I just got in a new link in my survival preparations today. Got in an Eton FR1000 in the American Red Cross Edition scheme.
Last week,
www.woot.com had their semi-monthly Woot Off! in which they transition from one item a day to selling another item as soon as the current one sells out. If you have never been to the woot! familyof sites, I highly recommend it. The Woot Offs are a great way to waste a couple days looking for one item you can use amongst many that are silly or redundant.
Ok on to the point, I had been looking for this Eton for awhile and my fiancee and I had even registered for it at REI. Over there, it retails for $100. I got it for $35 shipped from Woot!
Features include:
* 22 GMRS (General Mobile Radio System)/FRS (Family Radio System) channels
* 121 privacy codes (38 CTCSS / 83 DCS)
* AM/FM receiver
* VOX (Voice operated transmission)
* NOAA weather radio and NOAA weather alert
* Siren and Flashlight
* Can be powered from four different sources:
o Rechargeable Ni-MH battery
o Dynamo crank alone
o 4 “AA” batteries
o AC Adapter (included)
* Cell-phone charging jack
First impressions are that it is a very handy piece of gear. The housing and knobs all seem very sturdy. The antenna is attached with a legitimate piece of metal and doesn't look like it will break off too easily. It does fold down when not in use.
The flashing lights are bright, the radio is loud and reception seems good both on FM and WX. I haven't tried out the twp-way radio yet. The emergency siren is also very loud. It sent the cats running for sure.
The backside of the radio has a large handle that runs the full length of the body. It would certainly make using the flashlight and such easier.
You can see from the features, that it runs on hand cranked power, a rechargable Ni-MH pack, 4 AAs or the AC adapter. The nice feature I noticed here is that they all integrate well. The battery compartment holds the rechargeable pack and the AAs at the same time. They sit next to each rather than say having to keep up with the rechargeable whenever you take it out to use the AA option. That seems pretty smart to me. One less thing to worry about in an emergency. It also of course gives the ability to maintain use even when your AAs are dead or being switched for new ones. Or you can crank to charge the batt pack while using the power from your AAs at any given moment.
It can be seen here:
http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card...uctDbId=344790
Anyone else have experience with these or similar? Hopefully this is helpful for others...