| KC9CS |
Rating:      |
2003-10-12 | |
| Terrific radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Bought this for camping. I'm astounded at the sensitivity. Pulls in shortwave with no problem. Only wish was that it had ability to pickup SSB and perhaps a connector for an outside antenna. AM reception is terrific...was able to pick up WGN from Chicago on AM to listen to Cubs in the series. Shortwave....great. Even the analog tuning has enough dial spread to tune in the weaker stations. No batteries to contend with. A must on camping trips or for times if/when the power grid goes away. If this one broke, I'd immediately purchase another...no hesistancy. |
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| TINKER_BOY |
Rating:     |
2003-10-09 | |
| FR-200 is A Good Value |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I purchased this radio yesterday night. I am impressed with it.
Physical Construction - Radio is very light weight, even with batteries installed. However, the radio case appears to be sturdy. Plastic appears to be of high impact type. (supposed to be ABS) Plastic parts - case, control knobs, carry handle fit well. Exterior components are of good fit and finish.
Performance - I did not perform detailed receiver testing using RF measurement equipment. I only performed some rather subjective listening tests. My location is Albuquerque, New Mexico. From 8 PM, MDT to 11 PM MDT, I listened to a variety of shortwave stations on the SW2 band (9.2 to 22 Mhz) The entire band was full of stations. I had no problem receiving BBC World Service, CBS Radio Taiwan, a Russian (Byelarussian?) or Ukranian station, WWV, a Canadian time station. The receiver had to be re-tuned about 40 minutes after I tuned it to BBC World Service. It appears that the radio had drifted off frequency. However, after retuning the radio it managed to stay on frequency for BBC. It stayed on frequency for at least 1.5 hours after I re-tuned it. If I am not mistaken I remember old analog radios going off frequency from time to time. The radio's oscillator probably stabilized after a warm-up period. Audio quality is good, good on the mid-range to treble. Bass is non-existant, very flat. Radio tuning requires a smooth finger and some patience - especially if you want to receive weak stations. For all listening, the radio was operating from the internal rechargeable batteries. I cranked the dynamo to charge the batteries for 10 minutes before I operated the radio. For the listening period of 8 PM to 11 PM, I had the sound level at about 80% of full volume. Moderately loud. I then played the radio at a low volume level for 1 hour, then I went to sleep. This morning, I brought the radio to my office. I have run the radio for 2 hours at 40% volume level. Moderate volume. It has just run out of power - total running time of 6 hours.
The only possible weaknesses of the FR-200 are (1) The dynamo hand crank should be of a thicker type of plastic for greater durability. The hinge on the crank lever should also be of a stronger construction. If you use care in cranking the dynamo, it should not break. (2) if it is true that the radio is a "single conversion" type, then one of the disadvantages may be a duplicate image of transmitter on another frequency. I would have to hook up an RF generator (and sufficiently attentuate harmonics) to the radio and test it out.
This radio was purchased locally in Albuquerque, New Mexico for $30 from Lieber's Luggage. I am very satisifed with the performance and durability off this radio. I intend to have some fun and make some modifications. I would love to add an antenna jack for SW, AM (MW) , FM, a line out jack for recording. Maybe even an LED light replacement for the incandescent bulb flashlight on the front. I might even weather seal the radio against water. Who knows ? |
|
| QUIETMAN |
Rating:      |
2003-10-08 | |
| Surpassed Expectations |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I got this radio free as a HBC rewards gift from points at the Bay, so the value of my unit is extra good !
I got this radio to prepare for blackouts etc.and lo and behold, barely a few days after I got mine, the whole NE USA/ Ontario grid goes down !!
The dynamo charging is a great idea, but I must confess, that I don't enjoy all that cranking, although I test the crank on mine every week or so, and it runs well.
Cons first :
It is noisy to crank and I can see many ham-fisted klutzes like myself breaking off the handle fairly soon. So, I run mine mostly off 3 AA's which seem to last forever.
The analogue tuning knob with fine tune works OK on FM and AM band, but on SW it requires a new level of finesse to not miss a lot of stations. Really the unit could have benefitted from 3 SW bands instead of 2, to help the accuracy of the dial scale and make it a little easier for the subtlety challenged of us. With practice, it gets a little easier to fine tune in stations.
So what's good about it, other than being able to power it with a crank.
1) Performance - mine is extremely hot on the AM band, in fact it often outperforms my SONY 7600GR when not using external antennas, and my other small radio the DX-375 is not in the same ball park. FM performance is not excellent, but for a low cost radio, holds up well. Shortwave reception, especially on SW2 is very good. Better than the DX-375, albeit not quite in the 7600gr's league for weaker signals. Mine is especially good 9.5 - 12.2 Mhz and hears things in 21.5 - 22 Mhz range that my DX-375 off the whip has NEVER heard, even in favourable conditions. Some DX-ing is possible from the whip and as previously mentioned, adding a length of wire can give enhanced results.
2) Audio - the sound is not at all bad - no tone adjustment is possible, but the speaker sounds clear and FM stereo through the headphones is great.
3) Light - nice touch and useful during the blackout in Ontario.
4) Size/Portability/Design - OK, the beige plastic shell is not everyone's idea of aesthetic, but the unit seems pretty durable, and it's a nice size to put into a backpack and the carrying pouch is a nice touch. The unit is pretty much ready to go out of the box and the instructions are clear.
