How to use the online alarm clock
As the current volunteer prepares to hand the neighbourhood patrol over to you, 7:57 pm is the cue to finish what you are doing and get ready to step outside. The alarm gives you a clear prompt before the 8:00 pm changeover, leaving enough time to pick up your keys, coat and torch without making the other person wait.
Your patrol depends on hearing the alert, so check the signal while there is still time to correct a quiet setting or an unexpected audio route. Set the alarm, then play a brief test and listen from wherever you will spend the next few minutes. If the browser page is closed or your phone or laptop falls asleep, no sound can play and the neighbourhood patrol handover may be missed. Leave the alarm running on an awake device until it sounds.
A doorstep handover at this point in the evening is easier when food does not delay you. If you need something beforehand, a small snack and a glass of water fit more readily into the remaining minutes than a hot meal. Put anything that needs sitting down, reheating or washing up aside until you return, and avoid carrying an open mug while collecting your patrol gear.
Common questions
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.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
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