Almeda Time Multiple Vibrating Alarm Watch

Some of our readers might recall that in late 2002, my husband
Steve was diagnosed with appendiceal carcinoma, a rare cancer that
affects the appendix. The last few months of 2002 and the first
months of 2003 involved various rounds of chemotherapy followed by
radiation treatments. As a complete novice to the world of cancer,
one of the first things that I learned about chemotherapy was that
it didn’t just occur in the hours Steve spent hooked to an IV.
There were also subsequent chemotherapy and anti-nausea medications
that had to be administered at the correct times on particular
days. One of Steve’s anti-nausea medications had to be taken every
six hours around the clock and without fail, or he would get sick.
Since our bedroom’s clock only had two alarm settings, we had to
rely upon my PDA’s Calendar alarms to keep up with dosage times.
This wasn’t always practical but we made it work, and we eventually
got past that stage of his treatment.

Several months ago, Alex Kac
told me about a gadget that would have made prescription timing far
more efficient and easy to manage, had it only been available or
had I only known about it at the time: the "http://www.almedatime.com/">Almeda Time line of "http://www.almedatime.com/medicalalarmwatches.htm">Multiple
Vibrating Alarm Watches. According to the "http://www.almedatime.com/Page.bok?file=highlights.html">website,
the Almeda watch is the brainchild of Hans Scholl, a designer
with over 30 years Swiss and US watch design experience, and the
unique name was derived from the words Alarm Medical
Alerts. Basically these are watches that will either sound
an alarm or vibrate on the wearer’s wrist when any of the
six preset alarms go off. This type device would be a
lifesaver for anyone that has to remember to take medications every
couple of hours, but I would soon find that there were even more
uses for a watch such as this…

"http://www.almedatime.com/Page.bok?template=about">According to
the website, “The idea for the Almeda
six-alarm Timepiece grew out of conversations with aging but active
friends and relatives. Their ailments often necessitate taking
regimens of medications at different times of the day and night.
They longed for a way to be clearly reminded of these scheduled
times.
Later on, others said they’d like a multi-alarm watch to keep track
of a busy day. Nobody wanted something that looked “medical”, and
everybody wanted privacy-hence the vibration alarm. This feature
addresses the needs of hearing impaired people,
too.”

Available in several different styles, I was sent the “ "http://www.almedatime.com/alarmwatches/multiplealarmwatches.htm">Leisure
Edition“, model TT 1001 TS.

There is also a "http://www.almedatime.com/alarmwatches/medicalalarmwatches.htm">City
Edition with a black mock-croc strap, a "http://www.almedatime.com/alarmwatches/vibratingalarmwatches.htm">Knight
Edition with a metal mesh bracelet, and a “best suited for
sound alarms” "http://www.almedatime.com/alarmwatches/womensmedicalwatch.htm">Pendant
Edition for those who prefer not to wear a wristwatch. Each
watch is basically the same timepiece, the only difference being
the type strap or neck chain.

Included in the package were the watch, an instruction manual, a
quick start guide, soft storage pouch, an extra CR2032 battery and
a jeweler’s multi-use screwdriver. Obviously the appearance of the
watch is a large portion of its presence, so I’ll start by talking
about the hardware.

The watch’s case measures 1.54″ (39mm) across, not counting the
crown. The watch’s case is 1.83′ (46.5mm) from lug end to lug end,
or 1.52″ (38.6mm) not counting the lugs; the case is 0.55″
(14.06mm) thick. The weight is a substantial, yet not too
heavy, 2.4ounces or 70g. The watch’s bezel is trimmed with an
eye-catching gold rim, as are the edges of the time indices, the
edges of the hour and minute hands, and the entire second hand.
This watch will look nice with both gold and silver jewelry.

The Leisure Edition comes with a 20R brown leather crocodile
embossed band. This regular length strap should fit anyone with a
6″ to 9″ wrist, but Almeda also carries extra short and extra long
straps for those that need them. 20mm is a common watch strap size,
so it should be easy to buy a replacement strap. I was very pleased
to see that there are external spring-bar holes in the lugs, which
will allow for the easy exchange of watch straps when the time
comes.

The buckle is 18mm, and for those that don’t like or aren’t able
to manage a tang buckle, may I suggest a replacement deployment
buckle which can be ordered from "http://www.banda.com/catalogue.php?category=35">Banda or
"http://www.watchprince.com/category/c.watch_buckles/">Watch
Prince; a "http://www.watchprince.com/category/c.speidel.twist_o_flex">20mm
Twist-O-Flex from Speidel would also be a great choice for
wearers that suffer from arthritis.

The watch’s stainless steel case is water resistant to 5 ATM
(165 feet), so it will easily withstand showers, rain and even
swimming or snorkeling. The watch runs on a single CR2032
battery, which should last a minimum of six to eight
months, and a maximum of over one year. The included
jeweler’s screwdriver can be used to open the case for battery
replacement, but after opening the case the seals should be tested
for soundness before the watch is again submerged.