In short, a great little radio for the money. |
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| POTBOILER345 |
Rating:      |
2003-09-01 | |
| Around the world |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Ok, I've had mine for over a year now. If you rely exclusivly on the hand crank it will break off in about 9 months. The recharge battery only holds for about 15 minutes now regardless of cranking. The handle was replaced under warranty ( waiting time about 10 days good). It takes three battereis and they last over six months if used a lot. My antenna fell off and was replaced under warranty. The reception is fantasic, the tuning very fine. It holds the stations well. I pick up Radio Australia, CBC, Britain, Taiwan, California, US and all over the place. I don't pick up any 1 watt jungle outpost transmitters. I found reception to be imroved with a thin 20 foot copper wire attatched to the end of the antenna ( don't forget to ground it and not leave it attatched when not in use). It's a fantastic radio for shortwave and the quality of sound pretty good. No drawbacks, keep your receipt - the warranty is good. |
|
| FALCON |
Rating:      |
2003-08-06 | |
| Great Radio for $ |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I picked up the FR200 at Radio Shack for a friend who wanted one. I had seen this radio before and not given it much thought, due to the low $ and the fact that I already had a Phillips crank up for emergency use.
As I said I had not given it much thought because I had the Phillips but was I amazed when He turned it on. The little beast had excellent am reception and tonal quality. Well I lasted about two weeks before I cracked and got myself one. I try to fight my illness.
Does it compare to a Sony 2010 or Satellite 700 NO! But let me say this radio compared to others in its price range or even triple the $ amount, will hold its own or do better.
The features I find outstanding:
1. The rechargable batt. is easily replacable common telephone type with decent capacity.
2. THe light is a great idea for power outages. Remember it is an emergency radio.
3. Its light weight and appears to be fairly rugged. The on/off switch and light switch look a little flimsy but time will tell. Nice carry case to.
4. Handle on top. You can at least grab it and not drop it. The Phillips has such a wierd shape you can hardly get your hand around it.
5. Reception on all freq. is very good for a basic radio and compares favorably with much higher$ sets. But it is not a serious DX radio either.
6. Has a plug for wall wort power. Great garage radio, that you wont forget to change batts and have them leak in it.
7. The Dynamo works well and seems to generate power quickley. Much better than my Phillips. Its not noisy while playing like the clock work in my freeplay either.
In summary this Radio has recieved a lot of thought in design, performs well beyond its cost, and sound great, I find myself listening to it instead of some of my other better (more expensive) radios, low tech. sometimes is like going home. No WX? Well am broadcast stations have this information all the time as well as other news and information. Even though we do not have CD stations today I have found in a major crisis most standard am stations are concentrating fully on the crisis situation in there broadcasts. Get one tou will be pleased. |
|
| K6ZZZ |
Rating:      |
2003-07-09 | |
| Great Reception!!! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I don't know about anyone else...but my FR-200 will run for days, on the Dynamo, with just a few cranks. Reception rivals my more expensive radios. It's a bit difficult to precisely tune, but I'm not gonna make a big deal out of it, on a $40 radio. It's a great radio for camping and even has a light to attract bugs...as I heard someone say, once. Hi-hi!!! You'd be hard to find more bang for your buck. |
|
| TURKEYTOP |
Rating:      |
2003-06-19 | |
| Good spare radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
My sons,knowing my weakness for gadgets, gave me one for Fathers Day.It turns out that it's more than just a gadget. It's a pretty amazing little radio. The first night I had it I was listening to BBC on the 49 Metre Band using my expesive desk top model. As it so often is at this time of year the band was really noisy with a lot of interference. I finally shut it off and cranked up the Grundig. (Ilove low tech) It took a while to tune to the correct frequency but when I found it reception was remarkably better. I was able to listen to the rest of the program easily.
It has a dynamite MW tuner as well. My home is about 100 miles west of Toronto and about 100 miles east of Detroit. The Grundig permits good AM reception from both cities.
On FM however I find that our local FM stations seem to overload the front end. The same station can appear at more than one place on the dial.
But I like it a lot. |
|
| VA7EYE |
Rating:    |
2003-02-27 | |
| ok radio but better values available |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I had a Grundig for a few months but compared to the Info-Mate radio for about 10 bucks more I'd pick the Info-Mate. The Info-Mate has MW bands as well as Air/VHF AM/FM, SW, built in Solar, crank, includes AC and DC adapter and ni-cad batteries. It sells at http://www.solareagle.com for around $60. The Grundig name is well known but the Info-mate has been around for several years and is built using Sony and Toshiba components. |
|
| SCOBIE |
Rating:      |
2003-01-12 | |
| Crank it Up |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this radio for a sponsored child in Burkina Faso (west, Africa).
As I worked it, the radio was wonderful. As the light went down and the sound went down I cranked the power generator and it came back to life.
We just had a power outage for a few days in upstate New York.
Not only is this radio and light a good energy generator.
The tuner is good. |
|
| LNXAUTHOR |
Rating:    |
2003-01-03 | |
| better @ US$29 but OK |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
- what does one expect for US$39 list? well, considering that an RS DX-402 can be had right now (Jan 03) for $49, a $39 multiband windup should at least offer NOAA WX channels...
- THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A 'SURVIVAL' RADIO - WHERE ARE THE WX CHANNELS???? (no offense to our friends outside the U.S., of course)...
- that said, the radio has reasonable sound, the SW fine-tuning knob works well, and the windup works fine (albeit a tad noisy, and the handle is a bit small for my hands)...
- the rechargeable internal batteries can be replaced easily, as well as the lamp if it goes - thank heavens for small favors...
- i got my FR-200 for Xmas, but looking around, i see other similar windup units that include the WX channels... these would be a better deal IMHO... |
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