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At least four stars or greater
I recently revamped my emergency equipment and decided to add a hand crank radio. Little did I know how soon I would use it! On Dec. 16, 06, a major power station burned near my house. Two transformer explosions plunged 50,000 people into darkness, including me. I knew of the problem, since I had seen the fire on my way home from work. I hauled out this little radio in the dark and cranked vigorously for one minute as instructed. (That minute can seem rather long when you are cranking!) I was rewarded with a loud and clear signal on both AM and FM. I was able to find a news talk radio station which gave me up-to-the-minute information regarding the fire and how soon we could expect power. This is an excellent radio for the money, and I wouldn't waste your funds on more expensive ones. This works just fine, and does what it claims to do. I got about an hour's reception out of 60 sec. cranking and a fair selection of station reception. This is COOL! Makes a great gift, love the red color. I think this is awesome to have in a pinch. I bought this for a table gift and just loved it and I DID try it! I have the flashlights that crank and everyone loves those. I found the reception pretty darn good on just the crank wind. My only beef is the light should be a little brighter and the DC adapter should come with it. But dont hesitate on it for a gift cause it's a neat item to have. My son came from Texas and loved it, said he needs one there lol. It's a winner! A must have for your safety This is the type of gift or personal item that is so important. Just buy them for the people you care about. Unfortunately we don't always remember to stock on the emergency supplies. This is a great product. Perfect when the power is going to be out for awhile Even if you have radio with battery backup, it might not be enough to get you through several days without power (several hours may be more like it). Or you may end up stuck in your car or in another situation where you need a radio. Think it can't happen to you? Think again. Plenty of homeowners have suffered power outages lasting for days when major transformers or generators blew or when an ice or snow storm shut down the electricity to major areas. So, yes, it could happen to you. Best to be prepared. This radio will do the trick. You CAN buy more expensive models and (based on the reviews here) some people seem to have issues with quality. I'll say right up front that I found the FM reception to be a bit quirky but that was balanced by the perfectly fine AM reception as well as a flashlight, etc. Sound quality was fine on AM. I'd suggest you think about WHY you'd want a radio like this before making the purchase. If you truly are buying it for emergencies, you'll be fine and it'll meet those needs. If you ALSO feel that it is necessary to have access to FM stations without sound interference, then maybe you won't want this. But in an emergency, consider the fact that you'll still get plenty of info from AM stations, have an emergency light (included on the radio), etc. In short, it ought to meet any basic purposes. It is also a fine travel or camping radio...again, depending on your needs. Clunker -- Poorly Made, Didn't Work We ordered this radio to have on hand in case of emergency. After an hour of cranking to start the power, the crank came off. Got it back on, cranked more, came off again. Small heartattack later from all the fruitless cranking, we sent it back the next day. Looking for another option for an emergency radio, haven't found one yet. | |
