Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Just received my new C CRANE POCKET RADIO and so far, so good. For someone who likes to fall asleep at night listening to the radio, this little unit fits the bill. It has a built-in 12 hour (AM/PM) clock with a backlight and a sleep timer with 90, 60 30, 15 minute settings. Every time you go to change the station or the band, the backlight comes on automatically so you can see - NOT GUESS - what you're doing in the dark. The little light smartly times out in 10 seconds. A symbol on the LCD panel displays battery strength as well as indicating TIME or STATION (user's choice) and reception strength as well as whether or not the sleep timer or alarm is set. The maker includes ear buds but I prefer using my own light weight open air headset. Also included is an FM antenna extension for pulling in weak stations if a headset is not in use. Use of a headset doubles as an antenna. Most local FM stations do NOT require the use of either. The built-in speaker is thin but very clear and can go louder than you need. Daytime distant reception on AM and FM seems average. Weather band is a nice little bonus. A lock switch on the side prevents the user from accidentally switching stations, bands or turning it off while listening. With its many capabilities, set-up is not entirely intuitive - however - a printed owner's manual is thoughtfully included instead of having to go on-line and download or print out a pdf file. Excellent battery life from two AA batteries. Overall, this is the happiest I have been with a little radio since my folks bought me my first transistor set when I was 10. --- So far, the only two negatives are small ones: Setting the sleep timer is somewhat awkward and usually takes more than one try to get it right. The sleep timer just shuts the audio down abruptly rather than slowly fading it out like my plug-in Sony dream machine.