Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160R Microlink Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger (Red) Reviews
Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160R Microlink Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger (Red)
- AM (520-1710 KHz) & FM (87-108MHz) NOAA weatherband & 8211
- USB cell phone charger (USB cable not included) 3.5 mm headphone input Dimensions: 5.25& 8221
- Accessories: owner& 8217;s manual, warranty card Specifications subject to change
Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power, and Cell Phone Charger
List Price: $ 40.00
Price:
SE 11 Function Credit Card Size Survival Pocket Tool
- Stainless steel tool
- Size of a credit card
- 11 useful functions
- A must-have for the camper or backpacker
This credit card-size multi-function survival tool includes a can opener, knife edge, screwdriver, ruler, cap opener, 4-position wrench, butterfly screw wrench, saw blade, direction ancillary wrench, 2-position wrench, and a keychain hole. Comes with a pouch.
List Price: $ 5.95
Price:
Best Solar Powered Radio For The Price….No Battery Option,
Weather radios are sort of a hobby of mine. There is just about no place I can go on my property that there isn’t one within reach somewhere. Six different brands are represented presently by what I own, including a more expensive Eton that is not my best radio. This small, (and I mean small) new line from Eton is a whole new animal to be sure. Its controls and design are very user friendly. And the reception on all channels, including the weather, is very loud and clear. Its true that the dial numbers for the AM FM are very small as some other reviewers have mentioned and can make it hard to tune accurately. But that is something common, as well as for me expected in a radio so small. What sets this unit apart from all the others I own in my opinion is its price and solar power. It is without a doubt the cheapest weather radio I have come across that is solar powered. Big, small, or otherwise. Even though one has been able to buy solar powered calculators at discount stores for less than $10 for years now, for some reason the weather radio industry has treated solar power as something still high tech and to be appreciated only in their most expensive units. My only other solar powered radio cost me over $60. The only possible down side that I should mention about this radio is that it does not take batteries. It would have been nice if they included that option. But they didn’t and its either the solar power or crank. This could be a very big negative for some folks who would feel comfortable knowing they could just stick some batteries in it if all else fails. Although 90% of the time the solar power is all you should ever need, if you will routinely keep this in a rather dark place, or happen to be lost out in the savage wilderness someplace with this radio in a continuous cloud cover, be ready to do a whole heap of crankin’. All in all, its finally nice to see a very reasonably priced unit that is solar powered and of a very quality build and design as well. I highly recommend the Eton for a portable unit that can be taken anywhere easily, powered effortlessly, and gives quality performance all in one package….
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|Pleasantly surprised with the battery life,
This radio is an excellent radio for the price. No, it is not a top-end emergency radio, but it should work rather well for anyone looking for a basic AM/FM/Weather radio with both a solar and hand-crank charging option. I purchased mine about a year ago and used it only occasionally for the first few months. Then I placed it on a shelf with limited light and there it sat for about six to eight months. About six weeks ago I dusted it off and it actually worked for about an hour or so with no hand-crank charging. Later that day I sat it in the front window where it would get plenty of direct sun light. A couple days later I picked it up from the window and have been using it a few hours each day since; some of those days it was used for more than six hours in the basement. I have not needed to crank it at all, but did crank charge it for about one minute total just while playing with it – for the record. Since then, I have been keeping it on the shelf out in the open where it is exposed to normal room daylight, no direct sunlight. The charging light does not light up in this setting, and I would not expect it to. I have occasionally taken it out on the front porch to sit a listen where there is direct sunlight, but only for about an hour or so each week. I really like the idea of not having to buy batteries, and the convenience of knowing I always have a charged radio.
The flashlight is minimal, but I would not expect more from an Led Light source. I have my 6-D-Cell Mag light if I need a powerful (luxury) light source.
Tuning the radio is a bit sensitive and can be difficult to fine tune. I would consider this to be a SIGNIFICANT problem for an elderly person or anyone without the use of fine motor skills in their hands; but for me it is a minor hassle I am willing and able to deal with. I have considered getting the Eaton FR600 for its digital tuner. The reviews for that model suggest the battery life is pretty bad, so I have decided to wait for an improved model. For now, my FR160 is just fine. I would consider giving this 5-stars if the fine-tuning was much easier.
The USB charge does work, but know that it will not charge an iPhone 3Gs. This is more a problem/restriction of the iPhone 3Gs (a widely discussed complaint across the Internet for many-many generic charging devices) and is not because of the radio. Charging my old Samsung phone was not a problem.
The weather bands do pick up a signal, but to be absolutely honest, I have not used it much to provide any real opinion.
The hand-crank charger feels solid enough (I wouldn’t abuse it) and tucks away securely when not used. I have found the manual crank-charger will provide about 25-30 minutes of radio time (at about 1/4 to 1/3 volume) for every minute of crank-charging. I average about 2 cranks per second or about 120 rotation per minute. Now I just count to 120 or so instead of watching the clock. This play-time per craink-time yeild has been very acceptable for me. After two minutes of crank-charging my hand does begins to tire a little, but just a little. If I leave the radio in a place with good direct sunlight when not using it, changing via the crank is never even needed.
