ETON ARCFR150R Solar-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Microlink Radio - Red
Eton
- FR150
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Reviews
(14)
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I have several similar so-called "emergency" radios, mainly for disaster preparedness (as I live in a major quake zone). Of this excellent Eton line of products which includes the optional solar power charging and the hand-crank dynamo charging, this FR 150 is a smaller (more compact) but equally effective unit (to it's bigger, bulkier cousins). I like this smaller size/weight because it is even more portable (in my "go bag"), it retains all of the previous power supply options from previous models and ADDS one additional (the USB plug!), and, it even trims the price a little bit in the transaction. A win-win-win situation in my book. I can aver that the performance rates from excellent to nominal.... radio reception is good on all bands (AM, FM, and all 7 WBs), the light output for the LED flashlight is decent and practical, and the now critical emergency cell phone charger is handy and easy to use since the dynamo handcrank is now on the back of the unit and you can just hold the
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4 price(s)
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I listened to AM and FM news stations on it during my 6-hour evacuation ride from Houston to Dallas. Tuning in stations was easy and the signal was clear and powerful throughout the trip. The bright flashlight is a nice addition and proved useful several times. I'm back home now and the radio is sitting safe and dry in a box with my other hurricane supplies.
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I bought this primarily to pick up the weatherband, and for that it works great, in fact it blows away the walkman that I was using for the weatherband before. AM and FM are average, for local stations only, but for 30 bucks you cant expect a lot in this price range. The solar panel is very sensitive, it even will run the radio if placed under a incandescent lamp. Unfortunately, though, this particular one has a volume control that cuts out at the lower end of its range. If it gets worse down the line I'll either send it back to Eton under the year warranty, or just plain junk the thing. To sum up, if you are considering buying one, check it out completely and be prepared to send it back if something dies or does not work right away. personally, this experience is one reason I dont usually like to buy stuff online - theres no store to bring it back to without paying shipping to return it and get another one. if it wasnt for the bad volume control I would give this 4 stars.
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We purchased this emergency radio/flashlight a week before Hurricane Ike hit us in Houston. We tested it as soon as we got it and were able to receive 3 FM stations, 2 AM radio stations and the weather band. The flashlight worked well. We could not locate a cell phone charging cable for the unit, rendering that function null. When Ike hit Friday night, the weather band went to 100% static, and only one FM station was clear enough to understand. The flashlight still worked fine. By Saturday morning we could get no radio signals at all no matter how much we cranked. In contrast, our four battery-operated radios picked up several stations. But, we really didn't want to use up the batteries - the very reason we purchased the hand crank in the first place. The flashlight switch stopped operating Saturday night, remaining stuck on low beam with no way to turn it off. This morning we were fortunate to find a commercial building with a generator, A/C and wi-fi - hence the ability to write this
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Had my doubts when I ordered as we live in a very fringe area surrounded by mountains. Was very pleased to find this little radio pulled in stations as well or better than our larger, more expensive receivers. Also, the Noaa station comes in very clear and at times can get 3 stations.
I found that I get much more than an hour of listening for 90 seconds of cranking. And the light lasts very very long. Also, the solar cell requires very little sunlight to power the radio.
If I had one critique, it would be the very small tuning knob, making it a little difficult to fine tune stations. But this is not used in emergencies as the Noaa stations are tuned in by the selector switch.
All in all, a great purchase. We plan to get another one to keep in car.
I found that I get much more than an hour of listening for 90 seconds of cranking. And the light lasts very very long. Also, the solar cell requires very little sunlight to power the radio.
If I had one critique, it would be the very small tuning knob, making it a little difficult to fine tune stations. But this is not used in emergencies as the Noaa stations are tuned in by the selector switch.
All in all, a great purchase. We plan to get another one to keep in car.
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This is one amazing product, and should be on your priority liat for your household emergency kit. It's also a handy item to have in the car or by the bedside.
