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A Good Value but I'm Disappointed
As an emergency radio, it works great. The "crank generator" is relatively easy to use, the case and controls are solid and the sound quality is very good. It is not the flimsy plastic emergency radio I have seen elsewhere. However, I was looking for a radio with excellent AM reception. Grundig's reputation and reviews of other similar radios made by the same manufacturer (It is not made by Grundig) made me think this unit would meet my needs. Regrettably, the AM reception is no better than my cheap Walkman combo tape/radio. The frequency fade is average. It also doesn't have a jack to plug in an external antenna. I didn't meet my needs, but it is a Good Value for its intended purpose. FR200 is a good radio Smaller then I had imagined but good sound. Need a power supply (adapter) if you are going to listen to it regularly. One model comes with an adapter if you can find it. Sturdy radio, sound is good, battery life seems good also. Grundig is a good radio, but I wanted weather channels also. This is a very handy, size, radio with great reception. The only drawback is that it does not have weather channels as I thought it did when ordering. Very good for price but I would opt for an all in one, which would include SAMI weather channels, if doing again. Good but not great The reception is strong and clear on AM and FM, but virtually non-existent on shortwave. That's fine, because I didn't plan to use the shortwave feature anyway. Build quality is average. The dynamo crank is cheap and I suspect it will break at some point. Following directions EXACTLY (90 seconds vigorous cranking, no flashlight, low volume), I was able to achieve between 20 - 30 minutes of use time. Nowhere near the 40 - 60 minutes specified. I got mine on Ebay for $27.95. That's about what it's worth. It will go into my emergency kit and who knows, maybe someday I'll be glad I have it. Tried and tested during Hurricane Ike I've had the Metallic Blue Grundig FR200 radio since 2006, as part of our Hurricane Preparedness Kit. I live in Houston, and finally got to test this emergency radio when Hurricane Ike hit 11 days ago. Still have no power at home, but this radio has great reception; the LED lamp is bright and illuminates our family room. Running on AA batteries, it keeps us abreast with what's going on the past 11 days. | |
