I am wondering what I would need to do in order to get my curtain (bedsheet) to retract in the morning flooding my dorm with light. I know there must be something like this that already exists, but I think this could be a cool project to do myself. Any advice or suggestions?

The serial port on your computer outputs 10-12 volts. I'm sure you could figure out a way to use your computer as a timer. Or use the USB ports if you don't have serial, but USB are only 5v.'

I would set up the bedsheet to be hanging from a pole, kinda like a shower curtin. Then instal an electric motor the turn the pole, thus winding up the bed sheet.

I think this is more practical than what I was thinking. I am now thinking of having a pole with a wire coiled around it to make it essentially a screw. Using show curtain rings resting on it and holding up the curtain. That way I don't have to time the running of the motor but very generally. Because the wire will grip enough to run the rings out and in but not enough to break something.

Now that I have that figured out I just need to figure out the timer side of it. I am guessing I would have to write a very simple program to get the USB port to fire when I need it to. Would putting diodes on the speaker wires of an alarm clock "convert" it to dc essentially making it where I could just hook up a relay to switch the power to the curtain rod. And I could use a train transformer to power the rod motor.

You can wake up from your blinds opening?

It would help, but I wouldn't bet everything on it. It definitely would on sunny days.

what if you have to wakeup before dawn or on a cloudy day?

It's just a cool gadget I thought I would build. I think it wouldn't be a stand alone alarm clock but something to coax me into getting up instead of just the annoying alarm clock. Anyways, I have noticed that when I wake up when the room is flooded with light I do so more willingly. And leaving the curtains open will only lead to me waking up too early.

If you just use the alarm circuit from an alarm clock, then you won't have much power for a mechanical system. Either use what current you can get to switch a transistor, or use it to drive a motor to tip a weight (attached to the string that raises the blinds) off your window sill, thereby providing you with light. The weight will have to be reset every time, but it's a way of actuating the blinds without a good-sized motor.

Even simpler, I like that idea. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out a way for an alarm clock to release a pin to drop the weight.

http://tinyurl.com/2a5pt5

u have to think of some way to make the motor pull the pull rod on the curtian.
but the idea is the alarm gose off and the wire from the speaker goes to the realay. and the relay goes to the motor and a 9v which goes to the motor. and the motor opens the curtians/