The first generation of Freeplay radios did not use any batteries--only spring and solar power. My Freeplay has a clear case and you can see that there is no battery inside. They later added the rechargable batteries, probably because people wanted to be able to store more than one "spring-full" of energy. I was just looking on their website and it appears that all of their models now include a rechargable battery.

As for durability, the mechanism looks pretty simple and the spring looks quite robust. It's a ribbon of metal about an inch wide. The most delicate part seems to be a single slender rubber belt that connects two gears together. Particularly with the clear case, perhaps UV or just plain age could conceivably make it deteriorate. But considering that the Freeplay company started out making tough, inexpensive radios for remote settlements with no electricity or where disposable batteries are scarce/expensive, I suspect that the band is plenty tough (although what we can buy is not the same model distributed in Africa, at least what was originally distributed).

I don't know of any current hand-cranked radio that doesn't use an integrated rechargable battery. Sometimes, you can find the first generation, spring-powered Freeplay and the portable model on sale. My portable Coleman Outrider (aka Freeplay Ranger) does not use a spring. The hand crank drives an internal generator to charge the battery. The current, full-size Freeplay Plus still retains the spring, which then drives its generator and charges the battery or powers the radio directly.

The battery life of those cheap Walgreens AAA radios is excellent. Mine ran for something like 15 hours on a 750 mAH AAA NiMH charge (I did an overnight test). With alkalines it should be well over 24 hours, with lithiums even more. They use very little power because there's no speaker, just earbuds. They are really minimal radios though, FM-only (though stereo), no tuning dial (press a button and it scans to the next station). Mine has a volume control but some of them don't even have that.

The little earphone radio that I EDC runs on three button cells and might run for only a few hours. I should measure the current drain (to estimate from) or do a runtime test sometime.

I think the issue with your Sony radio isn't AA's vs C's but that it's using excessive power for some unknown reason (whether design or defect). A C cell holds about 2x as much energy as an AA. AA's are pretty much standard for everything now.

I have one strong bias when it comes to emergency radios: forget AM or FM or short-wave. If you want good, constant coverage in an emergency, get a radio with a TV-band tuner. I come by this bias after having been through multiple hurricanes here in Florida (two of which caused me to gather up wife and child and evacuate…those hurricanes weren’t anything like Katrina, but I don’t roll the dice like some folks do). AM/FM radio coverage in an emergency is a distant second to what you can get from TV. Don’t worry about not having a picture; it’s still better than what radio stations provide. Even radio stations that simulcast do so only fitfully, and then only for a short-while. Shortly after the storm (or whatever emergency) has passed, the radio stations go back to frivolous entertainment while the TV stations keep on providing useful information.

My pocket radio is a Sangean DT-220V. It takes two AA batteries and has both speaker and ear-buds. I had to have a speaker even in the small radio so that when I am huddled in the bathroom with aforementioned wife and child, they could also hear the tornado warning broadcasts.

My larger radio is a Sony ICF-36. That takes four AA batteries and has an AC adapter.

The Sangean is pricey (I think it was around $60 when I bought it); the Sony was cheap ($25).

p.s. I also have a BayGen Freeplay, but it lacks the TV-band tuner, so it’s more of a conversation piece.

I have a small two AAA radio which must last over 8 hours, Koss brand IIRC designed for people to take jobbing and such.

Amen, brother. I have a Sony M37V which get AM, FM, weather, and TV. It came with a pretty good heedset, but I carry it with Koss earbuds. It runs for over 12 hours on one AAA [having gone to sleep with the thin on two nights in a row] It is a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

I got a County Comm a while back, but without the roll out add on antenna, the SW is pretty useless. With it I get Australia, and multiple BBC stations. Still, for the price it's great. It is at least as good as a Grundig 100.

pizzaman, Thank you for the detailed response. I like the idea of the Sangean DT-200V, due to the TV band. My first question is, there are variations of the DT-200. The DT-210 and the DT-220. They are all in the $50 - $55 range. The descriptions are vague and the only real difference I can see is the size and shape. Is it a pick em? Or does the DT-200V stand out?

Also, any reason the mid and large sized radios don't have TV band?

One word about TV reception though...

TV, as you know it, is going to go away is less than five years. Digital TV is going to be the next big thing. Once this happens, your existing TV receivers will be simply AM/FM radios, as the TV part will be useless.

Just something to think about before dropping big bucks down on one of these radios.

I don't think so. Not with 420 million receptors out there.

Jose W,

My advice is to go to amazon.com and read all the user reviews for each radio. There are many radio geeks here as well as pedestrian users. I value these reviews highly.

Go to: http://www.amazon.com , click on the "electronics" tab. Then in electronics do a search for "Sangean". There are many good options here.

If long distance AM is important, than the DT200V gets the nod. If size is more critical then one of the compact AAA models may be the way to go. Also, check out the DT-300-WV. It adds weather band to TV/AM/FM.

If all else fails, choose the radio that has a user interface you are comfortable with. The user interface is probably the biggest difference between these radios. Some require you to scroll through all programmed stations, where others have single button entry to select a programmed station. The reviews will likely help you decide the best combiniation of features and size for your use.

For emergency use I am a huge fan of lithium batteries. I am totally jazzed that AAA lithium batteries are available again.


Not a clue.

Cheers, TR

Randjack, the FCC and media industry is determined to shut down analog television so they can peddle HDTV complete with copy restrictions and the broadcast flag, so they can stop from recording off the air with VCR's. It's a gradual phase-in. First they require all new TV's sold to have digital capability. Then when 85% of the households have TV sets that can receive digital signals, they can shut off the analog system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Channels_Act