Radio Reviews

First, the good parts. The digital tuning and presets make for great and easy tuning. The dual display alarm is also great. I didn't have a problem with the brightness of the display either.

However.....

Yes it has two alarms, but the 1st alarm is radio and the second alarm is tone. So when it says "especially useful for working couples" - it is, only as long as one likes to wake up to radio and the other alarm.

The biggest gripe of all, however, is the weak alarm. I guess I'm a heavy sleeper, or got used to the old alarm clock, but the alarm on this thing is hardly jarring. It starts off with a slow beep and increases its pace, but never really wakes me up. If the alarm was more powerful, it would be usable.

What others have said is accurate. The major drawback is the display -- it's too bright, even on the low setting, and isn't very clear from certain angles. DESPITE THAT, I love it. The fact that there are two additional, separate displays for each alarm (in a different color than the main display) is a huge plus. You can easily see when an alarm in on, and what the settings are. Also the separate up/down buttons for the clock and EACH alarm are a huge plus. Radio sound is pretty good, but this isn't my stereo, it's my alarm clock, so I don't really care. If I had to do it over again, I'd buy this baby again in a second.

This unit is outstanding. Here's why:

- Size. It has a small footprint.

- SEPERATE DISPLAYS FOR THE TWO ALARMS! This is an awesome feature which on its own sold me. I don't have to fumble with buttons to see what the alarm times are. The radio alarm is on the left, the buzzer alarm is on the right. No confusion. When you can see the times, it's set. When the panels are dark, it's off.

- Easy to set using tactile feedback alone. Only three buttons: up, down, and set. The buttons are nestled on little shelves below each of the alarm panels.

- The alarm is plenty loud enough for me and just at the right pitch to make me get up and turn it off!

- The display is clear enough for me and not too bright. I can read it in bed and across the room. I can also tell if the alarms are set even if I can't read the numbers. The alarm panels are orange when lit.

- Perfectly capable digital tuner with 5 presets. Who needs more on a clock radio?

- Easy to find snooze button

- Battery-less power failure back up (it works)

- Durable construction. Feels solid. I have had mine for 2 years and it continues to work flawlessly.

Alright, nothing is perfect. The downfalls include a high price and a display that could be improved but as I said, it satisfies me! I wouldn't mind an escalading alarm - the kind that start soft and progress to loud.

I only came on Amazon tonight to buy a second one! Just wish that price would come down a bit.

not impressed, I just packed this up to ship back to sony.
If I paid less for it, I would've just pitched it in the trash and avoided a sony next time. I had to deal with a voice recognition system for customer service ( how lame is that? )
I was finally able to get a semi-english speaking person on the other end of the line who made me unplug\plug-in the unit to see if that would fix it... ( no, it's not a windows pc )
cd players have been around for about 20 years now, it seems to me that they should be able to build a fairly reliable one at this point.

This is the best alarm clock I've ever had, except for one thing. No battery backup. I suppose I could plug it into one of my UPSs to alleviate that problem, but I was surprised at how quickly it lost its memory after power loss. It would also be nice if it had a digital tuner, but that isn't a big deal to me since I don't use it for readio much. If I did use it for radio a lot, it would drive me nuts manually tuning to stations.

I love the snooze feature where you can keep tapping it to change when the next alarm will be. The ideal alarm clock would be similar to this one, with a battery backup, and a digital tuner. Oh yeah, it sounds pretty good too. I have it set play a nature sounds CD when I wake up. When it plays the morning birds I sometimes confuse the recording for the real birds outside my window, and vice versa. I'm not saying these are excellent speakers, but they definitely sound good for an alarm clock. Oh, and it looks pretty stylish to most of the other boxy CD alarm clocks out there.

In short, a very good alarm clock, but plug it into a UPS if you want to be sure you won't be late for work because of a power outtage in the middle of the night.

