Review on 🔋 Slive-4U (Green): Ultimate Self-Powered Charger & Survival Kit – NOAA Weather Radio, Emergency Phone Charger, AM/FM Radio, Rechargeable Flashlight, and Siren by Russell Robertson

Note: If you decide to purchase this radio, be sure to read the label on the back to learn how to connect the permanent battery. This is not included in the operating instructions and is required for operation. The oddly named SLIVE 4U emergency radio is a paragon of adaptability. These are a flashlight, multi-band radio, charging cradle and siren that can be powered by an internal generator/battery. I will take these items individually. Strength: Can come from two sources. An internal "permanent" battery that charges either with the grip or with a standard 5V mobile phone/tablet charger. Alternatively, you can add 3 AAA batteries. There is a manual toggle to control which sources you get information from. Battery life: I fully charged the rechargeable batteries and then carried out the radio test. Six hours later the radio was still working. Then I connected the iPhone 6 to the charger. I went from 70% charge to 81% charge and then the SLIVE 4U low battery light came on. I stopped charging my phone. I turned the radio back on and it played fine. Note: This is not a full charging dock, it will only work for a few minutes for talking or surfing on a portable device. Three AAA batteries will barely charge a full tablet and will be (at least) half empty when asked to charge a cell phone from the apartment. Of course you can turn for more power, but the small hand crank tires quickly. Cranks: The small crank and short crank radius make it tedious early on. A few minutes of cranking will have charged the permanent batteries enough to get a weather forecast or hear a new flash, so that's good. Radio: The radio is reminiscent of the radios you might find in an antique shop selling goods from the 1950's. Audio is adequate for weather or AM voices, but a bit raspy for music. It sounds almost exactly like the portable radio I bought new 15 years ago for $8. The tuning is an analog bar (according to the ancient theme), making the tuning slow and imprecise. After years of exclusively using digital tuners, analog tuners are cumbersome, slow, and often hit the wrong station. To make matters worse, the tuning bar isn't backlit, so the hell you're doing in the dark. Flashlight: This is a single white LED with two settings, high and low. The performance is roughly on a mobile phone level. You can use it to find the keys, but don't forget to do a search and rescue mission with it. Siren: works, but I'm not sure what it can be used for. The dB level is no more than a normal person can scream. Conclusion: It works, but could work better. Replacing AAA with AA would drastically increase its usefulness as both a radio and a charging station - so different possibilities. Basically, however, the slowly rotating analogue tuning wheel, not illuminated, has become a great disappointment after years of digital illumination. Add a lighted digital tuner and my rating goes up a star.