Customer Reviews

Emerson CKS3088T SmartSet Dual-Alarm Clock Radio with 4-Way Lamp Control

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Huge problem with this design is the motion sensor idea. For this product it has 2 functions/uses, both of which are a terrible idea. First, you can set the clock light to High, Dim, or Motion/Off (not the exact name of this setting). The motion/off is so that after 10 seconds, the light goes off completely. If it detects motion, the light comes on. So the theory is that if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can just wave your hand in front of the clock and see the time. Not a bad idea at first thought. Except...it's a clock/radio designed to sit on your night stand right next to your bed!!! Everytime you move or roll over, the light comes ON (and in "high" mode...not dim mode). Strike One against this time.

Second function of the motion sensor is so you don't have to press a snooze button...you can just wave your hand instead. So now when your alarm goes off, if you just barely move...poof, sleep mode. And the sleep mode is like 10 minutes long! The manual specifically says it only does this when the "alarm" (buzzer) mode is used but that's not true at all. It does it even if you set the alarm to radio mode. Makes me wonder why they even bother to put a sleep button the radio. You can't use it because if you start to reach to hit the button, the motion detector puts it into sleep mode anyway. Strike two. Motion sensor...terrible idea for a product that sits right next to your bed.

The final strike is the touch-sensor you can plug your lamp into so you can just touch the pad on top of the clock to turn your light on/off. So now while you're fumbling around in the dark trying to your alarm off most of the time you end up hitting the light button and turn the lights on...which, if you have a 'significant other' that doesn't get up at the same time, is NOT a good thing. Especially a S.O. that is grumpy in the a.m. to start with. :-) Strike three for this product. I've had it 3 days and it's got to go...returning back to Amazon tomorrow (if I don't oversleep because I barely moved and put my alarm into sleep mode again)

Great Alarm Clock: Has all the standard features you would expect in an alarm clock. Being able to select which days for each of the 2 alarms is a nice feature. The big display is easy to read at night without wearing my glasses. Form factor is nice. Unlike a previous reviewer, I've had no problems with the radio.

Easy to Use: Sets itself the first time, 2 Alarms Easy to Set Up. It has heat/motion sensor so you don't have to touch a snooze button, just wave your hand in front of the clock face and you're in snooze mode.

Lamp Control: Plug in any lamp up to 150 W (no fluorescent bulbs). The lamp control button dims the lamp bulb up or down. The button is big, so you can find it half asleep and you don't have to "push down" on the button to get it to work. The lightest touch is all that is needed.

Overall, this clock was much better than I expected. Lot's of thoughtful touches were put into the design of this alarm clock. I'm thinking about getting another one for my guest bedroom.

I've had this clock radio for several years. If you want to self setting clock, buy it. If you want a descent clock radio, keep looking. The self setting clock is fantastic and the dual alarm feature is nice. However the radio is absolutely terrible. It is difficult to tune because the tuning knob is tiny and it is impossible to to see the few station frequency numbers that are printed in tiny numbers on the dial. So you have to guess what station it is on and wait for the station to say its call letters. For some reason the radio will not stay in tune, so every two or three days I have to re tune it. The latest issue is the volume control which is cutting in and out so it is about to go.

Life it too short to use something so aggravating so I'm going to replace this with a Sangean WR-2.

Also, the sound quality of the Emerson is poor, but I expected that.

- big letters makes it easy to read
- sets the time by itself
- has a touch control for a lamp
- low cost

need I say more :) exactly what I was looking for!

I had the same exact problem! The clock is designed so that you can "hit snooze" by just moving! The problem is, the motion sensor is extremely sensitive, and this thing sits on your night stand, right next to... you when you're waking up! As soon as you move, the alarm shuts off. And, yes, the instructions expressly state this feature is not active if you set the alarm to "radio", but the instructions are wrong. There's no way to shut this off. I'm returning this terrible product today.

There are some reviews that claim that motion at night will cause you to accidentally turn off the alarm. This is no more true than pressing the snooze button on a regular alarm clock would turn off the alarm. The "wave" feature is only for snooze, so the alarm has to be actively going off for motion to affect it. You can also use a wave to turn on the display if you have the display set to off (probably handy if you don't like light in your room at night). The motion sensor it pretty sensitive. About 2 feet away, 140 degrees, level with the clock.

The buttons for turning the alarm off in the morning are tiny and very hard to find when it is dark and you just woke up. They are also roughly the same size and shape as the other buttons on the top of the alarm for setting the time and alarms. All the buttons are in a row too. Eventually you get used to finding the off button in the dark, and can do it pretty quickly.

The alarm is escalating so if you are sleeping lightly it won't jolt you out of bed.

You can set the time even though it "auto sets" itself. Yes, it comes set for EST, yes you can change it.

You can set each alarm for either M-F, Sat & Sun, or everyday. It is really nice not to have to worry about remembering to turn the alarm off on Friday and back on for Monday.

This is a great alarm clock, anytime the power goes off or you unplug it the thing automatically resets the time. You can also snooze by waving your hand in front of the clock. Nice design a bit large but not too bad.

Two major dislikes:

* The body heat/motion detection is too sensitive to use with as a snooze "button".

* I am a heavy sleeper and the alarm is waaaaay to quiet to wake me up - this was the reason I had to return it.

Also, the front of mine was not assembled correctly at the factory which made the minutes very hard to read.

Likes:

* The auto-lamp is an excellent idea.

* I liked the fact it set the time itself.

Some people are extremely sensitive to light during sleep. Any little source - an illuminated power button, a night light, a charger status light, and especially an illuminated alarm clock - will keep them awake, or awaken them in the night.

The designers of this clock had a good idea: make a clock with a display that remains dark unless somebody wants to know the time. So they designed a clock with a motion sensor, the idea being that you wave at the clock and it briefly displays the time before again going dark.

That's a great idea!

But they failed in two ways.

One. The display is tremendously bright, the numerals are really big, and there is no dimmer for "Motion Sensing Mode". There is a choice to have a lower intensity display, but this is not an option if using the motion sensing capability, so when you wave at the clock the display goes on in full bright torch mode (with gigantic numerals) and bathes the entire bedroom in red light.

Two. The motion sensor sees far to wide an angle. We tried, and failed, to find a position and angle for the clock where I could wave to display the time without it also triggering when I or my girlfriend rolled over in bed. The sensor should have been designed to look only at a narrow area so that it is triggered only by a purposeful wave. Better yet, the sensor should be adjustable so that the user can point it where it works for them.

So, half a "great idea", for a total of a "complete failure".

I purchased one similar a few years ago and liked it immensely.
I went to the same store to purchase another and they didn't
carry it anymore. So, I went on the internet and found just
what I was looking for, and I am so happy that I did. I just
love this alarm clock radio, I don't have to worry about changing
times in the fall or spring, it does it automatically. Great
alarm clock radio.