Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio by Eton
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Our Price: $99.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Speakers See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio
Digital camera Review: Good for emergency; watch out for crank
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this radio intended only for emergency use, and it served its purpose well in a recent wind storm, in which our power was out for 72 hours. Without TV and the web, our only news info from outside world came from the radio, and we used the Grundig almost continuously during our waking hours. With a bit of cranking during commercial breaks, we were able to have the radio on at a fair volume. We tried FM, which is always problematic in my location, and it handled it fine. It really shined on AM however, and as we were looking for news and information more so than entertainment, the AM news radio station was on most of the time.
The only drawback was that the crank came off half way through our 72 hours, with its axle-like pin coming out of the plastic socket. We were able to hobble along by pinning it back down and cranking gently, but I would like to see stronger reinforcement at the crank. I should point out that we were never able to achieve the listening time per 90 sec crank that they advertised, but my radio was old and have been left unused for a few years, unsure whether that made the difference.
Digital camera Review: Good for its purpose - and then some
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an interesting product from Grundig. It is a wind up radio with a small flashlight included for emergencies. It also has the shortwave bands you need for the BIG broadcasts such as BBC, Voice of America, and Radio Canada. I was also able to receive Radio Netherlands. The trick is to listen at night - at 7 PM and after - as that is when shortwave comes in best. You won't want to use the crank every day as you want to save that for true emergencies. Install three AA batteries for daily use. Daily use? Yes. I was surprised at the very good AM and FM reception. Even in my concrete and steel office I was able to get stations that usually come in weakly on other radios. This is a neat little radio and I am going to get another one for my emergency pack (I live in Florida where we are subject to hurricanes but with the world in the state it is in, my pack now may have several uses). Buy this for emergencies but don't be surprised if you use it every day. I didn't give it five stars because I think they could have built it a bit sturdier for 40$.Digital camera Review: Good for off-shore
Summary: 3 Stars
On July 28 2003 I set sail alone from San Pedro, California, in a Lancer 30 with the intent on fetching Hawaii in around 32 days. (One may google "Lancer 30 Movement" for the log of that trip.) I brought a new FR200 radio along with me so that I could listen to time ticks at WWV to help with navigation (in case the GPS went out).
The Shortwave bands did "okay" but were kind of hard to tune in: the fine dial seemed kind of "mushy---" I had to pass stations and come up on them from behind, and then retune the stations when they faded away.
Over 400 miles off-short I was still able to pick up the CBS Radio Mystery Theater radio show on the AM band, coming out of Los Angeles or San Diego (I do not know which), and that was fun to have with me as I lay in the port quarter berth, antenna sticking out of the main hatch (the antenna position did not seem to matter: no matter where I pointed it, reception on the AM band seemed the same).
The light worked fine, and the hand crank worked fine. I did not know how much cranking the dynamo needed to charge the Nickle-Cadnium battery pack, so I cranked it pretty much constantly (I did not know any better).
Now I live in the canyon lands of New Mexico where radio reception is extremely poor: I'm surrounded by cliffs that rear over 2,000 feet above my head. The FR200's short wave band down here work better than the FM and AM bands (one cannot get most FM stations, nor cellular telephone, nor TV broadcasts: we get one FM station--- an excellent Country & Western one). Unfortunately there is still the SW dialing slugishness, and the frequency tends to wander.
This seems like a good radio is a person is only interested in the AM band and the hand-cranked dynamo.
Digital camera Review: Good for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
a very handy little radio that has all the basics. Takes up little space and has a very handy carrying case. A good buy!Digital camera Review: Good little radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This a good little radio. I initial bought this radio for my storm shelter. I took it out to check it and make sure everything was working. I liked it so much it ended up on my desk in my study. It has a small footprint, so it works great on my little desk. It also has good AM reception. I ended up buying a second Grundig for the storm shelter.