need help buying a good radio

im new here i pop in to read as often as i can, even though i dont have much to add to the topics yet.

my problem is i live on a very small budget (and in a smaller apartment, so i cant store as much as id like to) .
but i need to buy a good crank radio for my bob, or for
home emergency use like NY`s last blackout.
im not too interested in solar power since it takes so long usually for minimal results.

im looking for widest range of ability and features (several sidebands esp. weather and police etc) built in light maybe? and sheer power to pull in a good signal anywhere above all else.

i`ve basically found a few that seem good but id like some advice from the board ESPECIALLY if you had good or bad experiences with these models.


1.kaito KA007 http://www.durhamradio.com/ka007.htm


2. grundig FR200 http://www.durhamradio.com/fr200-grundig.htm


3.freeplay or freeplay plus from ccrane...look nice but on the expensive side for me.


4.this one im already ordering
Innovage Outdoor Crank Radio (walkman sized for my everyday carrying and under $20)

thanks for all the help in advance, and 1 more question which i hope doesnt sound too ignorant here.

are there any crank powered tvs?
im thinking of a small walkman sized one to buy and carry, but eventually batteries do run out so a crank would be very usefull.

Hello and welcome to the forum first off.To answer your question,I have the Grundig FR200.I recieved it as a Christmas gift from my now getting equipped and prepaired wife.She got it at Radio Shack for $40.00.It is well built and works really good.The light is not very bright but its not a bad back up.Had my wife not given it to me I wouldn't have hesitated to buy it myself
BOATMAN
JOHN

I also have the Grundig FR200, bought at Target for $40.
Great reception for such an inexpensive radio.

I like the Grundig FR 200. I read a number of reviews at Amazon.com, they seemed mixed but I went ahead anyway. I figured you couldn't go too wrong for 40 bucks delivered to your door...

Results after the first week are pretty good on all bands, the radio surpassed my expectations. I'm able to get a few low power FMs that I'm on the fringe of without a problem, AM is AM, I get all the nearby "big" stations as well as the locals and the shortwave is pretty good for commercial high power stations, I can get a station in Maine I listen to on the weekend better than on my more expensive Panasonic with both using the attached whips.

The FM band does have some limitations, strong nearby signals can overload the radio a bit and appear in multiple places on the dial but this has not been an issue to me, I tune carefully and make sure I'm set at 93 if that's where I want to listen. The shortwave tuning is a bit touchy, careful tuning is necessary and the dial does have a bit of backlash, but it's not an issue for me.

Considering the cost of a Baygen crank/solar AM only from the "old days" which was also twice the size-I think it's a pretty good deal.

Available from Radio Shack or Amazon.com on-line amongst other places...

Good Reception! <- The radioman's salutation <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What kind of antenna does the Grundig need or is best.

Yep, another vote for the FR200! Can't beat it for the money.

The Grundig comes with an external telescoping antenna that swivels and bends, which is adequate for FM. AM and Shortwave utilize an internal wirewound bar antenna like most pocket radios from the 70s and 80s. It is not great, but it will get decent coverage. Being a Licensed Radio tech for a living, I have attached a long wire to the AM input with excellent results, but it would take a fair amount of knowledge or trial and error for the novice to get to perform adequately. It really could've used an external antenna port. However, it has survived blizzard conditions outside at elk camp. I dug it out of the snow and it was working fine.

i tried to reply before but for some reason it wouldnt let me.

but i asked if thoxse who use the grundig fs200 if it also picks up VHF(145-175 MHz, Weather, Taxi, and Police)


because that was one of the main reasons i liked the kaito, i dont have a scanner and this would cut down on space too.

btw im guessing its a big no on the crank tv question ?

I used my Grundig FR200 in last summer's blackout in NYC. It worked great.

I also bought a smallish Sony SRF-M37V a while back. I like it a lot, especially the digital tuning (very accurate). In a size that's just as small as many other AM/FM radios, this radio give you the bonus TV and NOAA Weather bands. When it comes down to a need for info in an emergency, the more the better....right? Not bad for $25.

The Grundig will NOT pick up those bands.

Also, I swapped the bulb in my Grundig for a bright LED. Not as bright as the bulb but the batteries last longer with it. Its good enough to read with and to navigate a room in the dark.


Chris

You'll find that for receivers, if you want shortwave, you have to give up something else, or be willing to pay ALOT of money. For example, amateur radio radio's, that do the HF bands, VHF and UHF are upwards of $800 or more. There are a few scanners out there that will do almost anything above 29Mhz (just above the CB band) to the 1300Mzh (of course, excluding cellular, because people are just ignorant when it comes to wireless technology. *on soap box Hmm...should I give out my PIN number to my husband over the cellular? NO because a little law isn't going to stop a criminal from using so-called pre-ban scanners or old 1970's TV receivers! Don't worry it will all soon be covered under the Patriot Act.. *off soap box*). These scanners can cost over $400

You're best bet is to buy the shortwave radio mentioned, and then go and get yourself a base or handheld Trunktracker-type scanner (about $200). The trunktacker is useful if you want to listed to the Trunked Radio Systems that most governments now use. If you're not interested in following a TRS (i.e. you're in a rural area), you can get yourself a plain scanner that will cover the same frequency range, without trunktracking, for about $50. With the shortwave/AM/FM, and the scanner, you'll cover practically everything. Most scanners now adays have the weather channels in them, and some even have "service scans" that allow you to search all frequencies that are normally assigned to a particular service (i.e. public safety).

