Duronic Solar Radio, HYBRID, Wind Up Manual Hand Crank Self-Powered Emergency Dynamo AM/FM Radio, USB Phone Charger, Small & Portable with Rechargeable Battery for Outdoor Weather Camping, Hiking

For some time I've been using a Grundig Yacht Boy radio, a small modern one and it sounds really good. This radio is smaller still and whilst the quality of the sound is not as good - you pay for what you get, it has now become the default radio of choice. Maybe because I'm tight and the idea of saving money on batteries appeals ? I was amazed at how the C cells on a digital radio were eaten up, astonishing ! It is small enough to fit into a pocket which is useful, though it is mainly used for short periods in the morning and at night. During the day it's getting its charge on the windowsill. I found that whilst walking with it the reception did dip every 10th step or so, perhaps that's the area where I live and it does tend to need to be placed indoors in the right spot as the reception can vary. Perhaps a longer aerial might help, or is more to do with matching the aerial to the tuning circuitry ? The Volume knob operates the reverse way around, anti-clockwise to turn on and increase volume and the tuning knob is stiff and the tuning pointer is a bit off of the indicated numbers, but for all of these negatives it is still a fun radio that serves well. The case finish looks good, the volume control works really well at the very low end of the volume, I've found in the past that radio volume is difficult to set very low down as it tends to jump to a level that's a bit too loud. It has a headphone socket, not used yet and USB socket for quick charging, I might have used this once although the solar panel seems to be fine. I did wonder if a large blue LED to indicate charging was a good idea as current would be lost to power it, I don't know about that technology though. I nearly forgot about the wind-up charger, tried but not in earnst. I'm not sure if the radio is supposed to be left on when using that as a wind-up torch I had stated it shouldn't be on during charge, which I ignored and the battery capacity seemed to have suffered for it.

Bought this dinky wind up radio to replace a solar/battery rechargeable one that almost exploded because I used the wrong charger. This product can be kept in a drawer. I bought a second one for a friend's birthday after she joked that I had purchased this item due to potential nuclear war. I laughed! I had bought it just in case electricity goes down and to listen to when weeding in the garden. A week later I noticed the UK Gov recommended having an emergency kit. An item like this was on the list. It's small, it works, it tunes in to stations, it's easy to use and wind up. It has to be placed carefully for good reception. The sound fades as the battery loses power. The solar element is slow to charge. The winding takes a bit of effort but seems to charge quicker than grey skies. You can also recharge with the USB that is supplied. Great I guess for camping or getting news if everything goes down. I find myself listening to afternoon plays on it in my back garden in the sunshine drinking a G+T. I like this product.

I bought this radio for two main reasons - being small and energy independent. I chose it instead of Roberts R9993 3-Band Portable Radio (both had the same price at the time of purchase) primarily because of the latter reason. This is a really small radio - smaller than a palm, and I can easily put it in my pocket. It has its strengths but also has some flaws. The design is nice and most of the exterior has a nice rubbery-silky touch. The sound it produces is okay, given the size, but nothing very special. The big advantage is the ability to be energy independent. The wind-up is easy and not too tiresome to use. The solar cell gets enough light even in bright cloudy environment. And the USB gives the opportunity to use the more conventional sources. It is virtually impossible to end up out of power. The only thing that is still unknown is the lifetime of the rechargeable battery that stores the electricity. I have experienced some difficulties finding particular stations (some are impossible to catch). I am not sure to what extent the fact that in my city (the capital of Bulgaria) there are more than 30 stations (with emission power ranging from 200 to 10000 W) contributes to this, but the tuner seems not to be doing well, as for good number of stations the signal quality depends to a great extent on the location of the radio, on whether I approach the aerial with hand (or with some wire) or not, or even on the location of the people relative to the radio. However, because this is my first radio since years ago, I cannot compare it with other radios under similar conditions, so currently I cannot make definite judgement on that. The FM scale is pretty much evenly divided, with a step of 4 MHz and in the higher frequencies range this seems to correspond to the actual frequencies. For example, the radio is tuned to a station at 106.0 MHz when turning the knob to 106. However, when tuning to lower frequency stations, there is some discrepancy. For example, the radio is tuned to a station at 92.4 MHz when turning the knob to something that seems to be around 95 MHz. Given all this, I am content with the radio and I like it, despite having expected more and having wondered few times if the Roberts would have been a better choice.

