The Oregon Scientific Radio Controlled Daylight Projection Clock with Outdoor Temperature, or the DP200 for it’s shorter and snappier name, is a smart looking device that projects the time and temperature onto walls, ceilings, or pretty much anything else you could imagine.  In this article we’ll be taking a closer look at the device and in particular its external thermo sensor and infra-red motion sensor.

In the box

In the box you get the projection clock itself (with battery included), a power adaptor, a user manual in various languages, a certificate of guarantee and a remote thermo sensor (with AA battery included).

The clock itself is about the height of a typical paperback book and it feels pretty solid to hold in the hand.

The actual dimensions are around 90 x 60 x 190mm (LxWxH) which is a little different from the measurements given in the manual although the weight stated of around 510g (without battery) feels about right.

The black gloss finish of the unit, together with the silver trim, give an attractive look to the device and the red display complements the unit nicely.

The thermo sensor is a small (50x24x93mm), battery powered, unit that is designed to detect the temperature external to the device and transmit it back within around 30m (though the manual recommends experimenting with the distance to get the best performance). It is worth noting that the clock also has a built-in temperature sensor so you get two readings.

On the top of the unit is the alarm on/off button and the IR motion sensor. Along one vertical side of the unit is the projection arm (with focus wheel) which can be swivelled through a good degree of rotation. On the front of the unit is a large display area showing the clock signal reception (no signal, weak, strong signal), AM/PM indicator, the time itself (displayed vertically), and a number of other indicators.

In addition to the projection facility and radio control setting some of the other novel features of the clock include:

• An IR motion sensor for activating snooze changing display modes
• 180 degree rotation of the projected image
• Temperature display utilising information from the external thermo sensor
• Indoor temperature displayed (via sensor built into the device)

The Projection Clock

The clock can itself can be set using radio control from a supported clock signal.

There are two settings for setting the synchronisation of the clock, either EU or UK. The EU setting requires the clock to be within 932 miles of Frankfurt, Germany whereas the UK setting requires the clock to be within 932 miles of Anthorn, England.

The clock is set using the panel on the base of the unit where there are buttons for activating the projection (Off, On, or Auto), rotating the projection by 180 degrees, clock and alarm setting, reset, and switching between EU/UK and temperature reading.

In Operation

The clock itself was a breeze to setup. It took a while for the clock signal to synchronise, I can’t be sure how long it took as I left the device overnight which seemed to do the trick and it has kept pace since with a medium signal.

The projection arm has a good level of rotation and the projected image is large, bright, and clear (although it can be fine tuned using the focus button).  The projected image on the left doesn’t really do it justice so I have included a closer image of the projected image (the image is projected onto an off-white wall during the mid-afternoon) so you can see how clear it is.

The display information can be switched by waving a hand at least 3 inches above the top of the device. The display modes given in the manual are Clock, Alarm, Outdoor (although it should really say External rather than Outdoor) temperature and Indoor temperature. Of the four display modes the display of the Alarm is only displayed on the device itself – it is not projected.

With regard to the external sensor it It took a little while to get it working properly. Initially, I used the battery that came with the unit and left the default channel to 1 but no matter how close the sensor was placed to the clock it refused to find it. Changing the batteries, setting the channel to 2 and switching the clock on and off kicked it into life and it has worked happily since (the sensor is currently placed around 8m away although there is a line of sight between the sensor and clock).

Video

In Summary

The device has some really neat features and the projection feature is certain to turn a few heads. It would be useful for the projection to be activated and deactivated by swiping a hand over the sensor however it seems this is not the case as the projection is set to either on or off (although you can switch the projection off but the switch is located at the base of the unit).

Overall, the Oregon Scientific Radio Controlled Daylight Projection Clock with Outdoor Temperature is a really desirable looking gadget with a number of useful and functional features and once setup it runs quite happily. The display is bright and chunky and the projected image is clear and the automatic display dimming helps the projection in various lighting situations.

For more information head over to Oregon Scientific: DP200 Radio Controlled Daylight Projection Clock with Outdoor Temperature.