Emergency Hand Crank Radio, FORNORM Solar Radio 2000mAh Power Bank Wind Up Radios with Phone Charger and 4 LED Reading Lamp, AM/FM/7 NOAA, 4 Power Methods, Green

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Still, people with questions can find a long list of local meteorologists and others who have created YouTube videos to answer any additional questions you may have. Made to be powered from a wall outlet, this radio also hosts backup battery power for when the grid is down, and has ports for an additional antenna and external alerts such as a strobe. Weather band radios have their uses if you’re expecting poor weather, but weather alert radios are more generally useful since situations can change quickly. I left it outside before charging it otherwise, and it was quickly charged with the help of the sun.

Other than the lack of active weather alerts, the RunningSnail’s only other drawbacks compared with the Midland models are relatively minor: It doesn’t have a clock or an LCD screen, and the audio quality isn’t the greatest. Its rechargeable 2,600 mAh battery was the second-largest in our testing group, and combined with the three other power options (solar, hand crank or six AAA batteries) makes the Midland ER310 a reliable choice for anyone who wants to be prepared for power outages and have the ability to charge their mobile devices. It ranges from breaking down after any water exposure (IPX0) to being able to withstand powerful water jets (IPX9K). Additional features to help people prepare for power outages include hand cranks, solar panels, flashlights, and SOS signaling that could be vital in disastrous situations.More important, we found the WR400 to be easier to set up and program than the Sangean CL-100, another popular desktop model, and the Midland WR120B/WR120EZ, which lacks AM/FM reception. Emergency radios are designed to provide accurate and up-to-date weather information and alerts using the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) network of radio stations, while your typical transistor radio will only receive AM/FM stations. However, it’s also slightly smaller than the Eton Sidekick, which makes it less comfortable to carry, and the controls are even less user-friendly (particularly beneath the handle). The federal government recommends including a battery-powered or hand-crank radio with NOAA weather access and alerts in your emergency kit. While not as powerful as some of the other radios on the list, the 850 mAh lithium-ion battery can be recharged via solar or hand-crank power (one minute of cranking gives you 5 minutes of listening time).

And the auto-off feature turns the radio off after 90 minutes of play to help stretch its battery life. While almost all emergency radios are receive-only, there are certainly times when keeping in contact with others might make the difference in an emergency situation. Additional features such as a flashlight or the ability to charge your phone: These are helpful, especially if you can charge your phone by crank. Your results may vary on these measures depending on the speed you turn the crank or cloudiness of the sky, but under the conditions in which we tested, and in relation to the rest of the radios tested, these results put the ER310 at the top of the group.

The sound was enough to scare my dog and seems like a great addition to any device that could be used to save your life. E. localized reception capabilities, which allows it to filter out alerts from areas that don’t affect you. This could also be carried by weight-conscious backpackers and other campers who simply want to get a weather report and have a flashlight, in addition to their primary best flashlight. The Midland ER310 comes with a large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen, and the built-in flashlight produces an impressive 25 foot-candles of light output on its highest setting—it’s two to three times more powerful than the flashlights on almost all the other models we tested, except those of the Midland ER210 and the RunningSnail MD-090P, which were slightly brighter. Emergency radios are generally designed to cover the standard AM and FM broadcasting bands, and weather radio in countries that provide that service.

It is also vulnerable to disruption by interference, the signal quality can be degraded by other electronics, weather, or other operators. The external crank arm charges an internal battery by moving metal coils around a magnet, creating a current. Most purchases from business sellers are protected by the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 which give you the right to cancel the purchase within 14 days after the day you receive the item. The LED flashlight brightens up dark areas, and the USB port lets you charge smartphones and other small devices. Even when we placed the models outside, the ER310 made it painfully clear that there was some kind of emergency.

The ER310 emerged unscathed from both our drop tests and our water-resilience tests, with a few barely noticeable scratches to show for it. With a 4,000 mAh battery, the RunningSnail is also one of the longest-lasting emergency weather radios we’ve tested, as the Kayinuo DF-580 was the only model we found or tested that had a bigger battery.