RCA RP5430 AM/FM Clock Radio with 1.4-Inch Display and Auto Time Set
From RCA
The RP5430 clock radio by RCA is the perfect companion in the morning. The AM/FM clock radio has a large 1.4-inch blue LED display that makes it easy to see and to read. The clock can be adjusted to two different levels of brightness to accommodate for different lighting situations. Clock features automatic time set that will set the clock to the current Easter Standard Time once clock is plugged in. Simply flip the switch to select your current time zone. LCD display has a digital frequency readout, so that you can precisely tune to your favorite radio station and read which station you are tuned in to. Connect your mp3 player to the audio input jack and enjoy your music anytime of the day without having to wear headphones. The programmable sleep feature will play the radio up to 2-hours before automatically turning off, allowing you to gently fall asleep to the radio. Clock radio has two different alarm settings that are perfect for couples who wake at different times or for those who need a second reminder to wake in the morning and you can set the alarm to wake you up to the buzzer or to your favorite radio station. The nap function can be set as a quick alarm for a short interval of sleep without disturbing the alarm settings. You can set the nap function in 10-minute increments up to a total of 2-hours of naptime. Alarm clock features programmable snooze that you can set to ring between 1-30 minutes or by the default setting of every 9-minutes. Using the SmartSnooze feature, any of the top buttons will act as the snooze button when alarm has been activated, to ensure that you will find it when you¿re half asleep. The battery backup gives reassurance that your alarm will sound even with the loss of power.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #26311 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: Silver
- Brand: RCA
- Model: RP5430
- Dimensions: 6.18" h x 5.71" w x 9.49" l, 2.00 pounds
Great clock!
This clock is the best clock I bought so far. In fact, it was better than my Sony Dream Machine that broke in 2 months. Below are my likes and dislikes of this clock radio.
Likes:
Big 1.4' LED Display
Great Radio Reception
Battery Back-up, no more waking up late for work
Auto Time Set Feature, when you plug it in, it adust the time for you automatically.
Easy to find buttons
Easy Daylight Saving Time feature. There's a switch you can push back and forth and it automatically adjust the clock to Daylight saving time so you don't have to set it.
Dual Alarm, great for waking up and taking a jog and going back to sleep then waking up to do your work.
Auto Dimmer, so it doesn't get too bright.
Easy alarm set
Snooze-get a few more minutes of sleep.
Volume Controll, adjust it to your right tone
Dislikes:
The LED can be a little bright even with the dimmer on. But it's okay for me, I can sleep easly.
Overall:
Great alarm clock! Well worth the money.
Fantastic Clock
This is just a terrific alarm clock. The only minus is that there are lots of buttons, but I find them to be very well laid out, with the occasional settings (daylight savings time, time zone, etc) hidden nicely on the back. I initially didn't care for the asymmetric casing, which looks a bit like someone cut off the left side of the clock, but it's grown on me.
Here are things I like:
* The numbers are clear, not too bright with the autodimmer on, and a very pleasant shade of blue. I can easily read them across a 11 foot room, even with my glasses off.
* It has two alarms, either or both of which can be radio or buzzer.
* The buzzer is a gradual-wake that ends up very loud. It's never failed to wake me.
* The snooze time is settable. I'm not a fan of the 9 minute snooze--I like a nice round 10 minute snooze. :)
* It has a nap feature, where you can set an instant alarm for however long from now without having to change the actual alarms.
* The time set is just the right speed--not too fast (and it's two-way if you overshoot) and not too slow. Sounds like a funny thing to note, but having just purchased another clock with a glacially slow time set, I really appreciate it.
My only caveat is that I had an earlier version of this clock that had an iPod-style set wheel and a slightly different button layout. After awhile, the switch that takes you between lock/wake1/wake2/clock set wore somehow, so that the clock would switch in and out of radio mode when you tried to set the alarm. No biggie, but it's one of the reasons I replaced it, and this clock has a very similar switch. If I run into problems, I'll update the review.
Update: I've seen some comments that you can't turn NAP off once it's set.
You can turn off NAP by holding down the NAP button for a few seconds again once the clock has exited NAP set mode and is showing the time. When you first hit the button, it'll go back into NAP set mode (probably showing 0:20) but after a few seconds, you'll go back to the time with NAP off.
Trick is, the button's a little quirky, and you have to hold down just the edge closest to the back of the clock. The middle of the button or any other edge just throws you back into NAP time adjust but never turns it off. I have no idea why--must be a design or manufacturing flaw of some kind.
best clock radio for the price
I'm very happy with my little RCA clock radio. Being a fan of blue LEDs, I really like the bold blue numbers on this thing. The auto-dimming feature is great, but I must admit, I wish it was just a little bit dimmer at night... however I'm getting used to the mellow blue light cast in my bedroom. The alarm setting procedure is really easy, as is setting up the nap, snooze, and sleep features. The radio quality if fine too -- better than I expected at this price point -- however I did have to twist around the power cable a little to a point where any interference would stop, but this could be a symptom of my environment, not the fault of the clock radio. Recommended.
**UPDATE**
Sad to say, this little clock radio's LCD display went a little haywire -- an interesting effect for sure, but certainly not useful when you want to know the time. Also, though I was happy with the blue light this cast, my girlfriend wasn't so enamored with it, so it's worth noting that even at its dimmest level, this is still a large set of digits that emits quite a bit of light! I still liked it though, and the radio part of it worked great, just not sure what happened to the display, it just went nuts one day.
