📻 The ARCPT300W: American Red Cross Axis Safety Hub & Weather Radio with USB Cell Phone Charger Review

I have two Eton weather radios, this one and an old one. The old one sometimes fails for no reason, so we bought a new one to replace it. This one doesn't turn off for nothing like the old one, BUT for a long time we thought it was set up to monitor the weather and it actually was off! We could hear the old one crackling in the closet, so we knew we'd missed the coming storm. Since it doesn't have dials and switches, there's no way to simply look at whether or not it's enabled for surveillance.

This little device does several things and does them well. A minute of starting a hand-wound generator gives 5 minutes of radio operation - the more you start, the more time. The crank is durable and easy to use. The battery can also be charged via the USB input, and there's AAA battery power too - the battery status on the display shows both charging and AAA charging. The radio covers all NOAA weather stations as well as FM/AM. The sound of the radio is very good. The radio also has a NOAA…

I have a small Eaton emergency radio with a flashlight. The axis would be what I call a good middle ground. The flashlight is larger, has a comfortable grip, and can be a steady light or a flashing red light. Unlike my smaller unit, it's battery operated and has a lighted digital clock radio. I like the digital feature because I don't have to retune (like the analog way) when I change bands to my favorite FM station. It has no presets, so it's best to save the station. The speaker sounds great…

Pros - Decent build, crank feels solid. Loading without pleasure is normal. Really charges new phones. HTC Evo 5v USB connection tested and successful. However, be prepared to practice. It is highly recommended to do this with at least half of the dyno's built-in battery - the dyno's onboard battery! Perfect. Mine is connected to AC and is located next to the battery. Always fully charged and ready to use in seconds. - Works with standard AA too - Decent reception and volume - NOAA reception /…

After reading some reviews and owning an iPhone I needed something that could charge our iPhones. Hurricane Sandy made us realize we can't charge them with our current Eton radios. I just received this radio and hooked it up to my computer overnight. After about 12 hours my battery was not fully charged. I may need to turn it on and let the battery drain to zero and then charge it. Maybe there is something else to try. The instructions say you can reset to factory settings by disconnecting the…

Have been using Eton products for many years and am generally happy with them. Prices used to be too high, but the quality made up for it. After all, with an emergency radio you want to be as sure as possible that the radio is actually ready for use in an emergency. I bought a smaller Eton radio (Eton Rover) on sale earlier this year and was honestly disappointed. Even at the very low selling price I found no value in it. Tuning is terribly finicky. Reception is always possible and must be…