Rating: 
Summary: Easy way to feel secure
Review: I bought this little hand-powered radio after the big blackout in NYC last summer. Then I bought one for my brother and his family who live on a farm in the mountains and often experience power failures. This is a great little device! It runs for an hour on a few cranks of the lever and makes me feel that I can always be in touch in the event of an emergency. Not much to pay for the peace of mind it brings.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly good.
Review: I bought this little radio as an emergency and camping radio a couple of months ago and let it sit. It is now the a couple of minutes to the Saddam's deadline (20h00EST 19 Mar 03) and I am listening to the BBC news. The state of current events inspired me get it out and put it through its paces with the results being pleasantly surprising. I picked up Madrid and BBC World Service on the short wave among other stations (lots of Spanish broadcasts). In fact, the amount of stations picked up in the 5800-6200Mhz range and recption is pretty good. While the performance isn't the same as my Satellit 400, the sound is pretty good. The reception is excellent on the FM band as well. I like this radio's reception and perfomrance better than the Coleman generator radio. Also, the size is much more convenient than the Coleman radio. I wish it were easier to find the AC adapter.
Rating:
Summary: great little radio
Review: I bought this radio about a year ago and have found it to be a great little radio. It has excellent reception in areas where my other portable radios could not receive a signal. The wind up power generator works as advertised. I defintely recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the Free-Play wind ups.
Review: I bought this radio on the recommendation of other SWLs (shortwve listeners) and I was not disappointed. Simple. Lightweight. Tuning is touchy, but not as bad as one would expect. The radio is sensistive and remarkably selective. I dont find the light very useful and NOAA weather coverage would be nice, but that doesn't change the fact this is a nice, small, well built radio with great sound.
Rating:
Summary: Best Analog Portable Ever
Review: I first bought the DX-398, and the cheap B and H shortwave radio. And when I bought this radio from somewhere, the reception is excellent for shortwave DXing. I normally use this radio for in the car shortwave DXing, and also for band
checking to see with bands to listen to. Also the FR-200 has
got great AM radio reception, but the FM reception is OK for 39.99, but it could improve. Still it is a great radio, and never overloaded yet, except on FM. In other words this is a great AM/SW portable radio, that beats my other boombox radio
back in the 80's.
Rating: 
Summary: It's in my bug-out bag!
Review: I found this at an electronics store that was closing out. I bought it as a novelty, but soon realized I had stumbled upon something great. The shortwave reception for a radio this small is surprisingly good. However, I would recommend only using the crank generator when the power goes out for extended periods. You'll want it working when you really NEED it! Also, when using betteries, especially when the on-board NiCad cells are being used, the little light will act as a serious power hog. So, if you're in your shelter or hideout, use a lantern, flashlight, or if conditions permit, a candle. You might not want to use this for everyday listening, but if you're traveling, or preparing for a worst case scenario, this would be worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent radio, good sound, clear reception
Review: I got this for my birthday, having selected it based on other reviews. It is exactly what I wanted and lives up to its name and reputation. We have a cottage in a remote area but the FM reception was great and the sound quality was very good for a small speaker. It was fun listening to the SW bands, picking up stations from around the world. Overall, a great radio at a super low price.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional Value
Review: I hold an amateur radio radio license and have other "higher end" equiptment. However, I am becoming more fond of monitoring of late and despite what some say being that this is an emergency only radio, I disagree. I would use it with batteries which, by the way it has unbelievable battery life on 3 AAs. It just makes sense not to place excess wear on the crank charger. It recieves AM (MW) broadcasts well as does it FM and shortwave.The dual tuning (fast and fine) is handy. The only thing missing for the price is SSB ability. Plug in a walkman type earphone set and it sounds even better. Along w/ the emergency light, I would recommend the little radio to anyone to keep on hand or to use anytime.
Rating:
Summary: A must have item for today
Review: I live in Long Island and work in NYC. I watched in horror the World Trade Center towers burning from my office window and I got stranded in Manhattan this past summer because of the blackout. I learned a valuable lesson: WE ARE VERY VULNERABLE IF WE DO NOT HAVE A SELF-SUFFICENT SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY FOR INFORMATION AND LIGHT (and I should throw in a clean water supply, although I haven't experienced that crisis yet). My advice is to 1) get a landline phone (a cheap $10 Trimline at Kmart will do); 2) get a crankup radio with a built-in flashlight; 3) get a gravity water filter (like British Imperial used by the Red Cross) that lets you extract clean water from just about any source (rain, toilet, you name it). Some of this really hit home during the blackout. I ended up staying at a friend's apartment, but my friend (like many others New Yorkers) was woefully unprepared: no candles, no batteries for the flashlight or radio, and only a cordless phone which of course is useless during a blackout because it depends on electicity. We ended up having to roam the streets for information, depending on strangers for light, and groping in the dark in the August heat to make our way up the VERY long staircase because the elevators were knocked out. I have since bought a landline phone, a gravity water filter that is much cleaner and cheaper than those endless Poland Spring Water bottles... AND I got a Grundig crankup radio. It's the neatest thing! Just crank it up and it works like a dream -- with a flashlight to boot. The reception here is terrific and I'm getting all kinds of radio stations I didn't know I could get. And best of all, I feel safer. If anything happens I know I'll be prepared. I've given this radio as a gift and it's always a big hit. Our Radio Shacks here are on back order because it's one of their most popular items. I hope more manufacturers begin making things with built-in generators. It's an untapped market.
Rating:
Summary: Emergency radio that works!
Review: I recently suffered through Hurricane Charley without a radio (power was out of the question). My radio batteries were gone before the storm actually hit land. I decided I'd never be without a radio again, and bought this item. I've cranked it a few times, and it's working great! Good sound and even the flashlight included is stronger than I would have expected. I've read about the complaints about how much cranking is necessary, but I don't care (when the power is out, what else do you have to do but crank the radio?) I'll never be without radio contact again when I need it most. I hope I'll never use this radio for it's intended purpose, but I'm sure glad I've got it!
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