Panasonic FM Clock Radio - RC-800GN-K

Nicely made little unit - generally - but a few issues. Bought one each for my teenagers (lack of AM radio is fine for them). Almost returned them when I discovered how excessively loud the minimum volume choice for the alarm radio is. It'll certainly wake you up, but don't choose this unit if you like to be gently woken to the radio and a moderate volume - you'll need to quickly find the volume down buttons and you'll wake the whole house. Volume level 1 would be perfectly fine for an alarm level (even then, that'd almost be too loud for some in a quiet house), but the minimum offered is level 8(!) out of 16. Come on Panasonic designers, give your customers a fair choice on how to wake up in the morning. Basic unit testing should have identified this. Also, there's ... MoreNicely made little unit - generally - but a few issues. Bought one each for my teenagers (lack of AM radio is fine for them). Almost returned them when I discovered how excessively loud the minimum volume choice for the alarm radio is. It'll certainly wake you up, but don't choose this unit if you like to be gently woken to the radio and a moderate volume - you'll need to quickly find the volume down buttons and you'll wake the whole house. Volume level 1 would be perfectly fine for an alarm level (even then, that'd almost be too loud for some in a quiet house), but the minimum offered is level 8(!) out of 16. Come on Panasonic designers, give your customers a fair choice on how to wake up in the morning. Basic unit testing should have identified this. Also, there's nothing on the unit to tell the user how to enable or disable the alarm (a quick double press of the alarm button is required). I would have been stuck without the manual. I preferred the little square units by Sony - ticked all the boxes - and bought some of those first but had to return them because they had an annoying electronic hum. Bought these as an alternative, but the Sony units were ultimately simpler to use and preferred. There's definitely room to make this unit better - a clock radio just needs to do all the basics well - this comes close, but a few confusing controls, painful alarm volume and lack of AM mean that my local retailer had about 20 Sony units in stock and only 2 of these.

After some 30-odd years, my clock radio gave up. Inconveniently just after Auckland went into lockdown in August. So had to improvise with my phone,.......VERY frustrating. Searched all the electrical retailers websites for a new one, read all the reviews and finally opted for this one. I could have ordered and had it couriered to me, but with some purchases for the home, I like to see them in 'real life' first.Finally was able to get in store and confirmed my decision.It's a nice compact design with all the controls on the top clearly laid out, and nicely sized buttons. Quite easy to set up, but I referred to the instruction manual, anyway.Runs on AC and requires two AA batteries for back-up, which is a pleasant change from the usual EXPENSIVE 9 Volt ones. I ... MoreAfter some 30-odd years, my clock radio gave up. Inconveniently just after Auckland went into lockdown in August. So had to improvise with my phone,.......VERY frustrating. Searched all the electrical retailers websites for a new one, read all the reviews and finally opted for this one. I could have ordered and had it couriered to me, but with some purchases for the home, I like to see them in 'real life' first.Finally was able to get in store and confirmed my decision.It's a nice compact design with all the controls on the top clearly laid out, and nicely sized buttons. Quite easy to set up, but I referred to the instruction manual, anyway.Runs on AC and requires two AA batteries for back-up, which is a pleasant change from the usual EXPENSIVE 9 Volt ones. I though the power cord could be another 15-20cm longer, I have to use a power board and it's a bit of a stretch to fit this, plus a bedside lamp as well, when I only have a single power point in my room. Also has an attached FM antenna you can unravel and attach to the wall or wherever you need it.Has 3 levels of brightness for the clock. Clock format is 24-hour only. I have it on the dimmest setting even during the day, and that is quite sufficient. The thickness of the numbers in the display is great, so can easily be read from a distance.The volume range is from 1-16. Has the option of 2 alarms, but sadly, you cannot lower the alarm volume (starts at 8!) No way, you would ever sleep through that!Only receives FM. Scans the frequencies when you first set it up and programs them into the 10 preset channels, but you can change the presets, if you wish. Sleep timer can be set for 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes.

The features of this product I love, include being able to use a buzz alarm or music alarm. The buzz one is more likely to wake me. However, the music one is great, too, in the case of this modern looking little gem. I love the idea of its very thin cable antenna that can go fairly high up on a wall or pole. I use electrical tape to stick it to my wall. There is no static sound on the radio stations thanks to the antenna, I believe. With previous alarm clock radios, I always had static so only used them for there buzz alarms and obviously never for the radio. It's so great to be able to play the radio at any volume, including very loud, and not have to deal with static. I am so glad that I purchased this item and am really enjoying everything about it, including ... MoreThe features of this product I love, include being able to use a buzz alarm or music alarm. The buzz one is more likely to wake me. However, the music one is great, too, in the case of this modern looking little gem. I love the idea of its very thin cable antenna that can go fairly high up on a wall or pole. I use electrical tape to stick it to my wall. There is no static sound on the radio stations thanks to the antenna, I believe. With previous alarm clock radios, I always had static so only used them for there buzz alarms and obviously never for the radio. It's so great to be able to play the radio at any volume, including very loud, and not have to deal with static. I am so glad that I purchased this item and am really enjoying everything about it, including being able to set music for particular lengths of time before it turns itself off.