The American Red Cross FRX3 is a solar and hand turbine powered AM, FM, weather radio with alarm clock. There is a built-in USB smart phone charger that allows a 30 second emergency phone call with one minute of cranking. To listen to personal tunes, use the AUX-input to play an external MP3 player. You’ll never be left in the dark thanks to the LED flashlight and glow-in-the-dark locater around the rim of the solar panel.
$ 53.91
Great Emergency Radio,
I’ve had this radio for a little over a week now and have beeen putting it thru it’s paces. All three bands, AM, FM and the weather band have excellent reception. I have no problem recieving the weather stations here in Western Massachusetts and both AM and FM recieve all the loca; stations perfectly. Audio quality which I admit isn’t the primary reason to buy an emergency radio is really realy good. Sound quality is more than acceptable and volume is capable of being loud enough to be heard in a noisey room without distortion. I haven’t tested the rechargable battery capacity yet but have confirmed that charging buy usb, solar or hand crank work as advertised. What makes this radio unique is the way it recharges a cell phone, instead of needing to use the hand crank, you charge the phone via a battery dump from the onboard rechargeable battery pack. You recharge the radio battery then plug in the phone which means you don’t have to sit there and crank. After trying a few different emergency radios I find this one a keeper and I’m extremely happy with the purchase
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|American Red Cross FRX3 / Eton Radio,
I will just summarize this product:
construction is plastic- I don’t believe it is waterproof (not a big deal to me). If you drop it, it may break depending on the height it is dropped from.
It has a cable for charging and comes with a rechargeable battery.
It can charge an iPhone4s and a Droid X2.
the crank is plastic so be gentle. You don’t have to have brute strength to crank it or to utilize the recharge function.
The antenna is retractable and metal. It is easy to break but you can keep it tucked out of the way. The reception is good and dependent on your location. (am/fm/weather)
There is a solar recharging cell on the handle and it works nicely.
The flashlight is a joke. It is best suited for reading something close-up. Your best bet is to also have a flashlight around for emergencies. The flashing red light is also a joke. Again, have a handy flashlight to accompany this radio for emergencies.
Overall, I don’t regret buying this radio. It is nice and serves the functions it was designed to perform. I would buy another if I needed to.
Good value for the money.
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|Excellent emergency radio,
I just received this radio. I purchased it for emergency purposes. Here is a summary of the features: AM/FM/7 weather bands. The reception in my area for all 3 functions is excellent. It comes with a retractable antenna which tucks away nicely when not in use. The radio is powered in 1 of 4 ways: solar (takes 10 hrs of direct sunlight to completely charge the NiMH battery); an included NiMH battery which is what is charged by the solar panel & the hand cranking (90 seconds of hand cranking yields 5-7 minutes of radio use per the instructions). The NiMH can also be powered by plugging the radio into a USB port on a computer (2 hrs to charge the battery this way). The radio can also be powered by 3 AAA batteries (not included). In addition, there is an adapter for DC power, but no charger was included (I need to call the manufacturer to inquire). The radio comes with a clock and alarm clock. A cell phone can also be charged via a “dump” from the included NiMH battery–the built in battery simply trickles the charge from the radio to the cell phone. The radio is indeed plastic, but doesn’t see “cheap” to me, and if basic care is taken, the radio should do fine. The crank is also made of plastic, but again, with common sense, should provide years of service. I paid $45 for this radio on Amazon, and plan on getting several more for family/friends. There is a simple 2 white LED light and a blinking red LED. Someone criticized this light, but seriously, if you want a good light, then buy a dedicated flash light!! The built in LED light is adequate for a simple task, but it’s not an “uber-lumen” light–I would suggest a Steamlight or Surefire light for a great LED light.
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