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Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio

RED

Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio

$60.00

(8)

Item # 791889

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Packaging a bounty of features into a compact and affordable unit, the Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 radio runs on solar-, hand- or battery-generated power.

USB charger breathes life into the batteries of most brands of cell phones, MP3 players and other mobile devices
Offers full-time power via solar panel on top or hand crank on face; can be used without batteries on hand-crank power alone or with AC power (AC adapter not included)
Hand crank dynamo features enhanced output to create more power with less effort—perfect for charging devices such as the Apple iPhone
Internal rechargeable NiMH battery pack stores power generated from solar panel, hand crank or AC power source with optional adapter
In addition to solar power, hand-crank power, rechargeable battery power and optional AC power, unit can also be powered from 3 AAA batteries, sold separately
Tunes in all 7 NOAA weather radio channels and features an ''Alert'' function to keep you abreast of significant weather changes
Also picks up AM and FM broadcasts; telescoping antenna picks up FM and NOAA reception, and internal antenna receives AM reception
Tuning knob and digital display offer smooth dialing to zero in on finicky signals; full-range monophonic front speaker delivers clear sound reproduction
5 LED lights (4 white, 1 red) on side provide emergency lighting and feature a flash mode for use as an emergency beacon
12-hour digital clock has alarm, snooze and radio sleep timer
Splash-resistant design: jacks for 3.5mm headphones, cell phone/MP3 USB charger, AUX-in and DC-in have rubber gaskets to help seal out moisture
Includes owner's manual

Imported.

Item 791889

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Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio

2.1

(based on 8 reviews)

38%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Durable (3)
Lightweight (3)

Cons

Best Uses

Travel (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Enthusiast (3)
- Primary use:
- Personal (3)

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 8 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-8

Jul

2009

(24 of 24 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Good for emergencies - OK for camping

By J312

from Chicago, IL

About Me HikerCamper

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy Controls
Good Sound

Cons

Bulky
Short Battery Life

Best Uses

Home Use

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

If you are looking for a radio/light/cell phone charger to use in emergencies, then this is a good buy. The radio played clear, the weather channel function worked well too, as did the flashlight.

However, If you are looking for something to take on camping trips, there are better options out there. The digital display and other non essential features suck up too much energy. I was disappointed that 15 minutes of cranking gives around 1 minute of talk time on a phone (pretty close to numbers stated in the instructions). The solar charger is also not an efficient charger either.

I previously bought a Freeplay radio/flashlight/crank power/solar power through REI and was much happier. It lacked some of the features, but it was much more efficient with power consumption. 1 minute of crank time was about 20 minutes of radio time. It played loud and continuously in direct sunlight. I wish REI still carried the Freeplay brand.

Dec

2009

(11 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Disappointed

By New Hampsterite

from Lakes Region of New Hampshire

About Me Frequent Traveler, Practical

See all my reviews

Pros

Lightweight

Cons

Poor Sound Quality
Short Battery Life

Best Uses

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

This Eton radio was purchased to replace a discontinued crank/solar radio (Coleman brand) that had become broken.
Its intended use is for emergencies/power outages, for while working outside, and for listening to occasional Red Sox games!

We are quite frustrated by a variety of shortcomings of this radio:
* The power generated by the crank is very short-lived (crank for a full minute, get less than 5 minutes of radio life),
* The stations wander or become unbearably 'staticky' when you put the radio down and walk away from it,
* Very poor reception for the weather stations,
* When used with the 'battery mode' it eats the batteries very fast.

We had previously owned a Coleman crank/solar radio that worked quite well and reliably (until it was dropped one too many times...). With the amount of promotion that this Eton crank/solar has been getting, we expected a product that would perform at least as well as the Coleman unit had.

Definitely NOT happy with this poorly-performing (and overpriced) radio.

Jul

2010

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

lots of buttons and knobs

By Tercel4wd

from Boise, Id

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Difficult to use
Ergonomics
Functionality
Poor Design

Best Uses

Home
Travel

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

I bought this with the intention of using it for camping and around the yard when working on projects or the garden.

The handle makes it easy to carry around and that's really about the only thing I liked about the product.

