Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Red)
Eton
- FR400 - Red
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Reviews
(7)
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To start with, we received the Eton FR400 Emergency Radio as a gift a few years ago. The antenna had been snapped off (as can happen with any radio of this type), but a quick visit to Eton's website and a replacement was quickly obtained, which is far better customer service than many of its competitors.
Simply put, this radio does everything that's expected. Had occasion to use it earlier this year when we had a power outage that lasted for a little more than 24 hours, and cranking the generator for about 90 seconds resulted in use for about an hour. Haven't had occasion to use its noisy emergency siren or its 1 flashing red LED emergency light, but its 2 white LED flashlight is handy, though one might wish for more light.
When it comes to radio reception, have had occasion to use all of its AM/FM/NOAA/TV1/TV2 (VHF channels 2-13) bands, and reception has been just fine. Have used it on the NOAA weather bands, and the alert function for emergency broadcasts works as expected. Should
Simply put, this radio does everything that's expected. Had occasion to use it earlier this year when we had a power outage that lasted for a little more than 24 hours, and cranking the generator for about 90 seconds resulted in use for about an hour. Haven't had occasion to use its noisy emergency siren or its 1 flashing red LED emergency light, but its 2 white LED flashlight is handy, though one might wish for more light.
When it comes to radio reception, have had occasion to use all of its AM/FM/NOAA/TV1/TV2 (VHF channels 2-13) bands, and reception has been just fine. Have used it on the NOAA weather bands, and the alert function for emergency broadcasts works as expected. Should
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The product description clearly says, "Includes an emergency siren, and a built-in cell phone charger with multiple adapter tips". After reading many accounts of how it is possible to lose contact simply because of not being able to recharge a cell phone, I thought this a very good feature in a "disaster radio", and it is the feature that motivated me to purchase the radio.
I was surprised to find that the radio not only doesn't include "multiple adapter tips", it doesn't have even one, in fact doesn't have even a cord that will plug into the socket labeled "cell phone", and this socket is also nothing like any standard cell phone cord would plug into.
I contacted Eton customer service. To their credit, the reply was quick, but to the effect of, "tell us the cell phone model and we will send one cord, but no other adapters".
I'm less than thrilled with this radio. It seems OK, but the light is dim (2 LEDs), the radio reception is spotty, hard to tune, and the carrying case is too
I was surprised to find that the radio not only doesn't include "multiple adapter tips", it doesn't have even one, in fact doesn't have even a cord that will plug into the socket labeled "cell phone", and this socket is also nothing like any standard cell phone cord would plug into.
I contacted Eton customer service. To their credit, the reply was quick, but to the effect of, "tell us the cell phone model and we will send one cord, but no other adapters".
I'm less than thrilled with this radio. It seems OK, but the light is dim (2 LEDs), the radio reception is spotty, hard to tune, and the carrying case is too
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I was really excited about this Eton hand crank radio. However, I soon realized several problems:
#1-It says to crank it at the speed of two revolutions per second for 90 seconds, and the charge should last 30 minutes. Actually, the charge only lasts 10 minutes.
#2-The cellphone adapter that the company sent me fits into my cellphone, but does not fit into the radio! This renders it totally useless as a cellphone charger.
#3-FM channels get all staticky once you set the radio down. It seems that if you're holding the radio, your body acts as an antenna but once you go away from it, it instantly gets all this static.
To sum it all up, let me just say this -- great idea, peeps, but poor execution.
#1-It says to crank it at the speed of two revolutions per second for 90 seconds, and the charge should last 30 minutes. Actually, the charge only lasts 10 minutes.
#2-The cellphone adapter that the company sent me fits into my cellphone, but does not fit into the radio! This renders it totally useless as a cellphone charger.
#3-FM channels get all staticky once you set the radio down. It seems that if you're holding the radio, your body acts as an antenna but once you go away from it, it instantly gets all this static.
To sum it all up, let me just say this -- great idea, peeps, but poor execution.
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Love the light-weight and compactness of this emergency radio in addition to the multiple energy sources.
Tried it out on a recent camping trip and couldn't locate TV stations, seemed to get radio on TV setting. In subsequent test at home, I got all our local TV stations, plus some unidentified broadcasts which sounded like radio.
NOAA weather broadcast was very helpful on campout.
