Emergency AM/FM radio

robertl999

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Aug 24, 2006
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We all have plenty of light for emergencies and blackouts. But what about AM/FM radios. Any use AA batteries that we all have available?
 

TinderBox (UK)

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I have been buying, Freeplay radios.

The ones i have dont use any batterys at all.

One has a spring that with 20seconds or turning will give 30mins of music.

The other also has a spring, but also has an solar panel and can run for up to an hour.

I dont like emergency radios with permanent built in rechargeable batteries.

Because when my batterys die after a few years the radio is useless.

A bit strange for an product designed for use in a emergency that might be stored away for years.

I have been buying the old baygen freeplay radios, no long in production i have to buy them second hand.

you can still buy freeplay radios, but they are made by a different company.

regards.
 

Brighteyez

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There are plenty of gimmick radios made specifically for "emergency" usage. Any of the survivalist sites will be glad to separate you from your money for a radio for this purpose. However, you might find that purchasing a decent quality radio that you might use for an outing might suit your purposes best for both reception and quality. You will need to have batteries available though. Check your local department stores, pharmacies, electronics stores, or hardware stores to see if there is one that suits your needs best.

robertl999 said:
We all have plenty of light for emergencies and blackouts. But what about AM/FM radios. Any use AA batteries that we all have available?
 

AJ_Dual

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May 7, 2005
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SE WI
Lithium batteries have a very long shelf-life, and are very resistant to lekage or corrosion etc.

Another good tactic is to use a headphone to listen to the radio. That will greatly stretch the battery life. Much of the power goes to the amplification for the speakers otherwise.

People can listen in shifts, or the person listening can just relate the news to the others around them.
 

BB

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A great 1x AA radio is the Sony SRF-59 FM/AM Radio Walkman (with headphones) around $16-$18. Battery is supposed to last (I would say, at least) 100-140 hours.

The other little radio that I like is a Sony SFR-M37V FM/AM/Weather/TV Radio Walkman with 25 Memory Presets (and Headphones). This is a digital radio that uses 1x AAA battery which lasts around 25-30 hours or so.

The '59 is a bare bones basic 1x AA analog radio that is very similar to an earlier version that I have used for around 10 years while mowing lawns and working. I have gone through a dozen worn out (and torn out) head phone cords and finally had the headphone socket simply wear out. Radio is sensitive and sounds good. I purchased three more for emergencies.

The 'M37V is a digital radio that is almost as sensitive as the '59. Other than the fact that it uses a single AAA battery--this radio is about perfect for a bug-out bag. It not only receives AM/FM, it also receives all eight weather stations and it can receive TV channels 2-13. All with a couple pushes of the buttons. Because it has a clock, you can't leave a battery plugged in for long-term storage. But it is pretty easy to just put the radio and a couple batteries in a plastic bag for emergencies.

Lastly, I would also suggest that you look at these Sony head phones: Sony MDR-E828LP Fontopia Earbuds with Winding Case. These cost around $10-$12 and, for me, I much prefer over standard head phones that come with the above radios. They are ear buds, very small (compared to standard over the head type phones which are bigger than the radios themselves) and it takes little power to get high volume (battery efficient). Lastly, I like them because normal headphones seem to hurt my ears (feeling of pressure) after awhile. The only drawback is that the foam earbud covers do wear out and, other than Radio Shack, I have not found another place to get replacements.

The '39 is available directly from Amazon. The 'M37V and 'E828 are available through Amazon retailers and (in my area) Target department stores.

I have crank and rechargeable/solar radios, and find that it is, most of the time, just better to have a pack of good AA and AAA batteries on hand for normal and emergency use. I go through the batteries fast enough that I always have fresh (less than 1-2 year old) batteries on hand.

-Bill
 

snowleopard

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The Yaesu FT817 that radio recommends is great for ham radio operators, but costs more than $400. A cheaper AM/FM/weather band plus TV sound can be good enough. My son had a Sony Walkman type for about $50 that worked pretty good (model # long forgotten and radio lost). I'd recommend something with the weather band; TV sound could also be useful in finding out what's happening. Worse case scenario: local AM/FM/TV stations are out, listen to distant AM at NIGHT with a wire antenna.