As for wind up radio's, those I believe are mostly the shortwave and AM/FM variety. You're best bet is probably just stock up on ALOT of batteries, and restrict your usage of the receivers to pre-determined times, like the top and bottom of the hour.

Wind up TV's? That's probably a novelty item, or very specialized. I didn't find much on Google. This is probably the closest, and best thing you'll get. Takes AA, which is the size of the batteries in the radio scanner, and probably in the shortwave.

thanks for everyones help on this so far.
im pretty green on some of these topics and trying not to make too mistakes as i go.

and i guess the crank tv was just a dream, heh.

Another vote for the Grundig. I liked it so much that I bought the much larger the Grundig Satellit 800 for my "house" radio.

The only way to learn is by making mistakes. These mistakes should be done in "training" or discussions, which this board conviently provides.

As for using the radio's, you might want to do further research and determine which frequencies are going to be useful to you in an emergency. i.e. weather service, local, state, federal and amateur emergency frequencies. Do realize though, that most really "good" emergency information is going to be passed over the phone or face-to-face. Only the really bad urgent stuff will be over a radio.

G'day mate, Are you sure the radio in using the internal feriote rod for short wave reception.

If so, that is very strange and unique.

Cheer's Glen
Coordinator
Victoria Emergency Program Communications

ok i went ahead and bought the kaito radio i described before, and i gotta say im pretty disappointed.

the am/fm reception is normal but the sw bands are horrible, then again i do live in new york so maybe i hoped for too much in the sw area.

well for any who care i dont recommend this radio.
the crank is pretty loud compared to my smaller radio and the duration of the charge is short lived and i think pathetic.

i cranked it for about 3-5 mins and it still lit up the low power light in no time.

the only positive note is that i paid less then full price for it.

i guess ill buy the grundig then soon, and hope ohters learn from my mistake.

Here's one I have been considering that seems pretty cool - a bit more money, but based on the write-ups I've seen, an above average product that appears to have all of the bases covered.



InfoMate Radio

I really wouldn't waste money or bag space on a crank radio for a BOB. A crank radio is for spending 5 years in the jungle or something. A normal pocket radio will run for several days straight on a couple of AAA or AA cells, way more than you're likely to need in a bugout situation (i.e. at a couple hours of listening per day, a small pack of batteries will last you for weeks). I'd say just get a small broadcast radio, don't worry about weather and police bands. I have a couple of the dirt cheap FM-only earphone radios from Walgreens (two for $5.00) and they're enough for picking up local news broadcasts, which would have been plenty for staying informed during the NY blackout. They weigh just a couple ounces. Sony has a much nicer one with AM/FM/TV bands, digital tuning display, and runs on one AAA cell, for about $30, so that's the higher class alternative.

FYI: Countycomm now has a 2AAA-powered AM-FM radio for $5.00:

http://www.countycomm.com/AMFMSLIMRADIO.htm

I think this would be good for a BOB if you like AAA batteries, especially if your other electrical BOB stuff can be powered with them too (flashlights/headlamps, FRS radios, whatever). This is a pocket sized radio but not ultra-miniature. It's handy in that it has a speaker, so you don't have to listen through headphones, it's easier for several people to listen at once. I got interested in very small radios because I wanted to EDC one when travelling, in case something happened, and earphone radios are the smallest. But for a BOB that you only carry when you need it, I think pocket radios are sized ok.

FWIW, during the East Coast blackout last summer, all flashlights were immediately bought up from all the stores and all the D cells and most of the AA cells were bought up too, but AAA and C cells were plentiful. So that's a point in favor of AAA power. Of course it should also be possible to hook up an external C or D cell holder to any of these small radios, to have a tremendous amount of runtime.

Edit: I should add, the Sony radio mentioned in the last post is the SRF-M37V, which someone asked about. Besides AM, FM, and TV, it also has the weather band, which might be useful. Most news broadcasts do include weather reports though, especially if the weather is doing something interesting.

cool radions, i might get both for under $20.
did you get either of those radios?

I have the shortwave one. Its AM/FM reception is pretty good. I haven't been able to get any shortwave reception where I am, but that's because I'm in a terrible listening area. If I take it somewhere else, it will probably work better. It's gotten some decent reviews from other people. Its main drawback is the tall tuning needle makes it somewhat hard to move the tuning dial. Basically I'd say this radio is excellent value if you want to listen to some shortwave stations now and then; otherwise I'd get a regular AM/FM radio $5.00 or whatever. I do have a decent $5.00 AM/FM radio from a drugstore, but I'll probably get one of the Countycomm AAA ones just to try it out.