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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from cabot, arkansas on 9/23/2008
Bought this radio for emergency use only and it serves its purpose. If someone wants a decent emergency radio that doesn't require fresh batteries, it is worth the price. We ended up using it day after we bought it. Suggest that plastic crank could be sturdier. Light could be brighter. But in a dark house it provided enough light to avoid furniture and illuminate the rooms. Had no problem picking up major TV or radio stations. Tornadoes were in the area when power went off so we definitely appreciated getting local weather on it. If you want a great sounding radio, buy one for that purpose. Don't rely on an emergency type item for everyday use.
Blessed are those who expect little and danded if my expectations weren't deceded. The fm section had the sensitivity of a bull elephant in muhst and was about as accurately calibrated as a spitball in a tornado. FM also had imaging problems (same station showing up on different places on the dial.) Of course all FM problems are TV problems. The use of a magneto/alternator/rectifier/battery setup as opposed to a clockwork powered generator was a dissapointment and although this worked well at first soon I could not get it to retain a charge for more than a few minutes. TRS used to havemore pride in the products they sold, especially the ones with their name on it.
I have been interested in weather for a while now and I bought this and I am happy with it. No electricty so when a storm comes through and you loose you power, you would also loose your weather radio..whats the point..not on this one!
Bought as a gift for my 83 yr mother because it was lightweight
Took out of the box to show her how it worked and went to crank the handle and it broke right off. And I didn't use alot of pressure.
Had to return it and they didn't have another one.
Looked like it would be a great radio but ended up being a big disappointment!
The handle shouldn't have broken 1st time used!
Apparently designed to only last the 30 day warranty.
The handle on the crank generator is flimsy. Screw can come off. Not heavy duty enough for me, personally. Analog TV bands are now obsolete so will be of dubious use. Needs shortwave.
from Rockville, MD on 7/1/2008
First off - I'm NOT Radio Shack. DHS/FEMA makes it clear - we're on our own for first 72 hours and this radio has an excellent feature set for that period. ([@]) Use of built-in generator to charge cell phones is brilliant as it enables use of other comms infrastructure already owned by the user to stay connected. (I keep all phone connectors in plastic bag taped to handle.) I like that the small LED light means I don't need to keep track of a separate flashlight and backup batteries. Before/After a crisis, we need to hear public safety messages from local emerg managers so we can make informed choices. This unit is designed to receive that info over three different transmission modalities (NOAA All Hazards Radio, AM/FM, TV Broadcast Bands) each of which uses an independent transmitting infrastructure - odds are at least one will be operational post-disaster in a wide range of incident scenarios. After breaking cranks on other radios, I'm careful not to twist this one - it's survived almost daily use for well over a year. (OK - so I'm too cheap to buy the 3 AA's.) The radio does not appear to be designed for rough use - but someone was thinking about what's needed during response and recovery phases when designing this impressive little box. I think it's a lot of capability for the price.Final note - My wife left the radio on the stovetop when using the oven and melted the casing until it shrank and twisted - but even so, the generator, LED light, cell phone charging systems and radio still work (but only for the AM station it was on at the time since the band selector melted - cant get NOAA or TV.) Needless to say - I'm getting an exact replacement if I can find one.
I wanted a radio that would pick up local TV channels so that I could enjoy listening to the news out on our deck. Although this TV/Radio is easily mobile,there is not enough sound volume even turned to the highest level.Even with the radio sitting right beside you it is not loud enough.[...]
Don't waste your time.
from Skokie, IL on 6/17/2008
I bought the radio strictly as a backup. I don't intend to use this radio daily, or for heavy duty. We needed an economical basic radio that would run on little power. This radio definitely satisfies those requirements.
This crank radio competes feature-by-feature with the other brand that Radio Shack sells. The other model isn't as good looking, and it costs $10 more.
I like the rippled shape of the Radio Shack crank radio. This shape makes the radio easy to grasp when I crank it.
AM reception is good. I don't care that the fidelity isn't home-stereo quality. Hi-fi isn't the purpose of this set.
Where I live, one weather band comes in loud and clear. (Great feature!) The hand-crank generator is a selling point. Since it's plastic, I don't know how long it will last. The whip antenna isn't very robust, either. Fortunately here, we don't need a great antenna.
Radio Shack could improve this product by...
+ Replacing the TV bands with at least one shortwave band. Analog TV will soon be obsolete. The only reason for analog TV bands is DX reception.
+ Separating the on-off function from the volume control. A separate "on" button will greatly increase the life of the radio.
+ Selling a unit with a metal crank, or selling a metal crank upgrade kit.