In short, it works for what I want – a radio that that can be charged by sunlight or by hand-crank when absolutely necessary. If you want the construction and feature-set of a $100+ radio – buy a $100+ radio. But, for $30 (or less), I am pleased with the FR160.
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|The Perfect Emergency Radio!,
The reasons this Eton-manufactured emergency radio is the ideal emergency radio are: 1) small, compact size, 2) shock-absorbing case, 3) sensitive AM/FM/NOAA Weather tuner picks up weak signals, 4) handy 3-LED flashlight on left-hand end of the radio’s case, 5) Earphone jack under dust cover on the right-hand side of the case, 6) USB port under same dust cover on the right-hand side of the case, 7) All radio bands will run 4-5 hours at low volume on full charge of the internal NiMH battery,
Solar panel on top of the radio’s case is strong enough to power the radio indefinitely (as long as the solar panel is ’seeing’ daylight), 9) the internal NiMH can be re-charged via the solar panel during daylight hours, an external transformer or the hand-cranked dynamo. You get all of these features for the low price of $30, plus free ‘Super Saver’ shipping from Amazon.Com. You can pay a lot more for an emergency radio and get a whole lot less!
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|Ok in a pinch, not meant for everyday use.,
Fair warning: I wrote this review for an out of production item that is essentially this same piece with one more wrench slot and a slightly different Protractor. Either way, my previous review stands for this as well:
I hope nobody is considering this tool for anything other than having an emergency backup to what should already be every day carry tools. It’s decent quality, but I certainly wouldn’t put it at “top notch” status. And the functions are mostly hard to pull off with any degree of force. The knife is on a short side which makes it difficult to use. The “screwdriver” which is little more than one corner ground to a flat-head shape is only useful in wide-open areas with larger screws, and with the knife on the same edge, one has to be very careful indeed.
The only tools that I found to be decently easy to use are the saw and bottle opener. The saw since it was on the long side and the opposite side (ruler) allows for a decent grip. The Bottle opener is equally easy to operate.
The can opener forces you to use the saw as a finger grip and the wrench slots pretty much require that any bolts are not very tight, and that’s if you can get the tool on it in the first place.
This really didn’t fit well in my money clip wallet, but it might in a full sized wallet. So, as an emergency backup, it might get you out of a jam and could actually come in handy once in a while. Forget using it as a keychain tool… it’s way too dangerous to leave out in the open (and the plastic cover that came with mine was laughably cheap). It won’t make it through the TSA unless someone’s asleep at the wheel, so traveling with it isn’t really an option either.
I’d give it a 2.5 star, but for the money, it’s hard to beat, so I’m rounding up. You could always toss one in the glove compartment, toolbox, bookbag, etc. but I strongly recommend a Small Leatherman Micra or Squirt if compact is what you seek. Those are FAR more functional (AND SAFER!!!) in comparison. Get it if your curiosity or gearlust must be sated.
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|Interesting but not overly useful,
Interesting multi-purpose gadget but it’s not as useful as the “11 functions” would have you believe. First, item #11 is the keychain hole but if you attach the device to your keys and throw them in your pocket, you’re going to cut your leg since the other side is a cutting blade. At the very least, you’re going to have to repair the hole in your pocket. Next, Item #9 is a “Direction Anxillary Wrench”. I’ve googled this and came up empty, with the exception of hits on this device itself. If google doesn’t know how to use it, I certainly can’t be expected to. So, we’re down to 9 useful gadgets from the 11. Next, the “butterfly screw wrench”…. I guess it would work but I personally don’t see butterfly screws all that often and more importantly, aren’t butterfly screws specifically designed to NOT need a tool?
Without actually testing on everything, the other tools seem generally more useable. Can and bottle openers seem ok and the knife seems sharp enough to cut something (hence, don’t just attach to your keys and throw in your pocket! OUCH!). Saw seems like it’d cut in a pinch & it’s hard to mess up a ruler even though it is in centimeters, not inches like you might expect. Seems like it’d be a bit akward using the 2 wrenches (the 2 multi-sized wrenches count as 2 of your eleven btw whereas it could be argued to be 1 function) but without actual testing I can’t be certain.
Anyway, in summary it’s an interesting gadget made from a single piece of metal. However, the useful functionality isn’t as high as I’d hoped. More impressive in looks than functionality.
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|A neat useful conversation piece!,
Tough, chromelike shiny, ll-tools-in-one comes in a sleeve with a numbered card describing the tools. Fits easily into your wallet and I used it soon after I got it to loosen a screw, and to open a stubborn plastic candy bag. It’s light, bright, and handy! …and everybody wants to look at it and find the 11 tools.
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