am-fm

I bought the Grundig FR-200 because severe weather in my area sometimes causes power outages. The last time that happened, my only portable radio had dead batteries. The FR-200 will run on 3 "AA" batteries, but also has a built-in hand-cranked generator, and has a built-in flashlight as well.

I didn't expect such an inexpensive radio to perform as well as the FR 200 does. Reception on all bands, including shortwave, seems to be as good as my YB 300 PE, which was twice the price. If anything, the FR 200 might be a bit better on certain stations, and the analog tuner makes it easier to scan the dial than with digitally-tuned radios.

Battery life from 3 alkaline AAs has been very good, so I haven't bothered with buying an AC adapter. The instructions say that ninety seconds worth of cranking the generator will power the radio for about an hour, depending on volume, and my results have actually been a bit better than that.

The Grundig FR-200 is fun for everyday use, is a great choice for staying connected to the outside world when the lights go out, and it doesn't cost much. I like it.

This radio is billed as an Emergency Radio, and it suits that purpose well. It is small, built ruggedly, and comes with a nice case. The crank generator does a fine job at powering the receiver and small light. You won't be using the light to signal ships at sea, but it is adequate to find your way around a dark house to locate a candle or oil lamp.

Combining a SW receiver with the AM/FM was a good idea, as you can get news from far away in the event of a large-area power failure. However, the radio lacks a weather-band receiver, which would be a useful feature in an emergency radio.

For general use, the receiver is somewhat lacking. We have a strong FM transmitter nearby, and it "spills" onto several places on the FM band. SW tuning can be a little tricky, even with the fine-tuning knob. Also, sideband reception is not available for SW. I would not recommend this radio for someone looking to get into SW reception "on the cheap."

Overall, however, it is a very good radio for its intended purpose and price. I'm glad I added it to my emergency kit.

FOr the price and convience of having a portable emergency battery radio, its OK.

The AM/FM tuner is OK. It's not great. It's not very precise and you need to fiddle with the tuner to get your station locked in.

The shortwave is hit or miss.

The light works.

The hand-crank broke after 3 times using it. It seems it was glued. It was easily fixed using plastic crazy-glue, but somewhat disappointing.

I really wanted a FreePlay radio, but I couldn't justify the price. This radio is OK if you have a fresh supply of AA batteries and some crazy glue :)

Peace