La Crosse Technology 617-1485B Atomic Color Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port

We had had this alarm clock for many yeas and it finally died. I was very happy to see that it was still available. It is easy to use if you need to change the alarm time from day to day, etc. It is a little tricky to get it set-up initially. It is set to keep national time, indoor temp, and brightness.

Some have given this clock a five star rating while others call it trash. Hmmmmmm. Undoubtedly, some buyers (such as myself) lucked out and received wonderful product while others received lemons. You could say the same about ANY product, NO MATTER WHERE YOU PURCHASE IT, but realistically, most companies would go out of business in a heartbeat if all they did was build trash. The best advice I can give you is to treat any product you buy (again, no matter where you purchase it) like a trial run. Always keep the box until the return window closes and find where your nearest FedEx/UPS/USPS office is located and don't hesitate or be LAZY to return the product if you feel it is defective or badly engineered. I would be willing to bet that 99.999% of all companies around the world would rather replace the product or refund your money than to get a bad review on Amazon or anywhere else (maybe tell them you plan to give their product a bad review and see what happens?).This La Crosse Technology 617-1485B Atomic Color Alarm Clock with USB Charging Port gave me no problems. Suspecting exaggeration on the part of some reviewers, I purposely oriented the clock in a north/south direction (something a few other reviewers warn not to do because they claim it will not pick up the atomic signal that way). Not only did it IMMEDIATELY pick up and lock onto the signal like a rottweiler biting a home invader on the behind and not letting go, but has been dead balls-on accurate ever since. It advances to each next minute in perfect lock-sync with my cell phone carrier's (and my computer's) time signals. A lucky coincidence? I think not. I believe this is a well-built product, but I'm not saying that some buyers may have received a defective product. Keep those boxes!This clock has a three-brightness display controlled by the snooze bar. The brightest setting lets the display double as a lighthouse and, along with the large digit size, can be read by most anyone (even during the day), even if they have mild vision impairment. Tap the snooze bar once and the display dims so you can get some sleep, but still read the time in a darkened room. Tap it again, and the display turns off altogether. The clock also displays the room temperature and humidity percentage with arrows indicating the temperature and humidity trends (going up, down, or holding steady). The alarm sound is an insistent but non-annoying beeping that's sure to awaken even the deepest of sleepers. The clock also displays the day, month and date in a orange color to distinguish them from other data on the display. There is even a nifty moon phase indicator and, of course, the obligatory USB port to charge your smartphone.I am sad to report that this will be my last review on Amazon. This is because I have not received answers from Amazon concerning questions I had about their Vine membership, so now I will no longer be participating in anything at all. I thank all my fellow shoppers who have given my reviews "helpful" ratings and hope all their future shopping experiences are happy and satisfying.UPDATE: I have owned this product for two years and last night it went belly up! It was a good two years, but last night the display went out and the item is now a piece of trash.

I was really pleased when I got this clock. It's a replacement for a battery only atomic clock - I had to keep changing the batteries because the sensor seemed to stay on all day! Anyway, this has a really nice display and I would have given it 5 stars when it first arrived.It arrived before daylight saving time changed. I was disappointed to see that I still had to go in and change a setting. The cheaper battery clock changed automatically. Minus one star.Around 2 AM and 3 AM, the display blanks out for some reason. You can still see the time by pressing the button on the top, but the display only stays on for about a second. The USB must also stop charging and my Kindle turns on, lighting up the room. I now charge it upside down. I don't know if this happens EVERY night or not, as I usually sleep through. Still, it can be annoying. Minus one star.Last night (Thursday 1/14) I looked over before I went to sleep and the clock said it was after midnight and it was now Tuesday 1/1) It was still Thursday around 11 am. There was no radio signal icon. This morning, it was back to the right time, day and date. Ack. Minus another star.Wow, three annoying issues? Minus another star.I guess I'm stuck with it now as it's been several months. But, I'm really disappointed.Today, March 29, 2016 I woke up and it said it was October 22. Time to just get rid of this.I tried this again- very stupid. But this time I thought it would work for over my TV but it went blank around 8 pm and was never very bright. Time for a return.

I am something of a clock collector and purchased this primarily for its looks. The multi-color display is nice and the clock syncs reliably with WWVB. I don't use it as an alarm clock so I can't report on that feature. The moon phase feature is mildly interesting and the clock doesn't seem to heat enough internally to throw off its room temperature reading too much. Note, however, that there is no temperature offset adjustment to compensate for self-heating. Neither does the clock automatically adjust its display intensity to compensate for room lighting.The one issue that is quite annoying is the viewing angle of the LCD. The screen washes out and has a pasty white glare when viewed from above - for example, if you're standing next to your night stand. Furthermore, the screen is pretty much useless if viewed from below. Forget about putting this clock on a shelf or a higher piece of furniture. It will look awesome at eye level, but become virtually unreadable when you sit down.Despite the display limitations, I kept it because it's a cool looking clock and, of course, it keeps perfect time as long as the Fort Collins station is receivable.