Comments for Best Alarm Clock

Comment on Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:31:37 +0000

158 of 183 people found the following review helpful:

Good clock, but not if it's your only one, March 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue (Kitchen)

I received this clock as a Christmas present from my grandmother the Christmas before last, and it's served its purpose well. But, I think I'm going to buy another clock to supplement it.

The Good stuff:
The clock is battery powered, so I've only had to wait for it to set itself two or three times when the batteries were taken out. (It's still running on the batteries it came with over two years ago, by the way.) The projection feature is really cool, at night when you can see it. It is pretty small, so it can fit just about anywhere - I have mine on a windowsill. The projector makes for a display much larger than a normal digital clock. And of course, not ever having to manually set the clock, even after the power goes out, is really nice.

The Bad stuff:
A minor annoyance with this clock is that the official US observatory time is consistently two to three minutes slower than everyone else's time. Rather than the usual digital clock makings - LED segment display and real speaker for the alarm, this clock is made of supersized digital watch material. The face is an oversized LCD panel (think digital watch LCD, not laptop LCD), and is impossible to read except when it's illuminated (either by the backlight or daylight), and you're looking at it straight on from a couple of feet. The projector is (understandably) underpowered such that any ambient light at all washes it out to the point that it can't be seen. So, unless you carry it around with you or keep your windows covered by black curtains, it's almost completely useless during the day. Worse, though, than the display, is the alarm. Rather than a speaker, the clock has an oversized piezzo buzzer. (Once again, think oversized digital watch.) The crescendo alarm doesn't crescendo, it subdivides - "chirp........ chirp........ chirpchirp...... chirpchirp...... chirpchirpchirp.... chirpchirpchirp.... chirpchirpchirpchirpchirpchirpchirpchirpchirp....." ad nauseum. The lack of real crescendo means that light sleepers like me can literally have hit the snooze button before the second chirp. Which brings up another complaint - the snooze is only eight minutes, so you really don't get much of a snooze.

In short:
This is a good clock to have around, but not as a main wakeup alarm. The battery power and automatic setting are very convenient, and combined with its relatively small size, would make it a good travel alarm clock. However, unless the thought of waking up to a glorified digital watch everymorning appeals to you, I would recommend buying it as a second clock, to set your other clocks by, use as backup during power outages, and just if you want another clock in the house. I like having this clock around, but I think I'm going to have to supplement it with another, one with a better alarm.

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Comment on Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:43:52 +0000

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

NICE CLOCK but buy it LOCAL and SAVE YOUR RECEIPT, February 7, 2004

superbzmom (Rockford, IL United States) -

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue (Kitchen)

I've had four of these clocks so far and only two have survived. Don't get me wrong... it's a GREAT clock with easy and logical buttons and features, but one was dead on arrival and another one lost half of its print on the screen after only two months. BUY ONE LOCALLY if possible and definately save your receipt and packaging so that you can return or exchange it if it acts up. When we bought our first one several years ago, it was REALLY expensive. Recently, I found one at my local Target and it was much more reasonable. This clock is great for me as an adult and two of my children use it as well. The time projection on the ceiling is a nice feature for children that sleep in a top bunk bed. It's easy for a young child to turn the alarm on at night and off in the morning. My six year old uses his faithfully. The time is dead-on accurate and doesn't have to be re-set after a power failure. All busy moms should appreciate that feature. From now on, I will always buy an atomic clock for my kids!

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Comment on Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED by Jennifer A. Hoarty "JAHoarty"

Jennifer A. Hoarty "JAHoarty" — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:38:47 +0000

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

no luck, July 13, 2008

Jennifer A. Hoarty "JAHoarty" (Fort Drum, NY) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED (Kitchen)

I have tried this clock twice. The first one I received started flashing and the time stopped. I just got the replacement today and when I tried to set the time it would not work. The time button set the alarm and I could not get the clock off 12:00. I have to give up at this point. I was really hoping that this would be a good clock but the quality is suspect.

