What is the best small solor radio?

I am looking for the best small solar radio to keep in my car. any ideas?

cableguy said: I am looking for the best small solar radio to keep in my car.

We have one of the wind up/solar radios. Ours is the kind that uses a small generator or dynamo. It is very cheaply made and not reliable at all IMHO. The ones that use a dynamo put the energy into a NiCad battery which (also IMHO) is about as likely to fail when you need it as not.

I've always thought that a way more reliable emergency radio would be one of the wind up "clock works" spring powered ones that are made in South Africa (Radio Shack carries them)...but they are faily bulky (too large for a glove box).

I think in the end, you are about as well off to get a small radio powered by 1 or 2 AAs (there is a nice Jensen one that has TV bands and weather too). Just keep a pair of alkaline or lithium AAs in a sealed pack. Both have excellent shelf times. The radio will play in the dark too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

If you really want solar rechargability, there are always the NiMH AAs or AAAs coupled with a solar charger. Although, be prepared for very long recharge times unless the solar cell has some decent surface area (like 10" square minimum).

I've been using a Freeplay (tm) wind-up/solar radio for a few years, and have been happy with it. This is one of the originals, designed for use in poor, rural areas of S. Africa, as Ikendu mentioned. Runs for a half hour per cranking, or will run nicely in sunlight. It also has a jack for external power (I run mine from a 7.2v, 4 amp-hr nicad battery, which is charged from a 1 watt solar panel I stick in the window).

It's very power efficient, partly the result of the electronics design, and partly from simply using a large-ish speaker.

Freeplay is making a wider variety of radios nowdays, and sell a few small versions that might meet your needs. Just check their website:
http://www.freeplay.net/website/product/radios.php
(sorry; I'm link illiterate )

Steve K.
(radios are as much fun as flashlights, and you can use them all day long!)

Grundig makes a very nice wind up radio with a built-in light -- This was very useful in the recent NY blackout.

The freeplay lantern had its handle break.

I just have a cheap handheld transistor radio. Runs for 10+ hours on two AAA's. Solar doesn't seem worth the trouble. During the NY blackout, all supplies of flashlights and D cells got snapped up immediately, but AAA's, C's, and even AA's were readily available. My mom has a radio/tape player powered by four D's and was lucky to have batteries for it, but I'm sure it would run for many days on the four D's.

I've been contemplating this one:

http://www.wisementrading.com/radios/solar.htm

The good thing is that it charges 4 NiCD AA batteries. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I don't know about the radios in that link, but the hand cranked or solar radios I've seen have been either very junky looking or very expensive. The junky ones look less reliable than using a battery radio and having some spare cells around. The expensive ones don't seem cost effective compared to one or more battery radios and spare cells, with the possible exception of if you're in the deep deep boonies (jungle, whatever). I think I'd just get a regular AA-powered radio, some spare AA's, and if I was really worried about long-term autonomy, some NiMH cells and an external solar charger. Those radios on that page look good from the specs, but I don't think I'd want to buy one without first getting a good look at its physical construction.