Customer Reviews

Big Ben 43000 Moonbeam Alarm Clock

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The Big Ben 43000 Moonbeam was recommended to me when I was having hearing problems and sleeping through the obnoxious buzz of a Sony Dream Machine purchased in the mid-1990s. The hearing issue has since cleared up, but this retro clock looked intriguing enough to buy anyway. I'm glad I did. I prefer analogs because they give me a better feeling for the time in the context of the day. The face is large and brightly lit enough to see when you wake up during a restless night and want to know the time but not enough to be disturbing (unless you require pitch darkness to sleep, which is not to be found in a place like Chicago). The flashing light wakes me up after a minute or two, although deep sleepers will probably need the alarm. Unlike with the old Dream Machine, I don't feel startled awake. The style is simple enough to fit into any but the most ultramodern room and is pleasing to the eye. My only concerns are that mine arrived with a tiny piece of metal broken from the metal base (in the back, where it's not visible), leaving a slight sharp edge, and that the light bulb seems to be hard to change. Aside from that, I love the Moonbeam!

It's been a week now, and I remain thoroughly pleased with this clock. I need to be up well before daylight, and the blinking light (wow-this thing is like a neon sign) really does wake me. My partner, who sleeps like a log and wakes later, doesn't stir. By the time he awakes, the sun is out, so for him it's just a regular alarm clock. The bell sound does get your attention. It's loud, and can't be adjusted. But it's effective :-)

The face glows brightly in the dark; if you prefer total darkness to sleep, this might be a problem. The ambient light doesn't bother us though. It rather puts me to mind of a big honey-colored moon. I actually find it quite comforting.

I like the pale yellow glow, but just as an FYI, L.L. Bean sells a version in several other colors - blue, red, green. The dial is a little different from the original, and they list for $10 more. But if color scheme is important, it's an option.

Am having no problem with the dials. The arrows clearly indicate which way to turn them to set time and alarm. The only other switch on the back turns the alarm on or off. Nothing fancy here. My snooze goes for ten minutes, after the first five it starts blinking, then blinks and rings at the full ten.

Oh, just one last comment - it's larger than I expected. For a point of reference, take 3 DVDs and place them on their sides. That's close the depth. It's maybe a half-inch shorter on the heighth, and about an inch less across.

Visually, this alarm clock is very toothsome. The blinking light is fabulous, granted you wake up before the birds. If you're like myself and wake up when you hear the sound, you're head my pop off. The sound is brutal. My dog fell off the bed the first time it went off.

This clock looks beatiful on the nightstand of my retro bedroom set. Its got a nice solid feeling to it and the dial has a lovely amber glow.

I got this clock for appearance so I didn't pay much attention to the blinking light wake-up feature. I have a tough time waking up in the morning, so I thought I'd sleep right through it anyway. Wrong! The light thing really works. It actually woke me up better than a usual buzzer alarm.

I have been the owner of a Moonbeam Clock for the past 5 years and it worked and continues to work beautifully, so recently I decided to buy another one. When I received the new clock I discovered that the alarm bell was broken (I discovered this by oversleeping). So I thought, "no big deal, I'll get another one, it must have been broken during shipping." I exchanged the broken clock and received a brand new one, only to discover that the flashing light on this one was broken. So I packed it up and have decided to get something different. I love my old one, don't know what's happened to the quality of them.

What a beautiful clock! It goes great in my 1920's house. Unfortunately, after 1 year, it stopped working.

Making clocks is not rocket science. There's no excuse for a clock to have this many problems. Clocks should just plain work for years. This one, as you can see from the many similar reviews, doesn't.

I wish they'd make a higher-quality model, because I'd love to buy several more! My current clock's going in the trash. Too bad.

After searching for literally weeks to find an attractive alarm clock with an illuminated analog face, I found this one. Despite the negative reviews, I decided to go for it.

The clock IS cute, and the alarm isn't too loud or offensive. I love the way it lights up before the alarm rings.

Here's the bad part: IT DOESN'T KEEP TIME. Literally each evening I'd need to reset it. And then I'd worry it would fall behind again before morning.

My advice: don't waste the shipping charges. However, if you're desparate, I wish you luck. Maybe you'll get one that works.

This is a nice looking clock on the outside, but very ugly inside. According to the owners manual, the flashing light gently begins the waking process. Very, very wrong. My long gone migraine headaches came back when I started using this clock. The flashing light was so intense, that I had to take the bulb out. I hear the clock click loudly and that wakes me up before the killer audible alarm. The audible alarm is the most annoying alarm I have ever heard!

My wife loves the look of this clock, and I have a new hobby, finding ways to make both alarms less annoying. One time, I dreamt that I was lashed to a neon sign and couldn't make the flashing stop. I had a headache all day. So, where to from here? I am looking for a less intense bulb for the unit.

The things we do for love.......

I purchased this clock new about a year ago. My dad has an original version of this clock that he purchased back in 1952. I love this clock except for one major problem. The dial illumination on my new clock is so bright that I can practically read by it in a dark room. The original 1950's clock dial was never illuminated. I would recommend that you not get this clock if you need a dark room to sleep in. I would recommend that the manufacturer install a switch so that a person can adjust the illumination of the dial. Right now its on 24 hours a day and its too bright.

I purchased this clock with great anticipation - it looked like a cool clock and I liked the way it was supposed to work. Unfortunately, I was disappointed the first time I used it. The night I received the clock I carefully set the time, and then carefully set the alarm to go off at 6:00 the next morning, heeding the warning sticker in the packaging stating I could damage the clock if I were to turn the set knobs the wrong way. At 6:30 the next morning I awoke on my own - the alarm had not yet sounded. Adjusting the alarm set hand, I found that it needs to be set 45 minutes prior to the actual time I want the alarm to sound; e.g., to make alarm sound at 6:00, the alarm hand must be set at 5:15. This is completely unsatisfactory, so I returned the clock for a replacement. Maybe the second time will be a charm?

Time for an update... I received my new Moonbeam yesterday, but didn't even get as far as setting it - I could see through the plastic shipping bag that the hour hand swung freely like a pendulum, an obviously defective clock. Geez! I'm returning #2 for a refund, but I'm not giving up on the Moonbeam. I'll buy my next one on eBay, where there are often a number of vintage Moonbeams (ca. 1949-1952) in good working order. If they could build them right 50+ years ago, solidly enough to still run properly 50 years later, why can't they build them right today?

My 2 star rating was left after I received the first clock, when I still held hope that the second clock would work properly. Now I wish I could change my rating to 0 stars...