Where portability is not a big issue, I've always been partial to Freeplay radios for an "emergency" radio. I have the big one, that runs off either the hand-cranked internal spring, solar panel, or a jack for external power. It's not my every day listening radio, but I can pack it away confident that no batteries have run down or leaked over time. Just the peace of mind knowing that as long as I can get a hold of the radio, I can have some contact with the outside world is worth it to me.

The reception is decent and the sound is very good. On a sunny day, you can still crank up the volume quite loud while running just off the solar panel. Comes in handy when I'm doing work outside for a long time and want to listen to the ball game. The nice thing is that if the spring is wound, the radio will automatically switch between solar and spring power to maximize playing time. It takes, oh, a minute to fully wind the spring and you can get about 45 minutes of radio, but playing time varies with the volume. I don't have the accessory LED light, but that would be a handy addition to keep with the radio in case of emergency.

Now, before anyone pooh-poohs the Freeplay saying that it's unnecessary because a C or D cell-powered radio would play for weeks or even months, that's true. I just like the idea of battery independence.

I also have the Coleman Outrider, which is a portable model. I believe that it's licensed from Freeplay also. Unlike the first-generation portable Freeplay radio, which was spring and solar powered, the Outrider is powered directly by solar or by its sealed, rechargable battery. The battery can be charged with the AC adapter, hand crank, or solar. It's a nice, but heavy, radio, but I prefer the spring-driven models for emergency use in extended blackout conditions. You get longer playing time for a given number of hand-cranks. Although the spring does slowly unwind even if the radio is not on so, it doesn't take much cranking to fully wind it up again. Actually, I like the unwinding feature since even if I store the radio away fully wound, the spring will return to the unwound state for longer life.

The big Freeplay I bought quite a while ago and I don't remember where. The Outrider I bought at an REI store.

Anyway, just my 2 bits worth. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />