Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio by Sangean America, Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
Digital camera Review: Great Clock Radio
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a super clock radio. Atomic function worked great, the alarms set to the day of the week is a great feature, and the sound is very good for a clock radio. My only suggestion would be to add a battery backup, but as we don't live in an area prone to power outages this isn't really a big deal for us.
There are two recurring complaints about this clock in the reviews: the brightness of the display and the difficulty of the owner's manual. The display is adjustable on the bottom of the clock and can be dimmed to the point where you can't read the display. This clock is far more dim than the Sony it replaced for us. The manual isn't bad, and the controls are pretty intuitive. I did need to look up how to adjust for DST the first time I did it (Hold the "set" button for 4 seconds to move an hour up in the spring and again for 4 seconds to move an hour down in the fall. Not too complex.) but otherwise the functions are really straightforward.
When it's time for another clock radio I'd buy this one again.
Digital camera Review: Great Clock Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great clock radio. The radio pulls in distant stations well. Not quite as good as C.C.Radio. But the alarm section works better, and automatically sets time to atomic clock. But very good ,much better than radio with analog tuner.Digital camera Review: Great Clock Radio, please read this review to prevent frustration!
Summary: 5 Stars
This product is very well designed, yet receives some bad reviews due to misunderstanding the product, contributed to by a less than stellar job on the manual.
One of the issues I've seen people complain about is reception of the atomic clock signal for setting/updating the time. I can't speak for everyone, because it is possible that some are in an area with real reception problems, but I have found that proper placement of the atomic "time pod" is critical to getting good reception. I've seen another reviewer complain about the time pod being detachable from the main unit, but I found that the flexibility that this offers is important and a very sound design decision by the manufacturer. When I first got the clock radio I also misunderstood the importance of proper placement of the pod, so I simply left it attached to the back of the clock radio, and I waited for 4 days for the clock to set itself without success. I then followed the recommendation to move the pod close to the window, the clock quickly synced up with the atomic clock signal and set itself.
Some observations to hopefully help others understand the time sync process:
* If the broadcast tower icon (shaped like a chess bishop at top, middle of the display) is blinking, then you will probably be unsuccessful in getting the clock to set itself. Separate the time pod from the back of the radio and move it to a location with better reception, close to a window did the trick for me. You will know you are getting a good signal when the broadcast tower icon is solid without blinking. The wave icons emanating from either side of the broadcast icon will blink during communication.
* There are two displays related to the atomic time clock syncing process that are not explained in the manual. One has an "L" followed by a digit, while the other is simply one separate digit. Before I re-positioned my time pod, I observed that the digit following the "L" never got beyond 4, and the other intermittently flashing digit seemed to be random. After moving the time pod close to the window, I got a good signal indicated with a solid broadcast tower icon and the digit following the "L" then began to climb all the way up to 9, while the other digit was now no longer random, it counted up repeatedly from 0 through 9 as information was received, then the clock set itself after a minute or so.
One other reviewer complained about lack of a battery back-up. I actually consider this a good design decision by the manufacturer because I understand a super capacitor is used as back-up for up to an hour. Beyond that, having a small back-up battery offers a false sense of security because one never knows when the back-up battery may fail. Now, the primary reason why I consider the lack of a back-up battery to be a good design decision: because I use an uninteruptable power supply to backup all the critical electronic components for my office/bedroom, including my cable modem, router, clock radio and computer. Backup for the router and modem is important because I use voice over IP for my phone service. So, the Sangean clock radio is just one more item backed up by my UPS!
In conclusion: Great job Sangean, you got everything almost perfect for my use!
Digital camera Review: Great Clock; Terrible Display
Summary: 2 Stars
Everything about this clock radio is great. EXCEPT the display. If you want to be able to see this clock during the day and night, I strongly urge you NOT to buy it! The display brightness IS adjustable with a dial underneath the clock. But if you make it bright enough to see during the day, it will be VERY bright at night. And if you tone it down, you will not be able to see it during the day. There is a toggle switch on the clock face which you can use to switch between day brightness and night dimness. But who wants to press that twice a day? The whole point of an atomic clock radio with dual alarms is that you can set it once and not touch it again for months or years. If I had to do it over again, I would not buy this clock. But it's not worth the hassle of returning it. So I dimmed the display so it does not bother my sleep; and I bought another clock that I can see during the day....Digital camera Review: Great Features, Poor Execution, Worse Customer Service!
Summary: 2 Stars
This clock radio has a lot of great features, but my unit had a fatal flaw: Alarm #1 sounds exactly 4 hours early in ADDITION to the properly set time. E-mails to Sangean "support" went unanswered. I got tired of being awakened at 1:00 AM, so I am returning the product. These things should NOT happen at this price point. Stay away from the RCR-22!
EDIT: I just bought the Boston Acoustics "Solo" clock radio instead; better interface, MUCH better sound, and BA is known for their great customer service. I'll never buy Sangean again!