Emergency Radio.

[blindndead]

I was getting my BOB redy for more colder weather fall/winter supplies and I was asking myself if I was missing anything and the first thing that came to mind was I didnt have a emergency radio in my kit.

What brand do you use for a radio in an emergency situation and why?

 

[Kid Presentable]

http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=915826

this is the one we used during the power outages from hurricane irene....works as advertised. We didn't even put batteries in it, worked off the crank and solar power rechargable. i usually try to listen to the weather band channel every day before work. the only thing that it lacks is an easy way to charge your USB devices. it is capable of charging a USB devise, but i had to crank the hell out of it in order to have it register on my iphone as charging.

edit: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62136?page=emergency-weather-radio found it on llbean for cheaper

 

[Another_David]

I think I got mine on the Eddie Bauer clearance rack. It has a hand crank and a jack for an ear piece, which is really important because the speaker uses most of the power. Use a ear piece and it will run much longer on crank or batteries. I think I paid like $15 for it. It uses AA batteries too and I have a flashlight that uses the same AA. I think a lot of these “emergency radios” are way overrated and overpriced. Just get some simple thing you can tune. When the weather is SHTF bad you won’t need to go to a NOAA station to hear about it, LOL!

 

[Boghog1]

I have a Grundig FR200 I need to pull it out and check it out as I haven't checked it out in a while, hand crank, batteried and AC powered

 

[Andy in NH]

I have the Eton FR150 (7.5 oz., 5 x 2.5 x 1.75 inches). Works well for getting the weather channels and finding an AM/FM station to listen to. A two-minute crank results in about 15min of run time. I've never tested the solar charging ability.

I'm considering getting the Eton Scorpion (10 oz., 5.25 x 2.5 x 1.75 inches) as it has digital tuning.

Both radios have the headphone jack.

 

[Chris.Cal]

http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=914953
This one works great but like Kid Presentable said, the USB charging port for your cell phone is really for emergency use only. It says 15 minutes of cranking for 1 minute of cell phone use.

 

[Prepper]

I have the Eton FR150 (7.5 oz., 5 x 2.5 x 1.75 inches). Works well for getting the weather channels and finding an AM/FM station to listen to. A two-minute crank results in about 15min of run time. I've never tested the solar charging ability.

I have... from that unit, I was able to get a maximum of about 2 hours of listening time (with speaker) from an all-day charge in the sun in the summer. And that is pushing it..... 1.5 hours was more typical. I didn't try earphone though.

 

[OPM]

+1 for eton. I have http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=921410

However:
1. I am not planning o BO with any radio anywhere. If I am driving, I have a car radio, and if I am hoofing, I ain’t carrying radio. I did take my eton on travels, camping and hunting trips. So I guess some BO situations might allow it.
2. Solar charger is trash. Using full day full summer sun might get you an evening worth of use. But other than that, forget about it.
3. Crank is also nearly useless. About 1 minute of cranking for 1 minute of use.
4. It has 2 sets of batteries. Internal + 3 AA. I use rechargeable AAs. I get about a month of standby or few days of full use during emergencies out of each charge.
5. It has multiple charging ports and methods. Use wall charger, car charger, usb, sun, crank or just drop in fresh AA and you are GTG.

 

[Radio]

I use one of these: ft-817

 

[Loyalist]

If I'm home I use my Grundig Satellit 750 and a Grundig YB400 or Eton Scorpion on-the-go

 

[Chrisg67]

im going to order one of these

http://www.amazon.com/American-ARCF...XKCE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315960824&sr=8-1
AM/FM/NOAA and i can charge my android

 

[sixer]

The Uniden BR330T (no longer in production) but there are other/newer ones that can pretty much receive anything too: "DC to daylight"

.1 MHZ - 1300MHz
It gets AM broadcast and FM broadcast as well as all trunked and conventional communications. That would be my first choice, however one of those crank units is an excellent idea, especially one that provides an external power source.

 

[Coyote33]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882009050

This is the one I got. It was a recertified model (most likely a boxed return...it works perfectly), but I see it is now out of stock.


So, here's some more:
http://www.google.com/search?q=eton...pw.&fp=3e82efc6cc141df0&biw=1920&bih=912&bs=1



This is the Red Cross one, which looks OK:
http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=6269

Notice at bottom where available (Target, etc.) Just be careful if ordering online.


You should try to get one which recharges cell phones.

 

[Climbnsink]

I just bought an Oregon Scientific weather radio at sports authority on sale for 14 bucks. Batteries only no cell phone charging options. Nice to have around not sure of BOB usefulness.

 

[In God We Trust]

I have this one and I think it is pretty good for the price ($45) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P0M99U/ref=asc_df_B000P0M99U1706621?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B000P0M99U
Just read the features and make sure it is what you are looking for. It has some very good reviews on Amazon as well.

 

[deadhead133]

+1 for eton. I have http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=921410

However:
1. I am not planning o BO with any radio anywhere. If I am driving, I have a car radio, and if I am hoofing, I ain’t carrying radio. I did take my eton on travels, camping and hunting trips. So I guess some BO situations might allow it.
2. Solar charger is trash. Using full day full summer sun might get you an evening worth of use. But other than that, forget about it.
3. Crank is also nearly useless. About 1 minute of cranking for 1 minute of use.
4. It has 2 sets of batteries. Internal + 3 AA. I use rechargeable AAs. I get about a month of standby or few days of full use during emergencies out of each charge.
5. It has multiple charging ports and methods. Use wall charger, car charger, usb, sun, crank or just drop in fresh AA and you are GTG.

I bought the same one. Had the rechargeables all powered up and regular batteries also. It worked for me during the outage.

I would not look forward to the hand crank only but I did test it and it worked. Don't know about the solar.

 

[Business]

I use the crank radio the wife got me from the ll bean catalog. Has 4 weather and emergency bands am and fm solar pannel and light and multiple ports to chrage electronics. we used it when we lost power during Irene

 

[capewalk]

Although those crank up radios have their utility my experience has been that the little battery pack you you actually charge up when you crank the handle becomes inefficient over time. The one I have works but you have to crank it more than you'd like to trust me. I guess Radio Shack might have a replacement pack but who thinks of that? A couple of years ago I bought a 7 amp hour 12 volt gel cell. I use it to power my Icom IC 703 during outages. You can connect a cigarette lighter plug to the terminals and charge your cell phone too. I haven't done that but I have everything I need to do it. And push comes to shove you could back feed the cig lighter plug and charge it with your car. The 7 amp hour one I have is kinda small but it meets my needs. You can get bigger ones. Google 12v gel cell.