Review on Emergency Weather Radio by American Red Cross by Troy Meza

Let me start by saying that finding an emergency radio on different websites is a lot harder than most other products you are looking for. Every radio I've come across has had such mixed reviews that in this class of emergency radio there's nothing that beats the rest. I will also say that this is my first time buying an emergency radio and I have no experience with any brand. At the same time my opinion on it: I personally like this radio. It has decent reception, the crank works well, the volume plays loud enough, and the light on it puts out just enough light to be useful (not like my distinctive ones, but that would be an unfair comparison :P). I live in an apartment building with very thick concrete walls / god knows what else is in those walls and my radio reception with any antenna in this class (and even some better) is terrible. I wouldn't attribute it to poor indoor radio reception. If I head outside on a path that has a direct view of the open space, I'll pick up a couple of VHF transmitters and a NOAA weather station. I say NOAA STATION because there are 7 channels, but I've also heard that not all 7 stations are used at the same time. I haven't tried AM stations yet. People say some radio cranks are cheap and fragile, this radio seems to have a strong crank and I'm sure if you don't crank it like an animal and see how hard you can crank it before it clicks, it should be all right. This charged the radio up enough for me to listen to for a few minutes, and I decided to keep listening. During the time I was spinning (not counted, but no more than 3 minutes) the flashlight was bright and showed no signs of dimming. In the comments I read some that the radio was cheap and I have to say it really does feel like it. since it doesn't take much abuse. I don't plan on dropping it, shaking it in my backpack, or throwing it five floors up for my buddy to catch it anytime soon, so I don't think it's that big of a problem. After all, it only cost twenty dollars. Another complaint I read was about the sensitivity of the tuning knob. I can see where people are coming from, it's a bit finicky but not so much that it can't be used. I would imagine tuning in slowly in an emergency to find a station to listen to information and that's all you have to do. just take it slow Again, as long as you don't try to spin it like an animal, it won't give you a problem. The solar charger seems to work, I didn't leave it in the sun because of the building I live in, but during the day I got strong sunlight, I played with it there and the charge indicator clearly showed it was being charged by sunlight. Overall it looks like it's worth the money I spent on it. I don't use it every day, and it's been ten years since a hurricane or other major weather event hit those backwoods, so it doesn't have to be on all the time. but it's nice to have and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something for the emergency radio it was designed for. I may trade it in for a better radio in the future, but for now it has proven to be a great first emergency radio.