Grundig FR200 AM/FM/SW/DAB Radio

Pros: A radio easy to empower without batteries or a wall-plug.
Cons: Medium-quality performance.

The Eton Grundig FR200 portable “emergency” radio has a number of features that remind me of a Swiss Army Knife. The radio has things about it you don’t normally associate with a portable radio, but which add to its appeal and could actually ...

Pros: Great value, fantastic AM reception, very good FM reception, nicely constructed.
Cons: Shortwave stations "drift" slightly, requiring periodic re-tuning.

From an energy usage standpoint, a small portable radio has to qualify as pretty "green" entertainment: With a power draw of just a few watts, you could plug one in and power it all month for pennies' worth of electricity. Yet, when you run that ...

Pros: Inexpensive, Easy to use, sensitive receiver
Cons: Not an advanced shortwave radio

I published a small part of this review on a radio enthusiast web site. However, much of this review is new. First of all, what is a survival radio anyways? Is it a device that is supposed to work for years without power? Probably not. For most of us ...

Pros: Small, Lightweight and built tough. BUY ONE
Cons: I should have had this radio years ago !

The best $49.99 (cdn) I have ever spent. For some time now, my wife and I had been meaning to get a Disaster kit built and stocked for those events in Life that are truly un-forseen. We finally took a weekend off together and did the running around ...

Pros: No wasted batteries, good sound, small, amazingly durable.
Cons: Cranking mechanism could be stronger.

What can you say about Grundig? For years i've been using an antique Grundig shortwave in my workshop - it comes in beautifully and looks great. When it comes to electronics, Grundig is a very reliable name. It was then an easy decision for me to ...

Pros: No Batteries Ever Again!!!
Cons: None

I recently purchased this radio as a gift for father's day. I found that the radio received better reception than most "plug in types". After playing with Dad's I'm finding that I want to get one for myself. I would recommend this product to others. Too ...

Pros: Portable, good sound & reception, "fine-tuning" dial, built-in generator.
Cons: SW scale approximate, flashlight could be better.

I bought this radio a year ago as a late Christmas present for myself. I have always been fascinated by those "hand-cranked" radios that don't need batteries, as they would be handy in an emergency. As it turns out, this radio is not really ...

Pros: Small, Tough and runs without batteries. Great AM and FM reception.
Cons: Short Wave reception only Average.

I'm a big fan of AM radio, and especially Art Bell's late night "High Strangeness" talk show Coast to Coast. I've always wanted a hand-crank powered radio that will work no matter what is happening outside. The recent East Coast black out made that even ...

Pros: Generator, low price, decent reception and sound, good battery life. One-year warranty longer than most.
Cons: None, considering the low price.

I bought the Grundig FR 200 primarily for emergency use, since frequent severe weather in my area sometimes leaves us without power. With its hand-cranked generator, I would no longer have to worry about batteries or AC. After trying the radio out ...

Pros: Self-powered, small, light, easy to operate, inexpensive
Cons: Shortwave performance is not great

I was looking for a radio for my home preparedness kit. I thought the combination of battery power, self-power (mechanical crank), external power, flashlight, AM / FM / Shortwave would be ideal.

I was happy to receive, for $39.95, a small,...

Pros: Very versatile
Cons: Nothing major

The GRUNDIG FR200 is a versatile, light weight radio. It contains a rechargeable battery pack, similar to cordless phones, a flashlight, and an AM/FM/shortwave band radio. You can recharge the batteries with an 12 volt, 100mA, AC adapter or with the ...

Pros: small, multifunction, regular battery power lasts a long time
Cons: On rechargeable power, does not last as advertised.

I bought this product after I lost power and was bored for several hours. I thought the radio used spring technology like the freeplay, and was disappointed when I found out the crank simply charged a rechargeable battery. I found that the rechargeable battery lasts an hour or two only new out of the box. Each time I've cranked it as the manual suggests, I get only 10-20 min of play time, not 2 hours.

As a radio, it works OK. The shortwave is hard to tune in.

On regular battery power, the radio lasts quite a while. I use it every morning while getting ready for work.

Pros: Picks up stations all over the globe
Cons: None of significance

I love this radio.....I live in NC and can easily listen to stations from Russia, The Netherlands and South America just to name a few. While I do agree with the critics that it takes quite a bit of cranking to get a little radio time, not being dependent upon batteries is worth any amount of cranking.

It's not a fancy looking radio, it has knobs and dials, no digital displays, but it does what it's supposed to....If you're looking for a fancy radio to display, this probably isn't what you're looking for, but if, on the other hand, you're a camper, hiker or general out-of-doors type person that can't be solely reliant on batteries and power sources, then this radio needs to go in with your other survival supplies.

This is also a good radio for use in emergencies as it picks up any station you could possible want or need.....I use it for everyday listening and have no complaints....... My husband and I camp all over the US and wouldn't leave home without it or the crank flashlights.

Pros: Could be invaluable during an emergency.
Cons: A cheesy job of work

Invaluable junk? The electronics of the FR200 are an unpleasant throwback to the analog era: knob and slide tuning, no auto frequency lock (hence, FM stations drift), and sound quality reminiscent of a tiny 1960s transistor radio.

And,oh yeah, you'll have to do a LOT of cranking to keep it playing.

But then again, if you're in a power outage with no place to buy batteries, or sitting on the roadside waiting long hours for a tow truck, the FR200 could be a worthwhile item to have nearby.

It's not a radio you're likely to use for listening to music, but its relatively inexpensive price may it a good item in a family or auto emergency kit.

Pros: Good sound.
Cons: Cheap thin plastic internal cogs.

Good sound, but after twelve cranks the winder broke. No, I was not being rough with it ... actually, when it broke I was bragging to my sister about how neat this little orange radio was; she cranked it and snap! it broke. Why?? I opened it up and found the internal cogs are made of thin plastic. The smallest one of these broke off and now it will not crank. Too bad, because I enjoyed it up 'til then.