Review on 🕰️ Emerson SmartSet Alarm Clock Radio: AM/FM, Dimmer, Sleep Timer, .9" LED Display - CKS1900 by Gerald Munajj

Had to search a lot, both locally and online, to find clock radios that offered AM radio. This one was reasonably priced and had "revain recommended" in the description, so I used that as the deciding factor. The indicator on it is green; I've found from experience that if you prefer a dark room, blue light is the brightest and red light is the least annoying. Green is somewhere in the middle. This one offers a dimming mode for reading - there are four options from very bright to very dark and it was easy to find a setting that worked for me. The instructions say that all you have to do is plug the device into an outlet and the time will be set automatically. into the Easter season. There are instructions on how to reset if you live in a different time zone, which is good as the clock had set itself when plugged in - exactly two minutes ahead of actual time. There is an option to set a date, but I'm not interested in it in the middle of the night, so I didn't. The display doesn't show the date and I don't know what it would look like if the date was set. To turn on the radio, you need to press and hold the "on" button until the station numbers appear, then wait about 5 seconds. to turn it on. The radio sound is a bit tinny but not annoying. All settings are made via small round buttons on the top of the watch. Most buttons have two different functions, which can be confusing. The functions are engraved on the buttons and watch case without color distinction, so you can read black words and symbols on the black case and in very small type. I have "adult eyes" and I have a hard time seeing the purpose of each button. Because of this, and the minimal amount of instructions (even in very, very small print) in the owner's manual, my attempts to locate and set the radio resulted in both alarms being accidentally set. At first I couldn't understand why the radio stayed on for an hour and a half after I turned it off. When I figured out what was going on and couldn't find instructions on disabling the alarm, I called the Emerson customer service number listed in the owner's manual. This resulted in the classic machine response "One for service, two for radio" etc. which, when the final select was pressed, caused the record to say goodbye and hang up. 3 times. I requested a returns form from Revain and was told to call to discuss the issue. I accepted the offer and a few minutes later I got a call. It took the caller a few minutes to study what I was explaining and finally gave me precise instructions on how to turn off the unwanted alarm and correct the time setting. With this resolution I saved myself the clock radio. I've given it four stars because it's a decent clock radio, one star for accuracy because the instructions are incomplete (no info on how to turn the alarm on), three for sound quality because of the metallic sound, and four for price because it is works despite the problems, it does what it says. Update: I've had this clock radio since September 19th, so just over six months. Last night, after going to bed after 1am, I woke up a few hours later and checked the time - the clock said 12:54 am. I checked my phone and the actual time was 5:57. (By the way, the clock jumps back about a minute every month or so.) I unplugged and plugged it back in this morning as it should adjust as you do. That does not work. It also reads January 1, 2017 - probably before it was made. The saved radio stations were also lost. I downgraded my rating from four to one star because an alarm clock radio that fails after six months is not worth buying.