Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Silver)
by Eton
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Eton FR400 Hand Crank Radio and Power Generator (Silver)
Customer Review: Excellent Weather Radio. It works Great
Summary: 5 Stars
After noting some less than satisfactory reviews by others on similar Eaton products , I decided to go ahead and buy this product. I found that the FR400 meets all my criteria in a weather radio. First, the crank system covers our communications need should we have an extended power outage.This past week, over 100,000 people were without power in our area. The crank generating system works excellent. It actually works easier than I thought that it would. I also find the Alert function very important. You simple turn a Selector Knob to Alert, and when the National Weather Service issues an alert, the radio comes on automatically. This alert gives you advance warning of dangerous weather, and can save your life in case a tornado is about to happen near you.It also warns you of other bad weather conditions such as extreme straight line winds and hail. Flood Warnings are also covered in these alerts.
Yes we have tornado sirens for impending tornados. Since we have satellite TV reception, we usually lose our TV signal just as the bad storms get close to us. With the FR400, we easily can slide the selection bar and tune in any of several TV stations, and pick up the sound portion of the broadcast. We can also access our local FM and AM radio channels.The reception is excellent on both AM and FM bands. I have mine set to Channel ll the CBS TV affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth. The tuning bar reads TV2. Channel 5, a lower number would be set on TV1. We consider this product an excellent value, and recommend this model due to the included AC Adapter. The included cell phone adapters fit both my wife's cell phone and my own. Hers is an ancient Motorola and mine is a recent LG. There are excellent set up instructions should you need them from the Eton website. It's actually very simple to set up. Lights, Sirens, Radio, Crank and Auto settings are clearly marked. Dialing is no problem, and the TV and Weather Service reception is excellent. This product has it all, and is a must for having a dependable weather warning or disaster communication radio.
Customer Review: Much of the specifications are exaggeration from the truth
Summary: 1 Stars
If the manufacturer didn't lie in the product specification, I would give the radio a 3-star.
As oppose to the manufacturer's specification, this radio:
1) is NOT water proof. This becomes pretty apparent, once you hold a unit in your own hands;
2) does NOT include any cell phone charger connector;
3) does NOT have a really sturdy build. This becomes pretty apparent, once you hold a unit in your own hands.
Also, the FM radio receiver is very crappy. I frankly don't understand why the manufacturer didn't bother to install a decent FM radio receiver, which shouldn't be too much to ask in these days.
Customer Review: FR400 Emergency Radio
Summary: 3 Stars
The radio has one very annoying feature. When set to receive NOAA Weather alerts it will receive them but then continue playing NOAA weather reports for a wide area. When I purchased this radio I did not know about SAME technology which limits the alerts to a much smaller area in your vacinity. If you live in an area with a lot of alerts as I do in Florida then getting a radio with SAME technology will keep you from being unnecessarily awakened in the night. Go to the NOAA web site for a description of SAME. All other functions of the radio seem to work as advertised.Customer Review: We returned it!
Summary: 2 Stars
We returned this Eton radio because it takes an unbelievable amount of cranking -- about 10 minutes per hour of use! Not a problem if you plan to use it plugged in or just for emergencies; but we've lived in a home with no electricity for 30+ years so this is an important feature. Eton was fine in handling the exchange/return of product/money. We now are happy with a Freeplay radio we ordered from amazon.com which plays several hours for much much less cranking than this one required per hour.Customer Review: broke down too fast
Summary: 3 Stars
radio features are good. however after only a few months the on-off switch no longer works properly and radio can now only be used on crank or battery -- not plug-in so I'm not sure that the alert works.
Myself, I prefer products that are going to last several years with ordinary use.