- Includes owner's manual, warranty card, card for cell phone tip, and USB/cell phone charging cord
- 520-1700 KHz AM, 88-108 MHz FM, 6000-12100 KHz Shortwave
- Can be powered from the built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery, from an AC adapter, from 3 AA batteries, from the AC adapter alone, and from solar power
- Dimensions - Width 7-3/4 x Height 8-1/2 x Depth 2-1/2 (196.9x215.9x63.5mm)
- Weight - 1.9 pounds (0.86 kg)
LED light: Quite bright
siren: Obnoxious, questionably useful
flashing LED: A single flashing red LED. Perhaps useful as a signal.
handcrank: Easy to use, has a green LED to indicate adequate cranking speed. Can crank in any direction.
reception: FM, AM, and NOAA station very good. SW is weak.
sound: Clear
weight: ~2 lbs., very light
LCD screen: Large easy to read numbers with backlighting option
clock: Easy to read and set (can read from across the room)
alarm: Clock radio, easy to set, has snooze button
power options: Very versatile. Solar, crank, 3 AA batteries, and AC. Does not come with DC power adapter, but can use a mini-USB charger (like the one on my cell phone) or a standard 5V DC connection. Many car cell phone chargers are also mini-USB
other connectors: Regular USB out for powering cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players. Two mini-HPJ's; one for earphones, one for audio-in (ie MP3 players).
Knobs: Inset knobs keep your settings steady when transporting.
owner manual: The Solarlink is fairly self explanatory which is good because the owners manual was not very useful. I would like a much more technical owners manual.
In short, we were looking for a radio that has many power options, NOAA stations, and is very portable. The Solarlink meets these requirements well. Probably not the radio of choice if you want SAME capability, good SW reception, or excellent stereo sound. Overall though we are very happy.
Buy Etón FR500 Solarlink (Black) Now
I bought this originally from urban outfitters. The signal reception for this radio is fairly sensitive outdoors but once indoors (I have a computer, halogen lights, and T.V.) I tested this radio and it seemed that weak stations like KPCC (the NPR station) don't get through. I live in S. California and one of the NOAA channels works. Indoors is probably this radio's only weakness (and the plastic crank, I got big hands). I tried to boost the signal while indoors by connecting an antenna with a signal booster (by binding the signal boosted antenna to the telescopic antenna of the FR500) and the clearer channels came through pretty well but the weak channels in FM were still silent (this is indoors still).With the little gripe out of the way I just want to say that I loved this radio's slotted case (it comes apart in two halves). The manual told me not to open the machine but I couldn't help myself. I was curious as to whether this radio was moisture resistant. I found that most of the buttons I could see were slotted in a way that would probably resist a dip. I also saw a rubber covering that sealed the antenna fairly well. But this radio isn't meant to be submerged. It were to fall into a puddle chances are it would remain unscathed (except maybe the digital readout; that could be a problem, depending on how it fell). The speaker has to be open in order to have adequate sound so the water might affect it adversely (but people can always stick this radio in a ziplock bag/s; the solar panel works even when I put put it in a ziplock). But this little weak point could be reinforced with a little bit of caulk or water sealant(ones that don't corrode the plastic casing).
Please note that when opening this case (the manual warns you not to do so) be careful as to not let the top three buttons fall into the circuit boards below. It took me a while to shake out one of the buttons and I ended up pulling out a soldered wire but it was easy enough to solder back on. Also you need to get a 5v ac adapter (FR500 doesn't come with one) if you want to charge the battery at home or listen to it indoors.
Read Best Reviews of Etón FR500 Solarlink (Black) Here
I've spent the whole day and late into the night testing the Eton FR500 Solarlink and I am impressed. No, it is not comparable to my Grundig Sattelit 800 Millennium that now is considered a classic and weighs 14lbs without batteries.Grundig/Eton has united their minds to produce (or reinvent) a really decent quality emergency radio the FR500 Solarlink. Housed in a sturdy, mar-resistant and water resistant case, this radio is well protected and easy to operate. Getting a weather report is as simple as turning the radio on and moving a knob a few clicks to find the closest emergency weather broadcast. It can also be setup to automatically turn on and play emergency weather broadcasts.
AM and FM reception, and local weather broadcast bands, are strong and clear as I would hope for. However, the shortwave setting does not meet my standards. but reception can be improved by stringing a long insulated wire from the telescoping antenna to an insulated and properly positioned object like a tree or a strong shrub. A signal boosting antenna will improves all FM and shortwave radio reception. Anyway, this is an emergency radio and owners will be primarily interested in local weather alerts, local AM, FM, and all local emergency broadcasts. For these purposes, the Solarlink is more than adequate without adding improvements for the antenna system.
Also of importance is that the radio can be powered four different ways. The solar panel (built into the handle) will power the radio from sunshine only, and will even charge the Ni MH battery while playing the radio. The crank-able electric generator (dynamo) also charges the Ni MH batteries. However, unless the radio is plugged in via a 5-volt transformer, the radio should should have 3 AA Alkaline batteries installed. This is a good idea because rechargeable batteries go flat when not regularly recharged. Without the alkaline batteries, or sunshine during an emergency, you might be reduced to using the dynamo crank. The dynamo works, but is kind of tedious to use. However, a 5-Volt AC adapter (not included) will power the radio while it charges the NiMH battery so you will not need alkaline batteries. I know this works because I happened to have a 5-Volt transformer in my junk drawer. For the price of this radio, I do not actually understand why an AC adapter is not supplied. One can just leave it plugged-in and you would have all power requirements needed to immediately use when an emergency occurs even without sunshine or alkaline batteries.