It's hard to find information on the power consumption of many products, even though the cost of energy can sometimes add up to be more than the purchase price. Since parts of this unit are powered up all the time, I was concerned about that before I bought it. But it is pretty good: I measure about 1.3 to 1.6 W with the display on dim; 1.7 to 2.0 W with the display bright. On dim, that's no higher than some plain alarm clocks without a radio or CD player. And it's much lower than some of the "high-end" competitors: about 6 W for the Bose Wave radio or the Cambridge Soundworks equivalents, or 3.3 W for the Panasonic RC-CD600. Still, if Sony cared to, they could cut it down to about half a watt.

On other aspects, it is very good. The display is easy to read even when dim--much better than backlit LCD displays. There's no mistaking the sound for a full size stereo, but the sound is decent and solid, and is loud enough for me to follow the news broadcast while I'm in the shower in the next room. The controls are easy to use.

One thing to look out for--the "PSYC" version looks different from the plain white one: it has silver trim and fluorescent pink lettering. This Amazon listing says PSYC but pictures the plain white one, so I don't know which you'd get if you ordered it. If you care about the looks make sure you are getting the one you prefer.

The reception is too lousy, period. Some stations have pretty good signals, but this walkman cannot receive them well at all.

I bought this after reading the above Amazon reviews. It is indeed a fine unit; all the above is true. However, the FIRST time it fell from my neck onto a solid floor a speaker busted off and now hangs by wires.

Upon examination, I see that each headphone is secured only by a thin, flexible plastic joint. I'm going to try to stuff wires back in and superglue it back together, but I'd have prefered a much sturdier design!

After purchasing about 5 similar items over the years, all of which had shortcomings, I read the reviews on this item and decided to try it. This item beats many of Sony's similar, and more expensive, Walkmans. Lack of earphones and cords is a plus. I can even pick up AM radio in my office, which lighted by fluorescent tubes. My desk radio can't do that. I purchased this primarily to take to baseball games. I also take it when I walk my pooch and workout.

I really like the features, sound, headphones, price. But based on the enclosed expired accessory offer, I conclude that it has been in the warehouse for going on 2 years, which led to my problem - the "fake display" sticker on the display was old and left all of its adhesive on the plastic making the display unreadable. Fortunately I was able to clean it off with pure mineral spirits without damage. Otherwise it's a great unit.

This is a state of the art player/radio with all electronic switching to engage tape and radio functions. It is compact and offers excellent quality. The remote is very functional and enables the player to be carried in a secure unexposed place while using the unit. I recommend it very highly. I am a bicycle commuter and I can keep this unit weather proofed in my pack, while working the remote. The only qualification for people who may use this player while on the go is that earphones might be more convenient and less obstrusive, i.e. not interferring with helmet straps, et al.

One reviewer complained about small buttons on the player, but I don't think this is a factor, because the unit switches electronically, not manually, and the buttons are sufficiently separated for convenient use.

This little Walkman is great. The features abound for its size and the remote control is great. You can keep your Walkman zipped up somewhere and work virtually all of its controls. The 2 types of bass boost, normal/CrO2 switch, playback modes and 20 presets just add to the value! It does take a second or two to start play/rew/ff, but remember these are electronic softouch controls which ensure proper playback pressure. The sound is great and the LCD, although small, is visible in any light source. Some of the buttons are small too, but again, remember the size of this unit. Overall, at this price, and even for $30 or $40 more, this Walkman is excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys great sound from a small player. The radio reception was excellent too! Buy it!

I purchased this item in an attempt to walk more but I spent more time trying to get it to work than walking. It was difficult to set correctly, and did not measure distance walked correctly even after setting stride length. An absolute waste of my hard earned money.

Excellent pedometer for the money. Worthwhile investment. I only had to play around with the step measurement sensitivity, and now it works great. Radio works great also.. Definately reccommend.

Just got it yesterday, already have it on and running. Although pedometer is relatively accurate, it took a while to find the best sensitivity setting so that it didn't count steps while not technically walking. Best feature is the radio, really good reception & earphones a plus. Good product for the money. Only unknown is battery life, as will be using the radio function frequently.

The radio looks good and has nice features, but there is a problem that cannot be overcome.

