Home > Consumer Reviews > Etón FR150 Microlink Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger (Black)

I chose the Eton FR150 radio to replace a Freeplay radio that quit working within a couple of months of purchase. Good reviews on the Eton radios and what appears to be a sturdy hand-crank were the main selling points for me. So far, after one month of use, the FR150 seems to be a good choice. The FM reception is very good for a radio this small. AM reception is adequate for my area. The weatherband also works well as a nice bonus. Charges fully within 8 hours of connection to my desktop PC's USB port. I have had no need for the solar-charging feature yet (not sure I would trust a plastic radio not to melt if left out in the sun too long anyway). The flashlight has about the brightness one would expect for 3-LED's. The Eton FR150 has nearly every feature you could want in an emergency radio that costs only $30.

I bought this radio as well as the Kaito Solarcraknk KA500. The Eton gives me 32 minutes of play time for 3 minutes of cranking. The Kaito KA500 produces only 4 minutes of play time for 3 minutes of hand cranking. The Microlink FR 150 is smaller than a dollar bill, making it great for a backpack or glovebox. This is truly an emergency/survival radio. If sound quality is really important to you, you will be disappointed. The sound quality and reception are fine for emergency purposes, but not for daily use.

have had mine since spring 09 sometime, love the small size,
and the only problem i have had is a small screw inside floating around loose, will send it to authorized fix it place whare they can open it up and put the screw back with some lock tite adhesive then I will have an improved fr150,,,,
have only now started to look at others reviews, some have some horror stories of battery run time at the worst
possible time like when no ther options are available,, i would not critisize the radio if you don't take the time to understand care and feeding instructions of "rechargables"

you use them, they wear down, you recharge them again,

what many who live in an instant society do not realize is that new rechargables need a "work in time"
yes it is possible that you may only get 5 min of use after 10 min of hand cranking,,, crank another 10 minutes and the next time you use them you may get 8 minutes of use, crank again ten minutes, and notice a longer play time,, as in todays rechargeable technology is capable of up to 150 chargings,, each one giveing a longer play time with less cranking,,,, then as the battery ages the hold charge decreases, replace the battery
and of course as another reviewer said, keep it charged, not in a drawer forgotten about untill the time of need arises,,,

I would recomend to any one go to [...] and go through the 2 or 3 hrs of written material on rechargables,
then when you discover how much money a hand crank or other rechargable can save you, perhaps you won't be able to buy regular batteries again, commercially chaged throw away batteries have thier place, wall clocks, flashlights used once in a wile, the back up battery in your digital alarm clock, smoke alarms the once a year or even 2 year life span is awesom,,for a radio or cd player heavily used, flshlights used daily, go rechargeable

I had my eye on this radio for some time, but just couldn't justify spending $30 on it. But after finally breaking down and buying it, I have to say I might even by a second one. This little radio is quite impressive. It's about the size of my hand, but packs quite a bit of sound for it's small size. The FM radio is very clear, weather band works well and the light is bright enough for various tasks. I haven't had a chance to use this radio for an emergency or other event, but it is now packed in my emergency kit, and I am sure it will come in handy when needed. I also plan on taking it camping next summer. This radio is a great buy and I highly recommend for anyone looking to complete their emergency or camping kit.

I purchased this product two years ago and not a month goes by I don't use it. Living in South Florida, storms crop up all the time. A minute of cranking and setting it on the NOAA station, I am immediately informed as to what is going on and what to expect. The reception inside my house is wonderful. I use it as my main radio in the house. I use the strap to hang this radio/flashlight on my kitchen wall next to the light switch making it very handy, as we have frequent power outages.

The unit I purchased was produce with the Red Cross with $.49-$1 being contributed to the American Red Cross with each sale. There is also an "Eco Edition" model that a contribution is made to OhRanger.com, that supports our National Parks. For more information on these contributions, you can go to: [...]/