American Red Cross FRX3 Hand Turbine NOAA AM/FM Weather Alert Radio with Smartphone Charger - Red (A

• Receives AM/FM/Weather band
• USB smart phone charger
• Hand turbine and solar powered
• LED flashlight
• Aux- input

I've had this radio for a little over a week now and have beeen putting it thru it's paces. All three bands, AM, FM and the weather band have excellent reception. I have no problem recieving the weather stations here in Western Massachusetts and both AM and FM recieve all the loca; stations perfectly. Audio quality which I admit isn't the primary reason to buy an emergency radio is really realy good. Sound quality is more than acceptable and volume is capable of being loud enough to be heard in a noisey room without distortion. I haven't tested the rechargable battery capacity yet but have confirmed that charging buy usb, solar or hand crank work as advertised. What makes this radio unique is the way it recharges a cell phone, instead of needing to use the hand crank, you charge the phone via a battery dump from the onboard rechargeable battery pack. You recharge the radio battery then plug in the phone which means you don't have to sit there and crank. After trying a few different emergency radios I find this one a keeper and I'm extremely happy with the purchase

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I just received this radio. I purchased it for emergency purposes. Here is a summary of the features: AM/FM/7 weather bands. The reception in my area for all 3 functions is excellent. It comes with a retractable antenna which tucks away nicely when not in use. The radio is powered in 1 of 4 ways: solar (takes 10 hrs of direct sunlight to completely charge the NiMH battery); an included NiMH battery which is what is charged by the solar panel & the hand cranking (90 seconds of hand cranking yields 5-7 minutes of radio use per the instructions). The NiMH can also be powered by plugging the radio into a USB port on a computer (2 hrs to charge the battery this way). The radio can also be powered by 3 AAA batteries (not included). In addition, there is an adapter for DC power, but no charger was included (I need to call the manufacturer to inquire). The radio comes with a clock and alarm clock. A cell phone can also be charged via a "dump" from the included NiMH battery--the built in battery simply trickles the charge from the radio to the cell phone. The radio is indeed plastic, but doesn't see "cheap" to me, and if basic care is taken, the radio should do fine. The crank is also made of plastic, but again, with common sense, should provide years of service. I paid $45 for this radio on Amazon, and plan on getting several more for family/friends. There is a simple 2 white LED light and a blinking red LED. Someone criticized this light, but seriously, if you want a good light, then buy a dedicated flash light!! The built in LED light is adequate for a simple task, but it's not an "uber-lumen" light--I would suggest a Steamlight or Surefire light for a great LED light.

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I will just summarize this product:

construction is plasticI don't believe it is waterproof (not a big deal to me). If you drop it, it may break depending on the height it is dropped from.

It has a cable for charging and comes with a rechargeable battery.

It can charge an iPhone4s and a Droid X2.

the crank is plastic so be gentle. You don't have to have brute strength to crank it or to utilize the recharge function.

The antenna is retractable and metal. It is easy to break but you can keep it tucked out of the way. The reception is good and dependent on your location. (am/fm/weather)

There is a solar recharging cell on the handle and it works nicely.

The flashlight is a joke. It is best suited for reading something close-up. Your best bet is to also have a flashlight around for emergencies. The flashing red light is also a joke. Again, have a handy flashlight to accompany this radio for emergencies.

Overall, I don't regret buying this radio. It is nice and serves the functions it was designed to perform. I would buy another if I needed to.

Good value for the money.

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I own the eton FR160 Microlink, and the Kaito KA350 Voyager. Both are great for bug-out bags or camping, but I was looking for something for my home preparedness kit, and thought I'd like something a bit larger, with more to offer than the other radios. I was prepared to purchase another Kaito, mainly because it allows you to use batteries as a 3rd power source. But then I saw the FRX3 and after hours of research between the Kaito, the eton FR600, FR360, Axis, and the FX3, looking up the manufacturer's manuals rather than reviews, I decided to go with the FRX3.

The main feature that clinched it for me wasn't really even advertised. I compared this to the eton FR600 and the Axis. The FRX3 does state in the manual that it dump-charges like the Axis (and it DOES), but it's not really advertised anywhere else. The styling looks a little nicer too than the AXIS. But the FRX3 supports solar charging, and the Axis does NOT. They're both the same price, but an extra power source is a definite plus, especially if it's "free". You CAN tune the FRX3 with the knob, or the up and down buttons, a nice feature I stumbled upon. It also supports 24 hour time, but it's not in the manual. Just press SET for the hour, again for the minutes, and again for the 12/24 hour. The unit charges through a window even on a slightly over cast day, so I can leave it in the window and not worry about the battery going dead from non-use, or having to keep it plugged in. Compared to the eton FR600, you give up the shortwave capability, and the date on the clock, but the FR600 does NOT support the dump charge, nor does it use the USB input to charge a big sticking point for me all I need is a USB AC Adapter, a mini USB cable and a micro USB cable, and I can charge my phones, 2-way radios, GPS, and almost anything else I need, including the FRX3. Nice, instead of everything having it's own cable.

The flashlight it a little weak (I couldn't find a lumens rating, but it's only the top 2 LEDs, I'm guessing 50 less than a square lantern flashlight), but it's good as an emergency one until you find your main light. The red LED beacon is kinda goofy, but I guess it serves a purpose. Some do SOS, this ones does not.

