We had a recent tornado come through pretty close, less than half a mile. I realized we didn’t have a radio that would work without power. Looking at these ones:

https://ccrane.com/ccradio-3-a...ZEAQYDiABEgKHyvD_BwE

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c...ZEAQYASABEgJFpPD_BwE


Open to all suggestions!
Thanks

It's hard to go wrong with a C.Crane, but I'd opt for the hand crank/solar model vs. battery or corded. The last thing you want to worry about in an emergency is dead batteries and/or cords.

Toss it in your emergency kit and forget about it. When you need it, crank it up and you're good to go.

Instead. How about a handheld GMRS radio that picks up NOAA, airband, ham repeaters, and of course GMRS if available in your area. Even if you just want to listen and not get licensed it will be much more useful in my opinion IF you have other users in your area. You can probably get a less costly radio already programmed too.

Agree with Gustofer here. I have a couple and they're both Eton. Eton Quest and Eton Odyssey. Both hand crank and solar charging and can charge cell phone.

Agree with the above posts. For the same money you can get two handhelds with much better capabilities.
Try https://bettersaferadio.com/ for lots of info and good prices/service on pre programmed radios.
I recommend the KG-UV9PX+ HAM.
Also there are several very informative threads here on this subject.

I always thought hand crank radios were a croc. Still do, buy maybe I am clueless on the subject.

Upon reviewing my Amazon purchases, I see the Sony radio I bought in 2022 because I thought I needed one for emergencies. It’s still in the box on a shelf and was a complete waste of $20-40.

All of our vehicles have radios. All of our GMRS have NOAA weather and three of them have FM receivers as well. Our two marine VHF handhelds have NOAA weather and our two handheld HAMs have FM receivers.

You know what I’ve never listened to when the power was out? A radio, because our phones worked.

I agree with getting a pair of GMRS radios with FM and NOAA weather built in.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I always thought hand crank radios were a croc. Still do, buy maybe I am clueless on the subject.

Pulled mine out of my get-home-bag today just to prove you wrong. It's been in there and not used for probably at least three years, maybe four. Guess what? You're wrong.

Gave it a hundred or so cranks and it fired right up. It needs more than that for a good charge, but hey...it's good enough. Is it perfect? Nope, I have other radios that'll do that, but it'll do what the OP wants it to do.

I prefer battery powered with battery replacement on a schedule. I store without batteries and new batteries beside the radio.

The Sangean DT-400W has been useful for me for the last 3 years. I keep Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in it so I don't worry about them leaking. I also use it at the beach with a small set of wired earbuds. It has decent sound quality when tuning to the local FM stations. It's small enough and light enough to toss into a backpack when day hiking. Overall I am satisfied with this radio.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I agree with getting a pair of GMRS radios with FM and NOAA weather built in.

We have a pair of Wouxan KG-935+ GMRS handheld radios with FM radio and NOAA Weather, great tools for power outages, natural disasters, etc. For a radio, I have my old trusty Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM shortwave radio that operates on AA batteries, I pull them out when not in use.

Thanks everyone!