Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For the price, I expected the typical thin, creaky plastic chassis common on many similar products, but everything about this is pretty solid. I wouldn't be too afraid to just drop it in a backpack and go. My only complaint is this...the radio has a built-in rechargable NiMH battery, which will die permanently if left discharged too long. People will buy this as an emergency radio, stick it in a drawer, and when they really need it some day, the battery will be bad. To solve this, I ordered a USB-A to USB Mini-B cable and a plug-in AC to USB adapter. Now, I can leave it plugged in and charged or charge it from any USB port.

This is one amazing product, and should be on your priority list for your household emergency kit. It's also a handy item to have in the car or by the bedside.

The first thing that should be mentioned is that this full-featured emergency radio is amazingly small. Reading its approximate dimensions of 5" wide x 2-3/8" high x 1-13/16" deep can be misleading, so imagine it placed on its side on top of a dollar bill: it's actually smaller than US paper currency! And that's one of the things that make this small radio so appealing.

You can charge the FR150 in less than two minutes using its hand crank. You can also place it in sunlight (even on an overcast day, as I found out) and its built-in solar panel handily powers the radio and recharges its battery pack.

The radio's tuner pulls in both AM and FM stations, and with surprisingly clear reception. It receives all seven NOAA bands using a separate slide selector, so you can monitor changing weather conditions, along with tuning in to the FCC and EAS public alert systems. It has a flashlight with three LEDs on the its side, providing surprisingly bright illumination, about on the same level as my Garrity Power Lite 3 LED Crank Light (Titanium Silver/Black).

If you're looking for audio attributes on the level of Bose, JBL or Polk Audio speakers, this radio isn't for you... but the sound quality of this small radio is quite remarkable. Listened to a favorite "smooth jazz" station for awhile, switched to classical then to '80s rock, and was quite pleased all around.

A number of places list this radio as having the option of an optional AC adapter, but couldn't find anything definitive on this, so made email contact with Eton's Customer Support. Received a reply within hours, where they stated that at this time, they do not have AC adapters available for the FR150 Microlink or the FR500 Solarlink, but are expecting these items to be available in about 60 days. The support rep suggested:

1. Charge by using the USB port on the computer (this requires a cable that converts USB to mini-USB, available at your local electronics retailer). I did this with the same USB cable used for my digital camera.

2. Solar power: leave the FR150 Microlink in direct sunlight for about 6 hours.

3. Use the Dynamo Hand Crank of the side of your radio (crank time of 2 minutes equals radio play time of 20-30 minutes).

Should also note that there is a registration card with the instructions inside the box, and you can mail the card in for a free cell phone adapter tip. Personally found it faster to do the same thing online with Eton.

This is one of those products that is reasonable enough to want to have more than one for household and family emergencies. Must admit to liking Eton's emergency radio products. Part of this is due to happy prior ownership of an Eton FR400 Self-Powered Water-Resistant AM/FM Radio with NOAA and TV-VHF, which has proven itself. Should also say that this little radio, which is smaller and more practical than I originally thought, has quickly become a favorite. It's about 60% of the size of its predecessor, and small enough to fit in a jacket pocket for those outdoor excursions.

It's also available as American Red Cross FR150 Microlink Solar-Powered, Self-Powered AM/FM/Weatherband Portable Radio with Flashlight and Cell Phone Charger, in either red or white, and those versions include an American Red Cross disaster preparedness tips booklet that's well worth the read.

Whichever version you go with, it's a 5-star choice, without a doubt.

Eton FR 150 Microlink: Radoo/Flashlight/Handcrank Charger


The Eton FR 150 Microlink is a must-have backpacker radio/flashlight/charger. At about 7.5 oz, it is not the smallest am/fm/NOAA weather available. It simply is the best quality palm-sized radio for $30.00. Grundig via Eton designed this radio in their American Red Cross Emergency Radio series. It is very well built with excellent reception and sound qualities. It is partially soft-armored for backpacking use. It is well sealed not waterproof, as in water-submersible, but
survives creek crossings and trail-soaking rains.
Its renewable power sources are distinct advantages. The hand crank is easy to use. The FR 150 has Solar energy panels built into the case providing constant outdoor daylight charging. The rechargeable batteries can be used to recharge a runned-down cell phone. Its bright LED flashlight provides backup for other heavier backpacker flashlights.

This is a high quality, well-built, inexpensive device for backpackers as well as for anyone's emergency survivial pack.

... for the same price and about the same weight and size.

I bought both FR150 (Amazon) and FR160 (local store). The first FR150 arrived with problems: the AM reception was not working. I returned and Amazon sent a new one immediately, no charges. The second FR150 had its WB NOAA channel #1 (the Austin channel) not very well syntonized. As the NOAA reception is fixed (7 switches), so there is no way to adjust it yourself.

Anyways, placing both FR150 and FR160 side by side:
- FR150 pros, compared to FR160: battery charges in a PC USB port, smaller, lighter weight, better design.
- FR150 cons, compared to FR160: smaller speaker (less bass, not so comfortable sound), less efficient light (the LEDs look the same, but because of the light beam plain disposition, it reaches shorter distance. The light beam disposition of the FR160 is ring type), smaller clank (more torque), worse AM/FM/WB reception (noisy, and in the 2 FR150 samples, I didn't see the 3 bands working fine all together in the same device).

