- AM/FM Clock Radio with Extra-Large Blue 1.4" Display
- Time Zone Selection with Daylight Saving On/Off Switch
- A thumbwheel approach to setting the time and alarms on your clock radio
- Auto Brightness Control adjusts the LED brightness according to its surroundings
- Automatic Time-Set for automatic time setting
The blue face is attractive, and as a room clock does a nice job of adjusting itself to the ambient light. It's still too bright in the middle of the night.
Having two alarms is nice, and the main reason I bought this, but the interface is not terribly intuitive. It also leaves by default an alarm active for the next day, which, on the one hand, means you don't have to set your alarm each night, but which might get you into trouble on Saturday mornings ...
Still, it's an attractive clock, the use of digitial dials instead of buttons is nice, and, as I begin to learn its quirks, I don't regret buying it.
But, no, it's not an atomic clock.
Buy RCA RP3720 Clock Radio with Extra-Large 1.4" Blue Display, Auto Time set and Dual Wake Now
This clock does not set itself using the radio signal from the U.S. Atomic Clock. It merely is packaged with batteries already installed and the time set at the factory. The use of "atomic" is clearly false advertising. It's a nice clock radio otherwise. Cool looking blue digits, a good ramp-up alarm, and dials to quickly set the time and radio frequency. The speaker is tinny sounding, but it works for background music or to wake you. But, if you're looking for a super-accurate clock that uses the NIST radio signal to automatic set itself, this isn't it.So I've been searching for weeks for a decent clock radio to replace our dying Sony dream machine. I thought my requirements were reasonable: attractive form, multiple alarms, decent radio reception + sound, a "gradual wake" function and battery backup. Oddly enough I found very few clock radios that could even meet these simple requirements. Sony and many other brands now use a capacitor instead of battery backup in most of their units; this provides only a few minutes of backup should our power go out. Not acceptable.I did seriously consider the Boston recepter the sound on that radio is truly /amazing/ for its size, but it has no gradual wake, and it will cost you $150. If I pay that for a clock radio, it had better be _perfect_.
Then I found this RCA. Attractive, functional real battery backup easy to use, and cheap! After I read the specs, I simply could not believe the price. Even after I ordered it, I was fully expecting to be disappointed in its function in some way based on this price, but I have to say, I have been very pleasantly surprised. Here's a summary of my experience:
The sound and radio reception will not match the Boston recepter, but they are certainly more than adequate for a clock radio.
The unit is just slightly bigger than I would like, but it is not obtrusive. And compared to most other clock radios, it is downright attractive.
The "buzzer" is a very pleasant beeping sound and gradually increases in volume just as the radio alarm does.
The "ambient light sensor" is a very nice touch, and it actually works, but I would prefer if the light dimmed just a bit further on the low end.
Perhaps best of all, the controls are quite intuitive and _very_ easy to use. Major kudos to RCA for their design.
Sometimes, you get more than what you pay for. I would be happy even if I had paid $40 for this unit.
RobI have literally been looking for the past 3 years for an alarm clock to replace my existing sony alarm clock (which I have had for 14 years).
My only complaint with my existing sony alarm clock was that I have poor eyesight and could not read the number well. That said, I liked everything else about it, so getting a new one was not a huge priority.
Wow. Am I glad I waited.
For a measly $20 bucks, I got a this clock radio from RCA. It has all the feature of my old sony clock radio: 2 dual alarms, digital radio tuner (I dont understand why *anyone* would even bother with a radio with a manual tuner at this point), snooze, sleep, and a decent battery back up that actually works.
Add to this RCA's additional features: HUGE number readout, auto dimming mode, atomic clock set (you dont even need to set the time), nap functinality, each alarm can be radio or buzzer (with grad-u-wake), variable snooze, variable nap, variable sleep.
The controls for this are great too. For example, you tune the digital radio with a dial on the side this is much more pleasing that those stupid up and down buttons found on most radio tuners.
...and all of this for $20 bucks. it's great. buy it.This alarm clock works very well. I really like it except for the fact that it is very bright. I keep the clock on my night stand so the clock is only like 2 feet away from my face. It is hard to sleep because it is so bright. But there is a solution to the problem. It is possible to pop off the front face plate. This is how you do it. First there are twi little groves on the top, about an inch from each side. Take a small flat bed screwdriver and put in the left grove and push it down while pulling it off. Now do the same to the right. You can only move it a little bit. Because there are clips all the way around, two on the left and right side, and three on the bottom. You will have to work your away around the clock pushing in on each clip. Once you get the cover off you can put a tinted piece of colored plastic in the inside. I had to use two piece of a colored plastic to get it dimmed enough for my liking. Then you can just pop the front cover on.
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