Fitzoid...

Sorry. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers...

If you check my earlier posts, I specifically recommended a long wire for shortwave. Duckies are not great for anything HF. BTW: I EDC a Kenwood TH-F6a. This is a DC-to-Daylight rig with 5W transmit on 2M 220MHz, and 440MHz thrown in for good measure. Fun little toy.

Second, do not be so certain about the batteries. Those crank radios may sit on a box on the store shelf for a year or two. My radio actually takes a cordless phone battery. I know that cordless phone batteries sit on a shelf for years at Radio Shack. You are right about wearing them out from use, but I imagine that most people are not going to hand-crank a radio on a daily basis. The crank is there for an emergency. And if the rechargable battery wears out after two months of daily use, well, if your emergency lasts two months then a radio is the least of your problems.

I do agree about lithium primary cells being a nice idea. Unfortunately, cost is a big issue. Lithium AA batteries are terribly expensive. The last time that I purchased AA batteries, I got a brick of 100 for $17. That much money would only buy a handfull of lithiums. Unless you REALLY need it, lithiums are too expensive. In your past post, you also posted a link to an inexpensive Sony radio. Some people would be apprehensive about buying a $10 pack of batteries to go with their $10 radio. 123 cells are a better buy if you order over the internet, but I have never seen any radio that runs on those.

As I mentioned before, another thing that I like about the FR200 is that it has a built-in white LED useful for general illumination. I went through a couple of hurricanes two years ago, and spent many days without electricity. Having a light is comforting when it is pitch back out. Of course I have a lot of flashlights, but having one light that I know will not exhaust my battery supply is even more comforting. With battery-powered lights, I go into rationing mode, and try not to use a light if I don't really need it. With the FR200, I could just turn it on and then crank for 30 seconds every 15 minutes. All in all, a nice addition for the house.

I do, however, agree with you on the cost issue. Getting a $10 radio for now is perfectly fine if you have a few extra AA batteries stored away, and have to discipline not to rob the battery supply to refresh the kids toys and remote controls. But the FR200 makes a nice upgrade later on down the line.