I bought this for my husband so he could listen to the radio when he's having a shower. It's a very small radio but it is definitely loud enough to be heard over the noise of a shower. The radio charges very easily if left sitting on the sill of our south-facing bathroom window, it even charges on the small amount of light that gets through when the bathroom blinds are closed. We haven't needed to use the wind-up function to charge the radio yet as the solar panel has provided sufficient charge. However, we have tried winding the radio and it's very easy to do. The radio stations all sound crisp and clear, and the volume can go up quite high. Obviously, with just the one, little speaker the sound quality for music isn't wonderful but I bought it with talk radio stations in mind such as BBC R4 and R5Live and for that purpose the speaker is fine. You could easily fit this radio in a coat or jacket pocket to take out on a picnic or to a sporting event. We've had the radio for nearly 2 months now and we're very happy with it. (26.08.12) Edited to add: We're still very happy with the radio I bought for the bathroom, so much so that we're buying another one to use in the kitchen. The kitchen window is also south-facing and so we anticipate not having any need to wind the radio to keep it charged.

Nice and compact radio. The solar cells Charge well even in a clouded day. Radio picks up radio stations in the city with ease but i struggled to pick anything up when only about 10 miles from any town/city. Shame.

This is a rechargable analogue AM/FM radio that is nice and compact, the build quality is quite good and it has a rubber like feel. It has a telescopic aerial, usb charger port, 3.5mm headphone socket, solar panel, winding handle and blue LED charging light. It has the following controls an AM/FM switch, On/Off/Volume knob and Tuning knob. It can be recharged by winding the handle for a minute (20 mins use),leaving it in daylight to charge by solar power (it won't charge via electric lighting) or connect to a PC or usb charger by the supplied usb lead for 7 hours (9 hours use). When charging a blue LED lights in the top left. I've used this for a week or so now and found it great. It picked up numerous stations straight away and although it's mono the sound has a good quality and the volume is loud enough. Every home should have one of these. UPDATE: I've had this for a year now and it's been in use every day for around 30 mins in the morning and occasionally for longer in the evenings and weekends, so far apart from an initial charge when I first got it I've only had to charge it up once via the USB connection. It's on the mantle in a north facing room so doesn't get much light even so I've seen the blue LED light during the day when it's charging.

Before buying this radio I had a 1st generation wind up radio that was the size of a bag of flour but did the job I asked of it really well, which I'd had for more than 10 years. When it finally died I bought this one and my first observation is that its size makes it much more convenient - it's about 2/3 the size of a paperback book. The solar panel charges a battery so I only have to wind it up once in a blue moon if the weather is really terrible. It can sit on a windowsill charging up happily while not in use although to be honest I find it can be left in the boot of the car and still hold its charge. I use it outside (I'm a gardener) and it's very rare for it to run out of power (unlike my previous model) so I don't have the frustration of listening to something and missing a critical bit - although my previous one had a solar panel it was driving the radio directly so if the sun went in, it would switch off, usually in a really important bit. The sound quality is a bit tinny but no more than I'd expect from something of this size. All-in-all I think it's much more usable than the one I had before. I think its price makes it excellent value for money based on current usage. Please bear in mind though that I've only owned this for a couple of months so I cannot testify to its longevity or durability.

My original review is below this update as I can't leave a new review on the Apex.. This is my 3rd Duronic solar radio. My first I bought some years ago and it was analogue not digital. Every few minutes the station would go weak and I'd have to readjust the tuning to get a strong signal so it went back. Recently I bought the digital Apex, it arrived, charged it up using the USB port, turned on and some of the digital display wasn't working. For example 106.0FM would show as 1 I6.0FM. the clock also lost over 40 minutes within a couple of hours. The station would change on its own to 106.8FM out of tune after a while, so I was sent a replacement. Worked great for a few days but now almost all of the digital display is missing and the battery lasts about an hour in occasional use, despite being on a South facing kitchen window sill and twice charged via USB. Most of the digital display went after being in the sun one afternoon, the instructions say do not place in the sun, yet it is a solar powered radio.... Waste of time and money really ----- Arrived, feels very sturdy, great sound, but I have some reservations about it doing the job I purchased it for. Basically it keeps going out of tune, if left on the window sill I have to twiddle the tuner after 10 hours or so. No big deal but something I have never had to do on any radio before. I need a radio on 24 hours a day, I need it to be working 24 hours without being touched. This is not doing its job. Also my kitchen windowsill faces North East, and when this radio is on the sill facing inwards it does not charge. However, if I lean the radio over it does charge or if I twist it around so the speaker and solar panel is facing the window it does charge, but the sound is then directed at the glass.... I am unsure what the technical reason is that the solar panel is made angled downwards to the front? I am not an expert but I would have thought having it flat would have made more sense so it could receive the sun from all angles of light or low-ish light? Anyway, it charges if I move it around during the day or have it outside. Luckily it is quite bright today as it rained heavily yesterday so my windowsill radio did not charge at all and was completely flat this morning, even though it was sunny outside today (no sun getting to the solar panel until the radio was tilted backwards) All in all, it looks good, sounds good, but I can not fully like it due to having to regularly retune it, and turn it around on the windowsill so it charges. I will update when I have fully tested it in another property that I want one for, so I could be buying another, whether I buy the same make of radio, or a different make of radio remains to be seen. If you want an update, stay tuned, which is more than can be said for this thing.........

