Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio
by Eton
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Our Price: $99.94 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Speakers 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 Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio
Customer Review: Good for off-shore
Summary: 3 Stars
On July 28 2003 I set sail alone from San Pedro, California, in a Lancer 30 with the intent on fetching Hawaii in around 32 days. (One may google "Lancer 30 Movement" for the log of that trip.) I brought a new FR200 radio along with me so that I could listen to time ticks at WWV to help with navigation (in case the GPS went out).
The Shortwave bands did "okay" but were kind of hard to tune in: the fine dial seemed kind of "mushy---" I had to pass stations and come up on them from behind, and then retune the stations when they faded away.
Over 400 miles off-short I was still able to pick up the CBS Radio Mystery Theater radio show on the AM band, coming out of Los Angeles or San Diego (I do not know which), and that was fun to have with me as I lay in the port quarter berth, antenna sticking out of the main hatch (the antenna position did not seem to matter: no matter where I pointed it, reception on the AM band seemed the same).
The light worked fine, and the hand crank worked fine. I did not know how much cranking the dynamo needed to charge the Nickle-Cadnium battery pack, so I cranked it pretty much constantly (I did not know any better).
Now I live in the canyon lands of New Mexico where radio reception is extremely poor: I'm surrounded by cliffs that rear over 2,000 feet above my head. The FR200's short wave band down here work better than the FM and AM bands (one cannot get most FM stations, nor cellular telephone, nor TV broadcasts: we get one FM station--- an excellent Country & Western one). Unfortunately there is still the SW dialing slugishness, and the frequency tends to wander.
This seems like a good radio is a person is only interested in the AM band and the hand-cranked dynamo.
Customer Review: A Nifty Little Radio and Quite a Conversation Piece
Summary: 5 Stars
My need was simple- I like to go to bed to the news on the radio every night. Sounds odd I know, but since I was younger something about hearing the news or talk radio as I try to drift off into slumber always was good for me.
To go to bed to say the BBC or Radio Netherlands is even better. There has always been one problem, though- my trusty old Sangean shortwave does not have a sleep timer, and most of the high-end digitals are awfully expensive. So, this radio made complete sense to me. I simply work the crank for a minute or so before bed, tune to the right station and slowly drift off into slumber. The reception is quite good and I like the fine-tuning option. I may not get some of the more hard-to-find stations, but for a basic shortwave radio that picks up all the big broadcasts (BBC, Radio Netherlands, Radio Habana, Radio Taipei, Radio Sweden, etc), this works wonderfully.
It's an interesting looking radio too! WIth its rugged, grey, army-esque design that has cool looking knobs, nice litle crank and a big, telescopic antenna, I feel like I should be taking it up the river with me in 'Nam and checking the trees for "Charlie." When people come over and see the radio, they always inquire as to exactly what it is. No matter how far-fetched the story is that I tell them, they buy it! That's a testament to how interesting this little machine is!
The radio comes in a great carrying case and the literature provided by Grundig is actually quite helpful.
So whether you are looking for a nice little portable shortwave, or something that is healthier than sleeping pills to help you sleep, the Grundig FR 200 is a solid investment.
Customer Review: OK for Emergency Radio/Terrible Shortwave Radio
Summary: 3 Stars
At first the novelty of this Grundig FR-200 radio due to the crank generator is impressive, but the longer you own it the more it seems like a useful toy versus a true "emergency" radio. The generator requires a lot of cranking to keep it operating without using batteries, the light is useful in a pinch for short periods, the AM/FM reception is good, but the shortwave reception is almost useless for trying to tune in and hold regular broadcasts.
Like the other low cost analog tuner shortwave radios I have used, you may be able to find the station eventually (if you know what to listen for) but the reception fades and is very poor in most cases. Nothing like the clear AM/FM reception.
In most cases you need a digital tunner to have a truely useful shortwave radio to use for regular daily broadcasts. The digital tuner on the Eton E5 and Sony 7600GW allows you to input the desired frequency directly, or seek for available stations. It also holds the frequency and does not fade out requiring constant retuning. You basically get what you pay for with shortwave radios, but I am still somewhat disappointed that the FR-200 is not more useful as a shortwave radio except for a few strong channels that I have no interest in receiving.
I think the FR-250 model that can charge your cell phone battery would be a more useful emergency radio.
Customer Review: Not just for emergencies; Great Everyday Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This radio has found a permanent home in my kitchen, as a wondeful receiver not only for local FM and AM stations, but also for its shortwave capacities. Sure, I read some people's complaints about jammed frequencies, etc, but it's really hard for me to find anything to complain about. The tuning knobs allow you to find what you're trying to pull in without any real problems. I wasn't even planning to buy this, but since the GE Superadio is so hard to find, this was the radio I chose. It's a good radio for picking up distant AM stations at night, without buying a $100-plus radio like the CC radio. For example, I want to listen to WCBS at 880 AM, but with a radio station at 860 in my own city, some radios won't allow me to bring in the New York station. This radio brings it in as clear as a bell, which made it worth its purchase price.
Plus, listening to BBC World Service and its good schedule of dramatic programming has made this a real treat to own.
The crank is easy to work, the light is fine, and it works wonderfully on AA batteries. Considering I was looking for another radio when I bought this, I can't say enough about how much I enjoy this radio!
Customer Review: Good for emergency; watch out for crank
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this radio intended only for emergency use, and it served its purpose well in a recent wind storm, in which our power was out for 72 hours. Without TV and the web, our only news info from outside world came from the radio, and we used the Grundig almost continuously during our waking hours. With a bit of cranking during commercial breaks, we were able to have the radio on at a fair volume. We tried FM, which is always problematic in my location, and it handled it fine. It really shined on AM however, and as we were looking for news and information more so than entertainment, the AM news radio station was on most of the time.
The only drawback was that the crank came off half way through our 72 hours, with its axle-like pin coming out of the plastic socket. We were able to hobble along by pinning it back down and cranking gently, but I would like to see stronger reinforcement at the crank. I should point out that we were never able to achieve the listening time per 90 sec crank that they advertised, but my radio was old and have been left unused for a few years, unsure whether that made the difference.