Home > Consumer Reviews > Emerson Research Dual-Alarm AM/FM Clock Radio with SmartSet Automatic Time Setting System – CKS3029

Living in hurricane territory, I definitely wanted some clocks that would function with or without the help of Florida Light and Power and that I would not have to reset whenever I experience a momentary loss of power. Three Emerson Smartsets made us a very happy household for almost two years now, until this morning. I went over to Brookstone where I know they sell these clocks to complain that my clock did not Spring forward. They handed me a sheet explaining how to manually update my clock (something I will need to do 4 times a year for my clocks purchased pre Marc 2006). Here's how you do it for anyone frustrated as I was:

1. On the second Sunday in March, set your clock to the next lowest number time zone (for example, if you live in the Eastern Time zone, Zone 02, you will change your clock to Zone 01 to move it ahead by one hour)

2. On the first Sunday in April, when the clock will automatically advance itself by one hour for whatever time zone you are in. You will then need to set the clock back to your correct time zone (Zone 02 if you are in the Eastern time Zone)

3. On the last Sunday in October, you would again set your clock to the next lower numbered time zone (Zone 01 if you are in the Eastern time zone). Your clock was not originally set to change times on this date.

4. On the first Sunday in November, the date your clock has been preprogrammed to fall back, you would again set your clock back to your correct time zone (Zone 02 if you are in the Eastern time zone).

Really this is a circumstance beyond Emerson's control, but I am starting to think that what Emerson needs to do is bring this smartset technology to an actual Atomic clock and then the government can change daylight savings time start and end dates as many times as they want, without Emerson consumers ever experiencing any problems. Until then, I hope this has helped someone who like me scoured the Internet for information on how to change the time on these not-so-smartsets after all.

I purchased this clock/radio because I thought that it was an "atomic" clock. An atomic clock (or watch) is a clock that sets its time automatically by monitoring the WWVB clock signal transmitted by the NIST atomic clock in Fort Collins, Colorado. In other words, a true atomic clock/radio would never need setting, would never need to be adjusted for daylight savings time, and would always display the accurate time.

The Emerson CKS3029 Clock Radio is a regular clock radio with a battery-backed up memory. When you unplug the clock (or when there's a power outage), the battery keeps the clock portion powered (there's no display). When power is restored, the time is "reprogrammed" by the internal clock. Once the internal battery dies (it supposedly lasts 3-5 years) and there is a power outage, the clock will lose its settings and must be manually set!

Unlike other non-atomic clock radios (the GE 74894 comes to mind), this one DOES self-adjust for daylight savings time and leap years which is nice.

The clock radio seems to be very well made and has some really nice features including a display dimmer, weekend and/or non-weekend alarms (dual alarms), a nice large snooze button, and day-of-week indicators. The radio sounds a bit "tinny" and cheap, but this is a clock radio and not a boombox.

In summary, if you're looking for a genuine atomic clock radio, steer clear of this product. If you're looking for a clock radio that can ride out power outages without losing track of the time, and a radio with lots of nice features, then I'd recommend this one.

The Amazon description "Emerson CKS3029 Atomic Dual-Alarm AM FM Clock Radio" misleadingly uses the word "Atomic" - I believe they meant "Automatic". Although this device claims to have a preset time (mine was set incorrectly), and does reset the time after a power outage, it does not set itself from an Atomic clock radio signal. So if that's what you want, look elsewhere.

Never have to worry about setting your alarm EVER again!!! Not only does it automatically reset the exact time and date, it remembers the alarm time you had set, even when you plug it back in!!! It even has 7-day, weekend or weekday only feature, so you'll never be accidentally woken on the wrong day!!!

Its worth it big time!

I could not agree more with the other person who rated this radio. I too had to replace my old alarm clock. I cannot be more pleased that I bought this clock! I absolutely love the features. Just plug it in and it automatically sets the correct time. You adjust it once for your time zone and it does all the other work for you. The automatic correction for daylight savings time and leap year when coupled with the other features make this one of the best buys I have made in years. Easy to set. A lot of good ideas were put to work in this product!