Capacitor? That's something I've never seen in a hand-crank radio before. What brand/model is this? I'm not aware of a capacitor ever wearing out, particularly at the low levels needed to power a radio, so it should be good forever.

How long does your radio play for, say, a minute of cranking?

Straight from Sony's website...

[color:"blue"]Because it's never too early to prepare for a crisis, the ICF-B01 radio ensures you'll never be caught without important emergency tools such as a flashlight and AM/FM radio. The radio is battery powered, but if disaster strikes, one minute of cranking the built-in power generator provides up to one hour of AM radio, 40 minutes of FM radio or 15 minutes of light. Since the radio operates on two "AAA" batteries, it?s also perfect for everyday activities like boating, camping or a day at the beach. The ICF-B01 emergency radio also contains an LED light, which comes in handy at night.

AM / FM Radio with Resistant Tuning
Built-in Power Generator Recharges the Internal Ni-MH Battery
Can Operate from Two ?AAA? Batteries (Not Supplied)
Two Different LED Light Options: Flashlight or Softlight
Charging Indicator Shows the Optimum Charging Rate
Tuning Indicator Shows the Station is Tuned in
Large 1-7/16 Inch Speaker Provides Clear Sound
Telescopic and Built-in Ferrite Bar Antennas
Earphone Jack for 3.5mm Earphone Set (Not Supplied)
Bright Orange Color Makes it Easy to Locate
Water Resistant Design1
Hand Strap for Carrying Included

Battery Life (Approx.): Optional AAA Batteries x 2
AM Radio: 50 Hours
FM Radio: 40 Hours
Light: 30 Hours
Power Back-up --- Built-in Power Generator
AM Radio: 60 Minutes
FM Radio: 40 Minutes
Light: 15 Minutes
Supplied Accessories: Hand strap for carrying
Optional Accessories: Two ?AAA? batteries, 3.5mm earphone set [/color]

Target's website states that the radio is available in stores only. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Sorry - we've got four, and none has a brand. Just says Made in China. There's a picture of it here:
http://www.toolspotting.net/2006/07/illuminator_handcranked_flashl.html

I haven't run it till the radio died. I've cranked it for two minutes and turned on the 3 LEDs and the radio, and we'll see if I notice when it fails. 2:00 pm start time.

Hmm, interesting. But also confusing to try and find out more information about it. There seem to be different models called "Illuminator"--some are flashlight/radio combinations, others are just flashlights.

I was surprised to find that C.Crane sells the flashlight/radio you linked to! They normally don't sell junk.

But nowhere do I see the word "capacitor" mentioned on any of the websites I have seen. Only "battery free" comes up many times. It makes me skeptical.

Finally, I saw this listing on Amazon. It's only a flashlight, and it's called a "Dynamo Illuminator" so maybe it's a totally different product, but someone took it apart and it used a lithium-ion button cell. Sounds similar to the trick that Nightstar warns about cheap versions of "shake lights" that look like they use a capacitor, but the actual power comes from the button cell.

Sorry, Phillip, I don't mean to say bad things about your radio/light. I'm just surprised that I have never heard of a capacitor-driven radio before so it makes me a little skeptical until I can be sure. I think it would be really interesting to find a real capacitor-powered radio.

No problem. I bought it wherever based on the statement on the Web page that it runs on a capacitor, and I still think it does. I'll see if I can find where I bought it.

It ran for about an hour and a quarter with all three lights on and the radio on after the 2-minute crank. The LEDs went out first, and the radio faded a short while later.

Wow, well over an hour with three lights (3LED's?) and the radio on? If that really is a capacitor, then it totally blows away something like the Nightstar shake light. That's pretty much the only quality-made, capacitor-powered shake light and it gets nowhere near that kind of performance.

Who knows, with gears, that little crank arm could create a lot of revolutions for a dynamo.

Sorry I wasn't clear - my hand cranker isn't the Sony.