Eton FR300 Emergency Crank Radio Metallic Red by Eton
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Digital camera reviews of Eton FR300 Emergency Crank Radio Metallic Red
Digital camera Review: WORKS FINE BUT....
Summary: 3 Stars
Eton FR300 Emergency Crank Radio Metallic Red
We lost power the other day and realized that we had no way to hear news. We have phones and could call someone but wanted to hear news about what was going on. We ordered this multi-function radio. All features work fine. However, in 2009, TV is going digital and the TV audio reception feature will no longer work. There are also plans to digitalize FM radio broadcasting at a later date. The digitilization of AM radio has also been proposed for an even later date. At that point, this radio will be a battery/hand cranked siren/flashlight/weather radio. But then again, are they planning to digitilize the weather broadcasts too? I spent the $50 anyway. It will at least hold us for a few years.
Digital camera Review: What is left unsaid
Summary: 2 Stars
Neither Amazon nor Eton mention that the TV1 and TV2 channels will go silent after February 2009.Digital camera Review: You got what you paid for
Summary: 2 Stars
I have collected quite a few radios in the past few years, this is the 2nd eton emergency radio I have bought, it was $27 at that time, thought it was a good deal and bought it without any hesitation. But now the price has dropped further to a little over $23.
Amazon's service has always been reliable, got the radio right on schedule, opened it up on Saturday, that was the day before yesterday, 1st impression was very good, nicely packaged, radio surface is rubberized, the color is even, a carrying bag included. Plugging in the battery pack as instructed, tried AM and FM, both worked very well, tuning knob is smooth with a fine tuning option, nice! Hand crank has a nice touch and looks durable, got very good reception on strong signal stations as well as some weaker ones, like AM690 down in Tijuana, I don't understand Spanish, but if a radio can pick up that Mexican station at my home, it's got decent AM reception. However when I tried weather channel, big problem, no reception at all no matter which channel I tried, not even static. The other odd thing is the flashlight, it would not turn on, but after I put in three regular AAs, it started to work, switching back to the battery pack, it stopped working again. Having already had two problems, I decided to return it for a replacement to give it another shot, I can't stress enough how good Amazon's service is, I actually received the radio today, Monday, less than 48 hours after I reported this problem on their website. Anyway, this radio's weather channel worked, flashlight worked, but go figure this one out, the strongest AM station is LA area, KFI640, the radio could not pick up well, very noisy and static, all other stations work fine, exactly the opposite of a common problem you will find in some cheaply made radios, that is strong station overwhelms all the adjacent stations. Well, I am not going to try my luck with this radio again, for $27, I will just have to swallow it.
In summary, this radio has a very good design with all the nice features, but it's badly executed, that probably explains why it's being sold at such a ridiculously low price, and only this red version, all other colors with the same model # are priced at $50. I think whichever factory makes this radio has serious quality control issues, ironically enough, inside the battery compartment, there's a sticker that says "high quality guarantee, 100% QC".
Digital camera Review: emergency radio
Summary: 5 Stars
The radio is OK, but they still have NOT
sent me a cable so I can use the
radio to keep my cell phone's battery
charged.
Digital camera Review: good radio but no adaptor or charging cord
Summary: 5 Stars
I like the radio but was disappointed that the cell phone adaptor and the charging cord did not come with it. Instead you are required to send in your registration card and then they will send you the cell phone adaptor and the charging cord. I sent in the card but no have not received them. I contacted customer service but still I have been waiting for 4 months for these items.