INFINITY OPTICS CLOCK


Infinity Optics Clock, retail $69.95 (www.whatonearthcatalog.com...)
Manufactured by Can You Imagine (www.cyi.net)
Last updated 10-19-10






This is a large wall clock designed to look like a gigantic wristwatch.

What makes it unique isn't that 1 AA cell that powers the movement, and it isn't the two large straps designed to look like a watchband. It's those four NUV (near-ultraviolet) LEDs that illuminate green circles at the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00 positions and the hour, minute, and second hands! These are reflected by mirrors that give the illusion of "infinity" - that is, when you're looking at the clock, these glowing components appear to retreat inside the clock until they are no longer visible.

The NUV LEDs give a "black light" effect to the green dots and the clock's three hands.


SIZE



Plug the clock in and install one AA cell first (see directly below), and then you'll be ready to rock.

On the back of the clock near the center, there is a ribbed knob. While pushing in on it, turn it *COUNTERCLOCKWISE* (as though loosening it) to set the time (move the hands). The instructional material was rather emphatic about turning this knob counterclockwise; something will probably become broken if you turn it clockwise.

On the right side of the clock, there are two buttons. The first one turns the LEDs on & off; the second one (lower, larger; at the 3:00 position) appears just to be a dummy knob - that is, it does not appear to do anything at all.


You can either stand the clock on a desk or hang it from a wall.

To stand the clock on a desk, flip that transparent plastic stand out from the back, and stand this clock on your desk, in any place you see fit.

To hang it on a wall like a big gigantic watch, first attach the "watchbands". The lower band (the one without the buckle) should go on the clock first. One pin of the band will have a fixed pin; the other will have a spring-loaded pin with a lever to retract it. Place the end with the fixed pin in the hole in the clock (where one would normally affix a watchband to on a wristwatch) first. Then, pull the lever on the "watchband" to retract the other pin, slide the band assembly into place, and then release it. Do the same thing with the upper band (the one with the buckle).

There is a keyhole-type receptacle on the buckle; you may use this to hang the clock on the wall.



Since this product is powered by 120 volts AC line power, I don't have to tell you which part to remove and feed to the hungry, hungry praying mantids. O wait...actually I do.

To power the clock, plug the small plug on the end of the wall wart's cord into the receptacle for it on the back of the clock, and plug the larger end into any standard (in north America anyway) 110 to 130 volts AC 60Hz 2- or 3-slot receptacle. This gives power to the LEDs, but not the clock movement itself.

To install the AA cell that the clock movement requires, you need to do the the following:
On the back of the clock is a transparent plastic stand. Raise it.
At the lower center of the back of the clock is a battery door secured with a screw. Use a small to medium phillips screwdriver to unscrew that screw; the #0 with a 3.8mm shaft diameter (the largest one) in my set of jeweller's screwdrivers did the trick here. It appears to be semi-captive, but it could fall out. Lift off the battery door, gently place it on the ground, and kick it into the garden so the hungry, hungry praying mantids will think it's something yummy for their insect tummies and subsequently strike at it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Insert one new AA cell into the chamber, orienting it so its flat-end (-) negative faces the spring for it in the chamber.

Place the battery door back on, and tighten that screw.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that battery door into the garden with all those hungry, hungry praying mantids now?


Here is what a praying mantis looks like.
I found this guy on the morning of 09-08-06 clinging to the basket of my scooter.



The Infinity Optics Clock is not waterproof or drop-resistant; it was meant to be put somewhere and not abused, so I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the {vulgar term for feces}bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout or with a handheld wand), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. So this section is going to be kinda empty. :/

The clock has a sweep second hand - that is, it moves smoothly instead of ticking.

It will continue to function during a power failure; the AC adapter only powers the lights - the clock movement itself is battery powered. That also means if the clock stops or no longer keeps accurate time, change the battery first before taking stronger measures.

It is not known how hard the LEDs are driven; therefore, the time elapsed before significant dimming occurs isn't clear - I guess that's just one of those "only time will tell" things. Best I can do here is to keep an eye on it and see what happens.

It is *SIGNIFICANTLY* larger than I thought it was going to be based solely on the photograph of it in the catalogue I saw it in (the face of the clock alone is 8" in diameter & the total length of the clock & "watchband" is no less than 4'); this is ***NOT*** a negative mind you, just an observation.

This clock is really nifty - if I were to rate products like this, I would not forsee awarding it anything less than 4 1/2 stars - maybe even a full five stars!!!

