Many years ago, in a small town near where I live, a young family was gathered in their home. The weather had begun to look threatening, and they were concerned. Then, a growing rumble shook the earth and sky, like the approach of an impossibly large freight train. The family sought what shelter they could find. As the oncoming tornado shattered their house, the young father shielded his family with his own body. His family survived. He did not. One of the children whom that man protected grew up to be an acquaintance whom I greatly respect and admire.
Many other people in my community are personally acquainted with people who share similar experiences. So it is not surprising that many people around here take tornado preparedness seriously. It is common to have a tornado kit in a safe place in the basement. This kit will typically contain items like a flashlight, extra batteries, a whistle, a first aid kit, bottled water, and a knife.
Besides the flashlight, probably the most commonly stocked item in a tornado kit is a battery-powered radio. Once a family has sought shelter, they want to able to track the progress of the storm, and know when it is safe to come out. A battery-powered radio gives access to this kind of information.
Several years ago, I wanted to upgrade the radio in my tornado kit. Batteries degrade over time. They should be replaced periodically to be certain that they retain an adequate charge when needed. But as a Norwegian proverb observes, “It is quickly done to forget.” I wanted a self-powered radio to assure that diminished battery capacity would not be an issue. So I put a hand-crank radio on my Christmas wish list, and received one from my wife that year.
The Eton FRX3
[1]The radio I received from my wife was the Red Cross edition of the Eton FRX3. The radio has an attractive, sturdy-looking design. The radio is equipped with AM, FM and Weather bands. Power sources include both built-in rechargeable batteries (charged by mini-USB input, solar cells, or a hand crank), and replaceable AAA batteries. Plan A was to use the solar cells to keep the rechargeable batteries fully charged. I stored the unit on the ledge of a south-facing basement window. Periodic testing quickly revealed that this plan would not work. A small LED clock on the unit continuously drains the battery. The solar cells were not producing enough current to keep up.
Plan B was to use the mini-USB input to keep the rechargeable batteries charged. I kept the unit plugged into an outlet near my workbench. I expected that if the power failed, I would find the rechargeable batteries fully charged. This seemed to work for a while, but eventually the mini-USB input stopped functioning.
Plan C was to turn the hand crank at regular intervals to keep the rechargeable batteries adequately charged. But even with regular and extensive cranking, the rechargeable batteries drained too quickly between charges for this solution to be practical.
Finally I decided to just treat the FRX3 like a regular battery-powered radio, and power it primarily with replaceable AAA alkaline batteries. A few months after this plan was adopted, the acid test came. The sky grew dark, and the wind roared through the trees. The power failed, and we sought shelter in the basement. I tried to turn on the radio to get the latest report on the situation. The AAA batteries were already dead. I desperately turned the hand crank for about thirty seconds, and then turned the radio on. It briefly came on, but then quickly died before I could gather any useful information. I set off with a flashlight in search of another radio and appropriately sized batteries. My wife was not impressed.
After that traumatic experience, I put the FRX3 aside, and stocked my tornado kit with a cheap, ugly, battery-powered radio that my wife had picked up at a garage sale. It looked like a piece of junk, but it worked reliably every time I turned it on.
I pulled out the FRX3 to test it again in connection with the writing of this article. I turned the crank for one minute, and then turned the radio on. With the charge provided by one minute of cranking, the radio operated for 4 minutes and 10 seconds before dying.
Other people have reported better success with the FRX3 than I have experienced. Perhaps my particular unit is defective. In any case, the unit I have has been a grave disappointment that I cannot count on in an emergency.
If you decide you would like to give the FRX3 a try in spite of my experiences, it is currently available on Amazon for $39.99. Or I would happily send you mine for just the cost of the postage. You would just have to promise not to depend on it in a critical situation and not to return it.
The Excalibur H690
After my experiences with the FRX3 radio, I was not really interested in getting another hand-crank radio. I jumped to the conclusion that such radios were a nice idea that did not really work out in practice.
[2]So I started looking for a radio that I could keep in the barn to listen to while splitting wood. So when I ran across an Excalibur H690 [3] at a local thrift store for a dollar fifty, I took a second look. The primary feature that attracted me to the H690 is that it can be powered by three standard size AA batteries. I have an almost endless source of free, partly-used AA batteries, so I decided to give it a try. The radio can also be run off of 6-volt DC input, a hand crank, or built-in solar cells. It has a built-in three or five LED flashlight that is not particularly impressive, but which is better than nothing in the dark.
