"I'd tune in to some friendly voices...."

"...talkin' 'bout stupid things. Let me be weak, let me sleep, and dream of sheep."

Today, I thought I'd take up the topic of Emergency radio receivers (not to be confused with the transmitting "walkie-talkie" type radios, which I will discuss later). An emergency radio is basically a portable AM/FM/SW and NOAA Weatherband receiver that is a) battery operated b) solar re-chargeable or c) has a "dynamo" hand crank to power it temporarily. Additionally, many of the latest emergency radios might include, a light (LED or other) for back-up illumination using the same power sources, a jack and cord for re-charging or temporarily powering your mobile phone, and in some cases, it can be used to re-charge spent re-chargeable batteries. It is functionally really no different from any other good radio receiver unit except that it may have multiple Shortwave bands (SW1, SW2, SW3) and sometimes even a low VHF "TV" band (audio only). It is one of the items recommended by the American Red Cross to include with one's disaster kit or BOB, ostensibly useful for tuning into news and EBS notifications during an emergency for useful information (i.e. imminent dangers, evacuation routes, location of relief centers, recommended precautions, etc.). During an emergency, just being able to hear a source of official information can be a good comfort from the sense of isolation and unknown.


I have several similar so-called "emergency" radios stored with my supplies and in my mobile BOB for disaster preparedness (as I live in a major quake zone). Quality, design and features vary tremendously with price. I have a cheap Chinese-made "no name" knockoff version, I have a very reasonably priced, mid-priced Eton brand model, and I have one high end Grundig battery operated base station radio. Other, trusted brand name manufacturers include Kaita, Uniden and Panasonic. It is indeed a great value-added luxury to have a sensitive reduction gear tuner, digital frequency readout, and some type of signal strength indicator, but functionally (which is the most important characteristic), after testing them extensively, all three radios that I have perform about the same in pulling in stations. I like my "cheapie" one because it also charges AA batteries. My mid-priced Eton is a convenient charger for my model of cell phone (and indeed any mini-USB device, like my MP3 player). My base station radio is nice in that it can actually transmit in SW, but it is probably too heavy to realistically lug around in an emergency. I'd say the max practical weight for portability is about 3/4 lbs.

Of the excellent line of Eton brand products which include the optional solar power charging and the hand-crank dynamo charging, the FRS 150 is more compact but equally effective unit than it's bigger, bulkier siblings. I consider the smaller size/weight and hence easy portability (in my "go bag") a desireable advantage. FRS 150 retains all of the previous power supply options from previously released, larger models and adds one additional (the USB plug!), and, it even trims the price a little bit in the transaction. A win-win-win situation in my book. I can aver that the performance rates from excellent to nominal.... radio reception is good on all bands (AM, FM, and all 7 WBs), the light output for the LED flashlight is decent and practical, and the now critical emergency cell phone charger is handy and easy to use since the dynamo handcrank is now on the back of the unit and you can just hold the whole unit up and watch the "recharging" indicator on your phone.

Note: I have read some product reviews that complained that the FRS 150 did not pull in radio stations under actual "emergency" use (like Hurricane Ike), that they were only able to barely hear 2 staticky stations. I cannot speak to someone's individual experience with it, but... my brother responded with the ARC to Ike, and many radio/TV stations stopped transmitting during the storm itself. Also, if you were in a shelter, remember that the AM and SW bands use an internal ferrite antenna that may not perform optimally in a structure or underground.

The FRS 150 is still not "rugged" or waterproof, but it is made of high quality materials and available in several coloured translucent plastic casings. I am tempted to even recommend this as a good "everyday" radio for those radio listeners out there like me that like NPR, news or talk radio, because it has a good, clear monaural speaker. I make this recommendation, however, for another ulterior reason.... one of the "cons" of this FR 150 radio unit, at least in my book. AC power is no longer an option, but that is more than made up for by the versatile USB connection (you can draw power from any USB devices/hubs, USB wall adapters, and USB car power adapters). The biggest flaw with the FR 150 is that it does NOT have the option for battery powered operation. I mean, you cannot run it off of common, readily available, standard, Alkaline batteries, like AAs. It has a proprietary, internal NiMH rechargeable battery. This brings with it a slew of temperamental problems that users should be aware of, like battery management and memory effect, degrading efficiency over time/unreliability in a product that NEEDS to be reliable, hazardous material disposal, and inability (extreme difficulty) in finding a replacement (while traveling, in the wilderness, or in the middle of a disaster). I could write a whole article on the problems I mentioned above (and maybe I will later), but suffice it to say that, for me, just popping in a fresh 100% charged pair of regular AA batteries that I can find in any "tienda" around the world is much more reassurring to me. This internal battery also means that the FR 150 is NOT ideal for longterm storage without any use (which ironically is a prime characteristic of "emergency" radios - storing them until you need them). It is necessary to leave it out in the light (to trickle charge it) or occasionally top off the power, otherwise you may find it fully discharged when you pull it out during the pitch black of an emergency.

Despite this annoying idiosyncrasy, I still think the FR 150 performs well enough and is a great of a value enough to give it a 4.5 out of 5 star rating. It's a good investment for $25.