Review on Eton FR300 Emergency Crank Radio Black - Discontinued Model: Unparalleled Reliability in Crisis by Mario Beaklini

I have 7 weather radios from 5 different brands. Of the portables I own, I would rank this as the lowest price. This is not a poorly made radio or cheap device. However, at its regular price of around $45, it's grossly overpriced unless you add something to make it worth the extra money. In fact, in my opinion, it's inferior to all other radios I own when it comes to receiving weather forecasts. Although AM and FM are very loud and clear, when you switch the radio to weather mode, the speaker sounds very muffled and at a much lower volume. Like an old radio with the TONE knob turned all the way to the LOW position. The weather's voice sounds worse than any other than mine, even the cheapest ones. When switching from FM to the weather, a sharp drop in volume is heard, as well as quality. Very dramatic! Since NOAA weather broadcasts are not a medium known for their accuracy anyway, any interference from poor quality radio only makes the situation worse. This radio can be durable and well made. Due to the fact that the sound quality degrades a lot with the choice of weather, I would not recommend this device even at the discounted price of $27 that I paid for it. A much better handheld choice is the Midland ER102, also available from Revain and tested by me. Its price is very close (and even cheaper than the regular price of this radio), but it has excellent sound quality and reception on AM, FM and weather. Midland ER102 emergency radio