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Reviews For: Lextronix FR-250/Eton FR250

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Lextronix FR-250/Eton FR250
Reviews: 1MSRP: 49.95
Description:
* AM/FM and 7 Shortwave bands (16, 19, 22, 25, 31, 41, 49 meter)
* Incorporates a unique fine-tuning control knob superimposed on the main tuning control knob
* Built-in 2 white LED light source and an alert flashlight
* Emergency siren
* Cell phone charger/input for cell phone adapter tips (included)
* All antennas built-in: telescopic antenna for FM and SW
* Can be powered from four different sources:
o Built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery
o Dynamo crank alone
o 3 AA batteries
o AC Adapter (not included)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=6173
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
AC4GJ Rating: 2013-02-05
Follow up after 3 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using the radio for more than three years now, and recently dropped it on a tile floor. The volume knob was impacted and the radio volume could not be turned down from wide open.

Disassembly was not too difficult for me, but there are a lot of short wires and fragile solder connections that you have to watch. Also when you go to put it back together, all the knobs and sliders have to be aligned with their respective switches on the main board. That took some patience and I wound up spending a couple of hours fooling with it.

The volume control issue was due to the potentiometer breaking off from the main board. It is on a little daughter board that fits in a slot on the main board, sticking out at 90 degrees. The was only some RTV on one side of the joint which did not provide much resistance to the daughter board flexing and causing the solder joints to crack. The blow to the knob broke the five solder joints coming off the pot. I finagled a bit and got it soldered back, but there's not much of the printed circuit board to work with. Once I verified all the joints with my VOM, I used some epoxy putty to make a fillet on each side of the daughter board for strain relief and reinforcement.

The radio is working again and my wife is happy to have it back in service. It is typical low end circuitry and build inside, but it still keeps on plugging. It runs for a long time on AA batteries, and I have had one set of Duracells last three months with almost daily usage of an hour or more.

I would say I am very satisfied for what I paid.