Customer Reviews

Grundig FR200 Emergency Radio

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

From reading the other reviews, I see most people love this radio, but some dog it. They're both right. Your level of satisfaction with this radio will have more to do with your buying motivations than the product.

Grundig has a well established reputation for making fine products. If you are a shortwave enthusiast who is looking for a good shortwave radio, sadly I must admit that you need to keep looking. The tuner is iffy (by your standards) and it does not have the 'Grundig Feel' of their more expensive products.

But notice Grudig calls it an 'Emergency Radio,' not a shortwave radio.

If you want something for peace of mind -that you will never be caught without a radio because of dead batteries- then this is a great product. I live in a hurricane zone and every time there is a storm approaching, all my friends wait in long lines to buy batteries. I know I'm ready 24/7. As an added bonus I'll always have a flashlight with me. (which is more handy than I would have guessed)

(Here is the kicker-) If you want an emergency radio AND you like to listen to the BBC or Radio Canada every once in a while, then this is definitely the product for you.

I've had mine for a year and a half and I use it at least 3 times per week. The best way to describe the tuner is "credible." It can pick up all the big name stations, even indoors, but it is not stunning. The tonal quality is acceptable but I'm usually listening to the spoken word and not music. (I have an iPod for that ;-)

I bought it because I wanted a cheap shortwave. The fact it had a crank and a flashlight was gravy at first, but it is more and more important as I use it.

Some notes about the battery:

You'll never turn the hand crank enough to fully charge the internal battery. I have a fancy NiCad charger so I charged the battery fully and it lasted 6 weeks of near daily use during Gulf War II. (I'd guess 120+ hours, I was amazed) Problem is, your arm would fall off before you got there. Even if you don't give it a full charge, I find the cranking to listening ratio pretty good.

But do what I do- I run it on NIMH AA's and it lasts for weeks. I never pay for batteries but I never have to crank it either. (unless the batteries die)

And a final thought on durability which some people discuss.

I've dropped mine several times even once from about 6 feet up while I was painting. I have one scratch on it but other than that, it really does look much like the day I bought it. The case is still tight and the controls firm. I give it to my 6 year old nephew and he cranks for hours with no ill effect. I'd say durability is quite good.

I hope this review helps you get a feel for the radio. If your needs come even close to matching what this radio was designed to do, then I feel confident it will exceed your expectations in the long run.

=====Update=======

Well, 2 years -and Hurricane Katrina later- I'll never be without this radio. We left town 2 days before the storm and I brought it with me. At night I could pick up WWL radio (50,000 watt clear channel) from Memphis.

My nephew (who I mentioned above) broke the antenna off for me so no shortwave for me any more but AM/FM works fine... That was homicide, don't blame the radio. It's now approaching 4 years old, I still use it weekly and it is still in good shape otherwise.

BTW- I came back in town just a few days after the storm to rescue some friends' pets and help get some people out of town. I brought extra gas, extra water, 5 days of food and this radio. That probably say it all.

On newsgroups and message boards, this handy and compact little radio is being touted as a good choice for beginning shortwave listeners: but I would disagree. As usual for the current line of low-end Grundig products, the "single conversion" intermediate frequency design has resulted in serious image problems: in other words, you pick up a single strong station at two, or sometimes three, places on the dial: in the correct location at the intended frequency, plus one or two spurious images above and below it. In the crowded shortwave bands, this makes listening extremely difficult, as the images cause wobbling whistles and lots of interference (and make it hard to even know WHERE the radio is tuned.) In addition, the planetary tuning mechanism has really dreadful backlash: to tune in a shortwave station, you have to go past it, then back up and tune around until you *finally* get it centered. Then, the radio drifts and a few minutes later you are forced to do it all over again: maddening.
AM (called mediumwave in Europe and much of the world) is more satisfying as the stations are not crowded together as much as shortwave, and the band is shorter so there is more spread from one end to the other: the tuning isn't nearly as critical. Selectivity is pretty good, and sensitivity is excellent. I have not noticed image problems that are as troublesome as in the SW bands.
FM reception was disappointing; selectivity seems poor, and sensitivity rather low. Stations "mush" together -- if they can be picked up at all. Expect only the strongest signals in your reception area.
The generator system works very well though a trio of new AA cells gives more output and slightly better sensitivity.
I tried six units and found that performance varied slightly. One brand new radio had a weak set of batteries that would not charge correctly; another had extremely tinny sound that lacked fullness (surprising to me but probably due to a poor speaker or bad audio capacitor.) A couple of the sets weren't as sensitive as others. So quality control apparently varies somewhat.
The unit I purchased is very satisfactory as a simple emergency and/or AM broadcast receiver, though not much useful for FM or shortwave. But it sounds a bit better than pocket sets, and definitely outperforms most of them in terms of AM sensitivity. (I am a retired broadcast station chief engineer in the SF bay area, with fifty years experience as a shortwave listener.)