The cover is a good idea, but it fits too tightly to be used easily.
Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Red)
Tried it out on a recent camping trip and couldn't locate TV stations, seemed to get radio on TV setting. In subsequent test at home, I got all our local TV stations, plus some unidentified broadcasts which sounded like radio.
NOAA weather broadcast was very helpful on campout.
The cover is a good idea, but it fits too tightly to be used easily.
Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Red)
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It's the little things that define the quality of a product. Having just received the Eton FR400 I can't attest to how well it will work under emergency conditions -- which is, after all, why one buys something like this. But there's a few little things that make me nervous about its quality and design.
The plastic strikes me as cheap. How will it stand up to getting knocked around?
The case is a textbook case of poor design. It fits the radio so tightly that it turns on switches when you insert the radio -- if you can get the radio into the case. Plus there's no room for the AC charger. This may sound peevish, but it's this kind of poor craftmanship which can be symbolic of a short sighted company. What good is a case if it's a pain to use? What good is it if it turns on features that drain the battery? What good is it if you can't carry accessories that comes with the radio?
And the key question, how good is a company that puts out a product so poorly designed? Was Eton trying to
The plastic strikes me as cheap. How will it stand up to getting knocked around?
The case is a textbook case of poor design. It fits the radio so tightly that it turns on switches when you insert the radio -- if you can get the radio into the case. Plus there's no room for the AC charger. This may sound peevish, but it's this kind of poor craftmanship which can be symbolic of a short sighted company. What good is a case if it's a pain to use? What good is it if it turns on features that drain the battery? What good is it if you can't carry accessories that comes with the radio?
And the key question, how good is a company that puts out a product so poorly designed? Was Eton trying to
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I needed more info on this radio and others so I called Amazon tech support. I was given the Eton customer service number: 1-800-872-2228.
The Eton FR400 has TV capabilities that will become obsolete in 2009 as the signals will all be switched to digital for the TV portion of this radio. All other functions will work. The updated model, Eton FR405, is the same as this radio only without the TV signal capability. The FR405 is only available at Best Buy at this time. For my money, the FR400 with TV capabilities, while the TV signals last, is a better buy.
This radio is water resistant. A waterproof model would be perfect. We've lost a couple of cell phones in the river and water kills them fast. Sun dried cell phones are never the same if they even flicker with life at all. So, now I look for waterproof when buying anything that might get wet or fall overboard. An emergency radio is in that class.
Another newer model coming on the scene soon will be the Eton FR1000--no TV
The Eton FR400 has TV capabilities that will become obsolete in 2009 as the signals will all be switched to digital for the TV portion of this radio. All other functions will work. The updated model, Eton FR405, is the same as this radio only without the TV signal capability. The FR405 is only available at Best Buy at this time. For my money, the FR400 with TV capabilities, while the TV signals last, is a better buy.
This radio is water resistant. A waterproof model would be perfect. We've lost a couple of cell phones in the river and water kills them fast. Sun dried cell phones are never the same if they even flicker with life at all. So, now I look for waterproof when buying anything that might get wet or fall overboard. An emergency radio is in that class.
Another newer model coming on the scene soon will be the Eton FR1000--no TV
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The FR400 is a good, though pricey, radio. The LED flashlight is intense (you won't want to look directly at it), but not so bright. This is the case for most LED flashlights, so, if you need to be active during a low light condition, you might be better off with an ordinary flashlight. I have two gripes:
1) It doesn't stand well on its end. During a recent power outage, I tried pointing the light upward, as I did with my other flashlights, so that it would reflect off the ceiling and illuminate a larger area. The dynamo crank prevents the radio from standing well on its end.
2) The AC adapter doesn't fit in the bag, as another reviewer already noted. The bag, by the way, fits rather tightly, so it is easy to accidentally turn knobs and flip switches as you're pushing the radio in.
1) It doesn't stand well on its end. During a recent power outage, I tried pointing the light upward, as I did with my other flashlights, so that it would reflect off the ceiling and illuminate a larger area. The dynamo crank prevents the radio from standing well on its end.
2) The AC adapter doesn't fit in the bag, as another reviewer already noted. The bag, by the way, fits rather tightly, so it is easy to accidentally turn knobs and flip switches as you're pushing the radio in.
