I Need A Portable Weather Radio...

[Doug3581]

A series of storms hit a while back, the first one knocking out the power. The only battery-operated radio I could find in the house was a tiny cheapo free-giveaway one that (in short) was crap. The el-cheapo tuning knob was so lousy that (no sh!*) the only station I could tune in to was the strongest station in the area--which was the Disney station.

Where's a good place to shop for weather-type radios?
It must have:
1) gotta have AM/FM.
2) gotta have LCD/digital tuning
3) powered by smaller batteries (AA or AAA)

It'd also be nice if it had-
1) TV sound
2) backlight on LCD
3) rechargeable batteries/support recharging when plugged into wall power.
4) water resistand/rugged/compact (pocket-sized like a walkie-talkie would be great)

I dunno how much I'd spend, that would depend on the radio. Any suggestions where I should look?
~

 

[spacetroll]

You might wanna re-think this a bit. Do you have two way radio's? If you only had a freebie giveaway AM/FM for an emergency situation I'm guessing no, look at the Midland Xtra talk series the 600's are the most powerfull on the market. They have the NOAA weather and you need the two way radios for this kind of emergency as well. For your AM FM needs a GE super radio is great, will pull stations from a greater distance than a small AA radio.

 

[cobb]

I got a ccradio a few years ago when they came out. It has tv, radio, weather and the weather alarms. The only down side is, if you set the weather alarm with the alarm clock, the alarm clock wont go off.

The plus side, Ive used it for years as an alarm clock on the same set of batteries and the way the beeping alarm works really wakes you up.

 

[Aloft]

Sangean's DT300VW has been a faithful traveling companion of mine for many years. I got mine for about $80 from CCrane. A change was made a few years ago to replace the 'european' mini-jack to the standard American one, a big plus. This radio has great AM reception, a prerequisite for me. It also has FM, TV channels 2-13 audio, and WX band reception. It is powered by 2 AAA batteries, which seem to last a long time to me. Another great feature is the auto turn-off ... this radio will shut off after 90 minutes (this feature is NOT adjustable, and cannot be overridden; no big deal, just turn it on again!). It's kind of expensive though, and it does NOT have an LED backlight. It is digitally tuned with an LCD display and can be used as an alarm.

I was surprised last time I was in Radio Shack, as they had a similiar radio with all 4 bands (AM/FM/TV/WX), and an LED backlight (actually more like Timex's Indiglo) in the display. I can't vouch for the performance of this unit, as I don't (yet) own one, but it was only $40.

Both these units have speakers, very handy for emergencies. I highly recommend the Sangean DT300VW ... if you get the Radio Shack, please post a review.

 

[macforsale]

*

 

[stdlrf11]

RadioShack has an AM/FM/TV/Weather Radio with digital tuning, LCD display with blue backlight (just like Aloft is describing) for $40.
It was nice and had crystal clear sound. I returned it because it was nice, just not worth $40.
I bought a Coby AM/FM/TV/weather radio with dial tuning and no backlight for $7 from Big Lots. It works just fine.
Big Lots had about 4 different choices of radios, which is more than most electronic stores these days. I went to Circuit City and asked where their portable radios were and the pimple-faced clerk looked confused and said, "you mean, like, MP3 players?"

stdlrf11

 

[slvoid]

2nd the Coby radio. I have one too i got for 9 bucks, it's nice cause it has a built in antenna and speaker, runs off of 2 AA's. Great cheap radio for my emergency pack.

 

[wmirag]

After much research, I chose these...

A great small pocket radio with excellent reception, excellent sound (with good phones), and even a little speaker is the Sangean DT-210V AM/FM/TV Pocket-Size Digital Radio.

For better reception in a much bigger package, see the Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver.

W.

 

[geepondy]

Guys, out of the Sangean pocket radio offerings (DT-200, 210, 300, etc.), do any of the models stand out for sound quality with the built in speaker? Any superior to others in AM reception? I have been looking at these on Ccrane but in my experience although they certainly sell quality items, they tend to overhype the offerings.

 

[Lobo]

The el-cheapo tuning knob was so lousy that (no sh!*) the only station I could tune in to was the strongest station in the area--which was the Disney station.