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Comment on Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED by Rocket Scientist

Rocket Scientist — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:17:47 +0000

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

Do not buy this product, absolutely does not worth advertised price!, August 5, 2010

Rocket Scientist (Georgia) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED (Kitchen)

Just let me list cons of this clock, since it has almost no "pro"-s:

1. Indication is not GREEN, it's YELLOW.

2. Indicator is not a 7 segment LED. It is just painted like that, and inside each segment there are 2 yellow leds, nicely visible.

3. There's no built in crystal oscillator, this unit takes frequency from AC line (Silan Semiconductors SC8560 IC is used). This means, if you're in rural area with less stable frequency in AC line, you most likely will have 10 minute error per week. (Manufacturer saved $0.20 by not installing crystal oscillator inside). My grandpa's cuckoo clock had much more accuracy!

4. When on battery backup, indicator is NOT enabled, and also, clock starts to mess up the time wildly.

5. Overall build quality is very bad, with most screws missing, plastic having bad odour and so on.

I wanted to have reliable LED clock, so this is why I paid so much for it. But all I've got is the same quality and features, I can get for $2 at chinese fleamarket. So, Be careful when buying this clock.

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Comment on Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED by H. Solliday

H. Solliday — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:15:14 +0000

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

VERY NICE CLOCK, October 17, 2007

H. Solliday -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Chaney Instruments Digital Alarm Clock with Green LED (Kitchen)

If you want a very nice alarm clock with a large display this is it. The display is hugh so it can be easily viewed from across the room and there is a dimmer setting if you want a low level of brightness. The control buttons are large and easy to use. My wife has poor eye sight and loves this clock.

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Comment on Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue by superbzmom

superbzmom — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:04:30 +0000

197 of 199 people found the following review helpful:

For the punctual minded, August 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM313PNA Self-Setting Projection Alarm Clock with Indoor Thermometer, Blue (Kitchen)

Most of my life I've had early shifts for my occupation (i.e. being into work at 6:00 am or earlier). I used to have a clock that didn't have a battery backup nor did it keep the correct time. I saw this model clock that had both plus the time projection on the ceiling so my wife didn't have to try to roll me over to see the clock, so I decided to give it a try. The clock looks a bit futuristic, but that is its function. The exact time feature is great. I set the houses clocks to it whenever the power goes out, which is regularly (where in a rural town). The battery backup is another great feature that I've never had prior to this. The only drawbacks that I have with the clock is that in order to project the time on the ceiling so that you can read it on a decent angle, is to turn the clock so that you can't the time on its face. You either get to see the one on the ceiling or you get the face of the clock, not both. Another drawback is the buttons on the clock don't make much sense when you need to program the alarm. Once you know the buttons to push, its easy, but they aren't marked well. Hope this review is helpful for you.

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Comment on Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray Reviews by L. Ziegenbein

L. Ziegenbein — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:48:17 +0000

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

Great clock and antenna, June 15, 2009

L. Ziegenbein -

This review is from: Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray (Electronics)

I wanted to add a quick note about this clock radio because most of the other reviews for clock radios don't address the issue that was the most important to me- the strength of the antenna. I was looking for an alarm clock that would get better reception in our bedroom than the one we presently own. This clock is able to pick-up stations that are either too fuzzy to hear or don't even come in on our current clock.

I also like that the iPod dock slides out, so that I don't have a large piece of machinery sitting on my bedside table! I am very pleased with this clock radio and my husband is going to be thrilled on Father's Day!

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Comment on Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray Reviews by L. Ziegenbein

L. Ziegenbein — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:14:54 +0000

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

Great clock and antenna, June 15, 2009

L. Ziegenbein -

This review is from: Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray (Electronics)

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Comment on Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray Reviews by Franklin

Franklin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:03:51 +0000

380 of 397 people found the following review helpful:

Radio reception is weak, otherwise a terrific iPhone/iPod clock radio, August 6, 2009

Franklin (Los Angeles, CA United States) -

This review is from: Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray (Electronics)

First off, I want to say that I like almost everything about this alarm clock and that I went to a Best Buy first and tested it (music and all) right next to its bigger Sony sibling (the one with the CD player, called Sony ICFCD3iP CD Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone) as well as the iHomes and Logitech and other competitors. Essentially this one came out the winner in every way IF what you're looking for is an ALARM CLOCK. This is not a speaker system by any stretch (it's not even stereophonic, one speaker), it's not designed to party to or have it produce massive bass sounds. I know this is obvious to most of you but there's always some imbecile who doesn't seem to realize that a little alarm clock barely bigger than your iPhone can't possibly be a stereo system.

