Emergency Radio - What to buy

[Pistolero]

Can anyone recommend a good emergency radio? I've seen the Red Cross one at HomeCheapo, but I think it's a little dinky for being $50

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EIBVKG/?tag=cpf0b6-20

Anyone have a favorite or a type that's pretty decent?
I'm guessing a good one would have AM/FM, TV & Weather bands.
Cranky or Battery?
Cell phone charger? At first I thought a cellphone charger was cool... but in a direct hit, I'd guess the cell networks would be swamped/dead.

Actually this one looks pretty good. And a good price too.
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100485498

I remember seeing a Lantern that had a crank with a Radio and a car- cigarette lighter jack. But I don't know where I saw it.

 

[Pistolero]

I don't know why this kit cracks me up.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...0/601-2638095-0997720?ie=UTF8&asin=B000E9DTG4

Maybe it just screams "Baby's First Power outage kit"

 

[chmsam]

Look for a good AM/FM radio with superior reception. That's more important than sound quality. Short wave is nice but the AM/FM DX radios (long range reception) are more practical in the US. A GE SuperRadio is one model but there are others -- C. Crane, Sangean, Sony are just a few brands. Look for used if money for a new one is a little short since new ones can easily hit $100 or more. Read reviews to learn the pros and cons, and when you get the radio play with it until you are very comfortable using it.

Learn about antennas because without a good extrenal antenna you're limiting the capability of the radio, and they can be very cheap to set up. Remember, these radios aren't just for emergencies. Why not listen to baseball games during the night? How about news reports from far away cities during severe weather? Let's not forget getting turned on to new music (or new to you) fromother parts of the continent.

 

[NA8]

Are there any cell phones out there that have AM/FM capability built in ?

 

[Omega Man]

The Nokia 6030 has an FM built in, but must have a headset plugged in to activate it.

I have one of these, got it super cheap on ebay a few years ago:
JWIN 9 band AM/FM/SW- http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4244?ehamsid=ccb4133c1ffcfe5063d38e3926b33a2e
Pretty useful for the price. Even has an alarm clock. I cut a 15' length of speaker wire (one channel/strand) and soldered an alligator clip to one end. Viola, external antenna! Very noticable on the far away FM stations and on the SW bands. The wire fits in the original box with the radio when rolled up nice.

 

[Sharpdogs]

I have the Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio in my blackout/hurricane box and this model from High Gear in Bug out Bag https://edcdepot.com/merchantmanager/product_info.php?cPath=4&products_id=121. I have had good luck with both, the High Gear model is much smaller and lighter. Plus it has a cell phone charger kit.

 

[Marduke]

I can't say anything as to their quality, but WalMart seems to be selling several models around the checkout aisles for $15-20. These are both crank and AA batteries capable.

 

[elgarak]

I have the Grundig/Eton FR-300. Very similar to the already mentioned FR-200, which has AM/FM +SW, IIRC, while the FR-300 has AM/FM/TV/Weather. Also an emergency light (3 5mm LEDs, 2 white, 1 red), siren, crank, and cell phone charger.

Very happy with it.

 

[chmsam]

Gotta make this very, very clear -- a really cheap price won't be worth shazzit if you can't get a signal in an emergency. Do not just look for a low price, make sure the radio will pull in a signal. You don't need to spend a lot, but I have rarely seen a cheapo radio at a place like MallWart that would pull in most stations more than 40 miles away. That's not good enough if you have bad weather rolling in, especially if it's a storm coming in after the first disaster.

Again, reception is far more important than cost, but you do not need to spend both an arm AND a leg. Read reviews before you buy.

 

[Omega Man]

Chmsam is right about reading reviews. I like eham's shortwave reviews alot:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/8?ehamsid=9c5ab1faaf2067693f2ea450a5c7f6e1

 

[Pistolero]

Well, no matter which radio I bought, I was probably going to rig/solder an antenna extension out of speaker wire or something. Hopefully that would work.

I'll check out that site for reviews and such.
Thanks.

 

[chmsam]

For an antenna, one quickie fix is to take some speaker wire or the like and split it, splice/wind the ends together, and insulate them. If the radio has an external antenna jack that will take an RCA plug, hooking this up can be real easy. If not just use an alligator clip and snap it on the whip antenna. Soldering can make storing the radio a little messy since the coiled antenna wire can get caught or kinked. Grounding the radio sometimes helps reception, too.

 

[Illum]

I don't know why this kit cracks me up.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...0/601-2638095-0997720?ie=UTF8&asin=B000E9DTG4

Maybe it just screams "Baby's First Power outage kit"

you gotta be kidding me:shakehead


what were they thinking?:duh2:

agreed on reviews, the best radio I've used was bought from ccrane....the quality was unbelievable even in buildings where the best cell phones couldn't pull in a signal...
http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=471 this little guy, when I bought it several years ago it was around $200.
unfortunately its no longer with me...its somewhere between here and Taiwan

 

[Flying Turtle]

Sony has an interesting little model that's AM/FM with two LED lights, one with a reflector and one under a diffuser for area light. It's got a crank, internal NiMH, and will run on 2 AAA's. Only thing I didn't like was the bright orange color. I spotted this the other day on a clearance rack at Target for $30. Went back tonight to see if it was still around, but no luck. That was probably good since I need another radio about as much as I need another flashlight.

Geoff

 

[meditator]

I have found that, believe it or don't-the Radio Shack model seems better made than the Eton, frankly. It has worked well for me.

 

[jtice]

I recently got a CountyComm one, its quite nice for its size.
And fits perfectly in their plastic box cases.
http://www.countycomm.com/gp4light.htm

[EDIT] I also have the Eton/Grundig FR200 radio, really nice also, they make great stuff for the price.


~John

 

[Any Cal.]

I have a Grundig mini 300 and it seems like a nice little radio. Pulls in SW, AM, FM, but no weather stations. Two AA batts, earphones, and a case. Not bad for 30 bucks. Seems to be pretty sensitive. Doesn't weigh much.

 

[Pistolero]

I have found that, believe it or don't-the Radio Shack model seems better made than the Eton, frankly. It has worked well for me.

Is there a specific Radio Shack model to look out for?
Price?

 

[Flying Turtle]

Love that little CountyComm radio. Use it every night. I'm listening to it right now. It gets great battery life on 2 AA's. Decent reception and will even pick up TV channels 5, 6, and 7 because of the extended FM band. Of course the best thing is the LED light. :laughing:

Geoff

 

[Marduke]

Since the Discovery Stores in local malls are going out of business, they have a number of the Eaton radios on sale right now. $30-50 depending on the model.