Emerson CKS1900 SmartSet Dual Alarm Clock Radio with AM/FM Digital Tuning, Auto Time Setting, 20 Presets, Jade Green LED Display, Snooze, Sleep Timer & Battery Backup

This alarm clock is what you want if you’re looking for the most economical alarm that can at minimum play radio for the alarm. It’s not intuitive to set up, but I was fine with that. There’s no backlight for the buttons at the top and they’re a little hard to read, but since that’s the worst thing about a $15 alarm clock that does everything else I want it to do surprisingly well, I’ll take it. Fwiw there’s a review on here from noname that says they’re frustrated the clock failed after 6 months - I don’t think it actually failed them based on how they described what happened. I think they had a grid outage and forgot or didn’t know to put batteries in it to back it up. I wish I could respond to their review so they could say if they did that or not. If you’re looking for a very well designed, high quality, wifi-enabled, midrange radio alarm this isn’t your best bet because the tradeoff for the price is it’s a little less than intuitive to set up, and is lacking some modern features. If you’re looking for a cheap alarm and you don’t care about radio, there’s $10 alarm clocks out there that are easier to set up than this one. If you don’t care whether it’s easy to set up, it’s actually a pretty awesome radio for the price. You can even set an alarm to only go off on weekdays, and to adjust to daylight savings time automatically. I’m honestly amazed it wasn’t more expensive.

Nice little clock radio ... fairly simple to use. Was especially nice that it automatically sets time when it's first plugged in. Setting the alarm was a bit confusing but after reading the instructions, which I should have done first, it was okay. Also nice that the display brightness can be adjusted.

I sought an affordable and simple bedside AM/FM clock radio with wake to music option. This is not a simple item. If you have good vision and like taking the time to learn the bells and whistles of an item you'll probably like this. I find this to be an affordable and well working clock radio. I like how the time sets itself when you plug it in. I like that it comes with a back up battery and the alarm does work well. I like how there's a dimmer on the lighted time. Lots of functions for those seeking lots of functions. Things I don't like: Too many functions. Also, black words on the black command buttons on the black top of the unit are challenging to read let alone provide quick operation. Reading glasses and instructions need to be close by for me. Half the 9 'command' buttons have multiple functions. So it's going to take a while, if ever, for me to understand all the functions.

I had to search for a while, both locally and online to find a clock radio that offers AM radio. This one was inexpensive and had an "Amazon recommended" note in the description so I used that as a deciding factor. The readout on this is green; through experience, I've learned that blue lights are the brightest and red the least annoying if you prefer a dark room. Green is somewhere in the middle. This one offers a dimming mode for the readout - there are four options from very bright to dim and it was easy to find a setting that works for me. The instructions tell you to simply plug the unit into the socket and the time will automatically set itself to Eastern time. There are instructions to reset if you live in a different time zone which is a good thing, since when I plugged in, the clock did set itself - to exactly two minutes earlier than the actual time. There is an option to set the date, but I'm not interested in that in the middle of the night so I haven't done that. No date shows on the readout and I don't know what it would look like if the date was set. To turn on the radio you have to hold the "on" button down until the station numbers appear, and then wait about 5 seconds for it to turn on. The radio sound is slightly tinny, but not annoyingly so. All settings are made by small, round buttons on the top of the clock. Most of the buttons have two different functions, which can be confusing. The functions are etched into the buttons and clock case with no color differentiation so you're reading black words and symbols on a black case, and in very small print. I have "senior eyes" and find it difficult to see the function of each button. Because of that, and minimal instructions (also in very, very small print) in the manual, my efforts to find and set a radio station led to accidentally setting both wake up alarms. At first, I couldn't figure out why the radio kept turning itself on an hour to an hour and a half after I turned it off. When I figured out what was happening and couldn't find any instructions on how to unset the alarm, I called the Emerson customer service number in the instruction manual. That led to a classic, machine-answered "press one for service, press two for radio," etc., which, when I had pressed the final selection, led to the recording saying "good-bye" and hanging up on me. Three times. I requested a return slip from Amazon and was offered a call from them to discuss the problem. I accepted the offer and received a call within minutes. The person who called took a few minutes to research what I explained, and ultimately gave me accurate directions to turn off the unwanted alarm and correct the time setting. With that resolution, I kept the clock radio. I gave four stars because it's a decent clock radio, one star for accuracy as the instructions are incomplete (no info on turning the alarm), three for sound quality due to the tinniness of sound, and four for value because despite the issues, it does what it says it will do. Update: I've had this clock radio since 9/19, so just over six months. Last night, after going to bed after 1 am, I awakened hours later and looked at the time - the clock read 12:54 am. I checked my phone, and the actual time was 5:57 am. (By the way, the clock loses a minute every month or so.) This morning I unplugged and re-plugged it as it is supposed to set itself when you do this. It did not work. Additionally, the read January 1, 2017 - probably before it was manufactured. Saved radio stations were also lost. I have lowered my rating from four stars to one because a clock radio that malfunctions after six months is not worth owning.

