voltage. There were 3 wires to the four tags on the battery
compartment. Tracing them revealed that the clock module worked off
one cell only but the LED/snooze/motion sensor pcb used the full 3
volts - which was absent.

Opened battery container and probed both batteries - ok. Then noticed
the second piece of thin transparent plastic that had to be pulled out
from between the other cell positive and contact.

Assembly was the reverse....

OK, again, always check the fuel bfore stripping the engine.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

On 02/04/13 15:24, Geo wrote:
Daughter purchase a radio controlled alarm clock from Lidl a couple of
weeks back but although the clock and alarm function well, the
advertised motion sensing alarm cancelling did not work.

She returned it to the shop and a manager opened another box, waited
for sync (2 AA batteries supplied in clock), set alarm and tried to
cancel without pressing the button but no success with that one
either

Daughter brought this second clock to me at the weekend and I
dismantled it and found the usual RF clock module with black blob chip
but with a second small pcb with another blob and wires to battery,
snooze switch, a copper foil strip on the case front and a couple of
blue LEDs (which were supposed to come on for 3 seconds on pressing
the button - another non-working function).

Examined surface mount component soldering under eyeglass and checked
battery voltage. There were 3 wires to the four tags on the battery
compartment. Tracing them revealed that the clock module worked off
one cell only but the LED/snooze/motion sensor pcb used the full 3
volts - which was absent.

Opened battery container and probed both batteries - ok. Then noticed
the second piece of thin transparent plastic that had to be pulled out
from between the other cell positive and contact.

Assembly was the reverse....

Heh Wife bought a new set of kitchen scales and set them down 'look at that!

I pushed down. went up to half kg and stopped. I pushed harder 'what are
you doing, you'll break them'' 'Just trying to see why they wont go over
a half kilo' (peer underneath) 'ah, its because you still have the paper
packing collar round the stem (rip off with bare fingers) 'YOU ARE
BREAKING MY SCALES'.

Sigh.


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

Hmm, one would have thought something like this would have been in a printed
leaflet.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Geo" wrote in message
...
Daughter purchase a radio controlled alarm clock from Lidl a couple of
weeks back but although the clock and alarm function well, the
advertised motion sensing alarm cancelling did not work.

She returned it to the shop and a manager opened another box, waited
for sync (2 AA batteries supplied in clock), set alarm and tried to
cancel without pressing the button but no success with that one
either

Daughter brought this second clock to me at the weekend and I
dismantled it and found the usual RF clock module with black blob chip
but with a second small pcb with another blob and wires to battery,
snooze switch, a copper foil strip on the case front and a couple of
blue LEDs (which were supposed to come on for 3 seconds on pressing
the button - another non-working function).

Examined surface mount component soldering under eyeglass and checked
battery voltage. There were 3 wires to the four tags on the battery
compartment. Tracing them revealed that the clock module worked off
one cell only but the LED/snooze/motion sensor pcb used the full 3
volts - which was absent.

Opened battery container and probed both batteries - ok. Then noticed
the second piece of thin transparent plastic that had to be pulled out
from between the other cell positive and contact.

Assembly was the reverse....

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

Yes Brian - I thoroughly checked the manual - afterwards - but nothing
mentioned.
At least the shop staff fell for the same trick.


On Wed, 3 Apr 2013 08:18:19 +0100, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

Hmm, one would have thought something like this would have been in a printed
leaflet.
Brian

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

On 03/04/2013 09:02, Geo wrote:
Yes Brian - I thoroughly checked the manual - afterwards - but nothing
mentioned.


Ha Ha - love the "afterwards" part of the comment.

When all else fails .....

Al.

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

In article ,
Geo wrote:
Daughter purchase a radio controlled alarm clock from Lidl a couple of
weeks back but although the clock and alarm function well, the
advertised motion sensing alarm cancelling did not work.

She returned it to the shop and a manager opened another box, waited
for sync (2 AA batteries supplied in clock), set alarm and tried to
cancel without pressing the button but no success with that one
either

Daughter brought this second clock to me at the weekend and I
dismantled it and found the usual RF clock module with black blob chip
but with a second small pcb with another blob and wires to battery,
snooze switch, a copper foil strip on the case front and a couple of
blue LEDs (which were supposed to come on for 3 seconds on pressing
the button - another non-working function).

Examined surface mount component soldering under eyeglass and checked
battery voltage. There were 3 wires to the four tags on the battery
compartment. Tracing them revealed that the clock module worked off
one cell only but the LED/snooze/motion sensor pcb used the full 3
volts - which was absent.

Opened battery container and probed both batteries - ok. Then noticed
the second piece of thin transparent plastic that had to be pulled out
from between the other cell positive and contact.

Assembly was the reverse....

So presumably there was no LED indication either?

--
*A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

In article ,
Alan (BigAl) wrote:
On 03/04/2013 09:02, Geo wrote:
Yes Brian - I thoroughly checked the manual - afterwards - but nothing
mentioned.


Ha Ha - love the "afterwards" part of the comment.

When all else fails .....

Al.

Lidl manuals tend to be 1999 pages of safety and disposal instructions and
a paragraph about actual operation. Most give up long before finding it.

--
*What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Repairing" a Lidl Radio Controlled Alarm Clock - long
 

On Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:51:48 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:


So presumably there was no LED indication either?

Correct - was beginning to think the advert and box printing were for
different model.