Radio: How long does the FT817 last on RX with headphones?
--Walter (K1CMF)
 

paulr

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Mar 29, 2003
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The FT817 is a 2-way ham radio tranceiver that requires a license for operation, among other things. I think what's being sought here is a simple portable radio for getting news updates, so the FT817 isn't appropriate.

I would say just go to your local electronics store and get a cheap boom box (if for home use) or a handheld radio for EDC/BOB. If you don't have to carry it, a bigger radio is good because it can produce enough volume to fill a room while several people listen. If distance reception is an issue, the GE SuperRadio is famously sensitive and not too expensive, but if you're in a city, this won't be an issue. I think it's ok to choose a model that uses C or D cells, since those cells have more capacity and the radios will run a long time on them. Just keep some cells on hand, and you can also run them on AA's with adapter sleeves if you need to (the LaCrosse BC-900 comes with a set of those sleeves).

In general, I'd say a radio with a speaker is preferable to one that uses headphones or earbuds, but some earbud radios are very tiny, which helps for portability.
 

cobb

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I have a ccrane baygen model with led light. Gets old fast winding it up every half hour, or to be more exact 27 minutes for 1/4 volumne listening.

Most cheap radios will run for ever on the batteries they take. I have one in my apartment I use to listen to my sirius satellite radio that only works in my bed room where it can received the sat signal with fm modulator on, so it transmits the shows on fm throughout my apartment. Still using the same 3aa carbon batteries for 3 years with no problems. Use is about 4 hours a day.

Id see if you buy one, you get one with a tv band. We are lucky as the local news channel can be heard on 87.7 fm. Not all fm dials go that low, but this and a few other radios do.
 

scott.cr

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I have a Sangean SG-622 on my desk, it's a paperback-sized shortwave/AM/FM radio that runs on three AAs. I use it about six to eight hours per day, and it'll run on a set of AAs for about eight months. The AM and FM receivers are decent, but it's deaf as a stone in shortwave. Sound quality is the best I've heard from a radio that size, and you can get it at Radio Shack for like $20 and from Amazon for like $8.
 

LowBat

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Since the rechargeable batteries eventually go bad in those hand crank devices, I think it would be better to have all your devices (am/fm radio, flashlight(s), gps, pocket tv, travel clock, etc.) all work off AA batteries and just keep a few 48 packs of AA cells in your home and/or car. Another way would be to get a quality solar charger for NiMH AA cells and just keep a supply of NiMH around that you can replace as needed. I don't know if there are any hand crank devices solely for recharging NiMH batteries, but that would be another route.
 

Lips

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Bogie

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I have 2 of the Eaton/Grundig radios a FR300 TV/WX & A FR250 SW both are run on 3 AA's or a internial dyamo charging a cordless phone batt. For my purposes they work great, i have dual band ham HT's with Mars/Cap mods along with Moble units whit the same mods + both vechcles have CB's that have been peaked & tuned. I can pretty much stay in touch with anyone I wish :)
 

Flying Turtle

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I have one of the CountyComm radios. Nice little unit. Tuning is by thumbwheel, but seems very precise. It does read the correct freq. when a station is tuned. Sound is what you'd expect for such a tiny speaker. Probably better for talk than music. Reception is adequate on AM/FM and even SW isn't too bad. The alarm setting only turns on the radio-no buzzer. The little light is bright enough to be useful and the tint is mostly white. It seems to be very efficient with the batteries. The faceplate is actually made of metal (aluminum?). I would probably buy another if this one broke.

Geoff

P.S. Just thought of one more thing. The light only works with the radio off, as the same two position switch activates both. You can work around this by having the radio turn on via the alarm setting, then turning the light. This is no good on AM, as there is too much RF noise generated by the light.
 
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