How do y’all feel about emergency crank radios ?
Posted by Savings_Succotash432@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 65 comments
Thinking about getting one but not sure how useful it will be if power is out and I have to hand crank it ..don’t mind hand cranking just would like to know if it’s actually efficient or do I gotta spin for an hour to get 2 percent phone battery …also if u do like them can u recommend best one preferably off amazon thanks
imlikethatoneguy@reddit
My question is, do they also work well outside op the US
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
They tend to work well because a receiver radio doesn't require a lot of power to run.
I highly recommend the Midland ER310 Emergency Radio. It is, in my opinion, the best you can get.
furiouscornholer@reddit
What's the reasonable range of these radios? I live in a relatively rural area and if the radio station in town were to get knocked out the next closest is 38 miles away. I know there are multiple factors on range, just trying to get an idea.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
That shouldn't be a problem. I can't tell you your specific situation but I can receive a station almost 50 miles away.
JamieJeanJ@reddit
Wow, I looked it up on Amazon and it’s got some pretty bad one star reviews.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
Ok, what's the point? You will have some bad units when you make thousands of something.
Since the average rating is 4.5 Stars out of over 7,500 ratings, I don't put too much stock in that. Especially when you have so many confirmed Preppers on this Sub saying they have had no issues.
mrkruk@reddit
Yep there’s also a tendency for people to post reviews when things go badly but when they work great, people just enjoy the product and don’t post reviews
JamieJeanJ@reddit
Makes sense! Thanks I always jump to the one star responses
SunnySummerFarm@reddit
I have the same. My toddler loves to crank it, hasn’t broken it yet.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
I have used the crank for testing but have found that it really isn't needed because of the built in solar panel. In reasonable light it will charge more than the radio will consume.
With that said, it is good to have the backup option for when nothing else is an option.
SunnySummerFarm@reddit
Agreed. I appreciate the crank keeps the toddler entertained. And hasn’t broken off.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
That should be how things are tested. Can it stand up to regular use by a toddler? You pass.
Aayy69@reddit
I could easily break things better than some small kid lol
Playamonkey@reddit
This has a great flashlight and works to charge your phone. Solid!
paldn@reddit
I have this radio. It randomly started making a siren noise the other day, was strange.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
That's the Weather Alert feature. It means that a Severe Weather Warning for your area was issued. You can turn it off if you want to.
paldn@reddit
Huh ok. Is it possible it’s setup for a different area? I’ve used it during storms before and it’s never sirened, and if I remember right the day it did siren it was good weather and nothing notable.
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
The alert is for whatever NOAA Frequency it is tuned to. So check that it's tuned to the closest NOAA Station to you. Keep in mind that stations can be a good distance apart and cover 50+ mile radiuses. So what is a good day for you, could be a tornado warning for someone else.
paldn@reddit
Thanks, I’ll have to find a manual and tune it!
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
You can download the manual here if you can't find it.
BraDDsTeR-_-@reddit
Second this. A phenomenal radio
Savings_Succotash432@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the recommendation ! I'm checking it out now
TheSensiblePrepper@reddit
Happy to Help. Let me know if you have questions.
Shameless plug....
I would recommend you check my recent post about preparing for a Power Outage. That radio is on the list.
EnergyLantern@reddit
I've seen radios with cranks in my childhood and had one that someone bought for me a decade ago.
They don't last. Lithium batteries have a life of 3-4 years.
The amount of cranking you would have to do to charge a battery is a long time and I'm not sure cranking could generate as much power as simply plugging a battery into an outlet because it takes hours to charge a battery.
I bought a CB from Midland and didn't use it much, but I left it on a bookshelf for years. It no longer works, and I don't know why. I emailed Midland and they don't repair my CB made by them and it is out of warranty so it's basically trash.
I recommend regular AM / FM radios and having rechargeable batteries as well as alkaline.
We were in an ice storm and power went out for four days. The news station just reported that the power was out. What the news doesn't do is get updates relevant for those affected by adverse weather. The news doesn't go talk to your power company and ask for updates. You might know some things from your radio but in the end, you are on your own.
mrkruk@reddit
I have 2
6gunsammy@reddit
Meh, I have a box of AA batteries. Might be useful but who has the time to crank.
agent_flounder@reddit
That's the one I bought. I always keep plenty of AAs on hand anyway. I had a crank flashlight and...yeah it was ridiculous.
oregonianrager@reddit
Worked out pretty good, until it broke at the end of this last storm I had to throw it outside. It went into super wind mode it was insane. Sounded like a bomb ready to blow.
Unlucky-Idea-2968@reddit
I have one that also has a USB port. If a storm is coming it can hold a charge so you don't have to start wanking the radio off straight away.
ttkciar@reddit
I bought a cheap one, and the crank broke immediately.
I bought a more expensive one, and the crank broke after a few uses.
