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SANGEAN Atomic RCR-3 AM/FM Clock Radio
Product: SANGEAN Atomic RCR-3 AM/FM Clock Radio Sale-$81.99!
List Price: $139.95
Amazon Price: $81.99
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ATOMIC AM/FM CLOCK RADIO
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2639 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: WHITE
- Brand: Sangean
- Model: RCR-3
- Format: CD
- Dimensions: 6.50″ h x 4.00″ w x 6.50″ l, 4.03 pounds
Features
- Radio Controlled Clock
- Large Lcd Display
- 14 Station Preset
- 4 Wake Up Timers; Pll Tuner
Sangean is getting closer to perfection
SANGEAN Atomic RCR-3 AM/FM Clock RadioSANGEAN Atomic RCR-3 AM/FM Clock Radio
I’ve owned many Sangean clock radios over the last few years and this one is by far the best. Many of my complaints have been addressed making me a very happy camper 
This radio is an update to the Sangean rcr-1. As far as I can tell it only comes in white. Improvements to this one include:
1. A change from blue backlighting to white. You can now read the display from any angle and from across the room.
2. Gone is the unsightly ferrite antenna stuck to the back of the rcr-1, rcr-2 and rcr-22.
3. They added two more customizable alarms for a total of 4. The first two are buzzer only and the remaining two are for radio alarms.
4. Humane Waking System works in both radio mode and buzzer mode. (Radio mode is undocumented) HWS in radio mode was previously ONLY available on the rcr-1 and absent on the rcr-2 and rcr-22.
5. When the alarm sounds the display lighting of the analog clock changes to amber. Nice touch!
6. Power is now supplied with what I call a wall wart, LOL. This can be a double edged sword, it has a much thinner power cord running from the wall to the clock but the transformer is rather large and can get in the way.
7. Setting and operating the alarms has been greatly improved. It is more intuitive and takes less time to setup.
The radio is very sensitive and is able to pull in stations with ease. The sound quality is very good for a clock radio. It sounds very natural and pleasing. The snooze feature lets you snooze for 5 min. at a time with no option to change the interval. I’ve owned several clock radios from other manufacturers that let you program the snooze duration. I also wish this clock had a photo electric dimming circuit for the backlight. It does have a dimmer button and an adjustment for brightness on the bottom of the clock. When you press the dimmer button the brightness gradually decreases or increases, another nice touch! If you leave the clock in dimmed setting and momentarily push a button the display will go bright for a few seconds and then resume the dimmed setting.
Sangean reduced the size of the digital display from that used on the rcr-1. As a result it can no longer display the time and date simultaneously. In order to see the date you must first push the date button. I’m nitpicking but in my opinion this radio is not quite perfect.
One last comment, Sangean still has not added a battery backup! In the event of a power outage the alarm WILL NOT sound. Why did you do this Sangean? Haven’t you guys been listening to all of the reviewers on this site? I know someone who supposedly works for Sangean responded to my comments on the rcr-1. To clarify, the clock will maintain time for anywhere from 1 to 3 hrs if the power fails but the alarm will not sound. To get around this issue I have plugged it into an uninterruptible power source (UPS). I live in FL and can’t take chances with the alarm.
I also wish it had Radio Data System (RDS) and a HD tuner. To really put it over the top it would be nice to have stereo speakers and an iPod dock. Put all of these features in a table radio and you’ll have the ultimate clock radio.
