running dogg ) writes:
I recieved something that I ordered over the net from C. Crane, and was
flipping through the catalog they included when I noticed, on page 25, a
Freeplay Lifeline radio. It says that this radio is made for
humanitarian projects in the third world and is sold to Americans
exclusively by C. Crane. It appears to be a four band radio, with FM,
AM, and two SW bands covering 3.5-10 and 10-18 Mhz. The ad has a picture
of an African boy working in a field while listening to this radio, but
that radio appears to be different-it has a red and white dial instead
of a blue and white dial. I was wondering if anybody owns a Freeplay
Lifeline and can comment on it. I assume that the SW bands are good only
for regional reception, so in the US you'd only hear bible thumpers. At
$99.95 it's quite expensive, I don't see how they can afford to give
them away to people in Africa. Page 78 of the catalog shows a Rwandan
girl with a Lifeline, and it IS different-the dial is marked with the
Voice of America logo.

I have no idea, but when the Baygen first came out, much was said
about how it was invented for the African market, and the radios
were then also sold to Europe and North America at a greater price
to help fund the African project. It's expensive here, given the
relatively crummy radio (the real hook is the windup generator)
because the profits are paying for the production of the radios
for the intended end users, the Africans.

Michael