The first thing that should be mentioned is that this full-featured emergency radio is amazingly small. Reading its approximate dimensions of 5" wide x 2-3/8" high x 1-13/16" deep can be misleading, so imagine it placed on its side on top of a dollar bill: it's actually smaller than US paper currency! And that's one of the things that make this small radio so appealing.
You can charge the FR150 in less than two minutes using its hand crank. You can also place it in sunlight (even on an overcast day, as I found out) and its built-in solar panel handily powers the radio and recharges its battery pack.
The radio's tuner pulls in both AM and FM stations, and with surprisingly clear reception. It receives all seven NOAA bands using a separate slide selector, so you can monitor changing weather conditions, along with tuning in to
The first thing that should be mentioned is that this full-featured emergency radio is amazingly small. Reading its approximate dimensions of 5" wide x 2-3/8" high x 1-13/16" deep can be misleading, so imagine it placed on its side on top of a dollar bill: it's actually smaller than US paper currency! And that's one of the things that make this small radio so appealing.
You can charge the FR150 in less than two minutes using its hand crank. You can also place it in sunlight (even on an overcast day, as I found out) and its built-in solar panel handily powers the radio and recharges its battery pack.
The radio's tuner pulls in both AM and FM stations, and with surprisingly clear reception. It receives all seven NOAA bands using a separate slide selector, so you can monitor changing weather conditions, along with tuning in to
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First thing that should be mentioned is that this full-featured emergency radio is amazingly small. Reading its approximate dimensions of 5" wide x 2-3/8" high x 1-13/16" deep can be misleading, so imagine it placed on its side on top of a dollar bill: it's actually smaller than US paper currency, and that's just one of the things that make this small radio so appealing!
You can charge the FR150 in less than two minutes using its hand crank. You can also place it in sunlight (even on an overcast day, as I found out) and its built-in solar panel handily powers the radio and recharges its battery pack.
The radio's tuner pulls in both AM and FM stations, and with surprisingly clear reception. It receives all seven NOAA bands using a separate slide selector, so you can monitor changing weather conditions, along with tuning in to the FCC and EAS public alert systems.
It has a flashlight with three LEDs on the its side, providing surprisingly bright illumination, and for comparison it's
You can charge the FR150 in less than two minutes using its hand crank. You can also place it in sunlight (even on an overcast day, as I found out) and its built-in solar panel handily powers the radio and recharges its battery pack.
The radio's tuner pulls in both AM and FM stations, and with surprisingly clear reception. It receives all seven NOAA bands using a separate slide selector, so you can monitor changing weather conditions, along with tuning in to the FCC and EAS public alert systems.
It has a flashlight with three LEDs on the its side, providing surprisingly bright illumination, and for comparison it's
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I don't know what radio the other reviewers got, but they certainly couldn't have gotten the same model as I did. What a super disappointment...especially since this radio is supposed to be for emergencies (...see my comments near the bottom of this review). Sure, when it came fully charged from the factory it played (out-of-the-box) 13 hours. BUT, this was probably a charge via 'AC', which, unfortunately, you won't be able to have for a while since there is no AC adapter yet available for this radio. But when it fully dis-charged, and I cranked it for the 90 seconds recommended, I got a whole 20 minutes of 'play time'. (By the way, one of their support guys told me NOT to go much over 90 seconds of cranking, 'or else'...whatever that means.) And, according to that same Microlink tech support person, you'd better be in DIRECT sunlight if you expect it to 'fully charge' in about 5-6 hours...and, according to that same tech support person, going over 6 hours in direct sunlight won't add
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I like to listen to the radio in the shower, and outside. I bought this thing as a radio that can float between the bathroom, and that I can carry outside and listen to. I liked the idea that it has a solar panel, and can be charged by cranking, as I hate needing to change the batteries when my radio goes dead and I'm all soapy. This radio is probably not very waterproof, but it will hold up to getting splashed pretty well.
