If you live in an area that is prone to violent weather, you probably also experience frequent power outages or poor signal reception. Severe weather can be frightening and it can be very dangerous, so it is imperative to have access to updated, accurate weather information. On that note, you may want to consider purchasing an emergency radio.
I’m looking for one myself, and so far I am leaning toward the Eton FR300 Emergency Radio. This device offers AM/FM bands, the NOAA weather band, and Television bands covering channels 2-13 (audio only). It also includes a built in light, a cell phone charger, and a siren, which would come in handy if a person needed to be rescued.
This emergency radio can run on AA batteries, but it also has a hand crank to recharge it. Just ninety seconds of cranking will produce enough power to run the radio for up to an hour. Obviously, if you are using the light or another function at the same time that you are using the radio, the unit will need to be charged more frequently.
I’ve seen this emergency radio listed on different sites for various prices, the lowest of which is about $50.00. After researching several sites and reading quite a few reviews, I have to say the reviews are mixed.
The lightweight, weather resistant, largely plastic construction is a turn off for some people, and some didn’t have very good luck operating the unit. However, many others seemed quite satisfied.
It appears to be a decent radio with all the features that I want. I plan to continue looking, and hopefully find something a little more solid, so I’ll let you know if I find any other options that seem like they’re worth checking out. Please leave a comment if you know of any good emergency radios, so I can check them out as well.