Emergency radio
MrsG - May 30, 2020I looked through the gear recs and didn’t see one specifically for an NOAA radio/charger. I did see the information on Ham radio. But if someone’s not there yet and would like an emergency radio in their kit, any specifics ones people like?
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Best Replies
Uhlan
Earlier this year I decided to try out several of the latest emergency crank radios to figure out if there were any viable options in this class. Previously I’d consciously avoided getting one because the early ones had a reputation for being more gimmicky than useful.
I focused my selection to radios with a lithium ion rechargeable battery, as there’s no compelling reason to rely on NiMH chemistry in survival gear, in my opinion. Ideally I’d like to see a replaceable 18650 Li cell on the rechargeable side, with a separate AA battery bay for backup.
The radio that hit the most high points for me was the Midland – ER310. It’s intuitive to use, has a replaceable 18650 lithium cell (probably the best portable power source out there), as well as a backup bay for for 3 AA cells. The crank and solar works well, and the radio reception is good enough, plus you can listen to the radio while the weather alert is activated (many cannot monitor weather alert while actively listening to other radio stations). Like most radios in this category it can charge other devices, or be charged, via the ubiquitous USB standard. Basically, the ER310 puts the “emergency” in emergency radio, in my opinion. Store it with half a dozen AA Energizer Ultimates (which you really need to be stockpiling, anyways) and it’s ready to go to work when the SHTF. Priced ~$60
My second choice, the Sangean MMR-88, actually breaks several of my criteria but the small size and superior radio reception and sound quality is compelling to me. It uses a small oddball replaceable Li cell and lacks a secondary bay for AA power backup. It also cannot simultaneously monitor weather alerts when actively listening to the radio. But if you’re more interested in the “radio” aspect of emergency radios this one is hard to beat. Paired with an AM loop antenna and I pull in nighttime stations from 1000 miles away almost as good as my big AM DX radios costing 2-3 times as much. Priced ~$55
My third choice is this fugly Tiemahun, a remarkably capable radio stuffed into a sexy quart-sized antifreeze container. There are several other brands that look the same, most notably from Kaito (which I wouldn’t recommend due to having to send all three of my samples back to Amazon because they wouldn’t work). This is a bare-bones product that does a lot of different things adequately enough that you might actually want to give it some consideration. It does have an 18650 Li cell, but it’s soldered onto the board, and thus not easily replaceable, so you’re out of luck if you want to use the same cells as your high power flashlights. It also has a AAA secondary battery bay (despite having plenty of space to accommodate AA), which isn’t great when you consider that the AAA Energizer Ultimates Ah/$ is significantly lower than the AA equivalent. However, that might not be as big a deal for some as it is for me. It also is all analog controlled (although the actual internal tuning is digital) with a very small dial that is hard to read and thus not as quick to use. Finding a specific station is going to require some careful hunting and listening for station identification and there’s obviously no memory presets that allows for quick jumping between stations. It does, however, actually tune in a portion of the SW band, although you’re probably going to need to clip on 10′ of wire to the antenna to pick up much. With the wire attached I was consistently able to tune in the WWV shortwave time stations, which also provide emergency alerts during nationwide crises. Also, it has a MicroSD slot for audio playback of MP3 files (it does not record like some of the similar Kaito models). Another nice feature is that, in addition to the flashlight at the front, it has an area light on the back which illuminates a room and doesn’t suck a lot of power in the process. As cheap as it looks and feels, every thing on this radio actually does work well enough to be useful in an emergency. Priced ~$30, although the identical iRonsnow IS-399 is ~$35.
Based on my experience, I was disappointed with the following radios:
The Eton NFRX5 Sidekick has no redeeming qualities beyond it’s appearance, especially when you consider it’s $80+. It’s not intuitive to use (it’s the only one I had to read the manual to get working), the controls are awkwardly placed, the display is tiny and dim, the battery capacity is a joke (especially if you use the area light on the back panel), and the radio reception and sound is subpar. It’s a cool SHTF movie prop, though.
There are multiple brands selling emergency radios in this triangular package, my sample is a RunningSnail. The only redeeming feature for me is the big bright display and the fact that it holds two 18650 cells, but the radio reception and sound is so bad that I didn’t want to use it. Maybe this would work for someone more interested in the rechargeable power capacity rather than the radio. Mine cost ~$45.
In the samples that I tested, 4 out of the 5 Kaito emergency radios I tried didn’t work properly and had to be returned to Amazon. I rarely return stuff, it has to be obviously defective for me to justify sending it back. I still have the above two, even though I hate them, but these Kaitos had to go back because they just didn’t work. So I’m really hesitant to recommend the brand at this point.
