wind up radio

i'm in the market for a wind up radio. i plan on using it for camping and when the SHTF. i have seen a few at my local radio shack but they all look like toys. flimsy to the touch.

does anyone know of a good radio? one that can handle real world usage? one that can be tossed in a backpack? one that is robust and reliable? i'm not looking for a toy.

if anyone can reccomend one i would appreciate it. i will do my own research of the radios suggested and if i find one that suits my needs i will buy it and share my reviews of the product.

links to radios you reccomend would be nice.

thank you

subfab

If TSHF no one will be transmitting.
/all dead

They have some cool wind up radios and radios/battery charger combos on Amazon. I was looking at getting some of that stuff but was saving that stuff for last because...what Rigel said

reply to post by subfab


There's one that Noory is always plugging on Coasttocoastam. May be a link on their site, but its supposed to be good.

reply to post by Cataka


i checked out coast 2 coast website. nothing that i could find. but i will keep looking. thanks for the tip.

-subfab

reply to post by scorpiosin


i looked at amazon too.
the quality of the products is difficult to see in those little pictures they put on the website. i am hoping someone on this site has tried some of the radios.

almost as important as which one is good, is to know which ones to avoid.

-subfab

www.ambientweather.com/emra.html

has quite a few hand crank models in varying price ranges. i've used one similar to the Ambient Weather WR-111 on camping/hunting trips.

good luck & hope you find what you're looking for.

Originally posted by subfab
i'm in the market for a wind up radio. i plan on using it for camping and when the SHTF. i have seen a few at my local radio shack but they all look like toys. flimsy to the touch.

does anyone know of a good radio? one that can handle real world usage? one that can be tossed in a backpack? one that is robust and reliable? i'm not looking for a toy.

if anyone can reccomend one i would appreciate it. i will do my own research of the radios suggested and if i find one that suits my needs i will buy it and share my reviews of the product.

links to radios you reccomend would be nice.

thank you

subfab

Check out this radio. I bought one and LOVE it! Has 4 different power sources! And it's on sale right now!
beprepared.com...®%20Green%20Voyager™

reply to post by subfab


Last year I purchased a Midland wind-up emergency radio that has worked well for me. It's an AM/FM/NOAA Weather radio with battery back up, built in flashlight and alarm. It's light enough to throw in your backpack but seems pretty rugged so far. It's easy to wind up and lasts a good while without having to constantly wind it up. I think I paid about $40 for it.

I heard that ccrane radio is good, but I still think their model is only around 30 bucks, which may make it a toy as well. Like I said though, ccrane is supposed to be pretty good. Can't waitto see what the results of this thread brings. I myself have been in the market for one of these, but I don't want something cheapo. Also in case of SHTF situation, the entire human race will not just be wiped out more than likely. I can assure you that their will be plenty of radio fanatics and geeks trying to contact the outside world from a makeshift broadcastin station. No matter what the situation, radio waves will always fly.
reply to post by subfab

reply to post by chaakin


damn that green voyager looks cool.

-subfab

I've had several over the years.

In practice they're a PITA unless you love cranking.

Even the solar ones kind of suck. They all seem to need bright sun directly on their cells. Any overcast conditions at all and they dont work. Any shade from trees and they dont work.

I took one with me on a backwoods trek for a couple of months. I could hardly ever use it. Eventually I detoured into a town and bought batteries for the damn thing.

I did have a couple of those mini solar chargers with me though for keeping the cell phone alive in case I had trouble. Kept two of them tied to my pack. When I did need to charge my phone they worked pretty well.

Wind up radio to charge the phone? Sucked donkey balls. Took me almost half an hour of constant winding to get it to power on.

My SHTF radio is a PRC-320.
Commercial broadcasting radio may stop but there will still be all the amateur radio operators all over the world transmitting lots of information in real time.
I suggest what ever receiver you choose make sure it has a LSB/USB mode.
Also what about battery having powered radio and just charge the battery's?
Limiting yourself to a crank power radio reduces your options a lot.
I look forward to reading all the suggestions.