The battery life in this unit is fantastic. I am still on my first set of partly used AA batteries. The radio uses so little current, that it will continue to run for several minutes even when the AA batteries have been removed and the rechargeable batteries are expended to the point that they can no longer produce even a slight glow from the LEDs.
In recent testing, one minute of cranking produced 26 minutes of play on the radio. I had to turn the volume up for the final five minutes of listening, but other than that the signal remained clear throughout the test period.
This unit doesn’t look nearly as attractive, well designed, or sturdy as the FRX3. But it works well and the FRX3 does not.
The H690 currently is available new on Amazon for $17.95 [3]. The one I own is not for sale.
The Aervoe 7810 Wind ‘N Go
[4]I suspect most people buy the Aervoe 7810 Wind ‘N Go combination lantern/radio unit [5] primarily for the lantern, with the radio as a fringe benefit. I bought it primarily for the radio with no real interest in the lantern. I was surprised by the quality of the radio reception when I found it on a shelf in a thrift store in another state. So I paid the $9.99 listed on the price tag, and took the unit home with me. In addition to the hand crank, this unit can be powered by 12 volts DC or by three AAA batteries. Performance with the hand crank is so good that I have never even tried the unit with the other power sources. The lantern has high, low, and emergency flasher settings. The unit is also equipped with a night light, siren, and compass. I consider all of the functions on the unit other than the radio and lantern to be mere gimmicks. I would like the unit even better if it were half as large and consisted of the radio only.
The unit looks more durable and attractive than the H690, but not quite as nice as the FRX3.
One minute of cranking produces 25 minutes of excellent radio reception. This unit is my current primary tornado-kit radio. I still keep the cheap, ugly, garage-sale, battery-only radio as a backup, as a result of my experiences with the FRX3.
The 7810 is currently available on Amazon for $40.63 [5].
Conclusions
Ironically, the less my family and I paid for one of these radios, and the less durable and attractive it appears, the more I like it. I paid $1.50 for the H690 at a thrift store. It looks kind of cheap, ugly and beat up, but I like it very much. I paid $9.99 for the 7810 at a thrift store. It looks okay, and I like it quite a bit. My wife paid full price for the FRX3 on Amazon. It looks very nice, but I don’t like it at all.
I would probably donate the FRX3 to a thrift store, but I don’t want it to fail a potential buyer at a critical moment. It seems a shame to throw it in a landfill. So for now I am hanging on to it as a potential source of parts. I hope I figure out what to do with it before my poor children need to sort through my estate.
The H690 and the 7810 both seem to be reliable hand-crank radios for home use. For traveling, I would suggest something more durable than the H690, and something lighter and smaller than either unit. Perhaps SurvivalBlog readers have suggestions regarding appropriate units.
Comments Disabled To "Gear Review: Three Hand Crank Radios, by The Novice"
#1 Comment By Animal House On December 25, 2020 @ 11:30 am
Thanks for the evaluations on the hand crank radios. I’ve had two and was disappointed in both. They did not have the ability to pick up stations in the same state I lived in at the time. I could get [a 50,000-watt] Chicago station at night, but nothing in the four-county area where I lived. That was probably due to the radio station output, but when you’re crouched in a basement or storm shelter, you want info on what is happening near you. Other battery SW/AM/FM radios are able to get local info. I now just keep batteries taped to the outside of the radio and rotate them.
#2 Comment By Rusty Nutz On December 25, 2020 @ 1:57 pm
10 best hand crank radios for 2020 can be found here:
[6]
And remember, if you want quality it’s going to cost just a
bit more – isn’t your life worth it ?
#3 Comment By Animal house On December 25, 2020 @ 2:53 pm
Rusty. Thanks for the link. My other 2 radios were quite expensive, I agree in emergency life depends on quality items. I think it may have had to do with storm shelter.
#4 Comment By RJH On December 25, 2020 @ 12:02 pm
Good article. Next year re-submit it BEFORE Christmas… Good reference, thanks.
Merry Christmas.