~

:lolsign:

 

[wmirag]

Guys, out of the Sangean pocket radio offerings (DT-200, 210, 300, etc.), do any of the models stand out for sound quality with the built in speaker? Any superior to others in AM reception? I have been looking at these on Ccrane but in my experience although they certainly sell quality items, they tend to overhype the offerings.

I have but the one DT210V so I can't compare. The speaker on mine is usable but pretty much only for talk and then only when it's close to you.

While the sound quality out of the phones is fantastic, I wouldn't hope for very much sound quality out of any small speaker. May I suggest either considering a boom box OR getting the Sangean and an outboard speaker setup? The computer setups sound good and are very cheap compared to the ones marketed for Audio.

W.

 

[Aloft]

I have only the DT-300VW. Audio is about what you'd expect out of such a small speaker, good, but not Bose. At normal listening volumes, I don't get any distortion. Even louder (as if a group were listening in the room) it sounds pretty good.

Okay, I found a local BigLots! and they had the Coby radio for $5.99. How can a gadget guy and radio hobbyist pass it up. So I tried it, and while its reception is not quite on par with the Sangeans, it does get stations on every band. I could only get one WX band station (my Sangean gets a couple more weakly), but TV and FM were fine, and all the major AM stations in my area were quite audible. I would venture to say that this radio is made in the same neighborhood (if not the same factory!) in China where Radio Shack gets their equivalent analog radio manufactured. I think this radio is a great deal for $5.99!

 

[geepondy]

Aloft, would you say the clock and alarm on your DT-300 is suitable enough to use as a travel radio? Meaning I'm sure it doesn't have an ear splitting audio level alarm but is it louder then say your typical digital watch alarm? Also how is the battery life? I know it only takes 2 AAA so I wouldn't expect it to be that great but hopefully not real horrible. My last radio I used as a travel radio was the Sangean ATS-404 and despite taking three double A batteries, it's battery life was horrible. I never exactly measured it but I know something significantly less then 20 hours.

 

[Theatre Booth Guy]

The last couple times my power went out, I ended up using my Milwaukee (power tools) radio that takes the same battery as the power tools. It has a built-in weather radio too! My biggest complaint with the radio (which has been updated now) is that the radio tuner is not very good at picking up stations that are not close.

If only their flashlights that use the same batteries were a little more advanced. They do have lots of space though so maybe, it would be a good mod project?

BTW, the new lithium power tool batteries (from several mfgs) should have a much longer shelf life and be great for when the power goes out.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

For emergencies we like the CC Radio (4D) and the tiny Sony SRF-M37V (1AAA). They both get TV/WX/AM/FM. The CC Radio's audio cuts off everything above 3khz as it's optimized for the human voice. The Sony has no speaker.

IMO TV audio can be valuable in a storm as radio stations seem to do a poorer job of reporting local news each year.

 

[Aloft]

Yes, the alarm on the Sangean DT-300 is a beeping type alarm. I don't think that you can wake 'to radio', only the beep. One problem I noted was that if a while had elapsed, I forgot how to set the darn thing ... it comes with a small instruction book that you can take along, though.

I'm very impressed with the battery life. I always carry spares with me as the radio gets a lot of use and travel. But typically, I will use it for say 10 nights/month in a hotel room, fall asleep to Coast to Coast AM or something, the radio shuts itself off after 90 minutes, and the batteries will last about two or two and a half months. I typically use AM, the FM battery life is a bit lower.

Aloft, would you say the clock and alarm on your DT-300 is suitable enough to use as a travel radio? Meaning I'm sure it doesn't have an ear splitting audio level alarm but is it louder then say your typical digital watch alarm? Also how is the battery life? I know it only takes 2 AAA so I wouldn't expect it to be that great but hopefully not real horrible. My last radio I used as a travel radio was the Sangean ATS-404 and despite taking three double A batteries, it's battery life was horrible. I never exactly measured it but I know something significantly less then 20 hours.

 

[chiphead]

This is what I've got between here at home and the job:
Radio Shack model#12-259
Midland model@74-250
Midland model# WR-8000(now extinct)
Oregon Scientific WRB-308 (with or without base unit)
These are the once I swear by.

chiphead