You have to press the PTT button for at least 2 seconds before talking. Why? The PTT button is a dual-function button. Obviously it is a PTT, but it is also a Monitor button. This makes it necessary to hold it down for at least 2 seconds before talking. Getting people to realize this and have them remember to do this is next to impossible.

This made the radio very frustrating to use. I eventually sent them back for a refund.

I bought this product because my family and I go hiking a lot, we have an age range of 55 to 5 on our trips with varying degrees of speed and endurance, these walkie talkies have let us enjoy walking together without everyone having to be in the same group, and everyone can enjoy the outdoors at their own pace without the worry of where we are and when we will meet up again. It is also nice to know how hot or cool it is as some of our trips are out in the desert, and the access to the weather channels has proven very helpful in our decions on how long the day trips should be and what trail we should decide on. I recommend these walkie talkies to anyone who likes to hike in groups.
The design of the radios as well as the headsets are extremely helpful once you get the hang of them of course, as they enable your hands to be free, and unlike some of the other headsets that are on the market where the mike is always on, there is a button that can be pressed to to key the mike. My ten year old and 5 year old are able to use them with no problems. We love them and are wondering what took us so long to get them.

I bought this radio because of the added features of a weather radio and a FM radio.
It has great range and the weather radio is really nice!
The FM radio wasn't the clearest...but what do you expect from a 40 buck radio?
The headset fit me perfect and works great!!
This is a must have!!

The radio looks good and has nice features, but there is a problem that cannot be overcome.

You have to press the PTT button for at least 2 seconds before talking. Why? The PTT button is a dual-function button. Obviously it is a PTT, but it is also a Monitor button. This makes it necessary to hold it down for at least 2 seconds before talking. Getting people to realize this and have them remember to do this is next to impossible.

This made the radio very frustrating to use. I eventually sent them back for a refund.

I bought this product because my family and I go hiking a lot, we have an age range of 55 to 5 on our trips with varying degrees of speed and endurance, these walkie talkies have let us enjoy walking together without everyone having to be in the same group, and everyone can enjoy the outdoors at their own pace without the worry of where we are and when we will meet up again. It is also nice to know how hot or cool it is as some of our trips are out in the desert, and the access to the weather channels has proven very helpful in our decions on how long the day trips should be and what trail we should decide on. I recommend these walkie talkies to anyone who likes to hike in groups.
The design of the radios as well as the headsets are extremely helpful once you get the hang of them of course, as they enable your hands to be free, and unlike some of the other headsets that are on the market where the mike is always on, there is a button that can be pressed to to key the mike. My ten year old and 5 year old are able to use them with no problems. We love them and are wondering what took us so long to get them.

I bought this radio because of the added features of a weather radio and a FM radio.
It has great range and the weather radio is really nice!
The FM radio wasn't the clearest...but what do you expect from a 40 buck radio?
The headset fit me perfect and works great!!
This is a must have!!

The Garmin Rino 110 occupies an awkward middle ground between being an
interesting toy and a serious tool for the outdoors. On the one hand
the idea of melding together GPS and radio communications via FRS/GMRS
is dynamite. Unfortunately the devil is in the details when it comes
down to actually using them. As others have noted the 110 can be
quite finicky about battery life, and even a slight jostle can cause
the units to shut down. There's also the issue of range. I have
found that best way to use the 110 is for car-to-car communication, or
within the controlled distances inside of a campground. I would be
very careful before trusting the 110 in a real "hardcore" outdoor
situation.

Within those limits the 110 is a nifty little device. I am quite keen
to see that the folks at Garmin come up with next. I for one would be
willing to pay more for a unit that is more "ruggedized" or requires a
license but gives you more radio output power in return (and removes
the FCC restriction about sending GPS data at GMRS power levels).
Also a more clever approach with regard to batteries/power management
would be a huge plus.

