Grundig World Receiver Radios

A radio for all seasons / Powered by AC, 3 AA batteries or hand crank / Analog tuner receives AM and shortwave bands

Amazon Sales Rank: #16630 in Consumer Electronics Brand: Eton Model: FR200 Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 5.75" h x 2.25" w x 6.75" l, 1.50 pounds Emergency radio is built to handle the elements, as well as a power outage Hand crank can be used to recharge the built-in battery Tunes AM/FM and 2 shortwave bands. Tuning knob features a superimposed fine tuning control knob Features a white LED emergency light

The Etón Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio is the entry-level shortwave radio in Etón's line of emergency radios. With a dependable hand-crank power generator that powers the unit's AM/FM/Shortwave radio and built-in LED flashlight, the lightweight and portable Grundig FR200 is an economical choice for anyone in the market for a radio that can be relied on in emergencies or in environments where there are limited power sources. Emergency lighting and radio tuning all in one compact package. View larger. The easy-to-read radio dial. View larger. The hand crank recharges the integrated rechargeable battery. An emergency light shines the way. Other models in Etón's line of emergency radios that we tested include the Grundig FR250, a shortwave radio that also includes a flashing LED light, cell phone charger and siren; the Grundig FR300, which includes the emergency features of the FR250, but offers television and weather station tuning instead of shortwave; the Grundig FR 350, a water-resistant variation of the FR250; and the Grundig FR 400, a water-resistant variation of the FR300. Power When You Need It At the heart of all of Etón's emergency radios, including the Grundig FR200, is an internal generator that recharges the internal Ni-MH battery pack and powers the radio and flashlight. According to the product manual, to achieve 40 to 60 minutes of uninterrupted power you must turn the crank at a rate of two revolutions per second for 90 seconds. In our test, after our initial 90 seconds of rigorous cranking, the FR200 powered right up and was still going strong with radio reception after an hour. At the hour mark, we briefly turned the flashlight on, and that too was at full force, with no perceivable drain on radio reception. The FR200 can also be powered via an AC adapter which, to our dismay, is not included, or from three AA batteries, also not included. The dynamo crank tucks itself nicely into the side of the radio and offers little resistance as you turn the handle. (Don't let the cranking requirements frighten you! A full 90 seconds of turning the crank can be tiring and may not be for everyone. With that in mind, we also recharged the radio with less than a minute of cranking and achieved over 40 minutes of continuous power.) Design and Controls At slightly more than a pound in weight, and with dimensions of 6.5 x 5.75 x 2.25-inches (WxHxD), the FR200 is designed to be tucked neatly into its handy nylon carrying case and can be easily stored in an emergency box, or packed neatly for a camping trip. An LED flashlight is set on the front of the radio, just to the side of the analog tuner. The flashlight is designed to help you down an unlit stairwell or enclosed hallway in a pinch, but the light is not directed or strong enough to help you much in a pitch-black forest or other open area. The radio and light can be operated simultaneously, though of course at the expense of power. The FR200 includes a handy strap on the top of the radio for easy carrying, and the tuning and volume knobs are set to the side. The mechanical controls are extremely visible and easy to use. The volume control is a bit difficult to finesse, while the tuning knob, on the other hand, which features a smaller concentric fine-tuning control knob, is much easier. An earphone jack is set into the back, and the telescoping antenna tucks neatly behind the handle strap. The radio's 2.5-inch speaker is set directly in front and offers reasonable audio quality for the radio's purpose. The tuner itself is not illuminated in any way, which makes sense for reasons of power conservation, but in a darkened environment, it's literally impossible to see. For an "emergency radio," it seems that Etón might have addressed this problem with a self-illuminated background or lettering, as they did with the FR250, FR300, FR350 and FR400 models. Tuning and Bands The FR200 offers 14-band tuning -- AM, FM and 12 shortwave bands. Our AM reception was outstanding; we were quickly able to tune into every station we searched for. Reception for FM was also very good, though there was some extra fine-tuning on some of the stations. Our shortwave reception, however, was a mixed bag. We tested in the early and late