Customer Reviews

La Crosse Technology WT-3143A 14-Inch Atomic Wall Clock, Black

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I have 4 more atomic clocks (2 more analogue and 2 digital ones) as well as 3 atomic watches. Self setting function works exactly the same on all of them. So I think it's worth setting the expectations straight for how this clock will most likely work for you. Unless you live close to Colorado (where the time signal originates) the proper way of 'setting' this clock is to put the battery in and wait overnight for the clock to set itself. Best signal reception depends on where you live and also on time of year and weather conditions. In Charlotte, NC where I live - most of my atomic clocks and watches sync themselves around 2 am. I guess it's a bit confusing to people unfamiliar with the 'atomic' technology to see the hands of the clock start moving around and then stopping at some random hour as if though the clock was broken... La Crosse (and other makers) should probably include a 'quick start' card that states in big bold letters to put the battery in, select your time zone, IGNORE any hand movement (or lack there of) and then WAIT overnight. Again - unless you live close enough to CO so that the clock can receive time signal any time of day or night - you will have to wait until the next day.

I've had this clock for around 6 months now and it worked perfectly well (to within 1 second of actual time) with the exception of a couple bizarre quirks. One time the clock got itself off by 15 minutes (though the seconds hand was dead on). I did not adjust it - and the next day it fixed itself through its usual overnight self-setting. Another time it spontaneously changed time zones and started showing California time. This time around I had to remove the battery, reinsert it and re-select the time zone (simply re-selecting time zone did not solve the problem).

As another reviewer remarked - the clock looks nicer 'in person' than it does on the photos. The very thin rim makes the dial look a bit bigger than the stated dimensions would suggest. Face color is off-white or very light cream and looks very nice. As for the build quality - it's nothing special. The clock is 100% plastic (even the 'crystal') except for the dial which is simply paper. The whole thing - including mechanism - is made in China. Even though the clock is probably extremely cheap to manufacture (given its all plastic construction) it does not LOOK 'cheap' once it hangs on the wall. I bought a virtually identical quality atomic clock for seven bux (delivered) on everybody's favorite auction site and it looks OK - but not as nice as this one (a different 'brand' - not La Crosse).

One star taken off for the 'quirks' - but not for the 'good enough' materials engineering (it would be better if it was made less cheaply - but it looks fine the way it is).

Michael

The other reviewers accurately captured the clock's great features. I will add that its radio reception is great too. I put the battery in about 6:00 pm in California yesterday, May 31, expecting it to get the correct time overnight. I noticed the second hand move a bit and stop, and thought "d*** it's broken already." Not so! While reading the instructions to see what happened, with the clock resting on the floor, it started advancing to the exact correct time, having received the radio signal in a minute since start. The clock is now in my garage and I don't have to wonder if I have the correct time or not.

When I received this clock, I popped in the batteries, and it soon started setting the time...at least until the minute hand hit the fifty-minute mark, from where it refused to move. Upon the advice of tech support, I exchanged the clock, and its replacement kept perfect time...as long as you didn't look at the second hand. The hour and minute hands were dead-on, but the second hand moved at a rate seven seconds per hour faster. No amount of resetting (or tech support) would solve the problem, so I threw in the towel and returned it for a refund. Pity. It's exactly the clock I was looking for...except for the not-working part.

VERY easy to set up. Pop in a AA battery, push the button on the back for your time zone in the US (Or you can set manually, but then why? Unless you are out of the US time zones.) Find a spot on the wall for it, hammer in a nail, leaving it stick out a little to hold the clock, put the clock up (the hardest part, as it's just a hole flush with the back, BUT! If you put it close to a door, you can see the hole and the nail) and WALLA! in a few minutes, the clock sets itself! What could be more easy? My cat even found it amusing to watch the clock hands move until the reached the exact time! ;)

Clock is made of finely textured plastic on outside, but looks a lot nicer than in the picture. Great to match black, silver &/or designer computers, Black leather desk chairs, etc. in an office or computer room. Directions say to set it up late at night preferrably, and that if used in interior rooms of office buildings it may not be able to pick up the signal to set, and thus you'd do it manually.

Clock is larger than it looks as well, which is easier on the eyes than other clocks. The price is certainly right as well. I bought an old black school-type clock for my kids when they were young, very similar to this one, and since my son took it with him when he moved out I wanted a replacement! (My mom bought the old one when my youngest was a baby, when my older child was learning to tell time. It's been through being dropped when moving, a few earthquakes and just keeps on ticking! I have the feeling this one will do the same as it's well made compared to many of the less expensive clocks out there - espcially the projection type, which I thought might be a great idea until I saw the reviews on how many different projection clocks simply don't work, are cheaply made, and a friend's daughter got one for her birthday, which didn't work either.)

Great for kids learning to tell time too, so this could go just about anywhere in a modern decor room. AWESOME! I'm very happy with it so far!

Seemed like a very nice clock when it arrived. Easy to set up. Unfortunatly the second hand quit working after about a week.

The minute hand of this clock arrived misaligned, so that clock always shows the time 3-4 minutes behind the actual time.

I contacted the manufacturer (e-mail to customer service remained unanswered for 3 days, so I had to telephone). They said they would repair the faulty clock, but refused to pay for shipping (their claims is the the minute hand could have shifted in shipping --- since the hands are balanced in the spindle, this possibility is highly unlikely).

Since Lacrosse clearly has manufacturing issues (other customers report similar misalignment issues), and has poor customer service, you might want to look at a different manufacturer. Even though I am returning the clock to Amazon, which knows how to treat their customers correctly, this is another of life's little hassles.

This clock was very easy to set up...pop in a battery and within 5 minutes it sets itself. It's large face and numbers are easy to read at a distance, making it perfect for business use. It was only a few dollars more than a clock with no automatic time setting, so it was worth it to me to have at least one clock I'll only have to check when the battery wears down.

My clock was programmed with the previous version of the Daylight Saving Time rules, so it was off by an hour. This clock won't allow you to jog the hour forward or backwards, so unless you live in the central states you are out of luck. I tossed my clock out.

Since we seem to have trouble keeping all the clocks in the office with the correct time we purchased 4 of these clocks. They arrived fine. I put the battery in and held down the EST button on the back. Each of them moved to 4:00. But it was 2:15 in the afternoon. Okay I thought - give it overnight to sinc up. No go. Moved them to a different office so it could sinc up. This did happen but it took 2 more days. Since then they are working fine. Very nice clocks for the money. I would recommend.

Our establishment ordered 22 La Crosse atomic wall clocks. Only a handfull of the clocks managed to pick up a signal. The other clocks had to be set manually which is time consuming. Once they were set manually, they would not keep accurate time. According to the instructions the clocks have trouble picking up signals in concrete buildings with steel reinforcement like the three story office building we occupy. Do not purchase if you are in one of these type of buildings. Also two of the clocks did not work at all.