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Midland ER102 Emergency Radio
See it at Amazon.com for $32.00Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + ShareVery satisfied
(5 out of 5) by Ginger Love on Dec 2, 2009 (Burlingame, Kansas United States)I've used this radio daily from the time we purchased it and I really enjoy it. I gave it a 4 on sound quality only because the volume isn't as strong as I thought it should be, but the actual quality of sound is great. Knowing what I know now I would still buy this product again and not even hesitate.
Didn't cost much and that's about what it's worth
(2 out of 5) by John A. Hofstetter on Nov 15, 2009 (Mother Lode Country, CA)Poor tadio reception. Didn't include the USB cable to charge a cell phone. Tuning radio is difficult. Tuning knob is small, volume knob is huge. Dial backlights nicely but you can't see the markings for the knob and slide switch selections.
Don't freeze batteries, buy one of these
(5 out of 5) by Strontium90 on Oct 31, 2009 (Milwaukee, WI)Midland has been around for a very long time and this thing works. If you want a radio for a mission where electric power will questionable then this is what you want. Do your self a favor and do "not" believe all the myths about storing batteries in the freezer. Manufacturers like Kodak, Energizer, and Duracell specifically tell you not to put their batteries in cold storage. Check out the Energizer web page FAQ number one is "freezing batteries" which is prohibited. If you do you have to warm them up to use them anyway. Buy a good wind up radio like this one and use if for what it was built for. This is not a stand alone tuner/amp stereo system, but what it is and does, it does well.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Does What It Says
(4 out of 5) by Demolition Man on Oct 18, 2009 (Kentwood MI)If you're looking for a radio with good volume and high sound quality, look elsewhere.
If you're looking for an emergency radio that performs as advertised? Look no further.
Very happy with this radio, only problem I've had with it is the times I have it on "Weather Alert" and forgot it's on that setting. Just about gave me a heart attack, but that's my fault, not the radio's
Good looks, good function, and a bargin at $36. Very happy with this purchase!!
If you're looking for an emergency radio that performs as advertised? Look no further.
Very happy with this radio, only problem I've had with it is the times I have it on "Weather Alert" and forgot it's on that setting. Just about gave me a heart attack, but that's my fault, not the radio's
Good looks, good function, and a bargin at $36. Very happy with this purchase!!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
MIXED REVIEW - Some things I like, and some I don't...
(3 out of 5) by X-ray on Sep 9, 2009First of all, I should mention, for those who don't know this, that there are TWO versions of this radio. One version (I believe it's the older version) comes with a set of different cell phone plugs so that you can charge your cell phone from the internal crank generator. It did not have the correct adapter for my Motorola Razor cell phone. The newer version has a USB connector on the back cover, and the radio does not come with any extra adapter plugs for cell phones. So, you need an adapter cord that charges your cell phone from the USB port on your computer. Then you can charge your cell phone with the crank generator. I was able to charge my cell phone through the USB connector with a standard USB adapter cord
Okay, now the things that I like about the ER 102. It has three bands: AM, FM, and WX (weather). The WX selection has 7 selectable frequencies. You should be able to find at least one of them that has a transmitting station in your local area. The digital display is very nice, the numbers are large, and the back-light feature is a definate plus!
Now comes the things that I don't like about the ER 102. I could do without the hand-crank generator. With the availability of rechargable batteries, a hand-crank generator is not a very useful feature, and it's not very user-friendly. By that I mean you have to crank for a very long time in order to charge the battery to give you enough play time. Also, the hand-crank generator has been designed with cheap plastic gears that strip very easily. So I suggest that you be very careful when cranking it because it doesn't take much to damage those Cheap plastic "junk" gears. I did it myself with the first radio that I bought and returned. The hand-crank generator is a cute concept, but it's not very useful, and it's not very well made at all.
The sound quality of that tiny speaker is HORRIBLE! When I bought my first ER 102, I noticed that the sound was very "tinny". I thought that there was something wrong with it, so I exchanged it for another one, and it sounded just as bad as the first one. If you want good sound quality from the ER 102, you need to plug in a pair of earphones into the rear phone jack, or use an external speaker that's in a large enclosure. The internal speaker apparently is just too small to reproduce the bass notes, and the cabinet is packed full of electronics, so there is no "space" to allow for good sound quality. If all you want to listen to is "talk radio" and weather reports, this radio is great. But if you expect to listen to soothing, good sounding music, then forget it if all you have is that crummy little built in speaker!
Except for those two major issues (the crank and the speaker), I'm happy with my ER 102, and will continue to use it mostly for weather reports and talk radio!
Okay, now the things that I like about the ER 102. It has three bands: AM, FM, and WX (weather). The WX selection has 7 selectable frequencies. You should be able to find at least one of them that has a transmitting station in your local area. The digital display is very nice, the numbers are large, and the back-light feature is a definate plus!
Now comes the things that I don't like about the ER 102. I could do without the hand-crank generator. With the availability of rechargable batteries, a hand-crank generator is not a very useful feature, and it's not very user-friendly. By that I mean you have to crank for a very long time in order to charge the battery to give you enough play time. Also, the hand-crank generator has been designed with cheap plastic gears that strip very easily. So I suggest that you be very careful when cranking it because it doesn't take much to damage those Cheap plastic "junk" gears. I did it myself with the first radio that I bought and returned. The hand-crank generator is a cute concept, but it's not very useful, and it's not very well made at all.
The sound quality of that tiny speaker is HORRIBLE! When I bought my first ER 102, I noticed that the sound was very "tinny". I thought that there was something wrong with it, so I exchanged it for another one, and it sounded just as bad as the first one. If you want good sound quality from the ER 102, you need to plug in a pair of earphones into the rear phone jack, or use an external speaker that's in a large enclosure. The internal speaker apparently is just too small to reproduce the bass notes, and the cabinet is packed full of electronics, so there is no "space" to allow for good sound quality. If all you want to listen to is "talk radio" and weather reports, this radio is great. But if you expect to listen to soothing, good sounding music, then forget it if all you have is that crummy little built in speaker!
Except for those two major issues (the crank and the speaker), I'm happy with my ER 102, and will continue to use it mostly for weather reports and talk radio!