Product Description

This clock radio uses Emerson's patented SmartSet automatic time setting system. The first time you connect this clock radio to your AC outlet, and after every power interruption, within seconds the clock will automatically set itself to the correct year, month, date, day, and time. You will never see that annoying, flashing "12:00" display again. In addition all changes from standard time to daylight saving time, and back to standard time, are made automatically.There are dual alarms that can be set and used independently, which means that you can set one alarm to wake you to the buzzer and the other to wake you to music. And both of the alarms can be programmed for everyday operation, weekdays only, or weekends only.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9373 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Emerson
• Model: CKS3516
• Dimensions: 5.00" h x 10.00" w x 5.00" l, 2.20 pounds

Features

• Projects time, month/date, year, or alarm time on wall or ceiling
• Emerson's exclusive SmartSet technology automatically sets the correct time
• Dual alarm
• Easy-to-read 1.3-inch LED clock display
• AM/FM radio

Amazon.com Product Description
Enjoy true ease of operation and convenience with Emerson's SmartSet Dual-Alarm Clock with Time Projection System. With Emerson's exclusive SmartSet Auto Time-Setting Technology, the clock automatically sets itself to the correct date and time as soon as you plug it in. Not only does it feature an easy-to-read display, but the projection system also shows the time in brilliant red numbers on your wall or ceiling. Programmable dual alarms can also be set for weekday only, weekend only, or every day operation.

Customer Reviews

Very nice clock
This review refers to the CKS3528 model, which I purchased from Amazon's partner, Target. The only difference between my model and this one is that the clock projection has a selectable color filter on the CKS3528. This unit listed here does not.

I purchased this clock for the large digit display and projection functions. So far both are working out quite nicely. The display is not too bright at night, when the dimmer is set to low. It is still quite readable in a lit room. The projection is too dim to read if the room is lit, but it works nicely in the dark. I am nearsighted, but I have no problem reading the ceiling display with my glasses off at night. I'd guess the digits are about 10 inches high on my ceiling. The projection is also not so bright that it lights up the room or keeps me awake.

The smart set function is little more than a preset internal clock that lives off a lithium battery when it is not plugged in. The manual says the battery will last 3 years even if the unit is never plugged in, and should last 5+ years when used normally. The clock allows you to change the time settings yourself (if you like your clock 5-10 minutes fast, or if the time ever drifts) and the internal memory will keep the new time setting. This is a nice improvement over the RCA version that I replaced, which had drifted about 2 minutes off and could not be corrected.

The clock knows 7 times zones: Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Yukon, and Hawaiian. Since you can change the internal time memory anyway, I imagine it would be pretty easy to use this in any zone and just fix the time shift once. However, the clock obeys the 2007 US daylight savings time rules: starting 2nd Sunday of March, ending 1st Sunday of November. There does not appear to be a way to turn DST off. So, if your state or country does not follow these rules, you'll have to change the time or timezone every time the DST changes do not match your area.

The radio is set by an analog dial. The dial indicator lights up when the clock is plugged in, but it's still not easy to tell by the display what channel number you have set. It doesn't seem to drift very badly, but my chosen wake-up station is pretty strong in my area. I'd have preferred a digital tuner.

There are two alarms. Each can be set to wake by buzzer or radio. Each alarm can be set to run for 7-days, 5-days (Mon-Fri), or 2-days (Sat-Sun). The buzzer alarms wake by crescendo, that is, they start softly and increase in volume. I can't comment on how loud they get, since I don't use buzzer alarms. The wake by radio function works nicely, coming on directly to the volume that you have preset. To turn off the buzzer alarms, you have to find one of the tiny (1) or (2) alarm buttons among the many on top of the unit. To turn off the radio alarm, you can also hit the much larger Radio On/Off button on the right end of the unit. The snooze button is large and easy to find in the middle. Snooze is fixed at 9 minutes.

I recommend this clock to anyone who likes to wake up to a radio, and who lives in a US timezone following the new DST rules. My only complaint is the lack of a digital radio tuner.

Great clock - if you can get one that works for more than 6 months!
I bought this Emerson projection clock in August. I immediately loved the projection feature - no more rolling over to see what time it is and no more sleep interuptions when my husband props himself up to peek over me and check the clock! But, our joy was short-lived. The LED display on the first clock stopped working after 2 days and wouldn't keep time. I took it back to the store and exchanged it for another. The second clock was broken out of the box - the projection never worked. I exchanged it again (I REALLY liked the clock's features!) and the 3rd one worked fine for about 6 months. But last night we realized the projection was stuck on 11:03. When I rolled over, the LED was not displaying the time. I unplugged it and when I plugged it back in I got no lights at all, only a loud clicking noise. It's certainly dead this time! I am so disappointed. I did get all 3 clocks from the same store so maybe it was a bad batch, but we also purchased 2 Emerson Smartset CD clock radios recently. The first one had a malfunctioning LED display after 2 days so we returned it. 2 months later the CD player on the 2nd one stopped working. The point? Our experience with Emerson products leaves much to be desired. 5 defective clocks in 6 months is entirely unacceptable. This particular projection clock has great features and is awesome when it works. The LED is a little too bright even on low, but you get used to it and it can double as a night light. But we are going to be looking for a projection clock made by another company. My husband didn't realize that our projection clock and the CD radio clock were all made by Emerson. When I told him he said "Oh, if I had known that I would have told you not to buy it, their stuff is junk". Lesson learned!

Great clock
Very nice clock. Projected time light is very suttle. No problem with too much light. Easy to start and no problem with it afterward.