Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 2790-20 12-Volt to 28-Volt Jobsite Radio

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Have it.No problems,does have an audible thump when you turn it off. It does sound great though.Sat it side by side with the dewalt dc012 [with an ipod bugged in] This was better hands down and the compartment protecting the ipod is a good thing to have on a construction site. I would have bumped it up another star if it charged the batteries. Charger feature would probably jack the unit cost up significantly and people are very price sensitve in this economy. Very happy with this radio so far.

I used this radio today at the small job shop factory where I work. Today's task was in an isolated area, so it was a perfect opportunity to test out my new Milwaukee radio's power with my iPod without bothering anyone (I listen to 1940's-1950's pop--Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Pied Pipers and all that; not everyone's cup of tea). Putting this up against the collective noise of a large Pines tube bender (bending 1-1/2" x 2" rectangular tube with 1/8" wall, so this thing is BIG), with two loud 3-phase motors running the hydraulics, a small CNC vertical milling center (Mori-Seiki MV-35, for the record), and an old 60+ year-old rattletrap of a Delta drill press, it performed brilliantly. At 1/2 volume on the radio (iPod itself cranked to full power), I was able to hear my tunes very clearly above the din, even from 15-20 feet away! The 40-watt amplifier is certainly no slouch! At 3/4 volume, still no distortion, and I could hardly bear the volume level, even amidst the other machinery. Nice compact design fits easily in the bottom compartment of my toolbox cabinet.

There is also a handy 12-volt automotive-type powerport on the back of the unit. I suppose it would have been nice to include some 3-prong 120V AC outlets on it, but I don't really miss them (I suppose that will be the next improvement Milwaukee makes on it). I also love the fact that it takes all my M-series Milwaukee batteries--it will run all day on a fully-charged M28 battery with juice to spare. The sealed MP3/iPod compartment is vital to keeping your tunesplayer clean, and it does so effectively. It comes off as an exceptional unit, and I would recommend it to anyone. I am even thinking of investing in another one so I can keep one unit at work and one at home--it's THAT good! Excellent for your garage or large workshop, also; the sound will carry clearly all over your area.

Want tunes in your classic car, but you don't want to trash its originality by installing a stereo CD player (especially if you have a 6-volt orphan car like me)? Set this unit in the back seat with a freshly-charged M28 battery installed. Get a 6-foot auxiliary cord, or one long enough to reach into the front seat from the back. Turn the volume up on the radio up to between half and 3/4 and set the mode to "AUX". Plug in your iPod or MP3 player. You need not latch the radio's top cover tight. You can control the volume, pause, mute, song selection, etc. from your player without having to fiddle with the radio's controls. Better than butchering your all-original classic car for a stereo system and every bit as good. (Just make sure you drive safely and stop the car before fiddling with your player--no different than texting while driving!!)

I'd like to take a moment to answer some of the negative claims made by other reviewers: I keep reading about complaints of a loud humming noise whether the unit is powered by either line cord or battery. MINE HAS NO SUCH ISSUE. These same reviewers bought theirs through Amazon.com. That may be the problem; I bought mine off the shelf at Home Depot (same price). It is conceiveable that Amazon simply got a bad batch of them. Make them aware of the issue so they can track the problem down to which distribution center, etc. I get excellent reception, both AM and FM, even on stations which are normally hard for me to receive. Some complain of a loud "pop" when powering up or down. There is a MILD static pop (more of a "poomp" sound) when I turn it off, but then, this is a 40-watt unit. Static powerdown pops on boomboxes with that kind of power are pretty much S.O.P. Unless yours is obnoxiously loud, I wouldn't consider it a defect. Again, no audible humming noise of any kind on AM, FM or AUX; tested it with the M12 XC, M18 XC and the M28 XC batteries and 120V AC line current. I also laid the unit on its back while playing it with each of these three batteries installed; no problems there, either. The M28 does fit a bit loose, but still no problems playing on its back unless you kick it or bump it hard, which WILL dislodge any battery in any unit. Sorry that you folks got such a bum deal; I absolutely LOVE mine. Try buying one off the store shelf and see if you get the same trouble.

No points lost for the lack of a charger; everyone I've talked to tells me that charger units raise havoc with radio reception when in use, and I know this from personal experience as well. BESIDES: DeWalt (or rather, parent Stanley Black & Decker) holds the patent on the radio/charger combo. Bosch apparently challenged this in court, lost, and now has to pay SB&D considerable royalties to have the only other radio/charger available; this is why the Bosch unit costs around $300, and also why they have it padded with lots of other bells and whistles, to justify the high price. This information can be verified all over the Internet if you doubt its authenticity.

ON THE DOWN SIDE: It is NOT light as boomboxes go; it's almost 20 inches long, and it is not something that you'd want to lug around by hand all over. Don't take it camping or travelling unless you intend to leave it in one place all day (like the backseat of your aforementioned classic car) and not move it around much. Its little brother, 2590-20, is better for camping. I am also disappointed with the elimination of the NOAA weather band, which its predecessor, Milwaukee's Rockford-Fosgate unit had (49-24-0280, now discontinued). I consider that a must-have, especially in tornado-prone areas. Still, even with all these considerations, I rate it 5 stars.

