On newsgroups and message boards, this handy and compact little radio is being touted as a good choice for beginning shortwave listeners: but I would disagree. As usual for the current line of low-end Grundig products, the "single conversion" intermediate frequency design has resulted in serious image problems: in other words, you pick up a single strong station at two, or sometimes three, places on the dial: in the correct location at the intended frequency, plus one or two spurious images above and below it. In the crowded shortwave bands, this makes listening extremely difficult, as the images cause wobbling whistles and lots of interference (and make it hard to even know WHERE the radio is tuned.) In addition, the planetary tuning mechanism has really dreadful backlash: to tune in a shortwave station, you have to go past it, then back up and tune around until you *finally* get it centered. Then, the radio drifts and a few minutes later you are forced to do it all over again: maddening.AM (called mediumwave in Europe and much of the world) is more satisfying as the stations are not crowded together as much as shortwave, and the band is shorter so there is more spread from one end to the other: the tuning isn't nearly as critical. Selectivity is pretty good, and sensitivity is excellent. I have not noticed image problems that are as troublesome as in the SW bands. FM reception was disappointing; selectivity seems poor, and sensitivity rather low. Stations "mush" together -- if they can be picked up at all. Expect only the strongest signals in your reception area.The generator system works very well though a trio of new AA cells gives more output and slightly better sensitivity.I tried six units and found that performance varied slightly. One brand new radio had a weak set of batteries that would not charge correctly; another had extremely tinny sound that lacked fullness (surprising to me but probably due to a poor speaker or bad audio capacitor.) A couple of the sets weren't as sensitive as others. So quality control apparently varies somewhat.The unit I purchased is very satisfactory as a simple emergency and/or AM broadcast receiver, though not much useful for FM or shortwave. But it sounds a bit better than pocket sets, and definitely outperforms most of them in terms of AM sensitivity. (I am a retired broadcast station chief engineer in the SF bay area, with fifty years experience as a shortwave listener.) Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio
From reading the other reviews, I see most people love this radio, but some dog it. They're both right. Your level of satisfaction with this radio will have more to do with your buying motivations than the product.
Grundig has a well established reputation for making fine products. If you are a shortwave enthusiast who is looking for a good shortwave radio, sadly I must admit that you need to keep looking. The tuner is iffy (by your standards) and it does not have the 'Grundig Feel' of their more expensive products.
But notice Grudig calls it an 'Emergency Radio,' not a shortwave radio.
If you want something for peace of mind -that you will never be caught without a radio because of dead batteries- then this is a great product. I live in a hurricane zone and every time there is a storm approaching, all my friends wait in long lines to buy batteries. I know I'm ready 24/7. As an added bonus I'll always have a flashlight with me. (which is more handy than I would have guessed)
(Here is the kicker-) If you want an emergency radio AND you like to listen to the BBC or Radio Canada every once in a while, then this is definitely the product for you.
I've had mine for a year and a half and I use it at least 3 times per week. The best way to describe the tuner is "credible." It can pick up all the big name stations, even indoors, but it is not stunning. The tonal quality is acceptable but I'm usually listening to the spoken word and not music. (I have an iPod for that ;-)
I bought it because I wanted a cheap shortwave. The fact it had a crank and a flashlight was gravy at first, but it is more and more important as I use it.
Some notes about the battery:
You'll never turn the hand crank enough to fully charge the internal battery. I have a fancy NiCad charger so I charged the battery fully and it lasted 6 weeks of near daily use during Gulf War II. (I'd guess 120+ hours, I was amazed) Problem is, your arm would fall off before you got there. Even if you don't give it a full charge, I find the cranking to listening ratio pretty good.
But do what I do- I run it on NIMH AA's and it lasts for weeks. I never pay for batteries but I never have to crank it either. (unless the batteries die)
And a final thought on durability which some people discuss.
I've dropped mine several times even once from about 6 feet up while I was painting. I have one scratch on it but other than that, it really does look much like the day I bought it. The case is still tight and the controls firm. I give it to my 6 year old nephew and he cranks for hours with no ill effect. I'd say durability is quite good.
I hope this review helps you get a feel for the radio. If your needs come even close to matching what this radio was designed to do, then I feel confident it will exceed your expectations in the long run.
=====Update=======
Well, 2 years -and Hurricane Katrina later- I'll never be without this radio. We left town 2 days before the storm and I brought it with me. At night I could pick up WWL radio (50,000 watt clear channel) from Memphis.
My nephew (who I mentioned above) broke the antenna off for me so no shortwave for me any more but AM/FM works fine... That was homicide, don't blame the radio. It's now approaching 4 years old, I still use it weekly and it is still in good shape otherwise.
BTW- I came back in town just a few days after the storm to rescue some friends' pets and help get some people out of town. I brought extra gas, extra water, 5 days of food and this radio. That probably say it all. - Emergency - Radio - Weather - Light'
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