Tweet
I purchased the Eton Fr500 a while back and found it to be a decent cost effective emergency radio. It has a solar charger, hand crank, and will provide solar-crank power to a usb hub on the side. This enables me to charge extra AA or AAA batteries with a usb charger. The Shortwave (6000-12100 KHz) works well and it also has AM/FM/NOAA. You can improve reception by stringing a long insulated wire from the antenna to an insulated and properly positioned object.
I paid 50 bucks for mine on Ebay. You can google either the Eton FR500 or FR600. The 600 appears to be a slightly newer version of mine.... I read somewhere 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. I don't know if this is true or not.. I keep my radio in a faraday with the batteries removed..
here is the link to the Eaton site: http://www.etoncorp.com
I paid 50 bucks for mine on Ebay. You can google either the Eton FR500 or FR600. The 600 appears to be a slightly newer version of mine.... I read somewhere 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. I don't know if this is true or not.. I keep my radio in a faraday with the batteries removed..
here is the link to the Eaton site: http://www.etoncorp.com