This radio has everything you could want, except for the shortwave capability. Like I said, you can move to the FR600, but you loose the dump charge, which makes a big difference, and you can't use a USB cable to charge it. And it's $20 more.

The only downside I've found is that you can't turn the unit off. You get ON, or STANDBY, which leaves the clock on. I guess you'd need that for the SAME function, but I have a separate unit for that and would like to shut this off to save the battery. Otherwise, LOVE IT. If you're juggling a few, BUY THIS ONE.

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The FRX2 AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with USB Smartphone Charger and LED Flashlight came out of the box with enough charge to run for about 45 minutes. I discharged it completely by running the FM radio loudly and in 45 minutes I began to run it through its paces. It did EVERYTHING it says it does, some things REALLY well. The bulk of my review describes my verifying all features.

Pros

* Does EVERYTHING is says it does, some things REALLY well

* AM, FM, and Weather Radio features are nice multiple options

* 3 x LED flashlight is power stingy, useful bright

* Handy footprint

* Sturdy feeling and solid crank

* Esthetically pleasing

* Lots of different powering options

* Comes with mini-USB to USB cord for running power from a laptop

Cons

* No gauge to indicate power level remaining or if fully charged

Considerations

* Does not come with external power supply (not meant to be day-to-day radio)

* Not waterproof (not advertised as waterproof)

* Documentation could be clearer (it is "adequate")

Having the right cables and USB adapters are relevant to charging this device, and using it to charge a cell phone. I suggest (and have done this myself) keeping your cables wrapped up and attached with a "twistie" to the lanyard that comes with the radio. That way when you pop this in your emergency kit these will be attached to the device for use. Put these all in a heavy-duty ziploc baggy and, throw in with your emergency kit at home, on your boat, in your car, or with your camping gear, and you're good to go.

SUMMARY: All features worked well and as advertised. For details, feel free to read below.

Powered with crank (my favorite feature)

While cranking, the green battery light comes on indicating the device is getting power.

Test started with device battery drained. The crank turns VERY easily and steadily and you can keep up a 1 revolution per second speed without fatiguing. I was able to use the radio and LED flashlight on crank power alone. The footprint of this device made it easy to actually hold it as a flashlight and crank easily at the same time. If there is no charge in this, you can still easily use it to pick up a radio station or supply light, or both. The ultimate emergency power supply.

To charge it, I cranked for 5 minutes, then ran FM radio fairly loud for about 8 minutes until it died. Running on a low sound will give you more radio time, and I got well over 10 minutes on low volume with 5 minutes of slow and easy cranking. Five minutes of cranking and the LED flashlight (by itself, no radio) lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes (manual says 2 hours close enough for me). I cranked very slowly with little effort, but more, longer, harder cranking will give you (duh) a longer lasting charge.

Notice that the radio uses much more power than the light.

Powered using external USB (DC) input

While powered with external input, the green battery light comes on indicating the device is getting power.

Test started with device battery drained. I turned on my fully charged ASUS netbook and connected the supplied mini-USB to USB cable to the netbook and ran the radio and flashlight from the turned on netbook with no problem. When I used this connection to charge the unit (radio turned off), I found I got about 1 minute of loud FM radio for every 1 minute I charged it. Worked as advertised.

You can use this with an external "wall wart" power supply. I used the supplied mini-USB to USB cable with an AmazonBasics Wall Charger with USB Outlet( 2.1 Amp Output). Since this isn't marketed to be your day-to-day radio I don't find the lack of an external power supply critical (though it would be nice for charging purposes, say, before you took this on a camping trip). Almost any standard wall charger with a USB connection should work with the supplied cable.

Powered with solar "panel"

The green battery indicator light comes on while charging in the sun

Test started with device battery drained. This is a VERY tiny solar panel, but after discharging my unit I left it in the sun for about 1 hour just to verify that solar charging worked. Playing FM loudly I got about 12 minutes of radio play. Because of the vagaries of charging in the sun (including your geographic latitude) this is unlikely to be used much. But it DOES work. The manual says "10-12 hours in the sun will allow about 3 hours of play depending on volume levels." There's lots of wiggle room there for different performance levels.

USB Smart Phone Charger

I tested this with my BlackBerry 9300, battery indicator at 1/2, and using its own USB cable (USB to micro-USB). Just plugging the cable in to my phone and then to the USB port of the FRX2, my phone's "charging" light came on and blinked merrily. So, using whatever power you have in the FRX2 you can charge your phone. This is a very cool feature.

I discharged all power from the FRX2, and the USB to micro-USB cable as above, but this time cranking the turbine to supply power. As advertised, while cranking the FRX2 the green light came on, and my phone's "battery charging" indicator came on. I didn't want to test this feature too much because of potential damage to the phone (see the documentation) but all appearances are that, yes, this feature also works. In an emergency you should be able to supply power to, and charge, your cell phone. You should verify this with your own cell phone, and insure you have the right USB cables and adapters.

An easy 5 stars because I'm used to similar devices which promise the same things, but end up being cheap, barely useable toys. This radio is the real deal.