Dual-wake CD clock radio Digital AM/FM Automatic time-set Multi-function dual wake Individual wake time indicators Wake to alarm, radio or CD track Day-of-the-week indicators Weekend alarm cancel function
Sleek and stylish, this compact RCA CD clock radio boasts plenty of features and full sound from its stereo 2.5-inch speakers. Setting your clock has never been easier: automatic time-set lets you simply plug the clock radio in and sit back while it automatically adjusts itself to the current Eastern Standard Time (EST). Simply flip a switch to select your time zone.
The RP3740 allows for two different alarm settings for two different users, each clearly indicated on the backlit LCD. No one likes to be woken early on a weekend, even to a favorite CD--that's why the unit offers weekend alarm cancel, with which you can program the unit with preset weekday alarms and automatically set them to turn off for the weekend.
The gentle Graduwake ramp-up alarm eases you into consciousness, while programmable snooze and sleep timers let you tailor your transitions to your needs. Last but not least, the unit offers battery backup for your settings, so you won't oversleep the morning after a power outage (two AA batteries not included).
What's in the Box
CD/radio, user's manual.
1 Reception is terrible
If you want to listen to a particular station, I don't recommend this item. I tried to find a number of popular radio stations, but none of them came in clearly. I got a spanish station in clearly, but I don't know spanish and wouldn't really enjoy listening to that station. I just wanted to wake to some music I'm familiar with. That wasn't possible with this item.
2 NO AM RECEPTION
Not everyone cares about AM reception. I do. I am a die hard fan of Coast to Coast with George Noory and Art Bell. I lie awake nights listening to their fascinating tales of UFO's, conspiracy theories and guests who predict the end is near. I ordered this alarm clock to listen to them. The display dims to no light at all, excellent. There is a cheesy CD player, but c'mon, this is a clock, not a stereo system. I figured I'd be safe as the station I listen to I can be heard 300 miles from here (Omaha) as it broadcasts at 50KW from a few miles away from my house. I was wrong, not only does it not pick up that station, but it doesn't pick up ANY stations. Everything else is great, but what were they thinking advertising it as an am/fm? Why not just make it an FM radio (which isn't much better) not everybody listens to AM radio. I contacted the company the day I received it.
3 Does not play Mp3 & no remote
Sound quality should have been made better. Lack remote control & does not play mp3 recorded cd.
Unit is good size but when push on button the box keep moving, not stable. You need both hands to operate the setting, as it does not have a remote to input or change the setting.
4 great cd-clock radio
after doing a little research, i settled on this rca.
1) the cd/cdr wake option was desirable (nature sounds cd included!)
2) it has a dual alarm (one for each or two for you).
3) it has a nap function
4) it has the weekend cancel function
5) it has battery backup (battery included!)
the only fault, noted in previous reviews, is that the radio reception is bad. so, if you prefer waking to radio, i would go with something else...not a problem for me.
i'm very pleased now after two weeks and wanted to share my experience after some of the bad reviews given here. it's an outstanding product at this price point.
5 radio reception is extremely poor
I was very happy when I found this in the store. I had been shopping for one for some time and had cut back my requirement list to the following: radio presets, sleep timer for radio, wake up setting for radio, price inexpensive (not looking for a $100+ mini stereo system), headphone jack to hook up old computer speakers to compensate for the price inexpensive requirement.
Growing up, I had an old old radio alarm clock of my father's. It had a manual dial am radio (digital not even being in existence when I was using it, let alone when my Dad bought it), but unlike the many, many inexpensive clock radios I see today, even it had presets.
When I found this product I was very happy. It cost a little more than I had planned when I started shopping, but it had the features I required, plus the CD player, battery backup, and the ATOMIC CLOCK! I really, really wanted the atomic clock but was surprised at its lack of inclusion in even many higher-end alarm clocks, and had dropped it off my list of requirements.
When I tried out the clock-radio at home, I was pleased with how easy it was to set up - just select the time-zone with a switch on the bottom before plugging in, plug it in, then select daylight savings if that is wished. The interface for the settings was a little different than what I'm used to, but with the well written little user manual, it was easy to figure out.
I was a little taken a-back when I opened the package because there was no little wire antenna dangling from the back. I had given up on a telescoping antenna, let alone antenna inputs, but the two previous clock-radios I had tried (no head jack outputs and crummy speakers, therefore to be returned) at least had the little wire antenna and acceptable reception. Is it so difficult a feature to include in this radio? The reception of this radio makes it practically useless. Why have a radio if the stations to which you want to listen are unintelligible?
I was desperate enough for this to work that I even tried stretching out the power cord and putting the alarm clock in locations not at my bedside, but this proved to be of no avail. If you are expecting the radio of this product to work, I do not recommend this radio.
Upon discovering the reception problem, I did not further explore or use the product so I cannot further attest to its quality or usability.
6 Does not work properly!
It's compact, looks good and sounds good (that's one star.) I have it for less than 30 days. However, the CD doesn't work now. The alarm doesn't work properly. Don't buy this junk!