evening, searching for signals in the more heavily populated SW1. While we found several signals during our test, honing in on them took a bit of finesse with the fine-tuning knob. And when we did find them, there was static and background noise with most of the signals. It became clear during our testing that the FR200 is an emergency radio, with several outstanding features that include shortwave reception; its shortwave functionality, however, is not its primary selling point. But for a basic, entry-level and economical emergency radio to use in a pinch or during an outing where access to electricity is an issue, the Grundig FR200 more than suits the bill. Pros Compact and lightweight; ideal for emergencies or travel Clearly laid out functions and controls Excellent internal power generator Cons Tuning dial should be illuminated for darkened environments Shortwave reception inconsistent Should include an AC adapter What's in the Box FR200 radio, carrying case, and owner's manual.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews 448 of 459 people found this review helpful. Flawed Shortwave & FM but overall a very useful product for SRW on newsgroups and discussion forums, is this convenient and compact little radio as a good choice for beginning shortwave listeners presented, but I would not agree. As usual for the current line of low-end products Grundig has the "single conversion" intermediate frequency design led to serious image problems: in other words, take 1-2 strong station or three places on the dial: in the correct position of the expected frequency, plus a ghost or two up and down. In the crowded shortwave, it is extremely difficult to hear, like whistles images wiggle and cause much problems (and make it hard to even know where the radio is tuned.) ) In addition, the planetary tuning mechanism dreadful backlash: to tune to a shortwave transmitter, then you walk past it and then back up and tune until you * finally * get to the middle than the radio drives and a Minutes later you are forced to redo: maddening.AM (known as medium wave in Europe and large parts of the world) is more satisfactory because the stations are not close to each other as much as short wave, and the band is shorter, so there is more spread out from one end to the other: the atmosphere is not critical. Selectivity is very good, and the sensitivity is excellent. I have not noticed image problems that are so difficult that the SW bands. FM reception was disappointing, the selectivity is not good, and the sensitivity is quite low. Stations "mush" together - as they can be picked up at all. Counting only the strongest signals in your reception area.The generator works very well, but a trio of new AA cells gives more power and slightly better sensitivity.I I tried six units and found that performance somewhat varied a brand new radio had a weak set of batteries that do not load, another had very tinny sound that lacked fullness (surprising to me, but probably due to a bad speaker or poor audio capacitors .) A few sets were not as sensitive as others. So quality control apparently varies somewhat.The unit I bought is very satisfying as a simple emergency and / or AM broadcast receiver, although not very useful for FM and shortwave. But it sounds a bit better than pocket sets, and certainly surpasses most of them in terms of AM sensitivity. (I am a retired broadcast station chief engineer in the SF Bay Area, with 50 years experience as a shortwave listener.) 164 of 164 people found the following review helpful. Buy it for emergencies, use it every day (two years vary) for clickz4 From reading the other reviews, I see more people like this radio, but some dogs. They are right. Your satisfaction with this radio will have more to do with your motivation to buy products that Grundig has a well established reputation for manufacturing purposes. If you are a fan of short wave is looking for a good shortwave radio, sadly I have to admit that you need to keep looking. The tuner is in doubt (by your standards) and is not 'Feel Grundig' of their products more expensive. But note Grudig called "emergency radio", not a short-wave radio. If you want something for peace of mind that you will never be taken without a radio because of dead batteries, then this is an excellent product. I live in a hurricane zone and every time there's a storm approaching, all my friends to wait in long lines to buy batteries. I know I'm ready 24 / 7. As an added bonus, I will always have a flashlight with me. (Which is more useful than I would have guessed) (Here is the trick) If you want an emergency radio and likes to listen to the BBC or Radio-Canada from time to time, then this is definitely the product for you, I the mine for a year and a half and I use at least 3 times a week. The best way to describe it.