Off the subject of knifes but related to my BOB Kit, emergency radio?

S

soapboxpreacher

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Apr 3, 2010
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Ok I am putting together a kit...well two...one as a Bail Out Bag (BOB) and one for Home. I have all the knives I need for a BOB and EDC but now I need an emergency radio that isnt garbage. I would like one that is small and one that is for the house. Both must have a hand crank and I would like it to be solar if possible. I also need it to have NOAA/WB. I have read mixed about eton and some mixed about Midland. I have a Eton FR600, it is solar, dymano crank, Shortware, NOAA, AM/FM, WB. But 60-90 second of winding is 3-5 minutes of radio. The solar panel is fair at best...a day for 5-10 minutes...it is a crap emergency radio. So I need a few new ones..one for each situation...buggin out or staying home. Any suggestions? I hope this thread doesnt break the rules...I apologize if it does.
 
It belongs in Gadgets & Gear. Not Community. Moving it there.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
Ok I am putting together a kit...well two...one as a Bail Out Bag (BOB) and one for Home. I have all the knives I need for a BOB and EDC but now I need an emergency radio that isnt garbage. I would like one that is small and one that is for the house. Both must have a hand crank and I would like it to be solar if possible. I also need it to have NOAA/WB. I have read mixed about eton and some mixed about Midland. I have a Eton FR600, it is solar, dymano crank, Shortware, NOAA, AM/FM, WB. But 60-90 second of winding is 3-5 minutes of radio. The solar panel is fair at best...a day for 5-10 minutes...it is a crap emergency radio. So I need a few new ones..one for each situation...buggin out or staying home. Any suggestions? I hope this thread doesnt break the rules...I apologize if it does.
Click to expand...

SBP, I also bought an Eton FR-600 last summer. Radio worked pretty good, but now the solar charging system will not hold a charge. If it is in the sun, then everything is good. I bought a Voyager Katio KA-500 this spring, and it is like night and day. The voyager is rubber coated, has been on about 15-18 camping trips so far, reception is great, & the ni-cad battery will hold a charge from the solar panel for 18-22 hours. All in all, much better radio. I have ordered 2 more, one for the house & another to put into the camping equipment. You might want to look at these, have worked great for me.
Be safe.
 
I sent an email to eton and got almost and immediate response. There manual is terrible and not very clear on how to set it for charging via USB. I never got mine to charge because I was setting it to "off phone charger" when it is suppose to be set on "dynamo" for USB charging from your PC. And Solar (which makes sense) for it to charge off of the panel. I wonder what the setting is to get it to charge off the solar panel so I can charge my phone or iTouch when I am in the field. I do like the FR-600 because (at least mine) had decent reception of AM/FM/WB/NOAA and SW was good but not great, however I have no way of gauging this...for I obviously dont know what is really around me for SW.
 
JUST1MOR said:
SBP, I also bought an Eton FR-600 last summer. Radio worked pretty good, but now the solar charging system will not hold a charge. If it is in the sun, then everything is good. I bought a Voyager Katio KA-500 this spring, and it is like night and day. The voyager is rubber coated, has been on about 15-18 camping trips so far, reception is great, & the ni-cad battery will hold a charge from the solar panel for 18-22 hours. All in all, much better radio. I have ordered 2 more, one for the house & another to put into the camping equipment. You might want to look at these, have worked great for me.
Be safe.
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Oh and I think one of the biggest issues with eton is their crap batteries...not to mention most uses let them sit which isnt necessarily a good thing...it will make a battery worse over time.
 
My only experience is with the Etons. I have a FR 360. My dad had an old Eddie Bauer version before he gave it to one of my nephews. Not great but they work in a pinch. The key is to have someone who's excited about the project crank it for you :D. I started a similar thread here a little while back. I got the C Crane recommendation also. Then I saw the Eton at Home Depot and picked it up because it was convenient. If you go to REI's website you can read some reviews. Good luck.
 
dttomcat said:
My only experience is with the Etons. I have a FR 360. My dad had an old Eddie Bauer version before he gave it to one of my nephews. Not great but they work in a pinch. The key is to have someone who's excited about the project crank it for you :D. I started a similar thread here a little while back. I got the C Crane recommendation also. Then I saw the Eton at Home Depot and picked it up because it was convenient. If you go to REI's website you can read some reviews. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Between the 2 the C Crane and the Eton from Depot, which one do you like? Oh and which Eton was being sold at Home Depot...I never knew they sold them.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
Oh and I think one of the biggest issues with eton is their crap batteries...not to mention most uses let them sit which isnt necessarily a good thing...it will make a battery worse over time.
Click to expand...

You are right about the Ni-Cad battery, working on my third one. I have let the 600 sit in the bright sunlight in June & July all day, & the battery charge would last only about 1 to 2 hours after dark. I should have listened to a buddy of mine who had the Katio & tried to talk me into getting that one first. There really is no comparison between Eton & Katio once I got mine, but I have not had any dealings with the C Crane model, so I really can't say anything about it.
Be safe.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
Between the 2 the C Crane and the Eton from Depot, which one do you like? Oh and which Eton was being sold at Home Depot...I never knew they sold them.
Click to expand...

