American Red Cross FR500 Solarlink, White

• 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 four different sources - From the built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery that takes charge from the dynamo crank and from an AC adapter (not included), from 3 AA batteries (not included), from the AC adapter alone (not included), 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)

Great overall emergency radio. Read many reviews that indicated poor reception which almost prevented me from buying. Once purchased I tried the radio and was disappointed with the poor reception. Almost seemed like it was running low on batteries even though new ones were just put in. I learned that the multi-function knob (see manual) was set on "Alert". This seems to be a low power savings mode. Once I selected any other setting including "Off" the radio's reception was excellent (the radio is turned on via a different knob / see manual). I bought it at Radio Shack since it was on sale for $69. Radio Shack's site forgot to add that this radio also has Short Wave which is a plus in emergencies.

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I should have paid more attention to the online owners manual before I made the purchase. If you plan on using this radio for leaving in your basement or trunk in case of an emergency then I highly recommend it, for this purpose I would give it 5 star,s have no gripes in that category.

My purpose for it however was for a "ruffing it" 7 day bike trip in order to stay informed of news/weather and also keep my cell phone charged. Before I left I charged the unit in full by the usb port and supplemented it by leaving the solar panel exposed out of my pack so that it would charge as I rode. I found that on very sunny days in the second week of august in upstate ny, that although it would slow charge the battery it was hardly enough to keep up with listening to it for a couple hours a day total. Listening to it "live" off of the solar panel was nearly impossible even at noon in the direct sunlight.

As for charging a cell, it works great by cranking for emergency calls only, if you try to charge it for extended phone calls you will go crazy. Solar again even at noon was not enough to charge an LG10000, would click back and forth between charging and not and seemed to drain it more than charge it.

The solar panel needs to be much larger but otherwise the unit did what it was supposed to, but don't expect miracles from it. If you need significant power for long periods of time consider another for more solar/kinetic charging.

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I have had no problems with reception, even in the sticks. I really like the added solar feature which compliments the crank function nicely. Mostly robust, though some of the knobs feel weak, particularly the "mode" knob. Excellent backlight for the frequency/clock LCD display, easy tuning, plenty of bands to select from, and the built-in USB charger is a GIANT bonus. I now own six quality Eton products, and this one is *easily* my favorite. A directional antenna vs. the current vertical-only telescopic antenna would have been a nice touch.

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The FR500 radio is as much or more than I expected, will be used for weather conditions as well as very good AM/FM news, and some SW as conditions allow.

Seems like would play forever out in the sun or with bright sky what with the very good Solar cell.

Lester Davis

I'll give this radio 2 stars for some good features, however I'm returning it since it will not charge my iPhone, the main reason for which I ordered this item. I listed below other flaws I found:

On the PLUS side:

*good looks and appears durable.

*solar and crank recharging, an internal rechargeable Lithium battery (included); accepts 3 AA batteries (not included).

*nice bright LED flashlight.

*loud alarm and red flasher for emergencies (however both cannot be on at the same time)

*full digital clock with alarm, snooze, and back lighting.

On the NEGATIVE side:

*will not charge an iPhone; I tested other phones and they charged OK; I assume this problem applies to the iPod as well(?); Eton customer service says the iPhone USB charging is a known issue.

*radio reception is extremely substandard; I've had similar crank radios which were much cheaper and had excellent radio reception.

*radio tuning knob sensitivity is very poor and terribly clumsy.

*will only charge a phone while the radio is sitting directly under sun or while being cranked not very practical.

*AC/DC charger not included though sold separately.

*must have a phone which charges via USB using its own cable, otherwise need to request an adapter from Eton (for free) and wait for it to be delivered; not sure if Eton will offer more than one adapter per customer you likely have more than one type of phone in your household, requiring different adapters.