Sony ICFC180 AM/FM Clock Radio

• AM/FM Clock Radio w/ Dual Alarm
• Automatic Time Set
• No power, no problem! (Alarm will sound even if power is out)
• Weekend Alarm Mode
• Easy Alarm Set

My wife and I have been using the same clock radio for the past 20 years It's a dual alarm Panasonic and it still works pretty well. Some of its features such as individual up/down alarm/time set for the minutes and hours are not even available on clocks today. And it has a 10 minute snooze not nine minutes, another feature hard to find these days. But it's lacking in other areas such as no battery backup. So we decided to replace the old clock.

Some research was necessary. For the most part, only Timex, RCA and Sony have competitive products. My requirements were simple AM/FM dual alarm, battery backup, 10 minute snooze, easy to read display, and not too bright. I did not need a CD or MP3 option. Here's why I bought the Sony ICFC180 and rate it so highly:

Form Factor and Buttons: This is not a large clock radio it's about six inches square. The case is pretty much all white. Buttons are well spaced and nicely shaped. You can easily learn to use this clock in the dark or by feel alone.

Display: The backlit LCD displays not only the time, but both the alarm settings, each in its own quadrant. This is a great feature. The time is large enough to read from across the room although it could have been a bit larger. The alarm displays are smaller, but fine for viewing bedside. Viewing from different angles seems fine. It has two manual brightness levels and here Sony cheaped out a bit an auto dimmer with sensor would have been nice. The high level is fine for the day and the low level is acceptable for the night, but who's going to move the tiny switch each day? I leave it on the low setting. I really like the room dark when I sleep and I would have preferred the low level to be a bit dimmer. The display is mostly green, with orange for the weekday alarms. The green is fine, but the orange is just a bit too bright. But again, it's acceptable.

Time Features: Auto time set well not really. The auto time set feature prominently displayed on the box is a bit misleading. Unlike other clocks (such as from RCA) which can set the date and time and change daylight savings automatically, this clock is just set at the factory and uses a lithium battery to keep the time. If you happen to live on the east coast of the United States, then the time is correct when you first plug it in. Otherwise, you need to adjust the time zone. Since the clock doesn't know the date, daylight savings is also manual, but here at least Sony provided a single button to change the 1 hour offset. My only complaint is that the daylight savings button is on the top and could be accidentally pushed the display does show an icon for the 1 hour offset, but it's really tiny. I would have made the daylight savings feature a toggle switch (not a push button) and put it on the back you only use it twice a year.

Radio: Old style analog display and thumb wheel for tuning. Digital with presets would have been nice, but let's not forget, this clock only cost $25. The tuning wheel is stiff enough that it won't be accidentally changed when pickup up, moving, or just dusting the clock.

Alarm: Here's where this clock really shines. The box says it has two alarms, but in reality it has four individual alarms! The thinking by Sony is that two alarms are for the weekdays and two are for the weekends, but since the weekday/weekend feature is a manual push button, you can really use the alarms however you wish. My kids have Timex clock radios with a 7-5-2 feature which lets you determine if the alarm should be used for weekdays, weekends, or both. This is nice because it's automatic, but on the other hand you only get two alarms and have less flexibility. I think the Sony solution is excellent. The clock also makes it totally clear which alarms are active orange background for weekdays, green background for weekends, and no display in the quadrant when the alarm is off. Setting the alarm time is also very easy with a separate twist knob for each displayed alarm. The time can be adjusted forward or backward one minute at a time. Holding forward or backward changes the minutes quickly and after a few seconds, switches to 10 minute increments. This is a much better solution than just increasing the speed as most other clocks do. In fact, the only other clock that works better is my old Panasonic which has separate forward and backward buttons for both the minutes and the hours. Regardless, this clock has excellent time set controls!

Snooze: What is it with 9 minute snooze alarms? My theory is that increments of 9 are much harder to add in your head and all that thinking wakes you up but in reality I think it harks back to a limitation of the old mechanical alarm clocks. Anyway, I needed a 10 minute snooze and this clock has that. Plus, if you continue to press the snooze button (which is big and easy to find without looking), the snooze can be increased in 10 minute increments up to an hour a nice feature. The clock even blinks the alarm set time after you press snooze to indicate you're beyond the original wake up time.

So that's about it. There are some other features (nap timer, alarm melodies, no power no problem), but I haven't really used these much. If you're looking for similar features and also need a CD player, Sony makes another Dream Machine alarm clock (ICF-CD843V), but that one costs $70 and looks like a weird space helmet. All in all, this is an excellent clock radio with well designed controls, tons of features, and a low price.