Because the Almeda watch is not too large, it can be worn
comfortably by either a man or woman.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch11.jpg"/>
(Worn on Steve’s wrist)

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch12.jpg"/>
(Worn on my wrist)

The watch face is visually appealing with a classic analog
style, but the addition of an LCD crescent above the six o’clock
indicator and the six LCD circles inside the top half of the dial
indicate that this is more than just an ordinary timepiece.

The Almeda Time Watches will not only tell the time, they will
also display the date and as previously mentioned, can be set to
either beep or vibrate at up to six separate alarm times.

There are four buttons on either side of the case in addition to
the analog setting crown. On the left side is the black Mode
button at 8 o’clock and the knurled Backlight button at 10
o’clock.

Pressing the backlight button causes all of the LCD windows to
glow with a blue backlight. Don’t ask me why the light shows
as green in this picture, I honestly don’t know!

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch13.jpg"/>

While I am talking about how the watch glows, I should mention
that the indices and hands are covered in luminescent material, and
they will glow brightly once exposed to sufficient light.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch14.jpg"/>

On the right side of the case is the plain Set button at
the 4 o’clock position and the striped Adjust button at 2
o’clock. The center knob is the crown, which is used to set the
analog time shown by the watch’s hands.

All of the six alarms are dependent upon the digitally set time,
not the analog time shown by the watch hands. To set the watch’s
digital time, the black Mode button is pressed until the crescent
LCD window displays TI (indicating “time”) next to the hour
and minutes about to be set.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch15.jpg"/>

The plain button is pressed and held for two seconds, which will
cause the hour to blink. Each setting - hour, minute, Am or PM - is
selected by pressing the striped button. Pressing and holding the
button will allow minutes or hours to rapidly advance. As each
desired setting is achieved, the plain button is pressed to advance
to the next option.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch10.jpg"/>

Pressing the black Mode button until the Calendar is displayed
allows the date to be set. Following the same basic set and advance
mode listed above, the correct date can be quickly entered.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch16.jpg"/>

Now it is time to set the first alarm. Pressing the black Mode
button will cycle the watch through Time, Calendar and to the first
alarm setting. In this first alarm setting, the striped Adjust
button should be pressed to display either V1, meaning “vibrate
alarm one” or A1, meaning “audible alarm one”. Each of the six
circles starting on the left of the watch represent alarms one
through six, and each circle is broken into two halves. Circles
with the lower half filled are vibrate-only, and circles with the
upper half filled are audible-only.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch17.jpg"/>
(Alarm 1 is set for vibrating alert and will go off at 6:00pm)

When there is no half shown in a circle, or when the full circle
is flashing (during setting), it means that that particular alarm
is deactivated.

"/assets/almeda-multi-alarm-watch18.jpg"/>
(Alarm 2 is set for audible alert and will go off at 7:39pm)

So in other words, according to the preceding two pictures, I
have set the first alarm for vibrate-only, the second alarm for
audible-only, and no other alarms set. It is not possible to set an
alarm to give both a vibrating and audible alert, one or the other
must be chosen.

The vibrating alarm will go off five times in a 20 second
period. It is a steady vibration on the wrist, one that is
attention grabbing but not bone-shaking. This type alarm is perfect
for times when the wearer does not want to disturb others or
indicate that anything out of the ordinary is about to happen. The
vibration can be stopped at any time during the 20 seconds by
pressing any button. The audible alarm consists of a persistent
series of beeps that last for 20 seconds; it can also be silenced
by pressing any button.

There are various scenarios presented on the website of people
who would benefit from a multi-alarm watch, and the one that
surprised me the most was the "http://www.almedatime.com/managedaddandhearing.htm">management of
ADD/ADHD. I didn’t realize it, but evidently an “ADD watch
or ADD/ADHD watch provides reminders for positive reinforcement and
medications. The ADD/ADHD watch works through a series of alarms
set to remind the user at specific times each day to either take
medication or give the patient positive reinforcement. The ADD/ADHD
watch has been proven to work wonders for children and teenagers
suffering this disorder.”

Who can benefit from an Almeda Multi Alarm Wrist Watch? Anyone,
really. If there are certain times during your daily routine that
certain things need to be done, then the Almeda watch can remind
you. These reminders are not restricted to times for taking
medications - they can be for classes or meetings that must be
attended, or an alarm that signifies when a meeting must end. The
vibrating alarm option will help those that are hard of hearing,
who might otherwise miss an audible alarm.

If you have been looking for a watch that will help you manage
up to six alarms in a 24 hour period, then the Almeda Time Multiple
Vibrating Alarm Watch may be your perfect solution. If you have a
parent or grandparent that wants to be independent, but sometimes
needs a little reminder that it is time to take their meds, then
this would be the perfect gift for them.

"http://www.almedatime.com/almedatime-manual.pdf">Download the .pdf
instruction manual here, and "http://www.almedatime.com/Page.bok?file=faq.html">read the FAQ
here.

Almeda Time watches come with a "http://www.almedatime.com/Page.bok?template=policy">30 day
money-back guarantee as well as a "http://www.almedatime.com/Page.bok?file=warranty.html">one year
limited warranty.

Tagged as: Watch

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