Kurz erst einmal eine kleine Vorgeschichte, und zwar habe ich mir das Radio bereits bestellt gehabt, dieses kam auch bei mir an, doch nach mehrmaligen Testen, musste ich feststellen, das der Lautstärkeregler kaputt war und somit das Radio unbrauchar wurde. Ich schrieb den Duronic Service an und verlangte eine Reklamation. Daraufhin wurde mir schnell und sehr freundlich geantwortet. Schließlich wurde mir von Duronic ein neues Radio zugesichert, ohne Versandkosten und das kaputte Radio musste ich auch nicht zurück schicken, was mir viel Zeit und Aufwand erspaart hat. Das neue Radio wurde mir mit Express zugeschickt und war innerhalb weniger Tage da. Es funktioniert einwandfrei und erfreut meine anderen Kollegen ebenfalls, die auch alle sehr begeistert davon sind. Fazit: Super Preis/Leistung, der Sound ist total in Ordnung, selbst bei starker Hintergrundlautstärke (Werkstatt), der Empfang und die Sender sind klasse und gut einzustellen, das Kurbeln, sowie Solar und Akku mit dem Kabel aufladen klappt auch alles kinderleicht. Weiterhin noch ein super großes Lob an den sehr freundlichen und überaus schnellen Kunden Support von Duronic, so etwas habe ich selten erlebt.

Me encanta que sea Solar y tenga dinamo de manera que no dependas de nada para poder utilizarla. Ahorras y no tienes nada que hacer. Yo la dejo en la ventana cuando no la uso y siempre tiene batería. Se carga perfectamente, tiene una lucecilla indicadora. Que tenga dinamo es además otro plus. A veces cuesta un poco encontrar atinar con el díal, pero eso me ha pasado incluso con equipos de música. La potencia del sonido es inemjorable, se oye muy alto y es muy "cuca" en su diseño, un poco infantil pero tiene su punto. Es pequeña y no pesa nada con lo cual la puedes llevar donde quieras. Tiene conector de cascos. Por ponerle una pega diría que es de plástico y aunque parece bien construida por "ecología" me gustaría que fuese de otro material. La relación calidad precio, muy buena

Je cherchais une radio fonctionnant sans piles pour mon bureau (3 piles AA par semaine, ça revient cher !). Celle-ci est tout bonnement parfaite - format compact, agréable texture en gomme, recherche des stations manuelle mais avec un cliquet bien pratique, sobre et esthétique... et surtout elle se recharge soit par dynamo, soit par capteur solaire (cela marche aussi avec la lumière de ma lampe de bureau) ou encore avec une connexion USB ! Le son est tout à fait correct, je dirais même très bon. Elle est allumée toute la journée et ne s'est jamais déchargée pour l'instant en utilisant uniquement le capteur solaire. Tout cela pour moins de 20 euros. Je suis absolument ravie de mon achat.

was snel gekomen, doet het gewoon, Ik vind de maat prima,iets makkelijk om te dragen, duurzam

Ein kleines Notfallradio für den Ernstfall. Sendersuche funktioniert ohne Probleme. Klang ist der Größe entsprechend. Für den Garten, usw.. gut geeignet. Ich dachte man kann mit der Kurbel und dem USB-Anschluss auch das Handy laden, doch das funktioniert nur umgekehrt. Man kann nur das Radio aufladen. Alles in allem ein gutes Gerät zum guten Preis.