Customer Reviews

BlueMax Sunrise System Model 100 w/Bulbs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was having the darndest time getting up and out of bed for work and school. I relocated to Minneapolis from California and it wasn't so much the cold that bothered me, but the fact that it is as dark at 5pm as it is at 5am. Cue the Bluemax Sunrise system. This little alarm clock simulates a sunrise in your own bedroom. I have it hooked up to a clip lamp as well as a pole lamp to cast a nice soft sunrise when it comes time to wake. You can program different waking times for different days, which was EXCEPTIONALLY handy for days when I had clinicals (requiring 4AM wakeup times).

If you're a student spending a few grand a year on school, invest $100 in a clock like this to help you wake up. Believe me, I tried cell phone alarms, laptop alarms, multiple alarm clocks, so many different things. They'd work for a few weeks until I developed a callus for it, and sometimes they'd contribute to my fatigue. Nothing like waking up to pitch black darkness to one's cellphone during the middle of a dream to make you want to sleep harder.

Waking to a simulated sunrise is like waking up from a pleasant nap on a couch. Effortless, natural, easy as breathing, even when I've been sleep deprived. I wish I had this in high school.

This is a great value for the money. I read a ton of reviews of various similar products before purchasing and the price of this one for overall positive reviews is what made me choose it. I'm glad I did.

I was having trouble getting up in the morning, and so were my kids. I love waking up to the gradual increasing light. On the rare occasion the light doesn't wake me (99% of the time it does) the alarm beep is nice. Not too obnoxious or loud, but annoying enough to make me sit up. And I've been surprised to find what a difference the sunset makes for me at night when trying to fall asleep--the gentle decrease in light lulls me to sleep.

I did not find this at all difficult or confusing to set or operate, as long as you read the instructions. The ability to set a different time for each day is very nice.

However, there is one feature mentioned in the instructions that does not seem to work. No matter how carefully I follow the steps, I cannot get the "Friday night" setting to turn on. This is supposed to make the alarm dim for sunset, but not go off at sunrise the next morning (useful on weekends when you want a sunset but don't want to wake up early). I finally gave up and just set the alarm really late the next day whenever I want a sunset but not a sunrise.

Also, my one other complaint is that the shape of the alarm is weird. It tilts in an odd direction when set on the tabletop, which makes the light shine in my eyes somewhat, and it's a little clunky to move around due to the shape and also the very heavy cord on it. But this is a minor annoyance. It is nice and small and has a tiny footprint on my table compared to other alarms, so that's a decent trade-off for the awkwardness in size/weight.

I also like the free bulbs that came with it very much!

It is a much better price than other similar systems and besides those really minor gripes it was worth EVERY penny!

Purchased this for a more natural early wakeup. Works but suggest you attach to a pole lamp of some type. We have it on a small lamp on one side of the bed and it's too easy to just turn over and block out the light.

I have been using this for 3 or 4 years, and I really like it except for a few things. The cord is so bulky it's hard to make it sit flat on a table, and I wish the alarm volume was adjustable.

The fatal error, though, is that when our power went out a month or so ago, the volume quit working. That was okay, because I seem to have trained myself to wake up with the light by itself. However, the power went out again last week and fried the display, so now it is unusable. I will replace this clock with another sunrise model, but I recommend plugging it in through a surge protector.

I have hearing loss and without my hearing aids, I can't hear an alarm clock. In addition, over many years I've gotten used to waking up by natural light and find it much more pleasant anyway. However, in the winter that gets to be a problem and I sleep too late. This light is a perfect solution. I tried a Philips lamp, but it died within the first few days and the bulb is not replaceable. Having had the lamp for a few days, I realized that it would be nicer to be able to control my choice of lighting, not just an integrated one. After returning it, I found this and it is perfect. It has a 7-day alarm calendar. I've got it set to wake me at 6:00 with the light gradually increasing starting at 5:30. An hour after the alarm time - 7:00 for me - it automatically shuts off. On the weekends, it is set for 8:00. I never have to touch it. I have it connected to a torch style lamp that illuminates my whole bedroom and it just works great. I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone.