#5 Comment By Duane On December 25, 2020 @ 12:20 pm
My luck with “survival” gear has not been good. For an example I find a good Collins axe better suited for long term survival than any of the higher priced alternative easy to carry emergency axes. I have had better luck at thrift stores, yard sales, etc, than the survival sources. The one area that has been weak in that system is water purification. The survival types are much better.
God grant all of you a Merry Christmas.
#6 Comment By The Novice On December 25, 2020 @ 4:13 pm
Hi Duane, I agree. Most of my best equipment has been second hand.
#7 Comment By Just A Dad On December 25, 2020 @ 12:27 pm
Merry Christmas!
Loved this article, having had similar experiences with solar powered flashlights!
Thank you!
#8 Comment By John On December 25, 2020 @ 1:00 pm
What I like an honest review thank you
#9 Comment By TominAlaska On December 25, 2020 @ 1:51 pm
Excellent subject matter. Determining what radio to purchase has always been dicey. I am referring to quality/reliability more than cost. I’m interested in more reader comments.
I still have a new-in-box FREEPLAY radio that I purchased years ago. I would like to know what the long term reliability others have experienced with that model.
#10 Comment By James Wesley Rawles On December 25, 2020 @ 2:29 pm
I have two of the original Baygen AM/FM/SW Freeplay radios that I’ve used a lot for 10+ years. They are very sturdy and reliable. In my experience, the only part that is fragile is the external FM whip antenna, and that is replaceable.
#11 Comment By TominAlaska On December 25, 2020 @ 2:48 pm
JWR,
Thank you! That is good to know. Years ago, I went Baygen crazy and also bought several smaller Baygen radios w/ lights; they reside in my homemade Faraday box. (You know, the box that your friends/relatives thought was crazy but, NOT NOW).
#12 Comment By E.T. On December 25, 2020 @ 4:18 pm
I’ve had a Freeplay hand crank AM/FM SW radio for nearly 20 years. It has worked great, the crank will run the radio for nearly an hour and it will operate solely on the solar panels in the sun (great for fishing). I did have to replace the antenna, and recently replaced the rechargeable battery pack. But, for almost 20 years I’ve never had to buy batteries for it and it still works.
#13 Comment By Once a Marine… On December 25, 2020 @ 4:24 pm
This tender-hearted jarhead was doing the dishes this morning when this came on: [7]
Like my blubbering brother, St Funogas, I was weeping while scrubbing the stove.
Even though it is NPR, there is no lefty BS here. I am just now listening to a man who made it back from Vietnam wounded and alive telling his story of Christmas Eve, 1968.
Carry on in grace, dear friends.
#14 Comment By Normal Disfunction On December 25, 2020 @ 4:34 pm
I purchased the Midland ER310 as one of my first “prepper” purchases about 5-6 years ago. MSRP 69.99. It was important for me to have multiple power sources: crank, solar, internal re-charge batt, replaceable AA batt and this has all those, plus it can provide a basic charge to cell phones and other devices. Quality is decent and the functions are ok, not the best in class necessarily, but not the worst. The Eton reviews were too inconsistent so I stayed away from that brand entirely. My only issue is that it is tippy when standing the tall way, and the cheap antenna broke (but i can use any piece of metal with tinfoil if needed! lol). I like the CREE flashlight feature, digital tuner and the sound quality and ability to pull in a signal in my area. There is a cheaper version for 49.99. At this level, i managed my expectations…these are consumer-grade cheaper devices. I also use my BF UV-5R. Those work and most on this site probably have a few…
#15 Comment By Anna On December 25, 2020 @ 4:48 pm
We’ve got an older Red Cross hand-crank emergency radio, an Eton FX2 (the older version). Believe it originally cost around $30. It works okay, but there’s only one radio station where we live that broadcasts locally and it’s on the far outer edge of range so it’s always broken up and fuzzy (even with a “regular” radio). Most “radio stations” these days are pre-programmed McMusic out of Chicago with computerized breaks for “local” ads, so you won’t hear the DJ ever mention the local crisis because there’s no DJ, just prerecorded messages.
