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Looking for an alarm that is easy to use - and impossible to sleep through?
The Screaming Meanie 220 will wake you up on time, every time - even if you're hard of hearing!
Be warned...the Screaming Meanie 220 lacks gentility. It doesn't nudge you with a gentle beep when time's up. In describing its alarm, words like "horrid," "shrill," "obnoxious" come to mind.
Fortunately, you don't have to use the Screaming Meanie 220 on its highest (120 decibel) setting. You can throttle it back to a mere 95 decibels (loud alarm level) or even 70 decibels (standard alarm level). At those settings, the sound won't blow you half way across the room.
Read the instructions - please!
If you get a Screaming Meanie 220, do read the instructions.
Before using the timer.
Otherwise you'll be fumbling to get this blaring alarm to shut up - and failing. Painfully. Throwing the Screaming Meanie across the room won't do it (though you'll doubtless try). Turning off the alarm requires pressing three buttons simultaneously. This is not intuitive and not just poor design, but rather a crafty plot to ensure you're awake and paying attention.
It works. You won't go back to sleep. Not after the noise. And the alertness needed to figure out how to get the noise to stop. Mercifully, should you forget, the directions are printed on the back, in quick-reference form.
The Screaming Meanie 220 is not all bad.
The Screaming Meanie might not play nice, but some of its features are very nice indeed:
a bright backlit display makes it easy to read in the dark,
a built-in battery tester,
a convenient belt clip,
compact size (6" X. 2.38" X .75"), and
light weight (only 5.6 ounces with 9V battery installed) for easy portability.
The Screaming Meanie is also quite versatile. It functions as a countdown timer, of course (one you can even hear over the sound of a vacuum or from across the house) and as a handy travel alarm (The Meanie can also be used as a regular alarm, but settings do not carry over from one day to the next). It can even serve as an audio signaling beacon and personal panic alarm.
Saved by a Meanie?
Thanks to its ear-splitting sound that carries for up to a mile, the Screaming Meanie 220 can be an ally in an emergency.
Imagine being stranded in some remote area, due to accident or other breakdown. To summon aid, you can activate the timer's audio signaling beacon. The Meanie will then alarm for 10 seconds and repeat every five minutes.
Of if you are out walking or jogging and a person threatens you, just reach into your pocket and press the Key button on the Meanie twice in rapid succession. This will set off the timer's continuous personal panic-alarm function. Turning off the alarm requires the three button method mentioned above - a process likely to foil any clueless would-be attacker. While they are madly pushing one button after another to silence the blaring, the alarm will be alerting others to your need for help
Choosing between brothers: the Screaming Meanie 220 versus the Screaming Meanie 110.
The Screaming Meanie 220 has a little brother - the Screaming Meanie 110. Here's how to decide which would work better for you:
Sound Levels: the 220 is louder and has more sound level options. The 220 can be set for 70 Db, 95 Db or 120 Db. The 110 can be set for 95 Db or 110 Db. On its highest setting, the 220 is 10 decibels (that's a lot!) louder than the 110.
Clock: The 220 has a clock, the 110 doesn't, and this clock can be set for alarm wake-up at a certain time (with the 110, rather than setting a specific wake-up time, you set the number of hours you want to sleep). Neither the 220 nor the 110 keep the settings in memory.
Sound Beacon: The 220 has this feature, the 110 does not.
Size: The 220 is slightly longer than the 110 (6" long versus 5.25")...the other dimensions are the same.
Ease of Use: Since it offers fewer features, the 110 is somewhat easier to use, though neither timer is complicated.
Price: The 220 costs more than the 110. If the 110 will do the job, you could save some money.
Even with these differences, the similarities between the two siblings outweigh their differences. Both look and work similarly, and both are really loud.
The timer you will love and hate
The Screaming Meanie 220 runs on a single 9 volt battery (not included). It comes with a 1 year warranty.
Colors: transparent green and solid black. With the Meanie, though, color is almost irrelevant. What you will love (and hate) is how this timer works!
* The Screaming Meanie 200's 120 Db alarm is high frequency. So if you have significant hearing loss in this range it might not work for you.