+ Selling a solar panel upgrade kit for the radio. For this upgrade, the radio should have a fold-down handle. Then a user could mount the solar panel atop the radio. I'd buy that upgrade, wouldn't you?
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
[...]Reviews that tell you the truth will never get posted. This product is garbage. A huge waste of money. It breaks EASILY - the hand crank snaps off as easily as a potato chip. DO NOT BUY IT OR YOU WILL BE SORRY.
from San Diego, California on 6/6/2008
[...]
IT IS GREAT RADIO.HAS EXCELLENT SOUND FOR SMALL SIZE.SHORTWAVE ALSO.MY COMPLAINT IS :THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS THIS FROM BEING THE PERFECT RADIO IS THE PLASTIC HANDCRANK .IT IS MADE THIN AND WEAK AT A CRITICAL POINTNEAR WHERE IT CONNECTS WITH THE FLYWHEEL GEAR.MINE BROKE AT THIS CRITICAL JUNCTURE.IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE OF METAL..ALL I NEED TO DO IS PUT ANOTHER INTO THE HOLE.BUT I CAN,T FIND ONE.RADIOSHACK SHOULD OFFER TO THE PUBLIC SPARE PARTS FOR RADIOS LIKE THIS.I CALLED BUT THEY HAVE NO PARTS.THE DYNAMO BATTERY COULD LAST JUST A BIT LONGER BUT SURPRISED IT PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL.IT WOULD BE NICE IF ALL BATTERIES LASTED LONGER AA, AAA IN ANYTHING CAMERAS,ETC.
from weatherford,texas on 4/26/2008
i was told by the salesman that this was one of the best weather radios available for the price and assured me there wasn't a better product out there. Against my better judgement i bought it and it didn't work and i took it back and went somewhere else and bought a midland wr100 for [$]
from Manhattan, KS on 3/11/2008
This was a good radio! Especially for the price! I liked especially during an ice storm with no power!! I really enjoy using it as a flashlight and the NOAA.
You get good reception, but not a lot of choice in terms of FM radio. AM works fine, and the radio can receive weather channels, but i would really like to see FM radio added to this device.
Despite what this ad says, this radio does not have Shortwave reception. I bought one, and immediately returned after realizing this. If there were any true natural disaster, shortwave would be your best bet of receiving any radio broadcast. The rest of the features listed are accurate.
I bought this when I was in need of listening to the local college basketball game at a bar, and figured this would be a wise investment. The dynamo works well, and the arm is sturdy if used without serious force. The flashlight is a plus when the power is out, and it has become my primary means of listening to AM radio. I can't speak much for the sound quality, seeing as it's built for efficiency rather than good fidelity, but overall I've found the SW and AM bands to be worth the [$]price tag.
from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on 12/17/2007
I purchased a Weather x radio from [...] during the ice storm for 20 bucks, and it just did not work well at all. This radio however is great in an emergency situation when the power goes down, it will keep you informed of the current conditions and has a handy LED light. This is not a great sounding radio because it is mainly made to be efficient in power consumption, which it does very well. I wound the crank for 90 secs on a drained battery and its been running for over an hour now. It will also charge your cell phone which is another great plus! I really like it, and it seems to be built pretty rugged. Here in Oklahoma we have many natural disasters, so this radio will come in handy.
I bought 3 radio's and two crank arms broke off the sides after approx.10x using them.[...]
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
This radio works great. It is easy to use. I cranked it to charge the battery for about 90 seconds and the radio played for over an hour. A great radio to have in the car or home in case of an emergency with no power.
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Alum Creek, WV on 8/22/2007
This radio is not short wave! AM,FM,&TV, FM is smashed into a 1 inch scale on the end of TV-1. With only the numbers 88 98 & 108 listed makes it hard to find the station you are looking for. Also strong FM frequencies gost all over tv-1 band. AM reception is great and it helps to have the fine tuning control. TV and WX seems good too but you need to have the antenna extended all the way up and due to the poor feet makes it realy top heavy, so it will fall over a lot. You need to steady it to change the station or anything else to not have it fall over. The speaker is so cheep it sounds like a cheap alarm clock. But with headphones it's got great sound! You won't believe that but it dose! Light is not bright but is good, They crank is also well built. I do believe you get what you pay for and the price is right.
I really like this radio. It's not your primary SW receiver, but is great in a pinch and superb for camping, traveling or emergency situations. For its size and basic features, it's surprisingly sensitive and picks up well. I like the dynamo a lot, and have found the fine-tuning control works really well. This is much easier to use, seems much more solid and I believe is a much-better performer than the competing Grundig/Eton FR200.