OUTSTANDING to say the least. I carried a Rhino 110 for a year during operation Iraqi Freedom. It suffered more abuse in this year than any normal person would subject it to in 2 lifetimes. The radio performed well when other handheld radios failed from abuse and dirt. The GPS is user friendly and proved to be as accurate or more accurate than Army issue. I personally know at least 20 other soldiers who are using either Rhino 110s or 120s here who are equally satisfied with this piece of equipment. The only hiccup I have found so far is the unit will shut down from a sharp blow, but it will always power up again.

Nice radio/gps for the price. I bought two of these radios and the position reporting feature is really neat. I also like the polling fearure which allows you to locate another radio without them sending their location. This of course must be enabled in the settings. Navigating through the menu is relatively easy. Reading the manual does help though. Range is as expected...I usually get at least 1 mile outdoors. Garmin also updates the software which you can download from their website which fix minor issues. You must buy the serial cable to do this. The unit is also waterproof, not just "water resistant". Battery life is about 15 hrs using the gps and radio at the same time. You can turn off the gps or radio if you want to use only one. I'm very happy with my purchase. These are good quality gps/radios.

We own one of these from years ago. It's such a good idea, I'm shopping here to buy another. But the other reviewers are right; It's at least a moderate hassle to install, and the engineering is primitive (string & pulleys analog tuner with no presets, tendency to drift out of tune / off station, tendency for parts to break down -- our FM died perhaps a year after installation). Still, I'm buying another one. But I sure wish somebody would finally do this idea correctly. As it is, this will probably be another go-round of buy, try, try again, pitch that one, buy another, try again . . . . I'd gladly pay double this price for one that worked right and was more reliable.

I picked up this item because my mobile home was getting crowded and we needed more space.
The name Spacemaker is a bit misleading considering this item actually has mass and takes up space. Of course if you remove a larger item and replace it with the Spacemaker then you will have more space available than when you started although less space than if you just threw the old item out and did not replace it with the Spacemaker.
A more accurate name might be the Spacesubstituter or Spacereplacement although admittedly those names are not as catchy.
Also the Spacemaker has the added benefit of containing an AM/FM radio in it so your new space can play music.

I consider my self very fortunate to be able to replace the Spacemaker I have been using for over 20 years. The only thing that finally failed was the "ever-on" switch. The new one is just as good if not better with a beautiful reproduction of all types of music. I will always remember the comment that a house painter who was redoing my interior made to me. "That's the best sounding radio I have ever heard!" Incidentally, I am still using the old one in another room.
Dave Harper, retired NASA engineer and ham radio operator, W4NIQ

The above "reviews" from "an electronics fan" are, obviously and blatantly, plugs by a manufacturers representative of some sort. Give me a break. If you're not a consumer, you shouldn't be rating the products.

First of all, the dimmer and the 270 viewing and the snazzy appearance and two alarms and what-not are all as advertised and the sound is better than I expected. The only flaw is it is a bit bigger than some similar units out there. If size is not an issue it is the best one for the price. If size is an issue you need to go to a store and actually lay hands on one, because buying them on the net you never know. There are some really small ones out there that you could, say, use while traveling, but for bedroom or office use this one looks and sounds very nice.(yes, i do sleep in my office, George Costanza style)

Wow, am I impressed with this clock radio! I did about a week of researching and was planning on a Sony but then saw the reviews for this. It had all the options I was looking for without adding bells and whistles that are useless. What a plus to have 3 sided viewing also! You can see what time it is from anywhere in the room. When I got it home the first thing I did was check the sound. I was quite surprised. I could hear it through the house. Obviously it doesn't sound quite as good as a large stereo system but it really was good! No distortion on high volume. It's the perfect size and the dual alarms are great as I get up at two different times throughout the week!. I tried out the cd player and was impressed again. Another big plus if you're like me and can't sleep with any light. The clock display is NOT overpowering lights!! It has a dimmer switch. It does not light up the whole room as others I looked at. The am/fm pick up is great. Much better than what I had.

So, I would say if you've been doing a ton of research and are as confused as I was, look at the reviews - everyone is very pleased with this alarm clock (which by the way, the buzzer is very non-intrusive). Go for it - you'll be pleasantly surprised. WELL worth the money.