MP3 Reminder Alarm Gizmo

October 6, 2006 12:44 PM

What can I use as a reminder alarm to play mp3 files at each alarm time?

Basically Im looking for something that will play a little mp3 at certain alarm times or intervals. Here are my thoughts for reminder gizmos but none of them would work:
1- A standard alarm clock would usually have only one alarm time.
2- An iPod or Palm only plays a certain reminder sound, which is annoying mostly.
3- A cell phone has only one alarm that I know of from the SONY Ericsson models. And dont even mention Motorola software.

The only reason I dont use my iCal alarms is because Ive heard that leaving my laptop on all the time is not the best choice. But if all else fails, I may just leave it on and let it do the job.

So, just to be clear:
The ideal would be to have something that will play an audio file at either, times selected or every hour or so. An example would be to have it remind me every hour throughout the day and at, say, 3:30, 5:00 and 6:30 am while I sleep. If its portable, all the better. And if i can't buy it, how can I make it?

Have any ideas?

p.s. I will use this for Lucid Dream training in which you do a reality check every so often during the day so you can reproduce it at night. Ideally, I dont want to use an hourly alarm watch that would have an annoying beep all the time. Id rather it play a little song I can make or something. If you dont know much about lucid dreaming, read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream

posted by theholotrope to technology (10 comments total)

I have a Samsung A930 phone and it can set a bunch of different alarm times.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 1:04 PM on October 6, 2006

Er, iCal = mac? I have no suggestion for Apple users. If you're using Windows, though, Citrus Alarm Clock will do exactly that. I use it to wake up to Rammstein on those really early mornings.
posted by cobaltnine at 1:06 PM on October 6, 2006

If you have a PC, Aquarius Soft PC Alarm Clock Pro is a good choice. I use it for my regular alarm clock at school, and it's never not gone off on time. It plays wavs and mp3s, and you can customize the time intervals and frequency.
posted by fvox13 at 1:18 PM on October 6, 2006

misanthropicsarah:

Is that with an mp3 or a default alarm sound?
posted by theholotrope at 1:18 PM on October 6, 2006

cron or at (do macs have at? at would be best) and mpg321
posted by pompomtom at 2:22 PM on October 6, 2006

Set up windows task scheduler to launch an mp3?
posted by Sonic_Molson at 2:43 PM on October 6, 2006

The iPod can be set to play a playlist when the alarm goes off. Works well for me, although I usually only use it when traveling (or when I need more than one alarm).
posted by spaceman_spiff at 2:48 PM on October 6, 2006

There's nothing wrong with leaving your laptop on all the time, either.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 4:33 PM on October 6, 2006

you can set the alarm sound to any sound you want, including an mp3 that you can download from your computer (but that required the special memory card and usb thing that goes with the phone, and i wasn't going to shell out for that, too).
posted by misanthropicsarah at 5:18 PM on October 6, 2006

There are a few clock programs for the Palm that will play an mp3 for an alarm. I'm using Palmary Clock, and it does this if you have Pocket Tunes, but I think there are a few that'll do it stand-alone.
posted by LordSludge at 8:26 PM on October 6, 2006