Emergency radios doing double duty in RVs.

[Tom 72]

Attention boondockers:

After Hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, with a close call in Louisiana. Plus fires in various states, and other natural disasters, last night I spent a couple hours studying emergency radios.

I have owned BayGens, Freeplay Plus's, Sangeans, C Cranes, and more. I intentionally wanted an analog tuner, but this is available with digital (model 600).

Emergency radios have weather bands, AM/FM, & possibly SW, They can run on hand cranks, solar, USB cords, internal & external batteries, AC, and maybe propane.
In addition to being a radio, many have flashlights, reading lights, and red flashing lights. It will charge a cell phone sufficiently for use.

According to a review, It performs well except FM reception is not great at 75 miles, which is what I would expect.

I ordered the one linked below, for RV and emergency use. 4 and 1/2 stars based on over 1700 reviews. This does everything mentioned except run on propane. Take a look, preppers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[WDavidG]

This is probably a fine radio that will serve you well but I caution against relying too heavily on the amazon reviews. Running this particular product through a review analyzer (I used Fakespot) indicates that the overall quality of the the reviews is low, with possible deception involved.

Of course, just as we should be careful about the quality and legitimacy of the reviews, the algorithms behind analyses like Fakespot deserve similar caution. I do however find them to be a useful additional data point.

Recent events make your suggestion of an emergency radio a valuable one. Thanks for the post.

[k0wtz]

tom I bought our wave 3 heater based on reviews there were cautions included I know about venting for this. You would be surprised at the responses I got oh you have to have your windows completely open! How would you draw a conclusion like this? I read up on everything before I buy.


I love Amazon because if it doesn't do what is correct box it back up and ship it back no questions asked. Walmart is now going to instant return no more long lines to wait and wait. Can you imagine the happy customers and a reduction of labor at the front end. I would imagine there is a limit to this but I for one like it I am a Wally World man! They claim their sales are up 40% with the changes they are making and now competing with Amazon! They allowed Amazon to steal their business for too long!!


bob


a 13f Scamper is ridiculous!!

[Tom 72]

I agree there are fake reviews on Amazon. I thought 1700 was a good sample size to minimize that, but I appreciate the advice. The "verified purchaser" tag on Amazon reviews helps reduce them.

That raises another problem. Amazon takes returned goods (from fake posters?) and apparently resells them without always diagnosing defects. That can cause them to be resold over and over. Buying an item, then returning it would probably let you show as a verified purchaser.

Jet.com owned by WalMart is an alternative if you don't want Amazon to have a monopoly.

Here's a Plan B, from Sangean to consider. Their radios are usually exceptional.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJZOOLI..._t3_B001QVFMS2

[k0wtz]

tom their return goods they stock goes to a reduction pile I bought a returned wave 3 heater from them reduced it was junk many hours on it!

they have amatures in that return dept. whoever had that wave 3 put the screws to them and then me but I returned it again. it had hundreds of hours on it.

here is what they did someone bought a new one returned the old one as new and got by with it.

Amazon has yet to cut a real profit they keep selling stock to cover up their losses some day the stock selling will stop for them. What then? I have seen so many go bust the biggest was Brookestone and one Home Depot got for nothing oh I remember now Home Decorators they call it Soft Soroundings now same outfit bigger crooks!

bob

[Darwin Maring]

An emergency radio that you can crank up or set in the sun to charge is well worth having.
There is a Red Cross model and others. Check out camping world.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...us?d=122&c=199

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

...

Here's a Plan B, from Sangean to consider. Their radios are usually exceptional.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OJZOOLI..._t3_B001QVFMS2

I have one very similar to that but a different brand. The desktop Digital FM radio I mentioned before that I use in the Scamp is a Sangean however. Agreed that Sangean a good brand and a radio like this that has built in hand crank, solar cell and will charge you phone is a very good thing to have. I have never needed the extra power sources on mine but its good to know its there if needed. I might even get the Sangean as a back up since the one I have feels a little on the cheap side.

[k0wtz]

I cant recall the maker but there was a very expensive one it would pick up shortwave as well neat radio. But get it close to rf and it was a gonner no repair either!

I didn't get one but I knew people that did and they regretted it!

bob

[Tom 72]

The original BayGen Freeplays from South Africa were one of the trail blazers. They were produced for everyday use in areas without reliable electricity. They had a shortwave band. I think the original BayGen factory may have closed. Someone is using the Freeplay brand. Google Freeplay TufSolar to find a current offering. Seemed a bit pricey.

BayGen Freeplay Self Powered AM-FM-SW Radio | eBay

[k0wtz]

no tom this was made by a big-name manufacture it will come to me. when rf out a cb radio hit it for instance no more high dollar portable readio.


bob

[Ed Harris]

I have yet to find any of these hybrid radios that was well made in any way?
So far in my searching anything with a crank has been a complete piece of junk but I do like the idea of something entirely self-contained still.

I just carry a Yaesu HT with an AA battery pack and I can charge it in the trailer,power it from 12vdc and just use it with AA batteries as needed.
I can tune a lot more,use an external antenna located for better reception and Transmit too!

[Mike Magee]

I do not put much stock in the solar or the hand-crank for recharging. The solar panel is too small to amount to anything, and I think most folks will tire of cranking long before they've produced enough amperage to matter. I agree with Ed. Much better to use common AA NiMH cells (I prefer low-self-discharge ones like Eneloop/Panasonic) and a 12V charger that can feed off a trailer battery or a normal-size solar panel (60W to 100W).