7 Not for me.
I have an old Sony "Dream Machine" that needs replacing. I thought this RCA would do the trick. Wrong! The AM radio reception is the worst I have ever had in a radio. I live in San Diego so signal should be no issue. My Sony picks up LA stations with no problem. Also the sound is more like a tiny screach coming from a tin can. Another thing is that the little buttons are in the front. Try laying in bed and pushing one. The stupid thing has to be held with one hand while fumbleing with the buttons so it won't fall off my table. Back it goes and the search is on..
8 sony fan
I also had trouble with the CD stopping in the middle of songs and not starting again. Also, sometimes, it wouldn't even start the CD. This happened and I exchanged the unit for another and it happened on the second unit as well. The digital tuning on the radio was terrible, too. I bought a Sony Psyc with an analog radio and I love it. Way better than this RCA which was more expensive than the Sony.
9 no more irritating mornings
oh my god this alarm clock will change your mornings, no more being scared to death with each beep of a regular alarm clock. you can chose to wake up to your favorite song. but be worned the radio reception is bad, so if your buying it for the radio forget about it, but if your geting it for the cd alarm fetures then its the thing for you
10 nice little radio
I got this radio for Christmas and it has performed really well.
CD Player:
The dual speakers are plenty loud enough and since they are situated on the sides, they actually create a stereo sound rather the the mono of most small players.
Alarm:
The dual alarm is a nice feature as is the automatic weekend cancel. I thought I would love the gradual wake since I hate being jolted out of bed by a shrieking alarm. Unfortunately the alarm starts out fairly loud and gets louder. The screen is well set up, displaying all the information about the alarms and settings without you having to push a button. It is nice to just glance at it to make sure the alarm is set right. It says it has a dimmer for the display which would have been nice but really it is just three settings: brighter, brightest, and off. It takes while to get used to the green glow. The LCD display is also difficult to read from a high or low angle. If it is placed more than a foot above or below your eye level, you will not be able to read it. I had to move it from my headboard to my nightstand. The display really should have been backlit instead of frontlit.
Radio:
I have had no problems with reception. It does as good or better than my Sony boombox. It is nice to have presets available on a little unit like this too.
Case:
The case is a bit bulky, but there are a lot of features packed in. The buttons are a little difficult to fumble with in the dark, but I quickly memorized their approximate locations. It might have been easier if they were not so close together and shaped the same. Also pushing the buttons on the front sometimes causes the entire unit to move so you need to use two hands.
Overall:
This is a nice unit with lots of features packed in for your money. If they were to fix the few minor design issues, I would give it a 5.
11 Bad Experience
Thought this would be the perfect Clock radio/CD...great design and lots of features...but my exprience with these features has been less than perfect. The reception is terrible...(note: the instructions say your power cord is your antenna) so you have to wiggle the power cord or pull it straight to get any reception. Thought maybe it was just my area but plugged in a JVC CD boom box that my daughter got for X'Mas right next to it and it picked up stations beautifully without the "regular" antenna even being raised. Hmmmmm... So instead of listenting to the radio i thought, well try the CD player. What a fiasco that was! The CD's quit in the middle of songs and skip to the next song. These are new CD's that play perfectly well on other players. So i will give this item 2 stars because the 2 things that are nice are the design and the features...but RCA needs to keep working on this on before sending it out to the stores. In RCA's defense i have not contacted them on this..but with all the problems it has and the price i paid ($39.99 on sale). I thought why bother...i will spend more time on the phone pushing buttons to get to the right person and with Tech support as well as any shipping costs to send it back for repairs...and i bet that is what they are banking on too!
12 Great features in a small package
I just received this little gem. It comes with a nature CD so you can wake up and fall asleep to nature sounds (maybe useless for many who'd rather listen to their own music). You can even use your recorded CDs. Upon arrival all you need to do is set the time zone and if it's day light saving time, click a button. The clock sets itself automatically. I played radio and CDs and they sound fine. The display light is adjustable and I found it just big enough and bright enough. This machine has weekend alarm cancel and nap feature, all can be activated by pressing a little button - no fancy programming required. The machine is in silver color with black accent. All buttons are laid out nicely so it's easy to navigate - of course, I always read manual ahead of the time. The manual is small and easy to read and I just keep it inside my night table drawer in case I need future reference. All in all, it has everything I am looking for in an alarm clock and still fits in a small-enough footprint. I haven't used it long enough so I cannot say about duribility. So far I am happy with it and hope it will last a long time.
13 two drawbacks
I really thought that, even though it's very expensive, this item would have all the features I needed. Guess I was wrong. I like falling asleep to quiet music, but I need loud music to wake me up, so I thought the Graduwake ramp-up alarm would be perfect. But the ramp-up feature is only for the Tone alarm, not the radio or the CD. And even if I could stand waking up to beeping noises, they start out way too loud. The other problem I had with this item is that there is no external antenna, it's built into the power cord. I thought having a digital radio would be great because I hate waking up to static when the station "slips" when you turn the radio even an inch. But I can only receive three stations and two of them aren't English and the other is a VERY lite Muzak type station. My old radio with the wire antenna hanging down the back of my bed table worked a lot better. I have to say, though, that the weekend alarm cancel, nap feature and three dimmer settings are very cool and really helpful.