Just purchased this radio about a week ago. First i want to say this thing rocks. It has awsome sound. The mp3 port
on the inside is great. Love that it accepts so many previous Milwaukee batteries.I wish it would charge the batteries, but like previous models it does not. This radio is a huge improvement over previous model which i might add is built like a tank as well and still works! The handles on it are kind of awkward as they are on the outside edge so when you pick it up you are carrying diagonal, but no big deal. The eq on it only lets you raise and lower
the bass and trebble, so not really an eq. Awsome reception, im picking up pretty weak channels very clear. I would highly recommend this radio. If it would charge the batteries i would give it 5 stars.

While it looks impressive and boasts high quality sound it remains overvalued: (1) The a.m. radio carries a humming sound that is irritating. (2) The volume control and tuning adjustment are both controlled by a button press which sounds nice but the both respond slowly and would be better suited by a knob control. (3) While this radio is capable of utilizing and protecting (very adequately) mp3 technologies it still doesn't offer a way in which to charge the mp3 players while they are in use. This is yet another overpriced work radio. It is better than the makita job-site radio...so it gets some props...but not enough to make it worth buying.

I bought this radio a year ago, I kind of rushed in without researching anything. I assumed a lot with this radio, like it comes with a battery, and when I plug it in it charges the battery... Well I was way off. I got the radio in the mail, and found out I had to go to Home Depot for a battery. I bought the 80 dollar 18V battery and came home and put the battery in and later found out, the radio doesn't charge that battery. So I went back to Home Depot and purchased the 50 dollar recharger. At that point I had total regret.

Over the last year, I figured I am going to get my monies worth on it, and I used it often. I primarily bought it to use on my fishing boat, and to entertain during cornhole at the house. But, I use it everywhere, everyday, while I am in the shower I listen to it at the least.

The best thing about this radio is the 18V battery I got lasts forever. I charge it only every week and a half, and I am not sure if it really needs it or not. Also the big upside to this radio is the reception. I finally have a radio I can walk within 2 feet of, and not have it lose the station. It has excellant reception!!!!

The preset station setup on the radio could be annoying though. If I was on preset 9 and wanted to go to preset 8, I have to hit the button 10 times to get to it because it only cycles in numerical order 1-9. Not a big deal to me though, I only listen to 2 stations and all 10 presets are those two stations.

The sound quality is superb. It has a very nice balance of lows and highs!!! It's not a Bose, but DEFINATELY not a GPX either.

I see a lot of people complaining about the popping sound when you turn off the radio. I really don't understand the complaint, it happens yes, but it is not loud, and to me it's not a flaw, it just happens, whoopity doo. One complaint I agree with on the radio, there is a slight delay in the response time of pressing buttons. Not a big deal, I have gotten used to it, but it is a viable complaint.

Overall I would definately recommend this radio to a friend. I would though suggest shopping around the net for a better price on the charger and battery.

I really like this radio, I love that it has the spot for your phone or mp3 player built into it, fully enclosed and keeps them clean when you are working outside.

The unit is rugged, and has good volume, the antenna is bendable, so you won't break it off. The black is a rubber type compound so it is durable, it isn't straight plastic.

It is a well built radio.

When you have the sound up though, and if there is bass, you will get some blotty sound, but you aren't buying this for ultra sound quality, it is a jobsite radio, it is plenty loud, and plenty durable.

I purchased this jobsite radio for my husband in January 2011. While some of the other reviews mention a humming noise, we have not had any problems with our radio as of yet. We find the battery last all day without any problem. When it is time to re-charge the battery it does not take long to re-charge at all. Maybe 30 minutes or less. Every year we take a beach vacation with friends. I am looking forward to seeing how this radio stands up to the noise on the beach with the ocean waves. I have a feeling we will be pleased. Our favorite feature is the MP3 hook up. No more bringing a CD radio and having to burn CDs for the beach. All of our friends put music on their phones so we will be able to listen to a wide variety of music while on the beach all week long. We also have a camp on the bayou here in Louisiana and will be able to put the radio on the dock while sunbathing and fishing. My husband also liked the bottle opener feature. We drink aluminum bottled beer on the beach and the only way to open the bottle is with a bottle opener. This year we won't have to remember to bring a bottle opener :)

I will agree with others that this radio has superb sound quality. I connected my iPhone and listen to Pandora radio and it really sounds great. It does have a thump when you turn it off like others say.

This radio also has a 12v DC connection on the back that you can plug up your car charger into so that you can keep your cell phone or iPod charged while working.

It would have gotten a full 5 stars if it would also charge batteries, but thats not critical to me.

I purchased this radio with the intent to use it with my Blackberry to play my mp3's and stream Pandora while being able to hear it loud enough for outdoor use. I've had the radio for a few weeks now and it is great! It puts out plenty of sound for outdoor listening like washing cars, grilling out, and even worked great on the beach this past week. The sound quality is very good and doesn't get distorted until it is at near maximum volume which is very loud. Indoors I haven't needed to cut it up above 50% volume so it will hold its own. Great buy!

I am really enjoying this radio on the job site. It is rugged, easy to carry, with many hand holds to grab hold of.
The controls are easy to operate and it can really belt out the tunes. My only regret is that it does not charge the batteries like some competitors do. Add that to the mix and it would easily be a five star.