Batteries Included: 0 Batteries: 3 Binding: Electronics Brand: Eton Color: Metalic Red EAN: 0750254412547 Feature: Emergency radio is built to handle the elements, as well as a power outage Label: Eton Manufacturer: Eton Model: FR200R Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Eton Studio: Eton Variation Description: Metalic Red Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features
Emergency radio is built to handle the elements, as well as a power outage Hand crank can be used to recharge the built-in battery Tunes AM/FM and 2 shortwave bands, including weather radio Tuning knob features a superimposed fine tuning control knob Features a white LED emergency light
Be prepared for emergencies with this self-powered, battery-free radio – featuring AM, FM and even shortwave frequencies.
60 turns of the crank gives you 60 minutes of battery-free power
4-band tuning: AM/FM/SW1/SW2
Fine tuning control allows you to pinpoint every signal
Built-in emergency light
Built-in DC jack and earphone jack
2.5" speaker
Runs on 3 AA batteries (optional)
Heavy-duty, splash-proof ABS construction
Fold-away crank handle
Soft, nylon carrying case
1-year manufacturer's warranty
To help you in extra-tough situations, a built-in emergency light helps you find your matches, candles or lantern until the power comes back on. Features a durable, splash-proof ABS shell.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Emergency Radio Comment: This radio is sold under several brands, and is good for daily use as well as for emergencies because it picks up signals from a longer distance than most radios. The wind-up feature is more fun than utilitarian since three AA batteries will power this little gadget for days. I am put out that the radio did not come with an AC adaptor, and I refuse to buy one at the high prices now charged for them. I think Radio Shack started this consumer-unfriendly trend of selling incomplete products, and Microsoft does the same through its Vista non-ware. Customer Rating: Summary: Best Radio for the Price Comment: Grundig Radios are exceptionally good portable radios. I have two or three around the house each tuned to a different station, because they're so inexpensive. They're also light weight and small enough to fit anywhere. The batteries seem to last forever. The sound quality is very good for such small speakers.
In emergencies a battery pack inside can be charged with a hand crank if the AA batteries quit.
I recommend Grundigs very highly and since electronic stores often don't carry them, Amazon is the best place to buy them. Customer Rating: Summary: A decent emergency wind-up radio, albeit a bit dated Comment: This is the Grundig FR-200. It's decent, but I do have some nits.
THE GOOD:
* Sound quality: Although mono, it's adequate.
* Battery life: The unit uses three AA batteries, plus a small plasti-sealed NiCad pack (about the size of an olive) for the recharge crank. I've been able to run the radio for an hour or two each day, for several weeks, before having to change the AA's. {BTW, I use Tenergy 2600 miliamphr NiMHi AA's in this, and they work great}. I rarely use the crank-driven NiCad, but it's runtime is rather modest - a full minute of cranking yeilds 45-60 mins of listening ... at a very modest volume.
* Portability is good.
THE MEDIOCRE:
* TUNING: {minus 1 star) The pre-printed plastic frequency indicator on mine is poorly aligned to the unit's actual frequencies, so unless you happen to recognize the voice of a familiar DJ, or stumble past while a given station is doing station identification, chances are good that you'll be as much as +/- 15% away from the indicated AF/FM frequency ... and you'll get no help at all on most of the other bands. I'd happily have paid 2-3x as much for a comparable radio with a digital tuner and a minimal LCD readout ... with only a modest impact to total battery runtime.
* CHARGING: (minus 1 star) The smallish handcrank generator is clumsy to use, and having to spend 1 second out of every 45-60 cranking like a crazed chimp, charging a dinky little NiCad mini-cell, is irritating. I would have liked an additional feature that'd allow you to directly charge instead the three AA's via a built-in smart charger connected to a universal power input ... thus enabling recharging (or direct play) from things like you're car's cigarette lighter, a portable generator, a PC, a portable roll-up solar pad, etc. I'm pretty sure there are newer versions of this sort of radio that have a larger & more ergonomic crank mounted to the rear, as well as solar recharge capability/compatibility. This model, as of this writing, has fallen behind the latest technology trends.
All in all, it's still handy, and recommendable ... but there are newer and better choices available out there.
(Note: I've reposted this review because the other product AISN number it was attached to expired.) Customer Rating: Summary: A Good Value but I'm Disappointed Comment: As an emergency radio, it works great. The "crank generator" is relatively easy to use, the case and controls are solid and the sound quality is very good. It is not the flimsy plastic emergency radio I have seen elsewhere.
However, I was looking for a radio with excellent AM reception. Grundig's reputation and reviews of other similar radios made by the same manufacturer (It is not made by Grundig) made me think this unit would meet my needs. Regrettably, the AM reception is no better than my cheap Walkman combo tape/radio. The frequency fade is average. It also doesn't have a jack to plug in an external antenna.
I didn't meet my needs, but it is a Good Value for its intended purpose. Customer Rating: Summary: FR200 is a good radio Comment: Smaller then I had imagined but good sound. Need a power supply (adapter) if you are going to listen to it regularly. One model comes with an adapter if you can find it. Sturdy radio, sound is good, battery life seems good also.
