American Red Cross FR150 Microlink Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger (Red)

We purchased this emergency radio/flashlight a week before Hurricane Ike hit us in Houston. We tested it as soon as we got it and were able to receive 3 FM stations, 2 AM radio stations and the weather band. The flashlight worked well. We could not locate a cell phone charging cable for the unit, rendering that function null. When Ike hit Friday night, the weather band went to 100% static, and only one FM station was clear enough to understand. The flashlight still worked fine. By Saturday morning we could get no radio signals at all no matter how much we cranked. In contrast, our four battery-operated radios picked up several stations. But, we really didn't want to use up the batteries - the very reason we purchased the hand crank in the first place. The flashlight switch stopped operating Saturday night, remaining stuck on low beam with no way to turn it off. This morning we were fortunate to find a commercial building with a generator, A/C and wi-fi - hence the ability to write this review. The only reason it gets one star is because the flashlight broke in the ON position. Otherwise, it was extremely disappointing. I certainly will never buy another Eton product.

Over all a good product. Only con is the limited battery. I wish I could add a AA or AAA battery to exented this.

American Red Cross FR150 Microlink Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger (Red)

This product works as advertised. After communicating with Eton regarding my wife's cell phone, I was quickly sent the correct adapter tip for my wife's cell phone allowing it to charge it by using the crank. There was a misunderstanding regarding the communication of Eton sending my cell phone adapter tip. As a result I am awaiting the adapter tip for my cell phone.

I did find a USB adapter from one of my digital cameras, that I own, that fit into the radio. Once plugged into the radio, I can plug it into a laptop or PC USB port and wait for it to charge.

I tested the solar charging by placing the unit on a window sill and watched as the charing indicator light up. The radio works and sounds fine for my intended use. NOAA weather alert stations can be reached as expected. Finally, the flashlight works as advertised as well. Simply crank and turn on the flashlight to illuminate the area you need lit.

The product showed up on time, was in great shape, and it appears to do everything that I thought it would do(except for the fact that you have to order special adaptors for your cell phones "ladies and gents"...and since I live in FL, I didn't even have time to order it, before we were out running for water, batteries, dry food and tape!! The radio does work with solar power, so we will see what happens the next "hurricane scare". My husband bought batteries for another radio, as he said that it looked too small to do any good. Sorry...

I haven't had an emergency yet to use this radio in, but everything worked nicely out of the box. My "complaint" is that the tuning wheel for the AM/FM stations makes it hard for me to get a station dialed in exactly. The scale showing the frequency is small and a small twitch of the tuning wheel moves you over quite a bit of frequency ground. So if you're trying to dial a station with a narrow frequency, you may find it hard to get a good lock. The flashlight is rather anemic as are all LED-based flashlights that I've tried so far. Is it better than nothing? Absolutely. Is it perfect? Not a chance. I did find this radio/flashlight to work better than the Eton FR500 Solarlink. This one is also smaller, but has fewer features.