Magnasonic Projection Alarm Clock with AM/FM Radio, Battery Backup, Auto Time Set, Dual Alarm, Nap/Sleep Timer, Indoor Temperature/Date Display with Dimming & 3.5mm Audio Input - Black (EAAC601)

I used the clock as both a nightlight (facing away from me parallel with the bed) for middle-night bathroom trips and the time projection to see the time conveniently whenever I wake. The radio feature was not really used since audio sound was poor, but the alarm functions have been ideal for me. Durability:I have been using this dual alarm clock for 10 years now. The radio is no longer an alarm option and now the second alarm set button is behaving erratically when trying to activate the alarm. However, 10 years is way beyond expectations for cheap clock radio. I am thinking about replacing it with the same.

Recently, my clock radio, an Emerson SmartSet, decided to crap out on me after only five years or so. (The alarm function and radio stopped working, although, weirdly, the clock part still kept time, and on battery back-up, the alarm would still go off. I still can't quite figure that one out.) I thought about trying to play around with the Emerson, to see if I could fix it, but I just didn't feel up to it, so I went shopping and found this Magnasonic. I was really excited because it fit all the criteria I was looking for: it was a clock radio, not just an alarm clock; it had a dual alarm system; and the clock sets automatically as soon as it's plugged in. Plus, it has two other features that are just plain nice to have: it has a sensor that registers the room temperature, and it projects the time onto the ceiling/wall so I don't even have to raise my head from my pillow to see what time it is.I'll admit, it took a bit of time for me to figure out how to work this clock radio, for the mere fact that it's completely different from any I've owned previously. Not only because of the extra functions/features, but also because it's so sleek and compact. I'm used to those bulky, slightly rectangular, slightly oblong radios that are at least half a foot long, half a foot wide, and as thick as bricks (with the really old ones almost weighing as much as bricks). This Magnasonic is almost tiny in comparison: it's only 5 1/2 inches long, about the same measurement in height, and 3 1/2 inches deep. The biggest thing about it is the LCD screen up front. However, a brief perusal of the instructions showed that the Magnasonic is really user-friendly and once you figure out what each button is for and how to work them, setting the alarms and using all the functions is easy-peasy. As I pointed out, the clock part sets automatically as soon as you plug it in, so that's one less thing to deal with; all you have to worry about is setting the time zone if you're not in the default Eastern time zone. The dual alarms are set from one central button and you can not only set the time, but you're given options as to how often the alarm will go off: all seven days of the week, Monday through Friday only, Saturday and Sunday only, or just one day of the week. Buttons on the back allow you to choose whether you want the alarms to go off as a buzzer or as music from the radio, and to turn one or both alarms off completely. There are all sorts of other details you can fiddle with such as setting the time and calender manually, setting the snooze function, setting the sleep function, and changing the display content. And then there's the projection, which comes from a rotating arm on the left-hand side of the unit. The arm can be rotated into an almost horizontal position both front and back, and there's a wheel at the top which focuses the projection--just turn the wheel until the display is clear and crisp. The display can also be flipped by 180 degrees for rear projection; just press another button to do so.Now, there are two "downsides" to this clock radio that I've found. One is that, because the time isn't just a set of numbers on the front of the unit, but a full LCD screen with the time, room temp., and other info, the display is brighter than on a regular clock radio. However, there is a dimmer function to the front display, which helps, and also, because the time can be projected and therefore the front of the clock radio doesn't need to face my bed, I simply turn the unit so that the barest sliver of the screen is visible from where I'm resting, allowing most of the glow to dissipate into the room. On the plus side, if I have to get up in the middle of the night, the glow helps me avoid any cat toys littering the floor between my bed and the bathroom. The second "downside" is, because the unit is so compact, there's no room for any internal antennae for radio reception. So there are two thin external antennae to fiddle with, which, frankly, I haven't had to deal with since my clock radio from the 80's. However, neither of these "downsides" are really that bad (hence my use of quotation marks) or difficult to deal with, and, certainly, these two tiny, inconsequential details don't detract one iota from this Magnasonic's compact and functional nature.

