Customer Reviews

Sangean MMR-77 Emergency AM / FM Portable Radio

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sangean MMR77

What is most impressive about this radio is its relative freedom from power issues. This radio is very conservative in its power consumption whether one is using an external 3-Volt power source, a set of "AA" cells, or the supplied 2 x "AAA" cell internal-rechargeable pack.

Reading the pre-sales description of this radio one may mistakenly assume that it plays for only thirty minutes from the internal rechargeable batteries. In fact what is being claimed is that one-minute of cranking the dynamo results in 30-minutes of playback. Cranking for two minutes will result in one hour of playback. The longer you crank the longer it plays. When fully charged the internal rechargeable pack will operate the radio at a reasonable volume level all day and on into the night.

The radio has a built-in replaceable "AAA" plug-in battery pack similar to those found in wireless phones. These batteries are recharged by the dynamo. This pack is accessible and replaceable, after 300-500 recharge cycles, by removing six-screws at the back of the case.

Further two "AA" batteries are easily replaceable through an access-port at the rear of the cabinet. The radio can also be powered by an external source, solar-cell, wall-wart, or what have you, through a socket located under a splash-proof cover on the left-side of the radio.

The dynamo handle is sturdy. The left-side of the case is partially cylindrical in shape. The left-edge of the speaker grill is actually a rubber grip. The radio is well balanced and easy to hold while cranking the dynamo. The dynamo can be cranked in either direction facilitating use by either Right or Left handed people. Lefties will not be able to see the green-LED which illuminates to indicate that one has reached adequate dynamo cranking speed. A minor inconvenience.

The bottom of the case has four rubber-pads which when combined with the radio's weight cause it to grip well on flat surfaces. No tipping. The overall build quality, fit and finish, of this radio is very-good.

A splash-proof earphone port is located next to the external power-port. Both earphone channels are driven, monaurally. The radio's internal speaker is only two-inches in diameter. This is not a boom-box, but the sound that emanates from the speaker is very accurate within its effective range. Classical and Jass music sound fine. If you are a heavy rock-listener you may yearn for more oomph in your everyday listening.
The primary purpose of this radio is to provide information when the lights go out, but it makes a useful everyday radio as well, with the previously mentioned exception for rockers.

There is a small incandescent bulb that illuminates the slide-rule tuning-dial and provides enough-light externally for small-tasks such as reading your watch or a business-card. The lamp is illuminated through a small push-button on the front of the cabinet. There is another small push-button on the top of the cabinet. This button activates a chirping sound through the speaker. The sound is similar to that of a smoke detector, but not as loud. This does not seem like a very useful feature but perhaps some of you will think of a use for it?

Another switch on the top of the radio selects between the AM and FM bands. A switch on the back of the radio selects between the internal dynamo powered batteries, or the replaceable "AA" battery and external power options.

Most importantly, in addition to all of the above, is that this radio has very good sensitivity and selectivity characteristics. Analog-dial radio tuning may be a new experience for any of you that were raised on digital-dial radios. The Vernier slide-rule dial of this radio is relatively small so one has to tune slowly and deliberately to isolate stations. However, once a station is tuned-in, one is rewarded with solid drift-free reception. The audio is free of noise or distortion, has surprising fidelity, and good dynamic range, within the limited range of the small speaker.

I recommend that every household have one of these radios, and another in the trunk of the car. When disaster inevitably strikes the prudent use of this radio as a source of current information could allay further personal-suffering, or loss of life.

I am a radio "nut"; I hold an amateur (Ham) radio Extra Class license. I have owned many radios (including several Sangeans) and this little "thingy" is probably the handiest AM/FM Receiver I have ever owned; I carry it around the house constantly to keep up with "talk radio" programs when I am not in the Ham Shack; I crave information and news.
The Analog tuning is not real sharp but sufficient
I am not a "tunes" guy, but the FM seems good and the audio good
It runs forever on two AA cells
The charger (crank) seems to work as advertised
Don't even try to find a better unit for fifty bucks!

This is a well-built little radio. It has the basic features that you want in an emergency.

For daily use, insert two AA batteries, and flip the dial on the back to "battery." In an emergency (when you don't have batteries), use the crank to charge the built-in "dynamo." At that time, turn the dial on the back from "battery" to "dynamo."

I bought this to replace a junky "Eton FR-350" that I found on Ebay. Don't even consider that radio. Struggling to open the battery compartment caused me to cut my finger on the sharp plastic.

I was looking at several emergency radios from eton, gundig, and sony, and did mucho research. This one blows them all away.