Loaded with Features, but Poor Manual
There are many great features to this clock. Some of the things I like the most are: 1) the ability to control the brightness of the display on a continuous scale (not just high & low like most alarms); 2) the ability to control the volume of the buzzer alarm or radio alarm on a continuous scale (but note that the buzzer alarm volume is controlled by a dial on the bottom of the clock, NOT by the radio volume control, a mistake I made & learned the hard way when the buzzer didn’t sound); 3) the intuitiveness of the alarm set-up makes it easy to do & easy to remember; 4) the excellent digital reception for the AM/FM radio signals; 5) the ease of resetting the time & date after a power failure (just keep it plugged in & the Atomic Clock feature automatically re-sets the time & date); 6) the “Humane Waking System”, which starts with a low volume beep & gradually increases (this is good for preventing heart attacks for those people shocked into awakening by the sound of most alarm clocks, which sound like a huge garbage truck has just backed up into your bedroom), but for those who need a real loud alarm, just turn up the volume & the initial beep/radio sound will be loud to begin with; 7) the tone quality of the radio is very good for such a small unit & there is a single adjustable tone knob (bass/treble). Other nice things about the clock are its superior looks (a combination of modern digital display with Art Deco features & analog clock display), & the fact that 4 alarms per day can be set & there is a separate alarm setting for each day of the week (including weekends). From the first night I used it, I slept very soundly, because it was the first time in years that I didn’t feel like a light was shining in my face (from my previous clock). There are two things wrong with the Sangean: 1) the lack of a battery back-up, for those people who have blackouts, & 2) the operating manual. About 12 pages are devoted to operation of the clock in English; three of those pages are diagrams of control locations (very well done with clear layout). The instructions themselves are written by someone who does not have a good command of the English language. Words are misused, sentences end without the usual English structure, grammar is off, & it looks like the manual needs a thorough re-writing & proofreading. This is not a minor quibble, because this clock does so many things (& does them so well) that a better written & more thorough manual would enable the user to get much more out of the clock if its operation were better explained. It would be a 5* clock if the manual were better. Before buying this clock, I literally investigated over 100 clocks on the internet, & this looked to be the best I could find anywhere, considering all of its features. Now that I own it, it has lived up to its promise (except for the manual).
Fix for lack of backup battery / Very impressed
I was torn between the venerable Proton/Sangean RS-330 and the RCR-3. The RS-330 has been the de-facto ultimate clock radio, one of the last great ones from the early 90s when Proton, Nakamichi, and others produced high-end alarm clocks. At the same time, the RS-330 hasn’t been updated in nearly 20 years. No CD player, no atomic clock synchronization, uses vacuum fluorescent displays which fade over time and aren’t all that energy efficient (~$20/year to run the RS-330 and RS-332). So, I hesitantly bought the RCR-3 with the atomic clock feature being my primary requirement, still wishing I could get all of these features PLUS the great sound & slave clock of the RS-330.
The RCR-3 is quite simply the best alarm clock I’ve ever had. Totally exceeded all of my expectations. The more you use this clock radio the more you realize just how much thought was put into it. I’m planning on buying two more, one for the other side of the bed and one for my office. Might even get one for the kitchen.
Pros:
4 alarms, programmable by day-of-week. Each alarm has a separate button on the face of the clock and the actual buttons illuminate to signal which alarm(s) are turned on. The alarm button currently going off blinks to indicate such. I also appreciate that the backlighting fades up to 100% when the alarm is going off. To show the level of thought put into the alarm clock, the alarm’s beeper will sound instead of the radio if the radio station’s signal is low/off-air. Alarm volume (beeper and wake-to-radio) is separate from radio playback (sleep) volume. Programming the alarms is quite simple as well. Push the alarm button, then push SET and just arrow up/down. No finger gymnastics of trying to hold multiple buttons down or having to go all the way around the dial because you missed the time you wanted.
The digital radio tuner is rather good. I’m picking up FM stations from ~80 miles away crystal clear. AM reception is clear, full-range audio, and rejects interference well.
Sound quality is good, great for its size. It’s been many years since I’ve heard a Proton clock radio, but this sounds very close. Bass depth is impressive and balanced, particularly for a radio of this size. It doesn’t suffer from the boxy exaggerated mid-bass many small speakers suffer from. I’ve heard worse sound out of much larger speakers. I work with and own many pieces of professional (Meyer) & audiophile (Bowers & Wilkins) sound equipment yet am still impressed by this little radio. It’s not at the same level by any means as the sound is heavily coloured, particularly the midrange, but it’s quite enjoyable.
Large analogue clock: I’m terribly near-sighted. Digital clocks usually require that I put on my glasses to read them. The clock is also very quiet when advancing to the next minute. Even the lightest sleeper wouldn’t be bothered by it. No second hand ticking either.
Dimmer: Full range dimmer. From bright enough to read by to 0% brightness, only going to 100% momentarily when you push any button. There’s even a night-light button on the front of the clock that will turn the backlighting up to 100%.
Energy efficient: Uses less than 1 watt on standby, even with backlighting at 100%. Compare this to my old typical alarm clock which used 8 watts on standby. I know this sounds insignificant, but considering it’s using this 24/7, it adds up over time. Figure 1 watt * 24 hrs * 365 days = 8.76kWh/year , 8 watts =70kWh/year. Multiply this by the # of clocks you have plugged into the house and you’re starting to talk about decent money.
