Emerson CKS1800 SmartSet Alarm Clock Radio with AM/FM, Adjustable Dimmer, Sleep Timer & 0.9" LED Display - Perfect for Bedroom, Office, Travel & Home Use

Update June 2018... the description states "Patented SmartSet Automatic Time Setting System" that is intended to set and/or maintain the correct time when first plugged in or after a power interruption... which we have frequently out here in the boonies. The clock is always 5-minutes fast and even when I turn it back it's back to being 5-minutes fast in a day or two but it never gains more than 5-minutes. Seems the "SmartSet" isn't so smart.I have more than one issue with this clock that was to replace a digital clock from the 1980’s that started gaining time a few weeks ago. There are two brightness settings on it, which was stated in the description, but they are dim and dimmer… and the brightest setting is so low you can barely see it from about 10-feet away. It is nowhere near the brightness shown in the pic for the green one and if it’s even half as bright that’s likely overstating it. There’s also a highly reflective piece of clear plastic over the time that reflects light and during the day you can literally not see time if there’s any glare at all on it. There’s a wooden shelf over our big screen TV and that was the intended location for this clock but it was a rather large adapter on the plug so it won’t fit through the hole which leaves a cord dangling over the edge of the shelf but that turned out not to be an issue because it’s too dim to see the time up on the shelf. To put it on the shelf would require a hole about 2-inches in diameter and if they had shown the size of the plug I would not have purchased it for that reason alone. It’s now on the floor and pushed back into a corner so we can kind of see the time without a glare on it. When plugged in the time was incorrect… off by 5-minutes… though the date was correct which likely means it looses time. The battery for the backup was installed but who knows how long it’s been trying to keep all the information correct. This is the second purchase and it’s another looser. I paid about seven bucks for it so the pain is minimal and not worth the return process but at the current price of seventeen bucks I would not recommend it unless you’re in a pitch dark room and not very far away from it. we do have aluminum blinds in the room that are closed until the sun sets so the light that’s in the room isn’t much but the face-plate on this thing amplifies it like a mirror. Enough of the ranting but with all the reviews at 3-stars and under I should have avoided it but I was sucked in by the low price and all I can say is that was my mistake. I didn’t try any other functions other than the time because that’s all that I wanted out of it. I rarely rate anything as low as I did for this one but I took a star off for the plug, one for the brightness that didn’t match the pic, one for the highly reflective faceplate and that left two stars though it was a flip of the coin between that and one star. It’s off to a store for the next one so I can actually see what I’m getting.I like this clock for my purpose. I wanted a dim green display for the bedroom where my wife does not like any light when sleeping. I gave this three stars because I would not be too happy with it otherwise. It does have some nice features such as the time is retained in a power outage and you can set the alarm for Mon- Friday only, or a second for Sat & Sunday only. But my two negative issues: 1. The display is not bright, even on high or bright it can barely be read in a well lit room. On the dim setting it can only be read in a in a pretty dark room. (again this was a plus for my special situation, but most people probably won’t like it). 2. The controls are anything but easy to use. They are not intuitive at all. I am a retired engineer who builds computers and it took me 5 to 10 minutes with the poorly written instructions to figure out how to use it. I have stayed in many motels and always use the little alarm clocks and never had an issue setting the time or alarm on any small clock radio until I encountered this one. As it is, the buttons on the top each serve dual or triple functions and not clearly labeled. The first time I quickly tried to set the alarm at bed time without the instructions, I gave up after several minutes of fiddling around and used my smart phone alarm instead. In order to set the alarm for a simple wake up the next morning I had to read the instructions and also do some trial and error, because the instructions are not clear. Don’t even think about this clock for motel rooms, a guest bedroom, grandma, or anyone not tech savvy if you expect them to set the alarm. For one user like me, once you figure it out it isn’t bad. But even for me, since I am retired and only set the alarm on occasion, I will keep the instructions nearby.I purchased 2 of these clock radios to replace analog-tuning versions from 25 years ago in our guest rooms. As such, the prime consideration was whether the alarms were reasonably intuitive to set. The answer is yes. Pros and cons below:Prostwo independent alarms(reasonably) intuitive to set alarms to either music wake or alarm wake or no wake.Alarm time setting both up and downbattery backup for power failure (See con below)"dim" clock brightness setting low enough to not disturb sleeperautomatically corrects clock for daylight savings switchescomes pre-set with correct time (Eastern) and date - easy to change time zones between Atlantic time and Hawaiian time.Fully adjustable (2 to 90 minute) sleep function.Can choose everyday, weekdays, or weekends only for each of the alarms (can set one for weekdays, the other for weekends)ConsSetting alarm time requires scrolling through each hour (instead of setting hour and minute separately)battery backup only saves settings and keeps clock running - will not sound the alarm without wall power"wall wart" power supply hard wired to unit (needs the extra space around wall socket)"high" clock brightness setting barely readable during day.display of day of week and date is very cumbersome - only meant for when you have total (wall & battery) loss of power.sound quality is meh, tuner sensitivity also meh.no "nap" function (ability to have the alarm go off after a setable nap length of time from "now" - that is, the opposite of the sleep function)As has been noted for this and other "SmartSet" clocks, this is NOT an "atomic" clock. SmartSet only means that the clock electronics include a calendar function maintained by a long life lithium battery. This allows you to just plug it in and have the factory set time and date automatically come into play - no more blinking 12:00 - and similarly the clock picks up where it should be after a power failure, including your personalizations.Given the modest price I give it 4 stars for doing what I wanted it to do.When purchasing this clock I did not notice that the button labels on top of the clock are black and blend into the colour of the clock and make reading the labels very difficult. The button labels should be white and enlarged. The main features of the clock work as advertised but instructions could be clearer.These problems do not make this clock/radio returnable but if I were still looking for another clock radio I would pass on this one and look for something else. Update - Eventually I had problems setting the alarm on this unit and emailed Emerson for clarification of instructions. They never answered my emails and I threw the unit out and bought a Sony which works perfectly.Muy buen reloj la calidad esta acorde al precio. Cumplió con las expectativas y su uso es fácil. Lo mejor es que solo se ajusta a la zona horaria y fecha en verdad me sorprendió.Needs 120 volts not compatible with indian electrical outlets. No where in the description they have mentioned itBuen producto, con batería interior se va la luz y se re programa en automático, por lo que puedes dormir tranquiloNot as good as the one I bought back in 2000. Poor quality. GARBAGE MATERIAL