I have a https://countycomm.com/collections/r...-purpose-radio SW radio, but have not yet owned a weather radio. I can certainly see some benefit to having one, though.

[Glenn Baglo]

Or, you can just buy a pack of 24 AA or AAA batteries for about $20 that, with new technology, are guaranteed to hold their charge for 10 years from purchase.
I have the rechargeable batteries, but gave up on them. They are 1.2 v, not 1.5v and are a problem with some equipment ( like my AM/FM earbud radio ).

[Tom 72]

Some of the smallest and least expensive wind up models did not hold up well in my experience with them.

The original BayGen Freeplay, which are on eBay used, are very sturdy and predictable. They would run almost 60 minutes on 60 seconds of cranking. Not bad for Plan B.

On a sunny day, they would play live using solar, which was enough (Plan C). They also ran on external power, which is what many would do every day - Plan A.

I expect the one I just bought will do those three, and run on internal batteries - Plan D, or separate batteries I can add - Plan E. You can also power it, or power outside devices via USB cord - Plan F.

The hand crank is for emergencies, as are the other alternatives.

Much of the time I listen to a pocket Sangean DT-120 with an earphone. Very frugal with batteries, and superior reception. No hand crank, but it fits a pocket.

My thought with the emergency radio is beyond myself, to have a radio that a small group of people would enjoy to receive updates and some entertainment. I bet they came in handy during some of the recent disasters. Having a small light, and being able to get a cell phone working seals the deal. I agree there are better single purpose devices. This is 5" x 8" x 3".

[Ed Harris]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

Some of the smallest and least expensive wind up models did not hold up well in my experience with them.

The original BayGen Freeplay, which are on eBay used, are very sturdy and predictable. They would run almost 60 minutes on 60 seconds of cranking. Not bad for Plan B.

On a sunny day, they would play live using solar, which was enough (Plan C). They also ran on external power, which is what many would do every day - Plan A.

I expect the one I just bought will do those three, and run on internal batteries - Plan D, or separate batteries I can add - Plan E. You can also power it, or power outside devices via USB cord - Plan F.

The hand crank is for emergencies, as are the other alternatives.

Much of the time I listen to a pocket Sangean DT-120 with an earphone. Very frugal with batteries, and superior reception. No hand crank, but it fits a pocket.

My thought with the emergency radio is beyond myself, to have a radio that a small group of people would enjoy to receive updates and some entertainment. I bet they came in handy during some of the recent disasters. Having a small light, and being able to get a cell phone working seals the deal. I agree there are better single purpose devices. This is 5" x 8" x 3".

Tom
So are you saying this new one seems more sturdy than the earlier ones you had too?

You do not just come out and say so and I have to be skeptical about this?
I agree that the features sound good but then this is how I have been suckered into the other ones that I tried,the features are great but the radios were terrible in construction and the features just a mirage in the end.
If any of them actually did do what they claimed I would be satisfied but that has not been my experience at all.

I have read and heard decent things about the Kaito and also have a small unit from them but.......

Also the link you provide says this one is not available right now,another Mirage?

[k0wtz]

How about this instead of solar cranks all that other stuff trying to get by just get a bicycle with a generator on it and crank it out!

bob

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

I do not put much stock in the solar or the hand-crank for recharging. The solar panel is too small to amount to anything, and I think most folks will tire of cranking long before they've produced enough amperage to matter....

Have you owned one? I will agree that the quality of some / most of these emergency radios leave a lot to be desired, and it's ability to charge a cell phone is untested in my case.

But let me tell you about my recent experience.

Thanks to some knucklehead going well over the speed limit, maybe even drunk, and taking out a huge utility pole, I got to spend some time with no power recently. I got out my emergency radio, but because it had been stored and in the dark, the battery was dead. With less than one minute of hand cranking, the radio ran for at least 20 minutes. The little solar cell also seems to provide plenty of power to maintain the battery while it is stored or to run the radio at moderate volume (but not the flashlight) pretty much indefinitely as long as there is even minimal light available. The radio uses very little power.

Yes, I could have used my other battery operated radios, even my ham HT which receives commercial FM broadcasts. But this option remains even if you have no fresh or charged batteries. Its all about having multiple options and backups.

Here is the pole the next day while repairs were underway. The main highway was closed for about a full day and we were unable to get out of our neighborhood except on foot for about as long.

[Tom 72]

The Kaito radio was out of stock. I should get it around Wednesday. I will post about its construction, performance and compare it to typical Sangean performance a day or so after that. I don't own the Sangean hand crank, but a half dozen Sangeans have been pretty good.

Until then, here are several reviews:

This favorable review seems to highlight strengths and weaknesses, saying it is one of the best in its emergency category. It does not say it is the best radio period.

https://ultratechlife.com/reviews/th...-radio-review/

Kaito KA500 Emergency Radio. Product Reviews

[k0wtz]

Well I have had power out here for over a week we would get smoke signal reports you know the old way.

I never really hankered for one of those but we did have a portable radio with extra batteries. we could get out though!

But at 75 I can recall no electricity, no pottie, no runnin water, a zinc instead of well, a 2 holer in the back yard with a sears catalog for reading material!

bob

[Mike Magee]

Gordon, ya got me. I am really surprised to hear 20 min runtime on 1 min cranking. That is darn good!