American Red Cross FR360. Bulky. ~$50. There is a smaller $30 version available which gets better reviews. I haven't handled a C Crane but the gearheads here seem to like em'.
 
I keep the Eton FR150 (LL Bean version) in my bag. I get about 10 minutes on a crank and the solar panel extends that when there is sun.

I like the small size and back up flashlight.
 
I charged the FR-600 and it is still kickin after 2 hrs. Not to bad. I like it but need a smaller option. The FR-160 might be a good fit.
 
Since no budget was mentioned, think about this for your BOB unit.
http://www.aesham.com/display_pages/vx8r.shtml

This page is probably better.....http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cm...21AAA39980149EA8C6&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0.

Waterproof, dual monitoring, ultra rugged, runs on rechargeable L-ion or AA dry cell pack available. High quality, small, lightweight solar AA chargers exist to replace your need for the hand crank.

If your BOB is for a BO scenario you can listen to virtually anything anywhere (frequency band wise). AM/FM, NOAA, HAM, Public Service (EMS, LE, Fire), Military, Aircraft, Short Wave, etc., etc., etc. Dual monitoring: monitor two frequencies at a time (i.e. AM/FM while you monitor Public Service).

A worthwhile investment IMHO. Not tough to get your basic HAM Technician license either. Find out the name of your local club from radio shack.
 
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I've had the Grundig crank model with the old light (pre-LED) and was not impressed. AM and SW reception was poor and the crank didn't seem to generate a lot of power. I noticed the CC is availavle at Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Observer-wind...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1290110483&sr=1-12 ). That and the Kaito look interesting.

Gotta agree on the Yaesu, or the like. I've got a couple of the older Icom T7Hs and an Alinco which are great. Sumersible is good. I had a submersible at work. Although mine would actually transmit underwater, you might just want to think along the lines of working around water (streams, lakes...) or in the snow. It does provide additional protection.

AES is where mine were purchased. http://www.aesham.com/
 
Yeah, an amateur handheld will give you a lot more options, most importantly the ability to communicate with other people.

The technician class license is fairly easy to obtain.
 
Yaesu is the way to go Sir. License is fairly easy and you will have a #1 emergency radio
 
Thanks guys on the Yaesu. Impressive is an understatement! It just made my wish list. I does lack charging options. No solar nor crank. But WOW, it does everything and in a small package! What is the battery life like? Not being able to charge via solar and/or crank, In my opinion those are really important when batteries aren't available. I am having very good success with the FR-600 it lacks the 2-way which makes it nowhere near as versatile nor suited for a really bad situation! I had the FR-600 out today for more tests, 5 hours of AM radio and had 2 of 3 bars on the rechargeable battery left. Not bad. But it is big (this is not what I would use for my BOB). That Yaesu is well more suited for every emergency situation I can think of, I just wish it had some options where batteries are not available.
 
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soapboxpreacher said:
Thanks guys on the Yaesu. Impressive is an understatement! It just made my wish list. I does lack charging options. No solar nor crank. But WOW, it does everything and in a small package! What is the battery life like? Not being able to charge via solar and/or crank, In my opinion those are really important when batteries aren't available. I am having very good success with the FR-600 it lacks the 2-way which makes it nowhere near as versatile nor suited for a really bad situation! I had the FR-600 out today for more tests, 5 hours of AM radio and had 2 of 3 bars on the rechargeable battery left. Not bad. But it is big (this is not what I would use for my BOB). That Yaesu is well more suited for every emergency situation I can think of, I just wish it had some options where batteries are not available.
Click to expand...

FIELD CHARGING: Acquire a high quality solar charger from here http://www.powerfilmsolar.com/foldable-solar-chargers/foldable-products.php and no need to worry about the hand crank. Amazon sells a couple of their models. Keep spare charged AA batteries in your BOB and charge/swap repeat. Lash solar charger to outside of BOB.

INFORMATION: News broadcasts on an FR-600 are great but 99% post event. Hearing what's going on in real time two way from participants better. Especially Skywarn nets.

YAESU: The VX8 is great but the VX7 is a less complicated menu system. VX7 offers only 2 AA dry cell tray, VX8 3 AA dry cell tray. Tradeoff is yours to consider. If you plan to monitor only (not transmit), the VX7's 2 AA tray is more than adequate.

ANTENNA: This is the key to any radio's performance. Look into various options and know what frequency bands you want to monitor to understand what multi-band best suits your needs. The multi-band rubber duck that comes with either Yaesu will likely suit your needs. But there are aftermarket ducks that are better.

TECHNICIAN LICENSE: Not difficult. If you don't have study material, an easy way to study is to take the Technician Class test for free over and over here http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl. You'll quickly learn correct and incorrect answers and become educated.
 
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