The features of this radio made it sound like it would be a good thing to have handy in case of an emergency, particularly the ability to recharge a cell phone from it. But I was very disappointed to learn that this radio was made so poorly, and so many things were wrong with it that I'm having to send it back for a refund. The backlight for the display did not work. The alert button would not operate. I could run it on crank power but the button to switch to battery power would not operate. I could get AM stations only (not even static on FM or shortwave) and it would not stay on a single station for long. The instructions were minimal. The overall design is poor. It's made of cheap plastic and everything feels like it might break if you bumped it. I won't be buying another one of these, that's for sure. Etón American Red Cross ARCFR360R Solarlink Self-Powered Digital AM/FM/NOAA Radio with Solar Power, Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger (Red)
I don't know what may have been wrong with the other reviewers products, but this radio works great and I couldn't be happier with its construction or what is designed to do. I made sure the rechargeable batteries were plugged in before I ran the hand crank and I have been listening to it while I have been typing this review. Works great and I can't wait to use it for camping and for my emergency preparedness kit.
I bought this about 6 months ago and i really like it. Some people apparently expect this radio to work miracles. I mainly bought the radio as something to take with me when i'm fishing. I thought initially some of the knobs seemed sort of cheap, but they get clanked around in my fishing bag and i don't see them breaking. The crank knob seems a little cheap and the rivets on it hurt your fingers after cranking for a while. You get about 15 minutes of decent volumed radio for 1 minute of straight cranking(and you can listen while you crank).
The battery life isn't super long but we're talking three AAAs here, so you shouldn't really be expecting much.
A decent sunshine will charge the battery or play the radio at a decent volume. The more sunshine, the more power.
Other reviews whined about reception. Well, i was fishing in a storm 4 1/2 hours away from my local AM station and that station came in crystal clear, it was unbelievable. Although the distance was due to the storm, that shows you the distance this radio is capable of. I have had absolutely no tuning problems, especially with AM which is what i normally listen to.
I can't speak to HDMI, cell phone charger, or audio in jack; but i like everything else on the radio. My only major gripe is that they should charge you 5 extra bucks and give you an adapter instead of forcing you to order it. Idealy, i'd like to have batteries for back up and be able to charge my radio in the wall for recreational use. I also don't think the digital screen is necessary, which is why the Eton FR300 might be better. Even with that said, for my 50 bucks i have been pretty happy with the product so far.
I am sorry that I didnt read the reviews before I bought this piece of junk. This thing goes through batteries so fast that I cant keep up with it. I've had better service with a $10 transistor radio. If you like to crank your arm off then buy one. In case of an emergency they'll find your body with your hand wrapped around the crank handle because you probably used up your batteries in about 1 hour.
I have had mine for 2 days. I live in a metropolitan area and the radio reception is fine for strong signals, maybe a little weak for some others. The sleep button was tricky at first, I have learned to put my finger to the left of the button and slide to the right; this way the button works fine every time. Pushing straight down didn't work, usually. Also I've noticed that if I let the alarm run out (an hour or two, I didn't notice), the time of day seemed to reset to 0:01. Other than those things, I am really loving this little companion. It's my new car radio since my car didn't come with one. (I don't leave it in the car, it would get too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.) I love the sleep and alarm, and I especially love the solar charging. I am running it on solar / dynamo only. I don't think it's cheap plastic at all, seems sturdy and well-made to me. fyi 10 hours sunlight for a full charge, but I started mine with 90 seconds dynamo cranking, and put it in the sun now and then, it's working great. The cell phone charge option: instructions say that if you don't turn at the correct cranking speed you could damage your phone. I think that might be important information for someone out there. I would definitely recommend this product and intend to get a few as presents.
The only way the solar cell can charge the battery is with the radio outside in sunlight, not on a window sill. But the radio isn't built for leaving it outside in the rain and weather, so the battery won't stay charged. There are no presets for radio stations, and it's tiring to dial manually to get to your favorite station.
Using the crank to charge the battery sorta works, for a while. After about 60 seconds, your arm gives up. If you do succeed in charging the battery, the radio will eat up whatever charge you have in the rechargable battery (or the 3 AAA drycell batteries) in much less than an hour of use.
Just about any cheap radio on the market will work better and more reliably for emergency use, and cost much, much less. If nothing else, you can always use your car radio for emergency information.
I'm surprised the american red cross would put their name on this piece of junk. Having this radio around will give you a false sense of security if you think it'll work when you need it. - Crank Radio - Shortwave - Solar Radio - Weather Alert Radio'
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