Emergency Crank Weather Radio: AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with 3 Built-in Cable - Hand Crank Radio with 2000mAh, Solar Charge, Hand Crank & Battery Operated, SOS Alarm, Flashlight for Outdoor Emergency

I am something of a semi-serious collector of emergency survival gear and I can say with some confidence that, so far, this little item is one of my favorite purchases. Its hard to really describe how nice this thing really is without getting to play with it in person, but I'll give it a shot and break down the features one by one:1) First and foremost, as a radio, this guy works great. The volume and sound quality is strong for a speaker of this size. It does AM/FM and Weather radio with no problem. The dials might not be as easy to use a digital readout, they are more than adequate.2) The antenna on this thing does indeed fit completely inside the body of the radio and can be pulled out and extended to improve reception a bit. However, it will easily pickup most signals with the antenna safely tucked away inside the body.3) The flashlight is fairly decent; you can light up a hallway or room no problem. Having some experience with flashlights, I would say its probably 15-20 lumens. You can focus the beam a bit, but it doesn't really improve it that much, might get a bit more distance out of it when focused.4) The floodlight is great though. If you set it in the corner of the room, it will provide more than enough light to see what you are doing. Would work very well as a reading light, though I haven't used it for that yet.5) The solar panel does work, but I wouldn't count on it to charge the internal battery significantly in anything but the brightest direct sunlight. Probably most useful in the sense it counteracts the natural battery drain if you leave this out in the light every day.6) You can switch between the internal Lithium-ion battery and 3 AAAs with the switch on the front. There's also a switch on the bottom to toggle the internal battery between normal and charging modes for charging your devices. Would definitely allow you to maintain function while you recharge the internal battery. Just remember to flip one AAA upside down if you leave them in all the time to prevent drainage.7) Bottom switch also toggles the emergency alarm. Alarm is fairly loud, though not incredibly so. Still, realistically, its pretty hard to yell continuously for help for hours, so could come in very handy in specific situations.8) The hand crank for charging the internal battery is actually quite nice. It feels fairly sturdy and is pretty comfortable to use. Just make sure you hold the body of the radio at a good angle while cranking to avoid straining your wrist. I hope I don't ever have to try it, but I would estimate that it would take 30-45 minutes of cranking at 100-120 rpms to fully charge the internal battery.9) You can indeed charge devices from the internal battery. I was able to charge my Galaxy Note 4 from 0% to 36% with a fully charged battery. So, probably not going to use it as a primary charger, but in an emergency, it could be your only source of power. Also gives you at least a reliable option for charging if you don't have enough light for solar power.10) The overall build quality of this little guy is great and it feels sturdy enough to get banged around a bit. The plastic has a slightly rubberized feel, so it easy to keep a grip on. I can't speak to whether or not its actually waterproof, but at the very least its probably water resistant.Overall, this is a great value for its price. Something I have to stress here is that while this thing will definitely prove useful as a radio, in a true emergency, its most critical function is as a renewable source of light and power. Even in the highest quality flashlights or powerbanks, batteries will only last for so long and if you are faced with the prospect of no power for weeks at time, eventually they will run dry. In that scenario, having something like this that can reliably provide a small amount of renewable light and electricity for as long as the internal mechanisms keep working could make an enormous difference. For the same reason, it would definitely work nicely for camping, especially if you are going to be out in the woods for awhile. Just remember that something is always better than nothing, especially when nothing is all that you have.

Living in Houston, I have owned several weather radios in this price range over the years. This radio is my favorite.I like the fact that you can re-charge it easily with AAA batteries (not included). I have found that re-charging with a hand-crank is too slow. Solar re-charging works well on most devices if you keep the device stored on a windowsill for the year so that it is fully charged during a weather event. Having the option to use three AAA batteries is great because the radio can be ready to use immediately. Another feature that I like is that no screwdriver is needed in order to open the compartment in order to change-out the batteries. This is important when evacuating and also when the power goes out.During Hurricane Ike, I evacuated to a friend's home. The storm made landfall around midnight or so. In the dark, it is hard to find anything, so it's good to be ready before the lights go out. I can remember lying in bed alone listening to my friend's radio (not this radio) in the dark as the NOAA forecaster reported the progress of the surge up through Galveston Bay and into the bayous, lakes, and streams inland. It was so helpful to know exactly what was happening to the area in which I lived.My friend's radio was a very expensive radio, and the main difference between her radio and this radio seems to be the reception.Hers ran all night with no interruption with reception. With this radio, I do have to turn the radio off and then back on if I lose reception to the channel. A really expensive weather radio would probably have better reception if you want to listen non-stop.For my needs, however, this radio is excellent and is the best that I have owned in its price range.

I give this 4 stars because we haven’t had to use it yet (and hopefully never will)! It is a nifty little radio, all as described. We charged it using usb and the radio worked great. There are alot more expensive radios out there like this one, and only time will tell when we get it out of our emergency closet and fire it up if it’s built to last. I’d grab a couple to give as gifts!

Nice and compact works very well isn't awkward when holding and sound coming from am & fm radio is sooooo clear and fine tuned reading light excellent and lighting for area dark is great I even enjoy having the three different chargers to fit USBfor androids or IPhone this is very well made with antenna and crank arm it's worth every dollar I paid for it plus if need be triple A battery can be used but the solar panel works very wellI am more than satisfied with my purchase so much I purchased two one green color and one orange something very much needed for emergencies so I reccommend getting at least a few of these for self or as gifts!!!!