As an alarm clock, I loved this little system precisely because it does so much and takes up so little space. The LED lights are not too bright when you go to the lowest setting, the sound is definitely loud enough for you to hear even if you're in the next room at high volume, the iPhone dock is easy to use and can be used with a case on your iPhone. It also looks good and it's nice that the dock cradle slides in, overall it looks A+.

Since I also compared this one in person to the Sony ICFCD3iP CD Clock Radio and tested them both simultaneously, I can offer you these observations if it's helpful to you. I ruled out the iHomes, by the way, because all systems that make you stick your iPhone on top like that are horrible looking, maybe that was cool in 2007 if you thought having an iPhone is cool and you want it brandished like it's a trophy, but that now looks tacky, dated and cluttered. This comparison is between this Sony product vs the one with the CD player:

--Size: I liked the CD player one more because I actually thought this one looks a bit too small. This is purely personal preference, if smaller is better for you then go for this one.

--Layout: I call this a draw. One thing that's better on the CD player one is that since it's bigger, there was room to put the tuner and the preset switches on the sides of the device rather than on the back which is not as convenient. You probably won't use these two switches much though so this probably doesn't matter much. One thing I liked better on this one is that hitting the snooze as you're groggy is pretty safe, but on the CD one, since the opening for the CD player is right in front of the snooze button, you can very well accidentally open the CD tray violently if you hit the snooze and aren't careful.

--Speaker, sound: Basically a draw for me. The Sony descriptions on Amazon, and indeed even on the boxes of the two products, tell you nothing about power. I had to look under the devices themselves (which got me bad looks from the salespeople) to find out that this alarm clock's speaker is rated at 10 watts. The CD player's speaker rated at 16 watts. Normally I'd say this means the CD player clock is better, but oddly at similar volumes in the store, I actually found this alarm clock's speaker to be better defined than the bigger one from the other Sony, and almost as loud. The bass was slightly better on the other one though. But since this is an ALARM CLOCK and not a speaker system by any stretch, I frankly didn't care either way, they're both plenty loud to wake up to music or the radio to and close enough in quality despite the different wattage.

--iPhone dock: here I expected them both to be the same, but I was surprised that the iPhone dock trays are not designed the same, and that this Sony's design of the tray was actually better than the CD player's. The CD player's tray hangs in the air, in that when it opens up there is space under. So when you put your iPhone in you kind of have to grab the tray or else the whole thing tilts, it's not a good setup. The tray that comes out of this clock, on the other hand, has the end of it flush with the clock's bottom and whatever table it's on. So it's much more secure and you can just dock your iPod on it with one hand and not worry about a thing. So the clear loser is the CD alarm, as this one is better designed. Both can fit an iPhone with the case on by the way, just don't use the tray inserts that come with this.

--LED illumination: here too this Sony beats out the CD Sony. Both clocks have three light settings. I put them side by side and tested them both. The upshot is that the bigger one has much brighter LED lights. When I compared both at the lowest setting, the bigger clock was still pretty bright and would be annoying in the dark (unless you're scared of monsters at night and want a night light). At its lowest setting, this Sony here was still just a bit brighter than I would have liked, but not nearly as annoying as the CD player's light. This is a big reason why you see good reviews of this Sony here while the... Read more

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Comment on Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray Reviews by Franklin

Franklin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:57:15 +0000

380 of 397 people found the following review helpful:

Radio reception is weak, otherwise a terrific iPhone/iPod clock radio, August 6, 2009

Franklin (Los Angeles, CA United States) -

This review is from: Sony ICF-C7IP Clock Radio for iPod and iPhone with Hidden Sliding Dock Tray (Electronics)

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