The quality, fit, finish, and performance of this radio is top notch. The reception is excellent. It works off the crank, alkalines, or a/c adapter(not included).

This radio makes the eton/grundig emergency radios look like toys. No regrets at all! Highly recommended, don't waste time with other emergency radios. I did not need a cellphone charger.

Everyready makes an emergency battery pack for about 20.00 bucks no cranking and works great. Buy one of these instead. We lost all cell towers on the last hurricane anyway. Don't bet your life on a cell phone, the towers may be down or overloaded.

I live in Hurricane country Florida and needed a real emergency radio not a toy, this is it. I thought I wanted a NOAA band but AM is the official emergency frequency. I found NOAA to be slow and over-rated.

Love the radio, use it daily, buy it. Nuf' said.

This was my second attempt at finding a portable emergency radio. I previously bought a Kaito KA1102BLK radio, sent it back and bought this. I think I found a keeper.

On the plus side:
This is a solidly built, simple, radio. Sound quality is good, and the unit feels just right in the palm of your hand, the crank seems like it will last. The tuning is easy to see in the dark.

A few cons:
This radio picks up interference very easily on the AM frequency when near other electronics. I can't use it anywhere near my computer or I get whistling sounds. As an emergency or bedside radio this won't be an issue however.
It doesn't come with a 3 volt AC power adapter. For $40 I think it should come with an AC adapter, I hate when manufacturers do this. So you're stuck buying a separate universal adapter, unless of course you want to run on dynamo or batteries all the time.
The volume sensitivity is a little twitchy, it jumps very quickly in volume level at the low end.

Besides these minor issues, I'm happy with it. The reception and sound is adequate, the size is just right, solid build, and good ergonomics. I'm tough to please, so I think most people should be happy with this radio.

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Side Note: While writing this, I decided to try out several AC adapters that I already owned for other electronics. It turns out that this radio will work with less voltage than stated in the manual. I hooked it up to an adapter for a Norelco beard trimmer rated at 1.6volts, and the radio works great! (The light and buzzer won't work with the 1.6 volt adapter however, they require 3volts.)

This radio's design is excellent - solid, well-crafted feel; easy to hold when cranking the dynamo; simple and useful controls; easy-to-read analog tuning dial. Reception on both bands is clean and very stable, and this radio locks in stations that other radios cannot. The sound is clear and full, much better than I expected from a small radio. A few minutes of cranking produces hours of listening, and I like buying fewer batteries. I originally envisioned this as a standby radio for emergency use, but I find myself using it around the house whever I want to listen to the radio. I heartily recommend the Sangean MMR-77 as a superb radio and a great value.

I bought 2 of these in July 2006. We listen to morning and evening news and some talk show programs in the evening. After about 6-8 months, the on/off, turn on/volume knob failed to work correctly. With barely a turn, it's blaringly loud - it's almost impossible to get it at EXACTLY the right spot where it will stay in the range where we can hear it. It ends up being too low or too loud.

This little radio was purchased as a gift for my mom who suffers from Macular Degeneration. So she is homebound, can't see TV as she is legally blind, and her only real entertainment is listening to the radio. The analog dial is what cinched the deal for me. She can't use a digital tuner. But when I saw the radio and heard it's great sound, I knew I had made the right purchase. It's small size is perfect for my mom. She's been through lots of hand held radios but this one is by far the best she's had! She uses rechargeable batteries but in case of a power outage or if she just can't get batteries, the crank is easy for her to manipulate to recharge. Nothing is perfect, such as the little alarm it has. I don't think she'd ever use it. It's about the decibel of an alarm clock. But, that's okay, it still works and sounds great. Made my mom happy and that's all that mattered.

Update: It's now November 2010 and this little radio that I purchased in June 2008 is still going strong! The most amazing thing is that my mom never ever turns the radio off. So it has literally been on 24/7 for the past 3 years. Totally amazing to me! It's been my mother's lifeline to the outside world and I don't know what we would have done without it. It is so sturdy too. No loose knobs, no broken parts. It's been dropped many times but we just can't seem to damage it. It's invincible. I ended up buying one for myself to keep for emergencies.

This radio is great. I cranked it for two minutes (just to test it) and it played for over 3 hours during our power outage. Great performance. It gets great reception in every room of our house. Definitely an excellent purchase.

The radio is small enough to carry in a pack. No problem with signal due to the fact that there are several radio stations near. The radio seems to be sturdy enough for some abuse. The crank was very easy to use and it held its battery strength for a lengthy period of time.