Review on Sony ICFC180 AM/FM Clock Radio - Discontinued Model, White Color by Stephen Johnson

My wife and I have had the same clock radio for 20 years - it's a Panasonic dual alarm clock and it still works pretty well. Some of its features, such as B. individual alarm up / down / time setting for minutes and hours are not even available on the watch today. And it has a 10-minute snooze time instead of nine minutes, another feature that's hard to come by these days. But it's lacking in other areas, like the lack of a battery backup. So we decided to replace the old clock. Some research was required. For the most part, only Timex, RCA, and Sony have competing products. My requirements were simple - dual AM/FM alarms, battery backup, 10 minute snooze, easy to read display and not too bright. I didn't need the CD or MP3 option. Here's why I bought the Sony ICFC180 and rated it so highly: Form factor and buttons: It's not a big clock radio - it's about six square inches. The body is almost entirely white. The keys are well placed and nicely shaped. You can easily learn how to use this watch in the dark or by touch. Display: The backlit LCD not only shows the time, but also the alarm settings, each in its own quadrant. This is a great feature. The time is long enough to read across the room, although it could be a little longer. The alarm displays are smaller but suitable for bedside display. Looks good from different angles. It has two manual brightness levels, so Sony has reduced the price a bit here – an auto dimmer with a sensor would be useful. A high level is good for the day and a low level is acceptable for the night, but who would flick a tiny switch every day? I keep it low I really like it when I sleep when the room is dark and I would have preferred the low volume to be a bit darker. The display is mostly green, with orange for days of the week. Green is good, but orange is too bright. But again, it's acceptable. Time Functions: Automatic time setting - well, not really. The automatic time setting prominently displayed on the box is a little misleading. Unlike other clocks (e.g. RCA) that can set the date and time and change daylight saving time automatically, this clock is simply set at the factory and uses a lithium battery to keep time. If you live on the East Coast of the United States, the time is correct when you first connect. Otherwise you have to adjust the time zone. Since the watch doesn't know the date, Daylight Saving Time is also a manual process, but here Sony has at least provided a single button to change the offset by 1 hour. My only complaint is that the DST button is on top and can be accidentally pressed - the display shows a 1 hour offset icon, but it's really tiny. I would make the Daylight Saving Time feature a toggle switch (instead of a button) and put it on the back - you only use it twice a year. Radio: Analog gauge and old style tuning wheel. A digital one with presets would be nice, but let's not forget that this watch is only $25. The tuning wheel is rigid enough that it cannot be accidentally altered when lifting, moving, or just dusting the watch. Angst: This is where this watch really shines. The packaging says two alarm clocks, but actually four separate alarm clocks! Sony's idea is that two alarms are for weekdays and two for weekends, but since the weekday/weekend function is a manual button you really can use the alarms however you like. My kids have a Timex clock radio with a 7-5-2 feature that lets you decide if you want to use the alarm on weekdays, weekends, or both. That's good because it's automatic, but on the downside you only get two alerts and less flexibility. I think Sony's solution is great. The watch also clearly shows which alarms are active - an orange background for weekdays, a green background for weekends, and no display in the quadrant when the alarm is off. Setting the wake-up time is also child's play thanks to the separate rotary knob for each displayed wake-up call. The time can be set back or forward by one minute at a time. Press and hold forward or backward to change minutes quickly, switching to 10-minute increments after a few seconds. This is a much better solution than simply increasing the speed like most other watches do. In fact, the only other clock that works better is my old Panasonic, which has separate forward and backward buttons for minutes and hours. Regardless, this watch has great time setting controls! Snooze: what's up with the 9-minute snooze alarms? My theory is that adding 9 together is a lot harder to get into your head and all those thoughts wake you up, but I actually think it goes back to the limitations of old mechanical alarm clocks. Anyway, I needed to take a 10 minute nap and this watch got it. Additionally, if you hold down the snooze button (which is big and easy to find without looking), the snooze time can be extended up to an hour in 10-minute increments - a nice feature. The clock will even flash at the set alarm time after you press the snooze button to indicate that you have exceeded your original alarm time. That's all. There are some other features (sleep timer, alarm ringtones, no power no problem) but I didn't use them much. If you're looking for similar features and also need a CD player, Sony makes another Dream Machine alarm clock (ICF-CD843V), but it's $70 and looks like a weird space helmet. Overall this is a great clock radio with well thought out controls, lots of features and a low price.