One thing I have so far neglected to get for my home survivial kit is a solar radio or really any radio that has an alternate power source besides batteries.

I realized the importance of staying informed after the big Eastern black out.

any recommendations?

Check out Freeplay radios. They have a crank. I have the Summit and it works well:

http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/summit

I like this one, lots of options for powering it. If it had shortwave reception, I might think it was perfect:

http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_CM%20R850_A_name_E_Sun+Tap+Ultra+Solar%2FDynamo+Radio%2FFlashlight

I think pretty much any solar radio would be all right for an emergency kit. It's doesn't seem too hard to make a decent solar-powered radio, in the same way it's uncommon to find a really crappy solar powered calculator.

However, the battery part of solar powered radios leaves much to be desired, particularly because most don't allow you to easily replace them when they go bad, which is important since these radios are often unused for long periods.

Personally, my favorite solar radio is any of the original Freeplay radios that used either solar or a spring-powered crank. The spring is never going to go bad from just sitting in the closet. I have the big, tabletop model, although they made the portable model with a spring, too. Even in complete darkness, 30-seconds of winding the spring will give me 30-45 minutes of radio, depending on the volume. I have a newer Freeplay and I don't like trying to charge the battery with the crank. It takes forever, and you never know when you're supposed to stop cranking since there's no "full charge" indicator. It's like wind-up flashlights--sounds good on paper, but I don't find them that practical in real use. However, some people don't mind, so if you've never tried it, please don't let my preferences totally dissuade you from giving one a try.

Hi Hookpunch,

Just get a solar PV panel such as the Sunlinq type and appropriate battery charger which can take a 12V input to recharge the batteries for all your needs and not just the radio.
Freeplay Freecharge can also be used if solar becomes unworkable.

http://www.freeplayenergy.com/product/freecharge12v

Good high quality SW, AM and FM radios are avialable such as the Roberts R9921 or Roberts R876 or Sony ICF-SW7600GR which are designed to work with AA cells.

Cheaper models are available but don't perform as well especially on the coverage and the ability to discriminate radio broadcast channels for especially for World SW frequencies such as the BBC World Service.

Eneloop NiMh rechargeable AA type cells are preferrable as they keep their charge much longer i.e over a year. A set of AAs can be charging under solar while the other set of AAs is in use.

A small set of headphones for the radio will also help reduce battery drain and therefore increases the radios battery life before recharging is required.

I've had unpleasant experiences with cheap crank radio/flashlight combos. I have one that has failed sitting in the drawer with no use for several months - I crank it for two minutes, and the lights come on but the radio no longer plays.

This is one of those things that we get to make a judgment on: many things can be cheap crap and get us by, but some things we need to have working when we need it. It may be that a radio is something we can get by without. If so, I'd buy a few cheap ones with solar panels and cranks and such. But if we're going to really need the radio, I'd buy a good one from a known manufacturer that provides a warranty. (Not that the warranty will do me any good, but if the maker provides one, I'll expect some reliability.)

I like the idea from another poster about using a stand-alone solar panel to provide charges to real batteries. I have such a panel, and I'll do just that. I have radios that run on AAs, and I have a AA charger.

I use an external solar panel to charge my portable AM, FM Shortwave.

I looked at those solar & hand crank radios and found the sensitivity lacking. They are OK for local AM & FM stations, but any long range listening (DX) they are not up to the task.


I use a Sangean 803-A, and a Radio Shack DX-392 (also made by Sangean)

With the solar panel I get a fairly good radio and also have a solar recharging ability.


You should decide what you want in a radio, if you want local stations the hand crank / solar radios may do it for you. If you like to listen to shortwave or enjoy AM DX I would go with the external solar panel.

I have the freeplay radio that does crank, solar, weather stations and can charge off USB. I like it a lot so far but haven't used it enough to really review it yet.

Picked up a Kaito KA009 for under $40 and IMHO it's a good value emergency radio. It's worked reasonably well for me. A review is available at the address below:

www.monitoringtimes.com/mtrevumar07.pdf

It's one more option to consider.

Why not a small AA powered radio, and a solar charger for AAs? It is more versatile.

solar radio This is a different model than mine, when it was originally sold it didn't have the light. I suspect my version is discontinued since it was "new" a decade+ ago. Have taken it to the beach and on car trips. Never needed to use batteries and the dynamo feels very heavy duty. The solar panel powers the radio through car and house windows while giving good volume. Aside from looking a little scratched from wear it's a good basic radio.

Ditto on the freeplay products, I own their flashlights and lanterns and they seem to make a quality product.

Even if you by a larger panel to charge batteries, a radio with a solar option is good, it frees up batteries for other things.