I bought this little radio as an emergency and camping radio a couple of months ago and let it sit. It is now the a couple of minutes to the Saddam's deadline (20h00EST 19 Mar 03) and I am listening to the BBC news. The state of current events inspired me get it out and put it through its paces with the results being pleasantly surprising. I picked up Madrid and BBC World Service on the short wave among other stations (lots of Spanish broadcasts). In fact, the amount of stations picked up in the 5800-6200Mhz range and recption is pretty good. While the performance isn't the same as my Satellit 400, the sound is pretty good. The reception is excellent on the FM band as well.

I like this radio's reception and perfomrance better than the Coleman generator radio. Also, the size is much more convenient than the Coleman radio.

I wish it were easier to find the AC adapter.

My goal in buying this product was to put together an emergency package in case of blackout or hurricane. Some reviewers referred to the impending Rapture - my thought was somewhat less apocalyptic: the electricity has gone out twice in the last year in my condo building and it is alternately scary and boring to sit in the dark without cable, internet or other diversions. This Grundig model is a pure pleasure when you see the sturdy and elegant construction, the leatherette handle across the top for easy carrying, the nice fabric carrying case with outside pocket to store the booklet, batteries, etc.... and when you factor in the reasonable price this is a bargain that could warm your heart while it lights your living room. According to the booklet, the flashlight part is intended to enable you to find your lantern, candles or other supplies. It is bright enough to illuminate a good large portion of the room, or to read by, although it does eat up the power source as someone else noted. The radio is enhanced by a nice long antenna and a fine-tuning knob set into the larger tuning knob. This enables you to fine-tune the stations on the AM, FM or SW bands. The reception is superb: it actually pulls in several more FM stations than my audio system can! The AM band sounds good with little static, thanks to the fine-tuning. The two shortwave bands are new to me; it has been fun tuning across the bands picking up distant stations especially the BBC. For those of you used to digital tuning, you may find it primitive to have to turn the tuning knob, but it gives a nice physical sense of "sweeping" across the band.
The real knockout for me is the crank that enables you to renew your power source if your 3 AA batteries run out: ninety seconds of cranking at two turns per second will keep you powered up for about an hour, then you can repeat the process. It is impossible to overcrank, according to Grundig customer service, and even a baby boomer like me can summon up enough vim to keep me listening 'til the lights come back on. Plus you don't have to store it with batteries in it, which as we know always turn out to be drained by the time the emergency occurs.
I recommend this radio/flashlight very highly. It is well-designed, practical and fun. You will not be sorry to have this little gem around even if you don't experience a blackout.

Below is a reposted review originally published on the page detailing this model in the yellow color ASIN: B00065HM1Y

I ordered the "yellow" model here...and found several "surprises". The Grundig (now Eton) FR-200 is a small "auxiliary" AM-FM portable which adds general shortwave radio coverage, an LED flashlight, and a three-way power design that allows for a quick "pick-me-up" to a replaceable and inexpensive rechargeable NiMH battery pack similar to one used in the typical cordless phone. A few minutes of cranking, `n you're back in broadcast business. With these options, it's virtually impossible for this radio to not find "juice". The FR-200 is imported by Eton from Tecsun in mainland China, and is marketed exclusively as an "emergency radio"...but I'm thinking--"perfect for the canoe and camping trip" where one wouldn't wish to lose something more costly to the elements.

The reviews on this product have run the course--from favorable--to horrible. This would clearly indicate either a serious quality control problem...a lack of reviewer perspective on just WHAT objective this product was designed to meet...or both. After pondering this unique little $40 radio for over two years, I finally unwrapped and evaluated one (the package exterior said "yellow"--a neon-orange model waited inside). The FR-200 is less than HALF THE COST of its most-similar alternative--the Freeplay Summit (which I have ordered--and twice returned because of substandard performance), so I was somewhat skeptical of this product format. Upon closer examination and use, the less-expensive Grundig (while not brimming with "digital glitz" and rows of small silver buttons) is higher in overall performance, easier to pack and carry, and much more "disposable" should that situation arise. My prior skepticism has turned into consumer gratification. This product is satisfying, useful, and an unquestionable value. Here are my performance observations...

AUDIO QUALITY: The sound of the FR-200 is crisp, clear, and natural. While far from "room shaking"--this unit is fine as a close-in companion; and more-than-adequate for its intended purpose as a standby "blackout radio", or convenient portable "sidekick" at home, in camp, or out on the water.

