RCA RP5412 Review

The guest room in our home is usually not occupied so we had a little travel alarm clock sitting on the night stand that up to this point has been enough to wake the occasional occupant.  But, now youngest daughter has taken up permanent residence in the room and she needs something a lot stronger to wake her in the morning so she can make it to school on time. 

So I started looking for a moderately priced (under $20.00) feature rich alarm clock, with or without a radio.  And while I was at it, I decide it was time to replace my alarm clock as well, because I had problems reading the red LED number in bright light; e.g. sunlight, regular room light at night, etc.   

So the search began, first on-line (surprisingly, little luck there), and then off-line at the local Target store, wherein I found the RCA RP5412 Alarm Clock Radio for $14.99.  What initially attracted me to the clock was the small size, attractive (blue background with black numbers) display, progressively louder alarm, coupled with the auto time set.  The fact that the unit had an AM/FM radio, analog / digital time displays, and dual alarms, was and remains incidental.  It appeared to me as though the RCA RP5412 Alarm Clock Radio would suit my purposes, so I purchased two. 

My Viewpoint

The RP5412 is a mixed bag at best.  While I applaud RCA (or the Chinese manufacture) for loading up the unit with a lot of cool and user-friendly features, more attention should have been paid to the rather abysmal display.  The blue background/ black number combination looks rather stylish, but unless you are standing directly in front of the unit, forget actually seeing the time.  And again while the analog (traditional) display is stylish (cool) to look at it is hardly readable at all, despite the two place display setting (dim and bright).

And this is my major complaint about the RP5412; I used it for a night in my room and the display was just not workable.  Even with the room completely dark I found the display hard to read and it was right at my bedside.  This is because I used the dim setting lest the annoying blue glow of the display disturb the comforting darkness of the room.  My wife reported that on the dim setting she couldn't read the display either; only she stated that she "hated it."  So, my RP5412 went back to Target.  We kept the one in my daughter's room because she liked the blue light; it doubles as a night light for her; go figure.    

I am happy to report however, that the alarm works rather well.  The alarm works as advertised, and wakes her from a sound (deep) sleep from across the room.  And that is saying a lot, because my daughter is a deep sleeper.  And since there is no radio in the room and reception seems better on the second floor, she can enjoy some music in the mornings when she is getting dressed for school.   

Conclusion

As an alarm clock with cutting edge features, the RP5412 is top notch, but as a timepiece the LCD display has (much) room for improvement. And I bought the unit for the display as much as the alarm; at least as it relates to my room.    But for my daughters room, the RP5412 appears to fit the bill nicely; one out of two; not too shabby.  But I am back to my old alarm clock, and back to the drawing board.