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After my dog spilled water on my last Sony clock, i was on the hunt for the new one... What sold me on this was compact size, "no power, no problem" and the fact that you can see what time the alarm is set at right on the front and know that its on or not... no guessing....

The bonuses that add something extra is the ability to set two alarms each for both weekdays and weekends and each has their own optional melody instead of radio or buzzer. I also like the way this buzzer works, which starts off infrequent and builds up to more annoying the longer it goes off... that gives me a chance to turn it off or hit snooze before it goes hog wild.

Unlike other reviews, I think the back lights are perfect... the dim at night and bright during the day are exactly how I would like them, although I noticed that my backlight is orange where the one pictured is green. Maybe that makes a difference. One last bonus is I found this at Target as part of the "liv" series which are tan in color... usually you are stuck with white or black and the earth tone was a nice touch.

Overall, I'm glad my dog ruined my old one!

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I've had a Sony radio alarm for about 15 years. I got it from my Grandmother for Xmas, and it has served me well. I decided it was time to upgrade and Sony has earned my loyalty over the years with things from computer monitors to a 27" Trinitron from 1983 that still works like new.

This clock radio does what it advertises, but it isn't awesome. The controls for alarm adjustment feel like they will break eventually, and the display is hard to read if you don't have eagle eyes. The radio tuner is weak, even near my window, I can't tune in all of the stations that I want.

However, those are they only downs that I've found thus far. The radio has a small footprint, which is very nice in my closet-sized room, and the dual alarm feature is great, as is the push on/off feature. As mentioned above, the knobs used to set the alarms feel somewhat cheap, but they are nice because you can go up and down, as opposed to some alarms that only allow you to move forward. The display brightness can be adjusted, which is nice because on full blast it is VERY bright. The controls are logical and simple to use, and the audio quality is marginally above average.

Two features I really enjoy are the sleep button and the 'weekend' function. The sleep button increases the minutes each time you hit it, which is great for those of us that need an extra hour but don't want to program the alarm for it. The weekend function turns the alarms off, but keeps the setting saved... pretty cool.

Overall this is a fine alarm clock. It wasn't too pricey, it works well for what it needs to do, and it is attractive and small.

Edit:

After a few more months of using this alarm I've come to realize that the viewing angle is only good if you are at eye-level with the clock, or you are above it. This means you can't have it up high on a dresser because the LCDs will be unreadable and very faint. Otherwise still happy with it.

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I've been through a lot of clock radios, even trying some vintage ones lately just for variety. But the dial light burned out on my 1970 Sony and I decided to get a modern one. I found this one at the big discount store with a bullseye logo. Mine is identical except the large LCD is orange, and the alarm ones are green. Oh and it was cheaper. This clock is great for a budget clock radio. Average radio reception and sound quality (I don't expect much), very easy to set the alarm, and it automatically sets it own time from the factory. It addresses all the issues of other clock radios: small footprint on the nightstand; 2 alarms; a powerful, replaceable backup battery that will preserve the alarm all night; reasonable lighting on the face (some think it's too bright, for me it's just this side of acceptable, maybe the switched colors made a difference); and the numerals are visible when viewed from a lower position. They dim somewhat, but are still visible and actually help tone down the brightness a little. I'd say that so far, it's one of the best I've ever owned.

I bought this alarm clock to replace a Coby dual alarm clock. I was always annoyed after a power failure when I had to reset the clock and my alarms. Here's a summary of what I like a dislike about it:

Pros:

-4 alarm times! The clock has the usual 2 alarms plus a weekend mode for 2 more alarm times.

-The alarm times are very easy to see. They are displayed in their own section which makes it very easy to tell what time the alarm is set to.

-The alarm time is only lit up if the alarm is on, making it very easy to tell if you turned it on.

-The knobs on the sides make setting the alarms very easy. Rotating a knob quickly back and forth advances the time 1 minute at a time, while holding a knob makes the time advance by 10 minute intervals.

-the display is dimmable

-The radio reception is decent (better than the Coby I had)

-The snooze bar is nice and big

-There is a 'nap' setting which counts down 90,60,30,15 minutes and then sounds the alarm

-There is a choice for alarm sounds: radio, buzzer, and a melody ("Morning")

Cons:

-Just one, the degree of visibility could be better for the display. With my head on my pillow, I see the clock at an angle and can just barely make out the time. Not a huge problem since I know that if the alarm isn't going off, I should be sleeping.

I really like this alarm clock. I would recommend it to anyone whether they need a dual alarm or not.