How to use the online alarm clock
As you finish what you are doing and leave for a coastguard watch, set the alarm for 1:22 am so departure does not depend on repeatedly checking the clock. That leaves a useful margin before 2:00 am for collecting your kit, locking up and getting on the road without turning the night into a rush.
A coastguard departure can be missed if the alert has quietly been routed to headphones left in a pocket or connected in another room. Check the sound destination before relying on the alarm, then play a brief test through the speaker you expect to hear. Keep the browser active and the phone or computer awake: if the browser is shut or the equipment sleeps, there may be no alarm sound to send you out for duty.
Your journey may be quicker at 1:22 am than during daytime traffic, but empty British roads can still include overnight closures, diversions and reduced motorway lanes. Look at the route before settling down, allow for the actual distance to the station, and place keys, pass and outer layers together. A small travel allowance protects the start of the watch even if a familiar road is temporarily unavailable.
Common questions
Do I need an account or an app?
Neither. Choose a time and a sound, press Start, and it runs in this browser tab. Nothing is downloaded, nothing is registered, and closing the page leaves nothing behind on the device.
Can I change the sound?
Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
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