The alarm is complicated to set AT FIRST until you get use to it. I now have no problems at all with all the settings. For my use: I set the alarm to different times daily & because the alarm is not user friendly, it becomes a hassle. But after doing it so many times, I have become use to it now. I just wish they would have put a separate ON and OFF button for the alarm. The alarm buttons 1 & 2 serve several purposes and it gets easier as you use it often. When using the (9 min. snooze button), the alarm will only snooze 3 times & stop (30 min. maximum alarm) - This is according to other reviews and the manual but I used the snooze one day and it never stopped (maybe over an hour). So, how long the snooze will go is unknown. I'm not sure if my clock is just different or is not consistent. I have not used the snooze more than once so far (as of 7/6/19).The manual leaves out A LOT OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!! Another irritation I found out: The following information in the manual is NOT there: Calendar Display: I figured out that you need to push a button (on the front and the bottom of clock on right side which shows a tiny calendar icon under the button). Also, don't Hold the calendar icon button - Just quickly push the button & the YEAR will display first & then you have to quickly push the button again to see what I really wanted to see, which is the month & date of the year (like if it's December 2, 2018), it will first display 2018 & I push the button again quickly & it will say M: 12 and D: 2. It will automatically go back to showing the time if you leave it alone for a couple of seconds or just push the button again if you want to. Unfortunately, it doesn't display all the time but this will just be a very small inconvenience that I can live with as long as it works. I use this feature all the time. I was looking for a calendar display with the day of the week too (like SUN for SUNDAY or MON for MONDAY) which DOES light up all the time (Yeah!) and helps me very much. I love the projection even though it's not completely able to be in a perfect position on my ceiling above my head because I want to be able to see the clock on my nightstand too without moving it around to a weird position. Seeing the projection keeps me from rolling around in bed to see what time it is but I find myself doing the same thing to view the room temperature (because I wake up a lot when I'm too hot mostly) & I know I can choose to display either one (on projection) but I find myself needing to read both so I have to choose the time because it's more important to me (on the ceiling, that is). Both room temp. and time will display anyway on the clock face all the time if you want it.I get hot and cold in my bedroom (mostly hot) and wonder sometimes what temperature it is and sometimes I'm right that it's too hot (for me) or it's just me and the temperature is fine. So, I make appropriate adjustments to my thermostat or fan. I notice that if I move the small wire with the plastic tip (for indoor temperature) it will move to a new temp. until I leave it alone. It's overly sensitive. I did not expect a WIRE TEMPERATURE to be on the clock (a wire temp. IS VERY INCONVENIENT AND GETS IN MY WAY). As of 7/6/19, the temperature wire is not always dependable and accurate. I've seen it jump down 5 to 10 degrees and back up to another temperature. This is a defect which is VERY DISAPPOINTING but it's too late to send it back. I'll have to buy ANOTHER clock with indoor temperature now to see if it agrees with the defective temperature wire (which I hate). My Dad has an atomic clock that does not use a wire for indoor or outdoor temperature - I put it next to my temperature wire when I first received the clock after programming it. For a long time, I put it next to the wire to see how accurate it was and it was just slightly off (not bad) but it does seem to depend on where the wire is for the temperature to read properly. I try to put it away from the clock but I wish it was longer so that I could put it behind my nightstand - The wire is very fragile looking and too short & it bends in a very inconvenient way (I cannot make it straight). Anyway, it did not last as I predicted.I love the fact the radio automatically scans to the strongest stations and is digital and has presets (it also has a skinny antenna wire but it is long & I can put behind the nightstand). I was concerned that the backup battery would loose my clock radio presets if the electricity failed (which does often in this area where I live which is irritating and this particular clock would be a lot of work to reset if it didn't backup EVERYTHING with a battery). But when the electricity goes out even for a second or two my clock gets almost a minute behind the actual time. So far I haven't had a long outage of power. But I predict it will be worse if that happens. I believe the installed battery is old or defective. It was 15 to 20 minutes off from the correct time when I received it.All my other alarm clocks and travel clocks (at this time) are only battery operated except one clock that has electricity and battery backup (which I bought recently) but is very simple to reset anyway because it has zero fancy features but it has an alarm that's too loud & startling. I may move that clock somewhere else in the house after I look for another clock that has indoor temperature WITHOUT A WIRE. I did not expect this clock to have a wire for the temperature and as I predicted, it did not last long.I read a lot of reviews and they would say this clock kept the settings of the clock (time) but never said it kept the settings of my presets to the radio (I haven't tested to see if it does yet).I also now understand why the "sun icon" doesn't come on when you set daylight savings time to be "ON". It only comes on when daylight savings time is in effect (I contacted the seller to ask about that). I have the clock programmed and set to "ON" for daylight savings time. Well, when daylight savings time started on 3/10/19, IT DID NOT WORK! I gave it plenty of time to decide to change that day. I had to manually reset the hour myself but this clock is not a big deal to do that once you get use to its features. I read several people's reviews and they had the same problem. I just got a defective clock. This is not a big deal. (Again, this was not in the manual at all about the sun icon).It has features like projection and the day of the week that I wanted and was looking for and the calendar too and it has a digital radio that scans to the strongest signal which makes it a step up from an old analog clock radio I use to have that finally broke after many years. The radio is not stereo but is clear for a simple clock radio. AM doesn't come in that great at all but neither does my Sony boombox with a rod antenna. The FM works good with the skinny wire that I hang behind my nightstand. It's just a clock radio speaker not a stereo clock radio sound. I wasn't looking for that feature anyway. I did not want a large clock on my nightstand table. It would take up too much room with all the stuff I have on BOTH of my tables (each side of my bed). I will update this review later on Amazon and give this clock some time to see if it lasts a while. I hope my review was helpful.

This morning, after a thunderstorm power surge during the night, the radio function of my Magnasonic was dead. I checked here and found that a few other commenters here have reported the same thing. Sadly, I started researching a replacement, but then I tried simply unplugging it for several minutes to give the internal components a chance to reset. It worked...a small but sweet victory over the forces of chaos.