Customer Reviews

Emerson CKS3029 AM/FM Clock Radio with SmartSet Automatic Time Setting System

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Living in hurricane territory, I definitely wanted some clocks that would function with or without the help of Florida Light and Power and that I would not have to reset whenever I experience a momentary loss of power. Three Emerson Smartsets made us a very happy household for almost two years now, until this morning. I went over to Brookstone where I know they sell these clocks to complain that my clock did not Spring forward. They handed me a sheet explaining how to manually update my clock (something I will need to do 4 times a year for my clocks purchased pre Marc 2006). Here's how you do it for anyone frustrated as I was:

1. On the second Sunday in March, set your clock to the next lowest number time zone (for example, if you live in the Eastern Time zone, Zone 02, you will change your clock to Zone 01 to move it ahead by one hour)

2. On the first Sunday in April, when the clock will automatically advance itself by one hour for whatever time zone you are in. You will then need to set the clock back to your correct time zone (Zone 02 if you are in the Eastern time Zone)

3. On the last Sunday in October, you would again set your clock to the next lower numbered time zone (Zone 01 if you are in the Eastern time zone). Your clock was not originally set to change times on this date.

4. On the first Sunday in November, the date your clock has been preprogrammed to fall back, you would again set your clock back to your correct time zone (Zone 02 if you are in the Eastern time zone).

Really this is a circumstance beyond Emerson's control, but I am starting to think that what Emerson needs to do is bring this smartset technology to an actual Atomic clock and then the government can change daylight savings time start and end dates as many times as they want, without Emerson consumers ever experiencing any problems. Until then, I hope this has helped someone who like me scoured the Internet for information on how to change the time on these not-so-smartsets after all.

The Amazon description "Emerson CKS3029 Atomic Dual-Alarm AM FM Clock Radio" misleadingly uses the word "Atomic" - I believe they meant "Automatic". Although this device claims to have a preset time (mine was set incorrectly), and does reset the time after a power outage, it does not set itself from an Atomic clock radio signal. So if that's what you want, look elsewhere.

I purchased this clock/radio because I thought that it was an "atomic" clock. An atomic clock (or watch) is a clock that sets its time automatically by monitoring the WWVB clock signal transmitted by the NIST atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado. In other words, a true atomic clock/radio would never need setting, would never need to be adjusted for daylight savings time, and would always display the accurate time.

The Emerson CKS3029 Clock Radio is a regular clock radio with a battery-backed up memory. When you unplug the clock (or when there's a power outage), the battery keeps the clock portion powered (there's no display). When power is restored, the time is "reprogrammed" by the internal clock. Once the internal battery dies (it supposedly lasts 3-5 years) and there is a power outage, the clock will lose its settings and must be manually set!

Unlike other non-atomic clock radios (the GE 74894 comes to mind), this one DOES self-adjust for daylight savings time and leap years which is nice.

The clock radio seems to be very well made and has some really nice features including a display dimmer, weekend and/or non-weekend alarms (dual alarms), a nice large snooze button, and day-of-week indicators. The radio sounds a bit "tinny" and cheap, but this is a clock radio and not a boombox.

In summary, if you're looking for a genuine atomic clock radio, steer clear of this product. If you're looking for a clock radio that can ride out power outages without losing track of the time, and a radio with lots of nice features, then I'd recommend this one.

Never have to worry about setting your alarm EVER again!!! Not only does it automatically reset the exact time and date, it remembers the alarm time you had set, even when you plug it back in!!! It even has 7-day, weekend or weekday only feature, so you'll never be accidentally woken on the wrong day!!!<br /> <br /> Its worth it big time!

I could not agree more with the other person who rated this radio. I too had to replace my old alarm clock. I cannot be more pleased that I bought this clock! I absolutely love the features. Just plug it in and it automatically sets the correct time. You adjust it once for your time zone and it does all the other work for you. The automatic correction for daylight savings time and leap year when coupled with the other features make this one of the best buys I have made in years. Easy to set. A lot of good ideas were put to work in this product!

I have 2 different SmartSet models. I've had one for well over a year, and the 2nd for just a few months. I bought it for my husband because I've been so happy with mine. I love the time-reset feature. It's really easy to set and use this clock and the alarms. It has a lot of flexibility without being overly complicated. Some reviewers have mentioned their clocks are either fast or slow. Both my clocks keep the correct time TO THE MINUTE. I also can't say I had any problems with the daylight savings change. The older clock had a one-time-only fix when the change went into effect. I do not have to repeat this 'fix' ever again. The second clock was already programmed for the new DST. The radio reception is as good as any alarm clock radio I've ever owned (which is to say, not great, but functional). Yes, the display is a bit too bright, even on the dim setting - but it doesn't disturb my ability to sleep.

I bought this clock knowing that emerson had a bad rep. But I figured I'd give them a shot and spend 7 more dollars on a new "high-tech" alarm clock than a decent everyday sony for $13. The features would be great and my complaints could be overlooked but I shouldn't have to overlook flaws in a product that I spent my hard earned money for.

I bought the clock yesterday and plugged it in for the first time today. It cycled through its' time setting phase and set the propper time day and year (yay!). But today is thursday and the clock insists that 8/31/06 is a sunday. My other complaint is that straight out of the box one of the led segments are dead. what kind of quality control lets this happen, obviously to a number of people (other reviewers)?

I sincerely wanted to like this clock but I now have a bad taste in my mouth called Emerson Research.

The alarm clock looks great out of the box. It is easy to follow the directions and do the settings. The numbers are nice and bright and big enough to see easily, but there is that little constant hummmm of electricity that I just couldn't stand. In the middle of the night I had to unplug it. If you are bothererd by the hummmmmm of electricity I wouldn't recommend.

Nice product but if you are using it in a third world country where the electric company doesn't pay much attention to the number of cycles completed in a day, the time wanders...a lot. Here in this part of Mexico (Baja)it is common to see it indicate an error of 3-4 minutes a day, which is additive. I have to keep setting in a correction from an accurate time source. When I bought it I thought it listened to the WWV time source and corrected itself. Not so. When it is unplugged, it uses its own time source which is quite accurate but when plugged in it keeps time by counting the cycles like most 'plug-in-the-wall' clocks.

And....it is not easy to program all the features without referring to the manual. Otherwise, I like it. It does solve the problem of our frequent brief power outages.

This clock is truly incredible! my favorite standby clock died of old age and I had to get a replacement and this was the third one I bought before I found one that I liked, and it's now the only clock for me. I love that it knows daylight savings time - it set it for me in October and I didn't have to do a thing. I also love the days of the week feature - when I see a little red light I know it's time to "stop" sleeping and get up, and when I see the little green light I can "go" back to sleep. It's corny, but cool. The dual alarms are nice, but one of the best features is the included litium battery that will last 3 - 5 years. And it will tell me when the battery is starting to get low, so I don't have to wait and be surprised with a power outage, which we get a lot of here in Florida. The problem I had with other clocks was that the display was so bright I could read a book by them, but not so with this clock. It's just right. Buy this clock - you won't be sorry. Signed, Goldilocks.