Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio by Sangean America, Inc.
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Digital camera reviews of Sangean RCR-22 AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
Digital camera Review: Does everything I need from my alarm clock
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned the RCR-22 for almost a year now. I wanted an alarm clock with the ability to choose which days the alarm would sound. I didn't want just weekdays or M, W, F. I am easily able to program it once and not have to worry about resetting it unless I need to change the time. It also displays the next alarm time and day so I can always check right before I go to bed if it is set correctly. I love not having to turn my alarm on and off like on older alarm clocks I've owned. Turning it off when I wake up just sets it up to go off for the next set day. It's great!! I haven't overslept yet!
I also like the sleep function that can be set for 60, 45, 30, or 15 minutes of radio to play while you fall asleep. Then it automatically shuts off. I just put it on talk radio and it puts me right to sleep.
I did not by this for sound quality, but I will admit it's mediocre at best when I've plugged my iPod in through the convenient Aux input.
It would be nice if it had the Human Waking System (HWS) for radio, too, not just buzzer mode, but not a big deal. It's all the same to me when I'm getting up at the crack of dawn!
I really like this product and don't see myself looking for a new alarm clock for a long time!
Digital camera Review: Exactly what I was hoping for
Summary: 5 Stars
This is our second Sangean radio. The first one is several years old, still working very well and the reception is excellent. So, when I needed to get a bedside radio / alarm clock, I was pleased to see that Sangean had what I was looking for. The reception is great and it's easy to set up favorite stations and switch between them. The led display is easy to see without being too bright. The sound quality is very good. I am happy with all of the radio's functions and highly recommend it.Digital camera Review: Excellent Clock Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
I've done a ton of research regarding all of the atomic clock radios out on the market. I can safely say, without a doubt, that the RCR-22 is the best atomic clock radio out on the market today, especially with the vast number of features that it has.
Below are some of the primary features that the RCR-22 has to offer:
Display Features
The display background is a dark blue color with white text - the display makes for an easy read from a wide variety of angles. (The prior version of this clock, the Sangean RCR-2 Digital Atomic Clock Radio with Dual Alarms, which had an orange background and black text was very difficult, and at times impossible, to read at certain angles).
The RCR-22 also has an adjustable brightness level for the display screen.
Clock Features
The RCR-22 features an atomic clock that automatically synchs up the date and time every hour. Don't get confused with clocks claiming to automatically set themselves - several clocks claim that they automatically set themselves, but it's not really the case - it's just a gimmick. I, like several others, had been tricked into thinking that our clocks would automatically set themselves - this was not the case when the new Daylight Saving Time rules took place and our clocks did not automatically set themselves. The RCR-22 really does set itself via an atomic radio signal.
Alarm Features
This clock features two independent alarms. Each alarm gives you the ability to select the days of the week that you wish the alarms to wake you (i.e. The first alarm could be set for Mon, Wed, Fri at a certain time and the second alarm could be set for Tue and Thu at a different time, etc.)
The alarm offers a Humane Waking System (the alarm gets progressively louder rather than jolting you out of bed)
Adjustable alarm buzzer sound level
You can wake up to the alarm buzzer or to a specific AM or FM station
Like most clocks, the RCR-22 offers a snooze function
Radio Features
Many of the clocks out on the market today seem include a radio just so that it can be called a clock radio - often times the radio quality tends to be horrible and the reception tends to be not so great. The RCR-22 is a fantastic radio - it sounds great and it has excellent reception (you should expect a good radio from a company that is best known for its radio products).
The radio offers 7 FM presets and 7 AM presets (not a lot of clock radios offer this feature).
Power Backup Feature
Most clocks tend to have a battery-powered backup system (to retain the time and alarm memories during power outages). The RCR-22 offers something quite different - it offers a super capacitor that retains time and alarm memories for up to 1 hour (without having to use batteries). This is a very nice feature, however, it does have some drawbacks as I will explain further below.
Miscellaneous Features
Headphone Output Socket - to privately listen to the radio using your headphones
Aux Input Socket - to listen to an external CD player or MP3 player through the clock radio speakers
Adjustable Nap timer (10-120 minutes)
Adjustable Sleep Timer (15-120 minutes)
Drawbacks
The only possible drawback I could find regarding the RCR-22 is the Super Capacitor power backup - if the power outage lasts for more than an hour, all of your settings, including the alarms and radio presets will be gone. Also, if by some strange coincidence, the alarm is scheduled to go off during a power outage, the alarm will not go off.
My only suggestion for future generations of this clock is extend the super capacitor time to 3 hours (this should keep most of us feel calmer). Also, more importantly, have the alarm go off during power outages.
If Sangean takes care of the suggestions above, they would not only have the best atomic clock radio, but arguably the perfect atomic clock radio.
I'm a very proud owner of the RCR-22 - the best atomic clock radio out there right now.
Digital camera Review: Excellent Clock Radio
Summary: 4 Stars
This clock radio replaced a Proton unit that was generally very good but did not have a good dimmer for the display or presets for the radio. The Sangean works just right. I'm able to control the display brightness at the touch of a button and dim the radio to a very low setting (or no light if I wanted) so I'm not disturbed at night by the brightness. I'm also able to use the preset station buttons to switch stations, which I never wanted to do with a dial switching mechanism. The time kept by the atomic display is perfect and the radio maintains the time even if there is a short power outage. I also like the small footprint on the night table. Ease of operation has been cited by other reviewers as a problem. I found that if you read the instructions a few times and play with the radio features that it isn't that difficult to use all of the radio features. It does take just a little effort to do so but once learned it becomes intuitive to operate. Other reviewers were correct in that the AM reception is not ideal. That has generally been a problem in my area and continues to be subject to interference with this clock radio. FM reception is excellent. Overall, I'm very satisfied and may purchase this product for other rooms of my home.Digital camera Review: Excellent choice for an alarm clock
Summary: 5 Stars
This alarm clock has not been a disappointment. The atomic feature works perfectly and was "locked in" in less than a minute. I'm also happy with the nap and sleep timer features as well as the HWS alarm. Is it perfect? No, there are a few things that could be better, (see other reviews), but overall this alarm clock is an excellent choice.