The batteries don’t last long, but with three bored kids when the power goes out, there’s lots of people to keep the batteries charged 🙂
#16 Comment By Grey Mann On December 25, 2020 @ 5:24 pm
I currently use a Midland weather radio with a 3.7v lithium ion rechargeable- battery which I picked up at Wal- Mart for 39.95 cash. It works great here in Kansas where i can get national weather service(Tulsa) and we have an excellent local AM station for weather emergencies, which occur fairly frequently around here. It has served me well for the last couple of years, and I have given them to my adult children as Christmas gifts.
#17 Comment By Jim S On December 25, 2020 @ 5:27 pm
Bought many of these radios…JUNK waste of money When buying prep supplies/gear some stuuf just doesn’t work well. Lessons learned, thanks for review.
#18 Comment By CAP On December 25, 2020 @ 6:11 pm
Great article! I had looked at emergency radios for a long time but for the same reasons could never justify them. Expensive junk or cheap, dependable, but fragile radios just didn’t seem to cut it for me. I went middle ground and got a hand held ham that also has FM RX – Baofeng radio. Got an extra antenna too. I like that I can communicate (with license – or dire emergency) but listen to local radio, some emergency channels and also local talk around our redoubt geography. The LED light is gimmicky but better than nothing. I’m hunting for an adapter to take standard AA or AAA so recommendations are welcome. It’s the BFF8HP with the larger battery pack which is also a plus. I have a separate solar panel and battery storage (for backpacking so very portable) so I can charge it back up. It’s just slow. It’s probably a bit more durable than a cheap emergency radio but not anything super robust. Just another option to consider.
#19 Comment By CAP On December 26, 2020 @ 12:36 am
Looks like my hunting turned up a USA made adapter!
BTECH, BaoFeng BL-5 AA Battery Pack for for BF-F8HP, UV-5X3, and UV-5R Radios [8]
#20 Comment By Once a Marine… On December 25, 2020 @ 6:41 pm
REI sold me a merely adequate CC Solar Observor.
It fell, crank broke. Bummer.
Solar still works. Keeping plenty of AA batteries as backup.
Carry on
#21 Comment By Anonymous On December 25, 2020 @ 6:43 pm
Amazon pricing, supply and demand, & inventory observations…
I have found that if you don’t immediately buy an item that an influencer has recommended, the price can fluctuate upward very quickly.
The $17 radio mentioned above is now over $40, just in a matter of an hour.
Sometimes the initial supplier sells out, and other suppliers have higher prices.
Sometimes, the Demand AI kicks in, raising the price, to profit from the demand… I can’t tell if it is Amazon, or the supplier doing that???
If you are wanting to wait to complete an order, or until the next personal budget cycle begins, the item has either changed price upward, or is now unavailable.
I have found that if I save the item to my wish list, it strips off the influencer’s info, so they probably don’t get credit for a later purchase???
If I put the item in the shopping cart, and save for later, I can’t tell if it strips off the influencer’s info or not???
Sometimes you can wait a week or two, the demand decreases, and the price goes back down…
#22 Comment By Robin of Green Valley On December 25, 2020 @ 6:51 pm
A field-expedient replacement belt for the original Baygen crank-dynamo AM/FM/SW set is the cuff from a blue nitrile glove.
#23 Comment By Ed Gruberman On December 28, 2020 @ 1:03 am
Let’s hear it for Baygen! Clockwork powered radio and nightlight. Got mine on ebay a decade ago. Not for sale.
#24 Comment By Ken S On December 26, 2020 @ 6:05 pm
I got a TECSUN PL-380 shortwave radio that can be charged with with a micro USB cable. Then I got a solar charger and some USB backup batteries like you use for your phone that can be used to charge it. I change the rechargeable batteries in the radio about every 2 years. This is a better system as Shortwave can be really useful after you figure out you need a 20-40 foot wire antenna strung up high and away from metal. I can pick up radio in a dozen countries if something happens to US stations. It also has a great AM-FM tuner. Some people will say get a single sideband shortwave radio so you can listen to HF ham bands but that is hard to do in my experience. I would stay away from the crank up “survival radios” as this is just a marketing gimmick.
#25 Comment By Don Williams On December 26, 2020 @ 7:27 pm
Sorry if this seems obvious but some of the crank radios that don’t stay charged for long with 1 minute of cranking work for a much longer time if you listen to them with headphones. The loudspeaker uses up a lot more juice.
#26 Comment By The Novice On December 26, 2020 @ 8:22 pm
Great tip, Don. Thank you for sharing it.