Uhlan
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Comments (13)
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Uhlan
Earlier this year I decided to try out several of the latest emergency crank radios to figure out if there were any viable options in this class. Previously I’d consciously avoided getting one because the early ones had a reputation for being more gimmicky than useful.
I focused my selection to radios with a lithium ion rechargeable battery, as there’s no compelling reason to rely on NiMH chemistry in survival gear, in my opinion. Ideally I’d like to see a replaceable 18650 Li cell on the rechargeable side, with a separate AA battery bay for backup.
The radio that hit the most high points for me was the Midland – ER310. It’s intuitive to use, has a replaceable 18650 lithium cell (probably the best portable power source out there), as well as a backup bay for for 3 AA cells. The crank and solar works well, and the radio reception is good enough, plus you can listen to the radio while the weather alert is activated (many cannot monitor weather alert while actively listening to other radio stations). Like most radios in this category it can charge other devices, or be charged, via the ubiquitous USB standard. Basically, the ER310 puts the “emergency” in emergency radio, in my opinion. Store it with half a dozen AA Energizer Ultimates (which you really need to be stockpiling, anyways) and it’s ready to go to work when the SHTF. Priced ~$60
My second choice, the Sangean MMR-88, actually breaks several of my criteria but the small size and superior radio reception and sound quality is compelling to me. It uses a small oddball replaceable Li cell and lacks a secondary bay for AA power backup. It also cannot simultaneously monitor weather alerts when actively listening to the radio. But if you’re more interested in the “radio” aspect of emergency radios this one is hard to beat. Paired with an AM loop antenna and I pull in nighttime stations from 1000 miles away almost as good as my big AM DX radios costing 2-3 times as much. Priced ~$55
My third choice is this fugly Tiemahun, a remarkably capable radio stuffed into a sexy quart-sized antifreeze container. There are several other brands that look the same, most notably from Kaito (which I wouldn’t recommend due to having to send all three of my samples back to Amazon because they wouldn’t work). This is a bare-bones product that does a lot of different things adequately enough that you might actually want to give it some consideration. It does have an 18650 Li cell, but it’s soldered onto the board, and thus not easily replaceable, so you’re out of luck if you want to use the same cells as your high power flashlights. It also has a AAA secondary battery bay (despite having plenty of space to accommodate AA), which isn’t great when you consider that the AAA Energizer Ultimates Ah/$ is significantly lower than the AA equivalent. However, that might not be as big a deal for some as it is for me. It also is all analog controlled (although the actual internal tuning is digital) with a very small dial that is hard to read and thus not as quick to use. Finding a specific station is going to require some careful hunting and listening for station identification and there’s obviously no memory presets that allows for quick jumping between stations. It does, however, actually tune in a portion of the SW band, although you’re probably going to need to clip on 10′ of wire to the antenna to pick up much. With the wire attached I was consistently able to tune in the WWV shortwave time stations, which also provide emergency alerts during nationwide crises. Also, it has a MicroSD slot for audio playback of MP3 files (it does not record like some of the similar Kaito models). Another nice feature is that, in addition to the flashlight at the front, it has an area light on the back which illuminates a room and doesn’t suck a lot of power in the process. As cheap as it looks and feels, every thing on this radio actually does work well enough to be useful in an emergency. Priced ~$30, although the identical iRonsnow IS-399 is ~$35.
Based on my experience, I was disappointed with the following radios:
The Eton NFRX5 Sidekick has no redeeming qualities beyond it’s appearance, especially when you consider it’s $80+. It’s not intuitive to use (it’s the only one I had to read the manual to get working), the controls are awkwardly placed, the display is tiny and dim, the battery capacity is a joke (especially if you use the area light on the back panel), and the radio reception and sound is subpar. It’s a cool SHTF movie prop, though.
There are multiple brands selling emergency radios in this triangular package, my sample is a RunningSnail. The only redeeming feature for me is the big bright display and the fact that it holds two 18650 cells, but the radio reception and sound is so bad that I didn’t want to use it. Maybe this would work for someone more interested in the rechargeable power capacity rather than the radio. Mine cost ~$45.
In the samples that I tested, 4 out of the 5 Kaito emergency radios I tried didn’t work properly and had to be returned to Amazon. I rarely return stuff, it has to be obviously defective for me to justify sending it back. I still have the above two, even though I hate them, but these Kaitos had to go back because they just didn’t work. So I’m really hesitant to recommend the brand at this point.
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John AdamaStaff
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