Self-Powered Hand-Crank AM/FM/NOAA Weather/2-Way GMRS Clock Radio with Flashlight, Siren and Cell Phone Charger. Stay connected with the Voicelink FR-1000. This emergency crank radio combines two-way radio with GMRS technology, built-in flashlight, cell-phone charger and access to weather channels to prepare you for any emergency situation. Get prepared and get connected with the Voicelink FR-1000 today.

This one may already have saved our life

Review Date: August 5, 2008

Reviewer: K. Corn, Indianapolis,, IN United States

First, a confession: I'm not great with alarm sounds and noises. I tend to think something is about to swoop in and grab me or the world is about to explode. In this case, a tornado was in our area and the radio was my first warning system, faster than the television set or even the storm sirens in our area. I was about to leave the house and I did not. Trees fell across the road and some people had parts of their roof torn off. One person was struck by lightening. Hail fell. It was nasty weather and I'm glad I stayed inside, thanks to this radio. So that is how it affected my life and spared me anxiety, other than the initial rapid heartbeat I experienced when hearing the alarm. I am totally bonded with my radio now and think of it as a trusty companion, waiting to let me know of impending storms. Having noted that, the manual (as another reviewer noted) can be a bit complex. It took a small bit of time to figure out all the features....but then....I was amazed. There is a radio, a cell phone charger, TWO types of battery backup, including a rechargable battery pack in case the regular batteries die. There is also a hand crank to recharge the batteries. If the power fails or you don't have electricity, this radio will still work. That is worth a lot to me. Also, I admit we did drop this once and it didn't even get hurt. Another advantage? If anyone you know has a similar radio, you have a potential two-way connection. How cool is that? You do have to follow all certification requirements to use this to transmit or receive messages from others. It was very easy to find our weather channel, unlike another weather radio we had. The flashlight is powerful, the siren is strong and I can verify that the warning info comes through quickly and accurately, alerting one to potential danger. Also, the knobs are very user friendly and my elderly mother had no trouble turning them. There ARE quite few knobs so you do need to become familiar with which ones tune the radio and set it to weather channels or regular stations. But it really isn't that hard to do.

Almost perfect

Review Date: July 6, 2008

Reviewer: Bruce M. Fonoroff, Potomac, MD

This radio is very nice and does everthing it is advertised to do. The manual is a bit complex, but if you stick with it you can figure everything out. Interestingly, the most important feature--charging your cell phone---doesn't work right out of the box. You have to first go and register your radio at the Eton site and then sign up for the "adapter tip" required for yourr particular cell phone. There is no charge and the adapter came in less than two weeks, but it was a bit annoying. The only negative is that the radio is rather oddly shaped. There is this plastic bow-shaped pieced on the back of the radio that isn't quite a handle and doesn't seem to have any particular use (other than making it hard to store the radio. Other than that minor gripe, this is a very nice package that should come in handy the next time the lights go out.