Absolutely love it! It’s perfect small, easy to use, not too bright keros perfect time automatically. Excellent will get another for a different room

A bit of background before I discuss the Emerson CKS1900 clock/radio. I've had two red LED clock/radio's for some decades. A few months ago I replaced one (buttons failing) with a true RC (Radio controlled--aka "atomic") LCD unit. It keeps itself synchronized with the US official time standard in Boulder, CO via the WWVB radio signal. I have four other RC wall clocks that do the same. I purchased the CKS1900 to replace my other clock/radio, which although still working, is nearing the end of its life. My unit did NOT come with a printed manual. I therefore downloaded the electronic (PDF) version from the Emerson website. I prefer manuals in PDF format anyway (can always print them). The manual is quite basic and omits various details (given below). I suggest trying stuff and/or doing web searches. The CKS1900, having green dimmable LED's, is preferable to my old non-dimmable red LED unit. Easier on my eyes. I keep it on the lowest setting (for nighttime viewing). Although NOT an RC clock it does automatically change time at daylight saving changes (twice per year). In my area (YMMV) non-RC mains powered clocks (e.g. the ones in my Microwave & Oven) are accurate to about 30s. That is "good enough" given that my other (RC) units are within a second. Although not stated in the manual the DST start/end dates CAN be changed. Search for "SmartSet Technology" on the web to find the details on the Emerson website. Note that the dates on their page are for 2007 (the last change in the US). Use dates for the current year instead. DST changes cannot be turned off (the newer CKS1521 allows this but the method doesn't work on my CKS1900) so if you live in an area that doesn't have it you'll have to change the timezone/time twice a year. Not an issue in my case. While the CKS1900 has two alarms I don't need or use them. That said having two could be useful at times. As for the radio I don't use it but I've set up the local station presets anyway. The manual states that there are ten (P 01 to P 10) presets but in fact there are twenty--10 for AM and 10 for FM. Recalling a preset does NOT change the band (AM/FM). You have to do that manually via the BAND button. Also during tuning if you hold the TUNE + or - button down the unit will scan until finding the next station. Quick presses increase/decrease the frequency. In my case the radio has very low volume (I've seen other reports on the web about this). Others say it's "loud". I tried a full unit reset (removed the backup battery and AC power for 10 mins) but no change. Since I don't use the alarms/radio this is not an issue to me. Again YMMV. BTW the volume has (17) steps from U 00 to U 16. Unfortunately this model doesn't display the time in 24hr (aka military) format which I prefer. I did find, in the Q&A section of the CKS1800 page on Amazon, that it may be possible but the method given there doesn't work on my CKS1900. I may yet find a trick to do this. The bottom line: for the price (I got mine at a steep discount) this is a good all round clock/radio--at least for my purpose (bedside time display). PS: Most clock/radio's can't/won't show seconds (I've had some that did through undocumented button combinations). If the CKS1900 can I haven't yet discovered how. That said if you manually set the time, using the TIME and + - buttons, the seconds are set to zero (i.e. the minute will advance at the next 59/00 second transition). I've confirmed this multiple times. If your clock is "off" and you have an accurate time source this will make it right. BTW manually changing the date/time resets the internal standard (i.e. "SmartSet") per the manual.

Works great-instructions are a bit complex but ultimately fine if you just follow them step by step. 4-step dimmer is actually quite helpful and the alarm is loud and has had no issues waking me up. Haven't used the radio function but I'm sure it works just as well. Gives great 2000s hotel room energy.

This is a great digital clock with dual alarm for the price. I bought three of them to replace my aging red LED digital alarm clocks. It has an internal clock calendar chip that restores the time, date, and user preset alarm times after a power outage. I like that it also automatically changes the clock time on daylight savings time (DST/PST) day. No more annoying task to do twice a year on this clock. Pros: -Clear large LED display and alarm settings. -Tactile feel on large snooze button. Easy to located with fingers in the dark. -Several user preset Digital AM FM tuner channel storage and digital volume level. The volume and tuned channel won't accidentally change when bumped. My old alarm clock had annoying dials that I sometimes would accidentally bump and consequently would not hear the alarm. -Long life coin battery powers the internal chip that holds the time, date, and alarm information. It uses this data to Smart Set itself after a power outage. Cons: -Dual function buttons can take a bit to understand for setting up the alarm times, AM FM radio channels, and brightness. -The display does not automatically dim on ambient light level. You need to manually set the display dim level. -Alarm time won't sound during power outage. If you have unstable utility power then take a look at other alarm clock solutions (like using your smartphone). -No USB charge port or auxiliary audio input. But I knew that when I bought and was okay with it.

Became faulty after 1 day! non-returnable item.

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Was impressed with the customer service of Ames Suplier, the click was easy to read, not too bright

Love the size and the fact that when I plugged it in the time set automatically to the correct time - was amazed didn't have to set anything. The display is very bright but can easily be dimmed, I like the colour of the digital numbers (bright green). Has extra features e.g. radio, sleep timer and so on. As I bought it for the purpose of the digital readout when I awaken I have not tried any of the additional features. Can't advise on how they work.

Bright colour and good