I bought one of the solarlink fr-600's last year. It's pretty good for the money but as mentioned above they all have the same limitations. I've realized that am draws more power than fm and shortwave draws even more. When I listen to my daily am radio show if I don't have batteries charged I have to wind the cranker for 10 seconds every 30 seconds.

I bought one at m local pharmacy right after the big ice storm of '98. Paid all of $13 dollars for it, but winding it is a pain in the backside. Wind for one full minute, it plays for five. I've had to use it one time since and it worked fine. If I had to do it over again, I would look into the ones from Africa that play for an hour, although they appear to be larger. If I find the link to them I'll be glad to post it.


Here's a video you might find interesting

Originally posted by chaakin

Originally posted by subfab
i'm in the market for a wind up radio. i plan on using it for camping and when the SHTF. i have seen a few at my local radio shack but they all look like toys. flimsy to the touch.

does anyone know of a good radio? one that can handle real world usage? one that can be tossed in a backpack? one that is robust and reliable? i'm not looking for a toy.

if anyone can reccomend one i would appreciate it. i will do my own research of the radios suggested and if i find one that suits my needs i will buy it and share my reviews of the product.

links to radios you reccomend would be nice.

thank you

subfab

Check out this radio. I bought one and LOVE it! Has 4 different power sources! And it's on sale right now!
beprepared.com...®%20Green%20Voyager™

edit on 20-4-2012 by chaakin because: (no reason given)

I will give to this radio as well. I just bought it, same color and everything.

Adding:
Some features: LED lights, can charge your cell phone, hand crank + solar + battery + adapter powered.

I read about one that runs on a wind up, escapement type generator (no batteries).

I think this is the one

Source

Baygen Freeplay wind up radio

First, for AM, FM and shortwave reception, I would look for an old
Baygen FreePlay windup radio.
A dead mint one (made in South Africa) should cost
from $ 75.00 to $ 125.00 on eBay.
Keep looking, as this summer 2010, some NIB ones went
for thirty-five to forty dollars each.
These do not have batteries which can go bad.
You wind up the spring motor and as it unwinds it turns a
generator to power the radio.

If you are fortunate enough to find one in good working order but
don't have the instruction manual, do not be alarmed when
the spring motor keeps running when the radio is turned off.
You wind up the spring motor and turn on the radio - the generator
will turn at a pretty good pace.
When the radio is turned off the motor will keep turning but at
a much slower rate.
The radios are designed to do this so the spring motor can not
be left wound up for long periods of time which would weaken
the spring.

A note on hand crank radios.
Most of the hand crank radios you see use batteries.
The crank turns a generator that charges the batteries.
I would rather count on an old Baygen radio than one of the
fancy new ones with batteries.

Another Baygen source windupradio.com...

And here is my Fav radio store link
www.universal-radio.com...

www.universal-radio.com...

www.universal-radio.com...

reply to post by kawika


i'm looking at about a half dozen radios on the net. the freeplay appears to be the best choice.
so far none of the customer reviews verify the manufacturer's claim of one minute of winding equals one hour of radio play time. i will keep looking.

thanks for the tip


-subfab

reply to post by subfab


The new freeplay's have batteries. They older ones do not, you wind up a spring like an old victrola record player and it turns the generator as it unwinds.

I have one of the red Eton's they sell at radio shack, wifey bought it for me. 1 minute winding = 10 minutes play. Someone needs to create a better power pack, maybe an external power pack for these things.

Sensitivity is good, better than some.

I am an amateur radio operator so I have a really great radio in the car that can receive almost any frequency you could think of and can transmit on the amateur bands. Also have a big solar charger for 12V and a big boat battery for portable operation.

Car Radio

Solar Charger

73,
K

reply to post by kawika



nice to hear from another ham.

i have my technician license. i own a yaseu 2m handheld. i am not very experienced using the radio. most of the time i scan and listen. the weather channel is cool.

-subfab