RECEPTION ON FM: The worst goes first...The FM capabilities of the FR-200 are sad to barely acceptable, depending on your listening location. In a small community, ANY nearby local station with brawny signal strength will overload the circuits in this radio to a point that renders it nearly useless--unless you enjoy the offending local station, which will populate itself on nearly the entire FM dial--crowding out even not-so-distant stations from out-of-town. In an urban area, with many powerful "close-in" signals, the FM band becomes a jumbled and distorted mess where "ONLY the strong survive"--but barely! Interestingly, out in fringe areas, where brutish FM signals are few and far in-between, the band shows signs of intelligible life...a plus for rural listening!

RECEPTION ON AM: Other than a few expensive "AM niche" and world-band receivers, the FR-200 is possibly one of THE BEST portable AM radios you can own! Sensitivity, selectivity (in the absence of a strong local station), and recovered audio quality are OUTSTANDING! NEVER have I seen a radio in this class (and several other classes for that matter) that provides as rich an AM listening experience. During the daytime, even very distant AM signals are intelligible and less-assailed by the all-to-familiar "circuit noise" that hinders weak AM station listening on most radios. Sensitivity remains consistent from the low (530 kHz) to the high (1700 kHz) end of the band--NOT typical for an AM receiver section in a radio at this price point. Right "out of the box" my FR-200 easily caught, and faithfully reproduced in early afternoon, six AM stations from Chicago--over 250 miles from my location. At night, this radio becomes a pint-sized DX-delight. Virtually EVERY channel is "alive", yet moderate-to-strong signals remain "separated" and fully intelligible. In the rare occasion that you may find, and choose to listen to, an AM station with a music format--you will find a hint of "hi-fi" in the reproduced audio. This level of AM performance is usually the domain of the "CC Radios" of the market; and at less than one-quarter of their cost--the FR-200 is an "AM standout". Here's another possible application: Your FR-200's headphone jack + a patch cord + the line input on your surround-sound = FAR BETTER AM reception and audio on that system.

RECEPTION ON SHORT WAVE: Plainly put--it is "pedestrian" at best. If you're shopping for shortwave agility--continue your search. Nor do I recommend this radio as an entry into "the world of shortwave", either. The SW feature on this product is obviously a "convenience item"--which turns out to be operationally inconvenient at times. The technical idiosyncrasies of that band are such that the ability to optimally receive it demands a product design with a distinct focus. Interestingly, Eton-Grundig is a "shortwave company" that DOES NOT market the FR-200 as a "shortwave radio"...It merely "includes" that feature.

THE GOOD ON SW: Prominent domestic and international broadcasters with big signals WILL find their way to your tiny FR-200, and strong stations can sound fairly good on this radio. In early afternoon (NOT a preferable SW listening day-part), I found the higher band ("SW-2") to be fairly-populated, and I was able to receive tiny 1000-watt CFRX Toronto, Canada here in the Midwest on the lower (inactive-by-day) "SW-1" band--a "catch" typical for a more-expensive rig designed for SWL. At night, on the active lower frequencies ("SW-1"), reception is generally decent with the built-in telescoping rod antenna, and can be improved with a "roll-up alligator-clip" wire antenna ($15 at "The Shack"). Unlike many small SW radios, the FR-200 can tune well below 49-meters (6 MHz)...even down to 90-meters (3 MHz) where several obscure domestic and western-hemisphere stations live by night. The laws of physics--and the laws of "affordable design" generally work to inhibit easy reception on these channels (if available) on low-cost SW radios. My FR-200 did an admirable job of snagging several of these signals with only its included antenna.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD ON SW: Little is gained thru a decent receiver design if the user can't find or identify a desired station. Imagine tuning a radio with your eyes closed. That would describe the experience of hunting for a SW station on the FR-200 solely based on frequency info. Three design factors (I should say)--design compromises make this radio a chore to tune overall--and nearly impossible to "direct tune" on shortwave. (1) This receiver's "single-conversion" RF design permits strong signals to repopulate themselves on an additional frequency--causing interference to other stations and confusion for the user. (2) Nearly the entire shortwave service is "squeezed" into two "bands" that occupy a minimal 1.75-inches of band-spread. Now that's "touchy tight", especially when you consider that... (3) This unit's manual slide-rule tuning (coarse and fine) is "mushy", and the numerical frequency layout is poorly calibrated.