Thin plug/power cord. I know some people dislike power transformers (wall warts), but I’d much rather thread a small DC power connector through things than try to fit a full-size AC plug through an already-too-crowded wire hole in furniture. It also is safer and easily replaced if it gets pinched between the bedframe & wall, etc.
The negatives?
Lack of a backup battery. See my solution below. Sure, it has that backup capacitor AND it does show the time on the digital screen while the power is out, BUT the alarm won’t sound if the power’s out when the alarm is supposed to start.
No line out. I’ve not hooked this radio up to my bedroom’s Bowers & Wilkins stereo yet, but I would prefer to do so via line out rather than headphone jack.
No HD tuner / CD player. Okay, there’s a line-in for this, but I wanted just one piece of equipment on the nightstand. MP3 playback via SD card would be awesome.
No remote control. Why a remote control for a clock radio? Because the sound quality on this clock radio is better than many mini stereos!
No Stereo/slave unit. Not that it’s entirely needed with atomic clocks that can sync themselves, I’d love to have the master/slave clock setup that the RS-330 had, if just for the stereo sound alone. I might just buy a 2nd one for the other side of the bed. All that I’d be missing over the RS-330/332 setup would be stereo audio.
As others have mentioned, the manual is lacking in detail. Where detail is provided it over-complicates what is really a well thought-out, logical to operate clock radio.
A few useful bits missing from the manual:
When you first power up the radio:
1) The analog clock will advance until it reaches 12:00 and the radio will scan through the stations and automatically set pre-sets the strongest ones.
2) The digital clock will show a flashing -:- and the antenna symbol.
3) The upper right corner of the screen will show L:0, representing signal strength of the time signal. Signal scale is 0 (weak) to 9 (strong).
This clock uses WWVB for time, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, on long-wave radio frequencies. For those unfamiliar with shortwave radio, it’s basically AM radio that bounces off the earth’s atmosphere and the ground. As you can imagine, reception of this signal is highly variable.
Don’t worry if your radio shows a signal strength of 0, especially during the day. Most locations will get the best signal between 1-4am. Keep in mind this clock uses the atomic clock signal to sync its clock so it doesn’t need to see it all the time. Once a day is more than enough.
4) Once the clock is receiving WWVB, the seconds display on the screen will start to tick, verifying that it is indeed seeing a signal. After a few minutes of this the clock will set itself and you’re good to go. Keep in mind that under IDEAL conditions it would take the clock 3 minutes to acquire a signal. It took my clock about 15 minutes for its first sync.
Mislabeled controls department:
Light button: Should be Night Light. Turns backlighting up to 100% until pressed again when it’ll return to the level you’ve set with the dimmer dial underneath the radio.
Tone control: Should be Loudness control. It’s a bass and treble boost/cut control, similar to some car stereos and some smaller home stereos. Both bass & treble are boosted / cut at the same time with this dial.
**Back-up battery fix:**
Since I live in Florida, complete with an electrical grid only a 3rd world country could be proud of, Sangean’s capacitor trick isn’t going to cut it with our extended outages. Here’s how I fixed this problem. I bought:
1) Ademco AD12612 alarm system 16VAC -> 12vDC power supply/charger board. (~$10-$20)
2) generic 16VAC/40VA transformer for the AD12612 (~$5-$10)
3) generic 12v 4amp-hour alarm battery (~$5-$15)
4) A spare DC power cord since I didn’t want to hack apart the Sangean’s power supply.
5) Some spare wire to connect the transformer to the AD12612.
So I connected all of this together, sticking the battery and Ademco board underneath the bed. Even an electrical novice can’t really screw this up. The Ademco board is well-labeled (AC in, DC out, color coded battery leads). For reference, the clock is expecting 12vDC, positive tip, negative shield.
By my estimates, the clock will run for about 4 days with the backlighting on 100% 24/7. Much longer with the backlighting dimmed or off. If I bump it up to a 7AH battery that’ll be 7 days, maybe 10-14 days with the backlighting dimmed. This beats out any off-the-shelf battery backup (APC et al) since everything stays in the DC domain. Those off-the-shelf UPSs won’t last more than a few hours with no load connected. With the alarm system power supply there’s no DC(battery)->AC(inverter)->DC(12vDC transformer) conversion and no DC->AC inverter loss. Dead silent when running too.
As a side benefit, this will be a nice hurricane/emergency setup down the road. The backlighting on the clock is bright enough to read by and certainly more than enough light for emergencies. 7+ day runtime is just icing on the cake. Want more functionality out of this setup? Hook a car cell phone charger up to the 12v output on the power supply.