I have several similar so-called "emergency" radios, mainly for disaster preparedness (as I live in a major quake zone). Of this excellent Eton line of products which includes the optional solar power charging and the hand-crank dynamo charging, this FR 150 is a smaller (more compact) but equally effective unit (to it's bigger, bulkier cousins). I like this smaller size/weight because it is even more portable (in my "go bag"), it retains all of the previous power supply options from previous models and ADDS one additional (the USB plug!), and, it even trims the price a little bit in the transaction. A win-win-win situation in my book. I can aver that the performance rates from excellent to nominal.... radio reception is good on all bands (AM, FM, and all 7 WBs), the light output for the LED flashlight is decent and practical, and the now critical emergency cell phone charger is handy and easy to use since the dynamo handcrank is now on the back of the unit and you can just hold the whole unit up and watch the "recharging" indicator on your phone.

It's still not "rugged" or waterproof, but it is made of high quality materials and available in several coloured translucent plastic casings. I am tempted to even recommend this as a good "everyday" radio for those radio listeners out there like me that like NPR, news or talk radio, because it has a good, clear monaural speaker. I make this recommendation, however, for another ulterior reason.... one of the "cons" of this FR 150 radio unit, at least in my book. AC power is no longer an option, but that is more than made up for by the versatile USB connection (you can draw power from any USB devices/hubs, USB wall adapters, and USB car power adapters). The biggest flaw with the FR 150 is that it does NOT have the option for battery operation. I mean, you cannot run it off of common, readily available, standard, Alkaline batteries, like AAs. It has a proprietary, internal NiMH rechargeable battery. This brings with it a slew of temperamental problems that users should be aware of, like battery management and memory effect, degrading efficiency over time/unreliability in a product that NEEDS to be reliable, hazardous material disposal, and inability (extreme difficulty) in finding a replacement (while traveling, in the wilderness, or in the middle of a disaster). I could write a whole article on the problems I listed above, but suffice it to say that, for me, just popping in a fresh 100% charged pair of regular AA batteries that I can find in any "tienda" around the world is much more reassurring to me. This internal battery means that the FR 150 is NOT suitable for longterm storage without any use (which ironically is a prime characteristic of "emergency" radios). You will need to leave it out in the light (to trickle charge it) or occasionally top off the power, otherwise you may find it fully discharged when you pull it out in a the pitch black of an emergency.

Despite this annoying idiosyncrasy, I still think the FR 150 performs well enough and is a great of a value enough to give it a 5 star rating. I really would have preferred giving it a 4 1/2 stars.

I was surprised at the quality of this product. While I was expecting a good product, I was not expecting all of the bells and whistles to be so outstanding. I bought this item for my husband who usually is hard to impress. He was like a kid with a new toy. Each time he would try a different feature he could come show me how it worked.

This radio has an amazing compact size - easy to take just about anywhere. It has great reception of radio stations and weather channels, multiple sources of power/ways to charge it, and a nice little built-in flashlight too! Not to mention, it can charge your cell phone too! (Eton offers a free cell phone adaptor - you'll get it quickly if you register the purchase on their website and give your cell phone model.) Plus, it's just cool all-around. Wonderful device to have around the house, for casual use, for emergency use, or for camping trips!

For such a small radio, it does sound good.......but within the range of personal listening. Works time after time on the solar charge, I'm not into the Model T thing, but I guess that works too. Flashlight is ample.
As I have said in other reviews, etons are the best radio values in every price point.
All I have except the Grundig are rechargable and hold their stations well, and are durable. And if you want to use batteries, they last a long time too, This one doesn't even take them, unless I'm missing something.
One last thing: This usually fits in your camera bag along with the other paraphenalia you may have there.

I am not very happy with this product. I live in the Minneapolis area and can barely receive the weather station for my area. The radio does pick up FM stations clearly but the speaker is so small that the sound quality is not good. I bought this for my emergency/survival kit and it would be really nice to hear the local weather especially during a tornado or thunderstorm. Since I can't seem to hear the weather on a clear day I really doubt that it will be useful in a storm. I am still waiting for Eton to send the cell phone charger tip so, I can't comment on that aspect of this radio. It would seem to make sense, to me, if Eton would perhaps charge a little more and include the AC adapter. But no such luck. Next time I'll buy a better weather radio. I also bought one of these for my sister in storm ravaged Iowa. She has the same complaints. The flashlight is a nice option. Now I own a $30 flashlight and so does my sister.

Had my doubts when I ordered as we live in a very fringe area surrounded by mountains. Was very pleased to find this little radio pulled in stations as well or better than our larger, more expensive receivers. Also, the Noaa station comes in very clear and at times can get 3 stations.

I found that I get much more than an hour of listening for 90 seconds of cranking. And the light lasts very very long. Also, the solar cell requires very little sunlight to power the radio.

If I had one critique, it would be the very small tuning knob, making it a little difficult to fine tune stations. But this is not used in emergencies as the Noaa stations are tuned in by the selector switch.

All in all, a great purchase. We plan to get another one to keep in car.