REVIEW: ETON FR160

FINALLY A RADIO THAT WORKS      

For quite a while I have been searching for a weather radio that you could hand crank, or had solar, or both.  I had tried a few of them and really liked the features, HOWEVER, although they all seem to have a USB outlet to charge your Iphone, I have yet to find one that actually did.  Until now.  The other day, my wife and I gathered all our solar and hand cranked generators and did some tests.  Several of the solar panels built specifically for charging your phone did nothing at all.  When I got to this guy (we have 2 of them), within 2 cranks of the handle, my Iphone 5 came to life.  We were tickled.  Here was the cheapest unit we had and it did what it said it would.  So here is what we found:  First off, these little gems are small at about 5.5" long, 1.5" wide and 2.25" tall it is easily packable.  You could argue that at about 10 oz it is heavy to carry.  I prefer the term ROBUST.  These things are as solid as they come.  I can live with that, and do, I have one in my bugout bag I carry for work, (for the record, that bug out bag is supposed to get me 221 miles of walking, so YES, weight is an issue with me).

 

For a little package this item is full of features, AM/FM radio, Weather Band (7 channels), 3 LED Flashlight, Folding Handcrank, USB connector, Ear Phone Jack, telescoping antenna, and an attached lanyard.  The pictures reflect a red unit, ours are both black.  I opted to put some dots of reflective tape on it so I don't lose it at night. 

 

There is a rechargeable battery that can be charged using the solar panel or the hand crank.  When I got the first unit and tried the light, it was dead.  I cranked it a few times and the light came on and stayed on.  So the crank charging system on this unit is efficient.  I hate cranking these things for 30 minutes and finding that it gives you .235 seconds of light, let alone radio time.  When cranking, the first think I noticed was how smooth and solid it was.  Compared to other units, this is by far the most 'trustworthy' in quality.  The built in light is not overly bright, but it will let you walk around in the dark and find lost items.  All in all, it will do the trick if you have no other light.  Just don't expect to see rabid weiner dawgs approaching from great distances. 

 

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, and having to live with resistor type portable radios, I was pleasantly surprised when I could lock onto a station and it actually stayed, without drifting.  Ok I may be old, but it was frustrating enough that I never bought another one for 30 years.  The Weatherband Station feature was my greatest reason to purchase this radio and I am not disapointed.  Locks on, stays on, and no static.  Being half deaf, I love the fact that I don't have to have the volume turned to full and still have to put it to my ear.  It is loud.  Even though it has an earplug jack, I won't be needing it unless I am listening to the weather, while hiking through hostile territory.  Won't Happen. 

 

The key feature (for me) was to be able to charge my Iphone 5.  This was the last unit we had tried in our arsonal of solar chargers (we have 5 others that didn't work at all).  When I put the cord into the Eton, and Iphone, I gave it a few cranks and was totally surprised to see the phone light up.  HOWEVER,  there is a catch to this.   The Iphone has an internal defense mechanism to prevent damage due to low voltage.  If you crank the Eton slowly, you will see a yellow triangled warning come up on the Iphone.  Don't be discouraged.  It is doing its job.  I found that if you start cranking quickly, there is enough voltage to allow the Iphone to charge.  It took a few minutes (just over 3) to get the phone to charge one percent.  At first I calculated it would be about 300 minutes of cranking to get this phone fully charged.  But then, that is from dead battery to fully charged.  I can live with that, since I only need to crank it for a little while to make an emergency call for help, or, order a pizza in the wilderness (ok thats a joke).  

 

For about 30 dollars, this is a great value. Solid.  Good volume.  And, it does charge a phone.  Of course, you will have to supply your own USB cable for the Iphone, as the cables are sold separately.