(Update 08-19-07): Because of the more rapid than expected degradation of its NUV LEDs, I cannot in good concience award it five full stars if I were to furnish it with a star rating.
It *MIGHT* still make The Trophy Case, but it would not receive a perfect rating from me.



Photograph of the face of the clock, showing the time (4:12:40).



Clock with the "watchband" on.
(L.) On the floor.
(R.) Hanging on the wall.



Photograph of the clock (hanging on the wall), showing the time (8:16:10).


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this clock; LEDs are in an advanced State of Euphoria...er...uh...state of DECAY!!! (there I go thinking about the heavy metal band Anthrax!).


Spectrographic plot
Same as above; spectrometer's "baseline" raised to confirm the absence of a broad "hump" in the yellow region often found in degraded NUV and UV LEDs.


Spectrographic plot
Fluorescence of the green "dots" of this clock when irradiated with the Handheld Blue (violet-emitting) Laser Module.


Spectrographic plot
Fluorescence of the magenta hands of this clock when irradiated with the Handheld Blue (violet-emitting) Laser Module.



Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the green "dots" on the face of the Infinity Optics Clock when irradiated with the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser.



Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the magenta hands of the Infinity Optics Clock when irradiated with the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser.

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased at the What On Earth website on 07-31-07 and was received on 08-08-07.

The wall wart transformer is labelled to output 4.5 volts DC at 150mA.
Center of plug is (+) positive, barrel is (-) negative.

As far as I am able to determine, this product was made in the USA.
A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 08-19-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock (measuring by holding the light meter's sensor against the green "dot" at the 9:00 position): 2.82 at 6:00am PDT on 08-10-07 (monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken.

Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 1.02 at 8:10pm PDT on 08-18-07.
Same parameters as above.

So, there appears to be some degradation of the NUV LEDs already, just over eight days (approximately 212 hours) later.


UPDATE: 08-26-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.78 at 8:25pm PDT on 08-25-07 (monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
So those NUV LEDs are definitely whirling down the {vulgar term for poop}bowl.


UPDATE: 09-04-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.47 at 4:08pm PDT on 09-03-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 09-10-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.47 at 8:38pm PDT on 09-09-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 09-19-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.35 at 7:18pm PDT on 09-18-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
So those NUV LEDs really are going to pot.


UPDATE: 09-26-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.29 at pm 7:39pm PDT on 09-25-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
So those NUV LEDs really are going to pot.
This decrease in intensity is *REALLY* visible.


UPDATE: 10-05-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.26 at 6:59pm PDT on 10-04-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
So those NUV LEDs are REALLY!!! going to pot!!!!!!!


UPDATE: 10-10-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.27 at 7:19am PDT on 10-10-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
O look!!! Their intensity has increased by a whopping 1mcd over the last five days!!!


UPDATE: 10-13-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: once again, 0.22 at 5:47am PDT on 10-13-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 10-23-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.21 at 9:47am PDT on 10-23-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 11-06-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.17 at 8:26am PST on 11-05-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 11-13-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.17 at 9:49am PST on 11-12-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 11-24-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.14 at 7:14am PST on 11-23-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 12-11-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.13 at 7:22pm PST on 12-11-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 12-20-07
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.10 at 4:41am PST on 12-20-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.
Goodbye, nifty little NUV LEDs!!!


UPDATE: 01-01-08
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.09 at 10:03am PST on 12-31-07 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 01-25-08
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.09 at 10:34am PST on 01-24-08 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 03-04-08
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.07 at 10:49am PST on 03-03-08 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.



UPDATE: 03-22-08
Arbitrary intensity reading on wall clock: 0.07 at 10:42am PST on 03-21-08 (continued monitoring for NUV LED degredation).
Night table lamp was on when this reading was taken. Value is of the green "dot" at the 9:00 position.






PROS:
Nice to look at whether on or off


CONS:
The NUV LEDs go to pot relatively quickly


    MANUFACTURER: CYI
    PRODUCT TYPE: "Infinity" clock with LEDs
    LAMP TYPE: LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 4
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: N/A
    CASE MATERIAL: Plastic
    BEZEL: Plastic; LEDs & clock movement protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 1xAA cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER RESISTANT: No
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: AC adapter, large "watchband" segments (upper & lower)
    WARRANTY: 45 days

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Because this product is not intended to emit
    light, the standard "star" rating will not be used.





Infinity Optics Clock * www.whatonearthcatalog.com...






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