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Product Information
| Item Weight | 1.3 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 1.9 x 4.2 x 4.2 inches |
| UPC | 027242595279 027242717367 |
| Item model number | NTM-910YLW |
| Target gender | Unisex |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Finish | White |
| Power source type | ac |
| Batteries required | Yes |
| ASIN | B000S35QLC |
| Best Sellers Rank |
#557 in Baby (See top 100)
|
| Shipping Weight | 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) |
| Shipping | Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. |
Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Product Description
Customer Reviews
With that said, my husband and I are very, very satisfied with the Baby Call Nursery Monitor (27 channel) from Sony. But we didn't choose it first. When our old Sony Baby Call (a hand-me-down from a relative) died on us after having it for about 7 years and using it with our oldest son, packing it away and unpacking it for about 6 more months of use with our newborn son, we were on the hunt for a replacement.
I was at [a store]and picked up the Fisher-Price Sound N Lights With Dual Receivers. It was a less expensive model, there was a whole wall of them at the store, and we were interested in a 2-receiver system because we have a two-story home. We figured it had to be a decent product - especially since it has received above average reviews from Amazon.com reviewers. Well as soon as we plugged it in, all we got was static. Oh sure, we could hear our son crying if we had it cranked all the way to maximum volume, but the additional static noise was incredibly annoying, especially when it's sitting on the night table next to your head and you're trying to find some precious hours of sleep. Also, after one night of use, one receiver's 9-volt battery had been completely depleted - after just one night! What a joke! It was no Sony! So we were on the hunt again.
What we determined (a little too late...we should have done our research before we purchased the first time), was that we were looking for was a product that worked on a 900 MHz signal for greater noise reduction, a sensitive transmitter that would allow us to hear the baby's breathing, a longer battery life, and a 2-reciever system. What's surprising is that there is very little on the market that meets each of these basic feature needs. We did find the First Years Peace of Mind - Two Receiver Monitor, but it didn't get great reviews at Amazon.com. And there were too many left on the shelf when compared to the Sony, which, like I said above, only one was left on the shelf of our local store.
So we decided that we needed to remain Sony customers in this market because of our previous great experience and Sony's reputation. But with that, we sacrificed the 2-monitor feature. Oh well. A little more hauling of the monitor certainly is a sacrifice worth making when you get all of the other critical features - and more. The Baby Call Nursery Monitor (27 channel) is ultra quiet. This is great considering all of the 900 MHz telephones we have, the wireless network in the home, and other radio signals, etc. This product cuts out the CD player in the nursery which plays quiet, soothing music while our son sleeps, and brings his breathing and movements to fore. This is excellent. Just what we wanted and expected from Sony. This product also has a rechargeable battery with an expected 19-hour life on one charge. This is great. When I need to move into other rooms for a few hours during the day, I won't need to worry about the battery. Plug it in at night to recharge the battery and you don't burn through and waste batteries unnecessarily.
The signal strength is great too. We have a large 2-story home and the nursery is upstairs and about 100 linear feet from where I spend much of my day downstairs in the kitchen/family room area. We hear him no problem.
There are plenty of other great features - you can set your own frequency signal (you have 27 to choose from), you can wall mount the transmitter or the receiver, the monitor has a belt clip and an out of range alert, the receiver is water-resistant (great for having next to the kitchen sink) and much more that we're still discovering. Overall, we're very pleased and wish we had purchased this to begin with. It was more expensive..., but you get what you pay for. Well, the baby is waking up - I hear him clear as a bell making his soft, pre-waking whimpering sounds. Gotta go!
Things I like:
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* When I'm in range of the baby and all is working well, the monitor is very quiet.
* The rechargeable battery works great! Even when I occasionally forget to plug it in overnight, the receiver doesn't run out of juice.
* It's nice to have 27 channels to choose from. Our monitor gets so little interference that we've only ever used the default channel. But it's good to know that we have options if we ever do need to switch.
* It hooks nicely into my pocket or belt, so I can wear it on my hip as I do other things around the house.
Things I don't like:
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* It's easy to be out of range in my (average-sized) house. The baby's room is at a top corner of the house. When I'm in the dining room or living room, the monitor makes a lot of badly noisy static, and its out-of-range signal makes endless beepitty-beep noises.
* When the receiver is plugged in but there's no power being supplied to its plug, instead of getting power from its battery -- it just stops working!!! This is a problem if (1) you plug in the receiver incorrectly (I've done that a few times), or (2) during a power outage. If there is a power outage, then the receiver is completely silent. A nighttime power outage is the one time when I *do* want it to make beepity-beep noises, and static, and all kinds of other racket, because I want it to wake me up so that I can go sleep someplace where I can hear the baby.
* I wish it was harder to turn the volume control. I frequently find that it has dialed itself down to the quietest setting, where the only indicator that the baby is making noise is the lights on the display -- you can't hear the baby at all when the monitor is on that setting. I'm pretty sure I've failed to hear the baby when he cried when this happened. I've become fanatical about checking and re-checking the volume setting. But I wish I didn't have to do that. I wish it was harder to turn the dial so that the volume setting would stay the way I set it. Also I would be happy if it were a little harder to turn on and off, because sometimes I find it turned off and I'm sure I left it turned on, so I guess something must have bumped the power switch and turned it off.
Overall:
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Of the five baby monitors I've had over the years, this is probably the best, because of its quietness and good rechargeable battery life. But the too-easily-changed volume control knob, the beepitty-beep stuff, and the silence during power outages all drive me crazy. I wish someone would design a better baby monitor than this.
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October 21, 2011:
An update: My baby is now 3 1/2 years old. We've used this monitor for very nearly every night of his life, and for many naps too. Someone recently let the little guy fiddle around with the wires to the receiver and I think he broke an internal wire in the cord, so now you need to perch the cord in exactly the right position or it doesn't bring power to the receiver. But that's not Sony's fault. The monitor still continues to work exactly the way it did when it was brand new, 3 1/2 years ago. I am impressed by its longevity. Every other monitor we've ever had has faded away after a year or two. The only thing I can add to my earlier review is that I've noticed that it often broadcasts the sound of the airflow of heat or central air conditioning blowing into the room. It sounds like very quiet static, but actually what you're hearing is airflow. You can set the monitor to "voice activated" to avoid this, but then I think I miss sounds from my preschooler, too. So I keep it on the regular setting and put up with hearing the airflow.
It's not much longer now until he outgrows the need for nighttime monitoring.
Can hear the lids in the oter room but makes it difficult to use because of the constant noise.
