Does anyone have any recommendations for a battery powered AM/FM radio with either a crank or solar as a backup power source? I'm in the midst of putting together a bug-out bag (and generally improving my survival/disaster preparedness) and I'd like something suitable for both bug-out and bug-in situations. Something light, tough, and cheap would be best, but I'd settle for two out of three.

Have you considered the Eton Grundig hand-crank radios? The FR200 receives FM/AM/SW and the FR300 (aka Red Cross Radio) receives FM/AM/NOAA/TV. Both models include a simple LED light, carrying case and hand crank,and the FR300 comes with cell-phone charging capabilities.

I really like my Grundig FR200.
It has AA battery backup, standard wall outlet charge capabilities and hand crank charging capabilities. And as gryps mentioned it picks up AM, FM and SW.

I was going to get a FR300, but some of the reviews I've read led me to purchase the 200 instead.

I live in a room which is half underground, and the reception generally sucked eggs with other radios I've owned, but the Grundig has no problem with picking up an amazing amount of channels.

It's mono, but it's an emergency radio, so I'm not using it for the sound quality anyway. Any stereo model would probably drain a charge more quickly anyway.

It also has a small LED light, which is not the brightest in the world, but could be helpful in a pinch if you want to conserve the cells in a good torch.

The AC adapter must be purchased separately.

We have an Eaton FR-300. It works, but I would kill for one with digital tuning. Trying to pick one FM station out of a jillion, then hold that station, is sometimes an exercise in frustration. The flashing red light and siren are cool though...

I have one of these Sony hand crank radios, it's light, tough and about $30.



AM/FM, 2AAA batteries, hand crank, LED light, sadly no digital tuning however the quality is quite good.

I've had great results with the Grundig (now Eton?) FR200. I also have an Aiwa, but wouldn't recommend it. The reception isn't as good as the Grundig, and the light bulb died after about a month.

IMHO the Kaito KA-007 is one of the best for the money on the market. It has great reception, a good size and 4 power options: solar, dynamo, battery (3 AAA), and AC. It covers a all the options you need for emergencies as far as channels are concerned and it's priced at less than $50.00 including an optional SW antenna. Check it out at http://windupradio.com/KA007.htm

The Coleman Outrider is another option--solar, crank, and AC to recharge its internal NiMH bettery pack. Good quality, decent AM/FM reception, and about $40.

I have two Eton FR400s



- AM/FM/NOAA/TV1/TV2-VHF channels 2-13
- Water-resistant body
- NOAA Weather – all 7 channels plus “Alert” function
- Hand-Crank Power Generator
- 3 LED light system with emergency flash Emergency Siren
- Built-in cell phone* charger
- Earphone jack – 3.5mm stereo earphone socket
- Crank-charge system charges built-in rechargeable battery
- Charges rechargeable battery via AC Adaptor (included)
- Powered by 3 AA batteries
- Can be powered with all batteries removed by continuous cranking
- Dimensions: 4.5” H x 8.6” W x 2” D (114mm x 220mm x 50mm)
- Weight: 1.5 lbs


*list of compatible cell phones:
http://shop.npr.org/wcsstore/NPR/upload/Dec5_cell_list.pdf

Jess, I haven't seen the FR400 model until I viewed your post. Nice piece of equipment. Can you share where you bought it and what it cost?

I bought my Eton FR400s via the National Public Radio (NPR) website at http://shop.npr.org/webapp/wcs/stores/se...4&langId=-1 for $60.00.

They also have them for the same price ($59.99) at Amazon.com, but I went ahead with NPR.org because the profits from their online store go towards funding their respective radio stations and programming. I am an avid NPR listener.

Jess

Which would be better for emergency situations: VHF and NOAA or shortwave? i ask because Eton makes the FR350 and FR400 which are both the same except the FR350 has short wave along with FM/AM, but doesnt have the NOAA channels or VHF (TV), however the FR400 (seen above) has NOAA and VHF along with AM/FM but no shortwave frequencies. i am curious because i want to get one or the other and i am not sure which would be more useful.

Truthfully, I'd prefer a unit made with all of the avaiulable bands. As it is, you would have to buy two models to get them. Additionally, I think someone at Eton was impressed by style over content whn theuy were pitched a website. If you go to:

http://www.etoncorp.com/grundig

one might expect to see tech specs, a comparison table with all of their products, etc. Unfortunatley, one doesn't get that. For you dialup folks, expect an inordinantly long load-time.

Then if you go to the FAQ for the 200:

http://www.etoncorp.com/faqsection/?p_sectionid=2099

you'll see that the marketing hype of a one-min crank for an hour of play should actually be two...oh....and you really should only use the crank in an emergency.

wanna use the light? you'll need to continuously crank the unit.

"When the emergency use factor is understood, this product is excellent for that purpose." --not exactly making me swell with confidence.

Now that that is all said...I'm waiting on mine to arrive. But I'm thinking it won't be as broadly used as I thought when I ordered it.

As one of the resident hams here, let me attempt to cajole you into obtaining an Amateur Radio license. You can get a Technician Class license by passing a 35 question multiple-choice test. If you wish to access the "shortwave" bands (what we hams call "High Frequency" or HF), you no longer have to learn Morse Code.

The main reason I suggest this is because if you are serious about including communications equipment in your emergency supplies that is any more sophisticated than your basic transistor AM/FM radio (and actually, that little Sony cranker looks cool, I haven't seen that yet), you're probably going to want to think about something with better performance, and possibly two-way radio capability. You will also find the hams as a whole tend to be very interested in disaster preparedness.

Since I got my license, I've replaced all my el-cheapo gear with "real" radios. I would recommend any of the Icom, Yaesu, or Kenwood handheld receivers that can be run from AA battery packs in addition to rechargeable batteries. These things will generally receive from "DC to daylight", as we say, and often are at least somewhat ruggedized against water infiltration.

My own gear includes an Icom IC-W32A handheld (now discontinued), and a Yaesu FT-817ND 5-watt portable. The Icom isn't a wide-band receiver, but it does get NOAA Weather Radio (which is much more important than VHF TV reception, especially since analog TV is going away in two years or so). The Yaesu can get just about anything, *except* NOAA. I've made a readable voice contact using a marginal antenna with my 817 of about 600 miles running 5 watts of transmit power.

My Jeep also includes a 100 watt Yaesu FT-100 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver and a 50 watt Kenwood TM-D700A VHF/UHF unit with APRS capability (GPS mapping hookup).

Even if you don't go for an Amateur license, you should be aware of the various units from at least Icom, Yaesu/Vertex Standard, and Kenwood. They are much better than anything you will find at a regular consumer level. They also generally have external antennae that can be replaced with a much higher-performance antenna if you have the need. If you *do* go for a license, you will learn a lot about maximizing the performance of your radio gear.

As far as solar or crank power goes, AA batteries don't weigh much (especially the lithiu varieties), and you can get solar chargers for them. You can probably get crank chargers for them, as well.