gthh wrote:
I am considering the FR250 and FR350 manufactured by Eton (linked with
Grundig now).

I have an FR200. I bought it in 2003 when we thought Iraq would be sending us
missles with chemical and biological weapons.

A wonderful portable radio it is not. It is a decent performer for an
emergency situation. As long as you keep the battery in good shape
then you will have no problems with it. Mine is on it's third battery.
They die from lack of use.

The FR-200 took a commonly available cordless phone battery. However the
cordless phones I have bought in the last few years took AAA NiMH batteries
which don't fit.

I have ordered the 350 online, and have bought the 250, so have had a chance
to play with the 250 for now. SW reception is mediumly-okay considering the
size of the unit, and cheap components. The 'light', siren, and built-in
phone charger are gimmicky, but useful when I may require them in the
wilderness.

That's an interesting question. Why are you taking it into the wilderness?
Is this for camping in the U.K., or are you going somewhere else? I am
confused as I read ahead and see you want LW recpetion. The U.K. is one
of the few places in the world that uses LW. I think there was a station
or two in continental Europe (Holland and Germany), but I also think
they are long gone.

When I moved here in 1996 there was an Arabic station on 208kHz (not
a relection) but has been gone for a long time. I occasionaly scan around
on long wave and hear nothing but noise.


I find the FR250 a bit bulky, and although the FR350 has not arrived at my
door yet, I'm expecting it to be more comfortable, but with foibles.

A crank radio, unlike the Bayliss design needs some bulk. The Bayliss design
uses a clockwork mechanism and can be as small as a watch and still be easily
wound. The FR-200 and so on use a crank running a generator. If the crank is
too small you won't get the tourque needed and if the radio is too small,
it will turn instead of the generator.

However, the actual position of the light makes it good for a torch, but
then you can't see illuminate the dial I'm guessing, argh!

I always thought that was a problem, but in an emergency you would be
listening for stations, in casual usage you would want to see them.
HOWEVER, in the dark the flashlight is next to useless for tuning the
radio, even if it did face the radio. The reason is it is an incandescent
bulb.

One second of looking at it will require a long recovery time to get
your night vision back. A red or green LED flashlight will last almost
forever and not harm your night vision. I use a red darkroom lamp in
my bedroom to make sure I don't lay down on a sleeping cat, and it neither
affects my night vision nor wakes my wife.

Any recommendations? Smaller is better, but cranking is a necessity.

I would suggest a different approach. With NiMH batteries that hold
2700mAh common and cheap, a radio that takes 2 AA batteries would be
a lot easier to use and carry. If you are not sharing the radio a
set of headphones, or if your ears can accomodate them, earbuds (mine can't),
would be smaller, lighter and much better than a speaker you won't use.

There are small MP3 players with radios, although the ones I have seen
are FM only. Since they last 12 hours on a single AAA battery in radio
mode, you could carry a week's supply in less space and less weight
than an FR-200. If you only listen to the radio an hour a night,
then one battery would work. If you can find one that uses an AA battery
or adapt one to it, you would get around 36 hours off of one battery charge.

I also have a charger that will recharge 4-6 batteries in about 3 hours
(or less) that runs on 12v DC. I use it with a wall transformer, but
anything that supplies 12 volts at enough current can be used. If for
example, you have access to a car once a week for a few hours,
or some sort of commerical electricity, you could charge 6 batteries.

The transformer is heavy, but the whole unit, transformer, 6 batteries
and a small radio are smaller and lighter than the FR-300.

Weren't there small hand crank generators sold for emergency recharging
of cell phones? Could you adapt one to charge a battery for you?

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
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