The Ambient Weather WR-089 Weather Band provides assured access to news, weather information and illumination whenever and wherever you need it. The rubberized finish makes the WR-089 splash-proof. This robust and dependable radio, with integrated LED flashlight, offers a choice of self-charge, solar and external recharge power options.
The WR-089 delivers complete independence from wall power or disposable batteries, ensuring sustainable access to vital information and the peace of mind
$ 40.00
Nice Multi-powered Radio / USB Power Source,
I was looking for an emergency radio/flashlight that would allow me to use my cell phone in case there was a prolonged power outage. This device seems to fit the bill nicely.
The only reason I didn’t rate this as a 5 was that 1 of the 4 units that I bought had a defective AM radio. It would only barely receive 1 powerful local station. The radio comments below apply to the other 3 units.
The crank is easy to use and has a nice long arm on it and noticeable resistance is encountered when cranking. The charge LED lights almost immediately at low cranking speeds. The solar cell was able to charge the battery on an overcast Indiana morning. I was able to receive many AM and FM radio stations as well as the NOAA weather station in our area, with good sound quality.
The unit has a mini USB connector to accept charging of its internal battery via USB as well as the solar and hand crank inputs. Power output occurs through a full-sized standard USB jack. The supplied USB cable has a coaxial power style female connector (3.5mm O.D.). This cable mates up with one of two supplied tips to yield either a mini USB or micro USB cable. The mini USB cable can be used for charging and the micro USB is a very common cell phone power interface. The photo online doesn’t accurately show the 3 cable related items I received with my radio (1 cable and 2 tips).
The 3 5mm led powered flashlight produces a pleasing white light of about 800 lux @ 1ft and 140 lux @ 2 ft, well focused into a single beam.
All-in-all the build quality of this item appears to be good. The charge handle seems secure, the case is made of a rubberize plastic (I like the feel of these plastics), the flashlight switch is a push on/push off switch under a rubber cover. The radio tuning knobs feel a little spongy and the band switch feels like the case material interferes with the sliding of the switch a bit.
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|Great product and good service from Ambient weather,
The concept is great, and the unit is so tiny and cheap, it seems like a no brainer to keep one of these in an evacuation kit.
Every few months, top-off the internal battery by USB (from computer, wall adapter, or car). During use, charge by Solar or hand-crank. Besides the super bright LED flashlight and AM/FM radio, the weather-band radio is very handy, and the ability to siphon some of the internal battery power into another USB device is critical.
What sets this unit apart from other similar models is this “siphoning” — with other similar models, you have to continuously crank to charge USB devices. It comes with both micro- and mini- USB to charge your devices. The internal battery isn’t huge, might only charge your cell phone to 1/3 capacity, but given the compact size I’d say it’s a good trade-off; you always have the hand-crank once the internal battery is dead.
The only improvement I could think of would be to allow me to manually choose which weather channel it tunes to. For some reason I don’t totally trust the “auto-tuning” concept, since there is no indication of what’s happening inside the radio. But I guess this makes the operation simpler, and makes it cheaper to produce, so I’ll live with it.
I ordered 3 units, 2 as gifts, because they were so cheap and clever. One of the units had a problem receiving weather signal – it was extremely weak and noisy compared to the others. If your weather reception is spotty, especially compared to another weather radio, you should consider an exchange before writing the unit off. It was hard to reach Ambient Weather by phone, but eventually I got them by email and they worked with me to replace the unit – even before I had returned the bad unit, and even through some shipping snafus. I see now that orders are being fulfilled by Amazon, instead of directly from Ambient, so perhaps this will change the return process.
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|good value!,
This device is an excellent value for the price.
The compact size and versatility can not be beat.
Sound quality? Well pro: you do not have to have ear plugs – everyone can hear if you choose to use speaker. And isnt that what u want for entertainment during a black out or campfire? Con: It is not a “boom-box” so dont expect to “rock-out”. that should be obvious.
Reliability? I will have to wait and see …… But I ordered 4 units as gifts and all 4 worked perfectly!
The fact this is also a flashlight and charges mp3 & cell phones is terrific!
Seller was fair and fast and u cant ask for more!
Thank you!
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