The radio has great reception. I can even pick up the local college radio station that is fairly underpowered. The built-in telescoping antenna works properly, and folds flat into the unit. This is loud enough to be heard over the water flowing in the shower. This is not at all a hifi, and sounds kinda like the early transistor radios. Great for news, not really all that good for heavy metal or hip-hop.
The solar panel is weak, but convenient for leaving on the window sill in the bathroom, which somewhat charges the unit during the day. There is an LED to indicate
The radio has great reception. I can even pick up the local college radio station that is fairly underpowered. The built-in telescoping antenna works properly, and folds flat into the unit. This is loud enough to be heard over the water flowing in the shower. This is not at all a hifi, and sounds kinda like the early transistor radios. Great for news, not really all that good for heavy metal or hip-hop.
The solar panel is weak, but convenient for leaving on the window sill in the bathroom, which somewhat charges the unit during the day. There is an LED to indicate
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Smaller than I expected. You can fill out a form and provide them with your cell phone model and they'll mail you the correct charger adapter. I haven't had to wind it once, the solar panel doesn't need direct sunlight, in the shade it works great! $30 is a steal!
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This little radio is smaller and handier than I thought.
It is powerful, and yet easy to take along.
A bargain at this price.
I am so glad I ordered it...
It is powerful, and yet easy to take along.
A bargain at this price.
I am so glad I ordered it...
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Great little device! Smaller than expected. Sturdy, with good AM reception and loud volume. Light and solar panel appear to work as well.
One problem - you need an adapter to charge your cell phone, but I can't find the adapter anywhere (amazon, ebay, etc). So, the cell charging functionality is null. If you find it please let me know and post it here!
One problem - you need an adapter to charge your cell phone, but I can't find the adapter anywhere (amazon, ebay, etc). So, the cell charging functionality is null. If you find it please let me know and post it here!
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Eton FR 150 Microlink: Radoo/Flashlight/Handcrank Charger
The Eton FR 150 Microlink is a must-have backpacker radio/flashlight/charger. At about 7.5 oz, it is not the smallest am/fm/NOAA weather available. It simply is the best quality palm-sized radio for $30.00. Grundig via Eton designed this radio in their American Red Cross Emergency Radio series. It is very well built with excellent reception and sound qualities. It is partially soft-armored for backpacking use. It is well sealed not waterproof, as in water-submersible, but
survives creek crossings and trail-soaking rains.
Its renewable power sources are distinct advantages. The hand crank is easy to use. The FR 150 has Solar energy panels built into the case providing constant outdoor daylight charging. The rechargeable batteries can be used to recharge a runned-down cell phone. Its bright LED flashlight provides backup for other heavier backpacker flashlights.
This is a high quality, well-built, inexpensive device for
The Eton FR 150 Microlink is a must-have backpacker radio/flashlight/charger. At about 7.5 oz, it is not the smallest am/fm/NOAA weather available. It simply is the best quality palm-sized radio for $30.00. Grundig via Eton designed this radio in their American Red Cross Emergency Radio series. It is very well built with excellent reception and sound qualities. It is partially soft-armored for backpacking use. It is well sealed not waterproof, as in water-submersible, but
survives creek crossings and trail-soaking rains.
Its renewable power sources are distinct advantages. The hand crank is easy to use. The FR 150 has Solar energy panels built into the case providing constant outdoor daylight charging. The rechargeable batteries can be used to recharge a runned-down cell phone. Its bright LED flashlight provides backup for other heavier backpacker flashlights.
This is a high quality, well-built, inexpensive device for
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This is a fabulous radio for only $30.00! I live 12 miles from a NOAA transmitter in a house with 9 inch thick stone walls and this little set pulls in a strong, clear signal at all times! I previously owned a Midland WR10 which under exactly the same conditions could barely recieve with two antennas sometimes. I threw it away the minute I turned on the Red Cross(Eton) radio.
