XM-Ready Alarm Clock Radio - Silver
From Timex
- Color: Silver
- Brand: Timex
Timex XM Clock-Radio
XM Radio is a direct line-of-sight system. If you drive under a bridge you lose the signal, etc.
All external XM radio antennas do not fit the Timex XM antenna port. I bought the Belkin, but it does not fit. The radio is really "XM Ready" which translates into you need the special "connect & play" antenna. The Audiovox "connect & play" antenna fits (but apparently not sold by Target).
The store really has the responsibility to tell you about essential add-ons needed to make something work.
After an hour of trying to line the antenna up (they want a south facing window), I get 0-5 bars intermittently. I can see why XM Radio sees its' primary market as autos. Of course I have lots of trees, so your situation may be different.
The clock-radio comes with a large, heavy external in-line DC power converter.
Luckily the display has a dimmer switch because the full power 'call for Batman" display will light up a room at night.
The remote control is not fully explained in the instructions. If the clock-radio unit is set to memory A, for example, then the remote keypad will only select Memory A presets, i.e. you cannot key in "78." You can select DIRECT, A, B, C with the rotating switch, but it would be fairly difficult to see the screen to know what you were selecting at any distance.
The oddest thing is you cannot set the clock-radio to a channel then turn off-on and get the channel back (as you can in a car XM radio). Since I bought this as a gift for my 91 year-old Mom, this is actually quite a serious flaw.
If you phone in your XM radio activation, be prepared for 30 minutes of script reading once you navigate the menus. Probably best to do online. XM Radio is frankly hostile to regular billing; they want a checking account number or credit card to auto bill. They really want you to pre-pay for 5 years. Even when you say "no," you're going to get in-depth "why nots." Afterall who knows where XM radio will be in 5 years?
The radio has a lot of nice features (more than my car radio I think). Average clock-radio sound. No treble-bass controls, but choice of Rock, Classic, etc. EQ. Plain hard-wired wire FM antenna. You can hook up an MP3 to it.
Very good XM/Alarm combo
I have been using this product for about 6 months and have had no issues with it.
Be aware that it does not come with an XM antenna. I got mine in a package deal through another source so this wasn't and issue for me.
FM reception is clear. XM reception is clear as long as you follow the basic XM guideline of a clear view of the southern sky. Lots of programmable buttons. You get a full 10 numbers so you can directly enter the channel number of the XM stations. With three different brightness levels, the dimming screen is very nice so that you aren't blinded at night. It has an aux port so that you can plug another audio source up to it. I keep a Zune dock plugged into it.
Also the clock can be synced with the XM satellites so that you know the time you see is the time it actually is.
The only negative that I have found is that once you turn the XM Radio off, it does not remember what channel it was on the next time you turn it on and defaults to XM Channel 1. Its not a major concern as i have most of my favorite channels programmed to a button.
A very good Wake-To-XM clock radio.
A well-conceived clock radio! I wanted a clock radio with XM, and with an output to feed the signal to my bedroom stereo. This has both features, and the quality of the XM audio is quite satisfactory.
Modes are AM/FM/XM/AuxIn. Both alarms fade in and can be set to wake to any mode. There are several tuning methods, including the twist dial in front which I find to be convenient. I have not experienced a problem with the radio not remembering the station when it is turned off.
The time is backed up by two "AA" batteries. The backlight will turn off and the time & date will continuted to be displayed after power loss. Also, the during a power loss the alarm will revert to a high-pitched beeper but it will still sound. How cool is that?
I was already signed up for XM ($10/mo for 3 yrs up front), so the extra subscription was $7/mo. I can sign up for 3 more XM radios at no additional charge. There is also a $15 "set up fee".
I ordered this and the required XM antenna (I'm using the Audiovox CNP-1000 XM antenna) from a different vendor for a better price. They actually forced me to refuse the CNP-1000 explicity (which I did not, of course) so that customers would not forget the extra piece required to make XM work. Just Google this Timex clock radio and you'll find them.
I'm usually slow to sign up for this kind of thing, but I don't get good radio reception out here, and I enjoy XM's variety of programming. Sirius is good as well - they have pro football, XM has college.
Overall, I think it is functional and not too complicated. Most functions are directly accessed by buttons, rather than scrolling through endless menus. I might have made the Power button more prominent. I've always preferred twist-dial style tuning; you can give it a good spin if you're really disgusted with the current offering. Looks nice, too!