For it's size/weight/battery use it doesn't have much in the way of sound quality. My laptop has smaller speakers that sound much better. The Ergonomics of this thing are like some sort of puzzle, some buttons on the top (under the handle where they're hard to get to and/or see) some buttons on the front, some knobs on the side, and the volume knob in the bottom corner like it's hiding. It becomes a game of hide and go seek when trying to change anything on the radio. It might just be me, but I like all my controls in one place, like an iPod. Even a simple faceplate format like a car radio would be a huge improvement. The on board re-chargable power cell works ok, the additional batteries should be larger. AAA size batteries don't last very long, C or D cells would be better for something this size, or even AA size... and an even number of batteries would be helpful. I found myself trying to figure the lowest common denominator when buying AAA's so I wouldn't have leftovers when replacing batteries 3 at a time. The built in solar panel should charge a cell phone or accessory, and the built in panel seems much too small for practical use, the owners guide says it will fully charge in 10 hours of sunlight, but mine never seemed to get that I tried draining it and leaving it out in the sun all day, it died after about 30 minutes of radio use. A power level indicator would be a great addition, no practical way of knowing what the status of charge is on the device, no battery level indicator (what a drag).

I ended up returning this and purchasing the Eton Scorpion, much more practical, and the controls are much easier to use.

Sep

2010

(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Failed when I needed it most

By txcamper

from McKinney, TX

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

None

Cons

Not Durable
Unreliable

Best Uses

PAPER WEIGHT

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

Okay - I purchased this item in July. Worked great during some field testing (backyard tests) utilizing the solar panel and hand crank to power the unit for weather reports, radio, and even phone charging. All was well. Packed it up in the pack for this past weeks' camping trip in Arkansas. I had a fully charged phone, but, due to the remote location it died - not really surprising. No problem, I pulled out this device, and..... NOTHING. the device would not power up at all! nothing worked. I even tried using the extra set of AAA batteries I brought for my headlamp, still nothing. To make matters worse, weather set in - something that if I had a working radio I would have been able to better prepare for - instead I spend a few minutes in the rain throwing the rain fly over the tent. I do not recommend this product.

Service and delivery comments:

Picked up in Store

Jan

2012

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

terrible

By Neil Elliott

from Evanston Illinois

About Me Audiophile, Frequent Traveler, Gear Head, Nice guy

See all my reviews

Pros

Lightweight

Cons

Confusing
Difficult To Setup
Impossible to read
Junk
Poor Construction
Poor Interface
Poorly designed
Poor Reception
Sorriest radio ever

Best Uses

Practice your new hammer

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

Sorriest excuse for a radio I've ever encountered. Everything in very small print. Numerous unreadable buttons concealed under the handle. Doesn't pick up stations. Lots of static. Instructions very difficult to read. Everything designed and engineered very poorly so you can't figure out how anything works. Tiny instruction booklet in very small, gray print. It's about as much a radio as a clock is a clock if it can't tell time. This was a Christmas gift, but I'm giving it back.

Sep

2010

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Works great for me

By Indyefi

from Twin Cities

About Me Enthusiast

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Use
Reliable Performance

Cons

Best Uses

Home
Portable Devices
Travel

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

I bought this radio to replace my dead Motorola weather radio. So far the only complaint I have is that if you let the rechargeable battery get down and want to use it on the crank charger, you will crank a lot for only a little use which is why I give it a 4 and not a 5. Not surprising though since other brands have the same issue. Other than that I am extremely happy.

Sep

2009

(1 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

This great stuff

By bobpepp

from Jamestown ri

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Good Sound Quality
Great Reception
Lightweight
Long Battery Life

Cons

Best Uses

Camping
Commuting
Daily Use
Emergencys
Home Use
Running
Travel

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

This is great. When you don't have batterys, you can use the crank or count on solar power.

Jan

2012

1.0

Cheaply made and inefficient

By Chris the Hikier

from La Jolla, CA

See all my reviews

Pros

Large number of features

Cons

Flimsy
Poor Construction
Poor Reception
Takes forever to charge
Weak batteries

Best Uses

Comments about Eton American Red Cross Solarlink FR360 Radio:

The build quality is shockingly poor on these Eton / Red Cross products. The overall look is Fisher Price, which is fine, but they are nowhere near as sturdy as a well-made children's toy. The crank handle feels like it will fall off any moment. The ratio of cranking to listening is terrible for this class of product.

Do not buy this radio.

Displaying reviews 1-8