My fiance and I purchased this after trying out the Philips Hf3470/60 Wake-up Light, White and like it much, much better. We have the device connected to three lamps in our bedroom - one tall standing floor lamp and two bedside reading lamps. The Phillips didn't work for us because the light could only sit on one side of the bed and the person on the dark side didn't get enough light exposure to wake up. With the flexibility of this device, you can connect it to as many lamps as you need to wake up both people sleeping in the same bed.

My main complaint is that it's a little cumbersome to change the wake up time - you have to scroll through several screens to change the time. For example to change your wake-up time for Saturday, you have to scroll through about 5 setting screens (date, length of sunrise, length of sunset, etc) and 5 day of week screens. If you accidentally scroll past the day of week, you have to hit the button 10 times again to get back. I also wish there were a sunset option for nighttime - i.e. I would want a feature to gradually turn down the lights right before bed.

All in all though, this is a great product that has changed our lives. Waking up in the morning is no longer a painful, jarring experience. I find that I now regularly wake up 20 minutes before my set alarm time but feel more refreshed.

I knew I was going to start a new job where I had to get up at 5:00 AM. I've never been a good early riser so I researched every "sunrise light" I could find. This one sounded the best but I couldn't find much info or return policy on the company's web site (UK) and they didn't answer my email inquiry. When I saw it was available on Amazon I jumped on it since they have a great return policy. I have not been disappointed. I works exactly as described and is effective at gently waking me without any annoying buzzer or music. I have used it about one month I have a clock radio set as a backup but have not needed it once. The light always wakes me. I have it set for a 30 minute "ramp up sunrise" time. I like the setting of the wake time for each day - easy and quick to set. Backlight is not too bright for me and is easy to see and read. To turn the light off I hit the alarm button and then the ZZZ button and it stays off. The only tiny complaint is the thick and not very flexible power / control cord. It was a bit pricy but it has been worth it for me.

I bought this in November 2010 when the dreary winter blues were really affecting me. It is now March 2011 so I think I've given enough time to write a reasonable review. My old alarm clock's beeping made me crabby and it was really hard to get up. I'd press my snooze button a lot and it was horrible. This sunrise clock will wake you up pleasantly, but you have to make sure you are getting adequate sleep or else you may not wake up without setting the optional beep. The beeping is what makes waking up unpleasant for me. In a way, this sunrise clock forced me to develop better sleep habits. I really did not want to set the beep!

I have mine hooked up to a gooseneck floor lamp that holds five bulbs. I used the two bulbs that come with the set and supplemented with 3 incandescent bulbs. The bulbs that come with it are those special natiural daylight bulbs but when they wear out, I'll probably repalce with regular incandescents and see if I notice a difference. It would probably be enough to wake me up with only two bulbs but I use 5 bulbs because I aim the lights towards me after my shower for light therapy. I set the sunset for 60 minutes so I know when my light therapy is over. You cannot use the CFC bulbs with this light per the instructions. I have not tried dimmable CFCs.

With the incandescent bulbs, I have noticed something that I'll mention but with a caveat. I have really good hearing and can hear some dog whistles even though I'm nearly 40. I can hear a high-pitched ring from the bulbs when they are at the lower dim levels. It is not loud at all and doesn't hurt my ears but I can hear it. The light wakes me up before the ringing does. You will probably not be able to hear it.

There is an adjustable light on the background display. That is very handy because I am very sensitive to light in the room when I am sleeping. I have it set to 1, which is the lowest level of actual backlight but it can be set to no light. You set each day of the week independantly, which is useful for weekends or schedules that change. I am very happy with this light. It works as advertised. It doesn't take much room on the dresser either. If I had to change one thing about this clock it would be to have actual red lit numbers. It is harder to see in the dark with the backlight all the way up than it would be to have the regular red lit numbers. Red lit numbers aren't as disturbing to me as the green lights. My solution is to keep my old alarm clock across the room with its big red numbers and alarm not set. By the way, I find the beep on this clock to be really annoying. However, since I don't use that feature, I don't care.