The digital clock appears to keep reasonably good time. I set it with my Atomic Clock, and 24 hours later it was correct within a few seconds.
It is also a full featured alarm clock with a five minute snooze. And it includes a time adjustable shutoff timer so that the radio can lull you to sleep and then turn itself off.
To set the clock, you hold down the time button on the face of the radio while you press hour and minute buttons just below the solar panel that doubles as a handle. A third button, under the handle, is for lighting up the display handy when trying to check the time in the dark.
I don't use a cell phone, but the Solarlink is able to charge them with only power from the sun. To accomplish this, it is necessary to write, telephone, or contact Eton on the Web, and ask for the type of connection that is appropriate for your cell phone. Instruction on how to do this is enclosed with the unit. The appropriate adapter will be sent without charge. I use a PDA and an MP3 player. The FR500 is supposed to be able to charge these too. I haven't tested these features because I have other means of protection and use.
The LED flashlight works and is sufficient to find your way in the dark.
The siren is awful sounding and very loud. It should attract attention if you need to be rescued.
The emergency blinking red light (LED's) certainly could be useful, especially if your car is stalled or you are walking on a road or highway at night. Even if the batteries have only a fractiion of power, the FR500 LCD's will blink for many hours.
One could plug in an MP3 player to the FR500, but the radio plays in mono only even when using stereo headphones. Yet, the speaker on the radio is pretty good and will allow a group to share both the emergency information and all the other features.
The rubber seals are supposed to make the radio resistant to water. I think I would walk in the rain with it, but I would try to keep it covered as much as possible. It should never be submerged. If you are worried about a little rain, you could enclose the whole radio into a zip lock bag.
I've had other emergency type radios, but they didn't come near matching the quality and functions of the FR500 Solarlink. Although it has shortcomings, I would confidently recommend this radio even to my best friends. In fact, I think it would make a great gift to anybody you really care about.
Just one more thing: This radio is also available with the American Red Cross logo. . . as if they manufactured it. Anyway, it is the same radio, selling at the same price. And since the American Red Cross endorses this radio, it suggests that they agree with my evaluation. I'm buying and making gifts of this radio to as many poverty stricken fiends as I can afford. Everyone in the world should own an FR500 Solarlink radio. "The times, they r a change-in."
Want Etón FR500 Solarlink (Black) Discount?
I bought the Etón FR500 Solarlink in black from Amazon, think that it deserves demerits instead of _any_ stars, and I am writing this review minutes before returning the radio.The instruction booklet that comes with the radio tells you to plug the rechargeable battery pack's connector into the radio, and it tells you that you must either turn the crank or expose the solar panel to sunlight to charge the battery, although any bright light will also charge the battery.
The radio's controls suffer from bad ergonomic design. For example, the band selector ring and tuning knob are mounted concentrically, but turning the knob with large fingers can easily move the selector ring because it doesn't have firm detents to make the ring stay put on the band you chose.
The booklet doesn't tell you _how_ to use radio although it tells you how to turn on the LED flashlight, the red flashing LED, the anemic siren, and the weather radio alarm. It also tells you how to set the LCD clock, the alarm, sleep, and snooze functions as well as how to turn on the LCD display's light.
To use the Etón FR500 Solarlink as a radio, you must do _two_ things: You must press the power button, _and_ you must turn the power selector knob to DYNAMO to draw power from the rechargeable battery.
As a multiband radio receiver, the Etón FR500 Solarlink is a low quality device with a low gain radio frequency amplifier and excessively wide tuning filters in the FM band. At the low end of the FM band, low power stations may all be heard simultaneously.
Across the Hudson River from New York City, with a line of sight to the Empire State Building, where most radio stations in NYC have their antennas, I was able to tune in only a few of the strongest FM stations in the middle of the band!
On the AM band, I was able to tune in only strong stations anywhere on the band. On the shortwave band, I was not able to tune in any stations. Of the seven weather band channels, only the last one was active and came in loud and clear. As the instruction booklet recommends, I used the tiny, useless, whip antenna for the FM, shortwave, and weather bands.
If you tune in a station on the low end of AM band, the radio won't retain that station's tuned frequency when you switch to another band and tune in a station at the high end of that band.
On the shortwave band, the one foot long antenna is too short to be effective, and it's very difficult to move slowly and smoothly either up or down the shortwave band because too many frequencies are covered by the tuning knob and because the tuning knob springs in the opposite direction you were turning it after you release it. You may be able to live with that lack of resolution in the AM and FM bands but not in the shortwave band.
Also, while the frequency display is digital, the tuning knob turns the controls for an analog tuning circuit. The consequence of that is poor stability and a display that shows frequency drift on the AM, FM, and shortwave bands.
A selling point of Etón radios is that they have a crank that turns a dynamo, but their advertising doesn't tell you that their dynamo doesn't have a flywheel to keep the current running after you stop turning the crank. Clearly, a crank driven dynamo with a flywheel is the only way to build this kind of radio, but to be good a flywheel would have to be heavy. Of course, a heavy flywheel would require a much sturdier case than the Etón has.
Instead, the Etón dynamo uses rechargeable batteries to store charge. Of course, rechargeable batteries may be recharged only a finite number of times before you must replace them, and they might be dead during an emergency.
As a device for emergency use, the Etón FR500 Solarlink relies completely, and to your detriment, on three, small, rechargeable batteries, and the instruction booklet helpfully informs you that you may order new batteries from Etón.
The crank is flimsy, light, plastic and looks and feels as if it may break long before you have any emergency that calls for an emergency radio that is able to run off the power grid.
Don't buy an Etón FR500 Solarlink!
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