Oregon Scientific RM981A Radio-Controlled Alarm Clock

by Oregon Scientific

Product Features

• Highly accurate clock with two alarms and calendar
• Automatically synchronizes to U.S. Atomic Clock
• Weekday alarm sounds only Monday through Friday
• 8-minute snooze function
• Backlight illuminates only when activated, keeping room dark

Product Details

Product Manual [190kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 3.9 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006J03W
• Item model number: RM981A
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,080,196 in Home & Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home & Kitchen)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Sleep soundly with this precision dual-alarm clock by the bed. The weekday alarm can be programmed to go off Monday through Friday at the same time and automatically skip Saturday and Sunday. The single alarm will go off once at the preset time. Radio signals from the U.S. atomic clock keep the clock automatically synchronized. An hour-offset function (+/- 9 hours) displays other time zones. Select one of five languages to display the day of the week, and choose either a 12- or 24-hour format for the time. Pressing the snooze button will activate the white, noiseless backlight, which goes off after five seconds to save battery wear. The clock does not stay illuminated all night, a boon to those who like to sleep in a truly dark room. The crescendo alarm starts beeping gently, then builds in intensity and will go off automatically after two minutes. Measuring 4-1/4 by 3-1/2 inches and tapering from a base of 2 inches to a gently curved top, the clock runs on one AA battery (included), and is covered by a three-month warranty against defects. --Ann Bieri

Product Description

Unique and affordable, this clock is equipped with the same precision and accuracy as our other ExactSet clocks. Perfect for use at home or the office, uses signals from the U.S. Atomic Clock to set itself - even adjusts for daylight saving time. HiGlo backlight, two alarms with melody feature, time/day display, and low battery indicator. Alarm with 8 minute snooze feature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Its painful to try and use, October 14, 2003

By 

Paul E. Begley "paulbegley" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM981A Radio-Controlled Alarm Clock (Kitchen)

This product should be used in universities to teach programmers and design students how to NOT design a product.

Its awful, horrible, the worst product I have ever used in my life. I find it hard to believe that they even sell this piece of crap. If you compare it to a standard bed side alarm clock, it doesn't even meet this basic requirement - its difficult to set, you can't turn the bloody thing off in less than 15-30 seconds pressing and/or holding down the Alarm button 15-20 times in the process.

I thought I was missing something. I have an engineering degree, developed software and work as a systems integrator, so I downloaded the docs from the manufacturer's web site. No, it appears I'm not missing anything, it just doesn't work the way it was designed. Even if it did work the way it was designed, it still sucks.

The product is inexpensive, but if it worked, I would

Bad DeSiGn:
- There is no way to disable/turn off the alarm
- The Alarm button requires several attempts before it shuts off. It takes 15-20 seconds to shut it off.
- Setting the alarm is an exercise in frustration - I have never been able to set the alarm the first time. I have to cycle through the menu several times before it 'takes'.

On the positive side, it does have two redeeming attributes:
- The radio update works like a charm, the clock keeps very, very accurate time and updates automatically.
- Having a 'daily' (M-F) and 'special' alarm setting is a good idea, if they were easy to set, if you could enable/disable them with a switch and if you could turn off the alarm before my kids wake up and the cats start some feral feeding frenzy on my leg.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars As bad as other purchasers say, November 3, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM981A Radio-Controlled Alarm Clock (Kitchen)

The keys don't work reliably, and the user interface is complicated enough that I have to look it up every time I try to use it. In addition, the display doesn't seem to work effectively - some segments don't light up properly.

Hard to imagine how this ever made it to market - or perhaps really appalling quality control.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Design of clock should have set off alarms for manufacturer, September 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Oregon Scientific RM981A Radio-Controlled Alarm Clock (Kitchen)

The Radio Controlled Alarm Clock has serious design deficiencies. Once the weekday alarm is set, there is no way to turn it off. That is, the alarm time can be changed, the snooze button can be hit - but the alarm is going to go off at *some* time during the day. The only way to clear the setting is remove the battery and reset the clock. The alarm supposedly has a "crescendo" feature that starts the alarm quiet and gently increases the volume. But the alarm simply starts off loud - and gets louder. The radio control feature is neat - the clock sets itself by radio to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. But completely compromising this feature is that the clock can only run on batteries. Thus when the battery runs out, you must then reprogram your alarm and let the clock know what timezone you are in. After doing this, you may wonder what the convenience of having atomic time is - after all, how long does it take to set a clock yourself?