IN SUMMARY: What we have here is a nearly-charming, color-coordinated campsite or canoe companion that can't come up short on "juice"--but CAN provide acceptable sound and outstanding AM radio reception in the middle of nowhere. A demure radio that throws in a nice bright tent-filling LED light so you can try to find that hyper-paranoid "end-of-the-world" shortwave talk show host to go with your adult beverages around the campfire. Even this radio's dismal FM reception might be mitigated by the location you tote it to, but I wouldn't bet on finding your favorite Jazz-Fest on "Wilderness 98.1", so few points are lost! There are more-expensive products in this class that do NO better job--and cheaper offerings that do NO job at all. Finally, if a bear tries to eat your trusty FR-200...or the canoe it's in capsizes--just find another forty bucks and start all over with a different color! I plan to keep mine...I'm getting fond of Neon-Orange.

I bought the Grundig FR-200 because severe weather in my area sometimes causes power outages. The last time that happened, my only portable radio had dead batteries. The FR-200 will run on 3 "AA" batteries, but also has a built-in hand-cranked generator, and has a built-in flashlight as well.

I didn't expect such an inexpensive radio to perform as well as the FR 200 does. Reception on all bands, including shortwave, seems to be as good as my YB 300 PE, which was twice the price. If anything, the FR 200 might be a bit better on certain stations, and the analog tuner makes it easier to scan the dial than with digitally-tuned radios.

Battery life from 3 alkaline AAs has been very good, so I haven't bothered with buying an AC adapter. The instructions say that ninety seconds worth of cranking the generator will power the radio for about an hour, depending on volume, and my results have actually been a bit better than that.

The Grundig FR-200 is fun for everyday use, is a great choice for staying connected to the outside world when the lights go out, and it doesn't cost much. I like it.

My need was simple- I like to go to bed to the news on the radio every night. Sounds odd I know, but since I was younger something about hearing the news or talk radio as I try to drift off into slumber always was good for me.
To go to bed to say the BBC or Radio Netherlands is even better. There has always been one problem, though- my trusty old Sangean shortwave does not have a sleep timer, and most of the high-end digitals are awfully expensive. So, this radio made complete sense to me. I simply work the crank for a minute or so before bed, tune to the right station and slowly drift off into slumber. The reception is quite good and I like the fine-tuning option. I may not get some of the more hard-to-find stations, but for a basic shortwave radio that picks up all the big broadcasts (BBC, Radio Netherlands, Radio Habana, Radio Taipei, Radio Sweden, etc), this works wonderfully.
It's an interesting looking radio too! WIth its rugged, grey, army-esque design that has cool looking knobs, nice litle crank and a big, telescopic antenna, I feel like I should be taking it up the river with me in 'Nam and checking the trees for "Charlie." When people come over and see the radio, they always inquire as to exactly what it is. No matter how far-fetched the story is that I tell them, they buy it! That's a testament to how interesting this little machine is!
The radio comes in a great carrying case and the literature provided by Grundig is actually quite helpful.
So whether you are looking for a nice little portable shortwave, or something that is healthier than sleeping pills to help you sleep, the Grundig FR 200 is a solid investment.

I found this at an electronics store that was closing out. I bought it as a novelty, but soon realized I had stumbled upon something great. The shortwave reception for a radio this small is surprisingly good. However, I would recommend only using the crank generator when the power goes out for extended periods. You'll want it working when you really NEED it! Also, when using betteries, especially when the on-board NiCad cells are being used, the little light will act as a serious power hog. So, if you're in your shelter or hideout, use a lantern, flashlight, or if conditions permit, a candle. You might not want to use this for everyday listening, but if you're traveling, or preparing for a worst case scenario, this would be worth the money.

I am in emergency communications, live in Florida, and I know price/performance when I see it. Right after giving this radio a shake-down cruise that would be expected of any good transistor radio -- I did one thing -- I bought more of them for my ham radio friends.

The light is an LED, so worries about it burning out are out the window. No one knows the lifespan of an LED, because they have only been in general use since the 1970s!

Whoever designed this really thought it out. I would tend to write off the one-star reviews and hesitate not. Especially for the price -- this emergency radio has no equal for the price as of November, 2004.

This is an interesting product from Grundig. It is a wind up radio with a small flashlight included for emergencies. It also has the shortwave bands you need for the BIG broadcasts such as BBC, Voice of America, and Radio Canada. I was also able to receive Radio Netherlands. The trick is to listen at night - at 7 PM and after - as that is when shortwave comes in best. You won't want to use the crank every day as you want to save that for true emergencies. Install three AA batteries for daily use. Daily use? Yes. I was surprised at the very good AM and FM reception. Even in my concrete and steel office I was able to get stations that usually come in weakly on other radios. This is a neat little radio and I am going to get another one for my emergency pack (I live in Florida where we are subject to hurricanes but with the world in the state it is in, my pack now may have several uses). Buy this for emergencies but don't be surprised if you use it every day. I didn't give it five stars because I think they could have built it a bit sturdier for 40$.