Mon Apr 21 09:36:59 PM CDT 2025

My first project was a HeathKit digital alarm clock. Had that clock for almost 20 years. Can't remember what happened to it. Woke me up to a loud, electronic "Beeeep! Beeeep! Beeeep!" every morning. I miss it.

Six of the seven radios in my home office have an alarm feature, and that includes the phone, which is just a packet radio masquerading as a telephone. The seventh one is a waterproof, handheld Yaesu ham radio, which has too many other functions to have room for an alarm.

Fooling around with the medium-sized one a month ago, and got it set to alarm at 7AM and 3PM. I was taking antibiotics to keep a tooth under control until I could get the root canal. Didn't find a station, just let it buzz with AC noise and static. Still got my attention, but tricky to turn off when I was done with it.

We All Need Alarm Clocks

With the way AI is going today, it might not be long before our radios alarm us with more than just wake-up time. Imagine a radio that will play some embarrassing music when you start to tell a fib, or blurt out a loud buzz when you start to say a curse word. Would I carry that radio around with me? I dunno.

There are other ways we all need to wake up. For example, we all need to wake up to our own potential. It doesn't require a huge skill set to operate a radio, but you can get so much out of it, especially shortwave. It's even possible to connect RTTY for those who are hearing- or speech-impaired.

And the skill set to build a radio -- especially from a kit -- isn't much greater. But the satisfaction of knowing that you did this will stay with you for a lifetime.

That's just my $.02.