I bought a cheap one with rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and it has lasted me years. When the battery goes kaputt, I have replacements.
Radtoo@reddit
An USB solar panel (or two for redundancy, also ideally a pass-through charging capable power bank) are easier/better and charges other devices too.
xamott@reddit
This is the way (I now realize)
Iconiclastical@reddit
I had one. It was work to get any use out of it. Still have it, but figure the crank will probably break. Also,the internal rechargeable battery won't last forever. As a backup, I got a joggers radio. It uses one AA battery. And with earbuds, it runs a long time on that one battery.
dittybopper_05H@reddit
Well, Dr. Demento was always telling us to “Wind up your radio”. Can’t get a better endorsement than that!
YankeeClipper42@reddit
They are practically useless for charging your phone. However they work good as an emergency battery powered radio. Cranking it for ten minutes is quite the workout but it will power the radio for a while. Unfortunately these days phones are sophisticated and temperamental pieces of electronics. They need a constant voltage output to charge correctly. It's very difficult to provide that with a hand crank.
Aust_Norm@reddit
Put the wire aside so you can extend the aerial. Longer is always better or so I have been told.
Seppostralian@reddit
They’re handy and they’re good to have around as part of any basic Tuesday prepping or part of your bug-out bag. Already seen good recommendations in this thread for ones you can get on Amazon and similar places. Many of them can also be charged via USB so that’s also useful.
Cranking gives good power for the radio portion but often if you want to charge your phone it would probably take a decent bit of cranking. Still could probably crank enough in a few minutes to make an emergency call if needed. Either way, I’d say it doesn’t hurt to one around and the weather-band feature is very useful in a disaster scenario like Hurricane Milton that just happened.
iwannaddr2afi@reddit
Yeah you prob already have your answer, but plainly don't get a crank radio as a phone charging device. Get it to use as a radio. Plan better ways to charge your phone.
godoftheseapeople@reddit
I had a hand crank one about 10-12 years ago, and used it pretty extensively when a tornado knocked our power out for about a week. After several days, the crank stopped working. So while this idea is good in theory, in practice, not so much. A rechargeable radio with a decent solar panel would probably be a much better option.
Jammer521@reddit
Never actually tried a hand crank radio, but I have a small AM/FM/SW radio with 3 rechargeable batteries, I listen to it in the garage while working and one battery last around 10 hour at full blast
BasketCase90210@reddit
You definitely need a radio, but the hand crank is just a fun gimmick- but it does actually work. It doesn’t seem to affect cost all that much so I suppose, so no harm in having it as a triple backup.
RonJohnJr@reddit
Buy a small (20-60W) portable solar panel. It'll charge the portable phone charger that you presumably already have, and a weather radio with a USB jack.
Hot-Profession4091@reddit
As a radio, they’re great. Every hiking bag should have one. Every home should have one.
Do not expect to charge your phone. If you really had to, you could get enough charge to get a text out, but you’ll be cranking away for ages.
Fandomjunkie2004@reddit
Not something most people would think about, I imagine, but I have a hand-cranked flashlight, and though it works well, the actual action of cranking is very loud, particularly when the normal background noise indoors is absent due to a power outage.
This may not bother all, but we're varying flavors of neurodivergent over here, and the sound was like nails on a chalkboard. I could put up with it for a brief time, but my roommate absolutely couldn't handle it at all. So the hand-crank flashlight went unused.
Successful-Street380@reddit
The same as the hand pump flashlight
Savings_Succotash432@reddit (OP)
Wait what's a hand pump flashlight ?? Imma have to look that up
Successful-Street380@reddit
You hold it your hand , shake/pump it up and like when you wank
TXSyd@reddit
Mine struggles to get a signal as we’re about 60 ish miles from most of the radio towers. And having my phone nearby pisses it off and interrupts the signal.
No idea how well it works in a longer term power out situation as my idiot self forgot to even use it when the power was out post Beryl. But I have used it when working outside and at the beach.
kkinnison@reddit
Crap
The crank often breaks, or it is exhausting to use, and the charge usually doesn't last long.
Just get one with rechargeable batteries and use a solar charger
MrLanesLament@reddit
I’ve got one of the old-ish Eton Red Cross ones. It’s almost 20 years old and still works great. A minute of cranking will give you a few minutes of weather radio time. Pro tip: move around your house and find where your signal is and what channel is your local NOAA alert one before you need to rely on it.
BravesMaedchen@reddit
This is the one that I have. One thing i really don’t like about it is that though you can charge it solar or crank, as soon as it has some juice it turns the clock display on. But it’s not satellite connected, so it just starts at “12:00”. It annoys me that I can’t turn that feature off. It’s not a reliable reference of time on its own, yet it insists on wasting battery on giving you a time display. If I were lost camping, say, I wouldn’t be able to make sure it told the correct time without referencing something else and I’d have to make sure it kept enough battery for that, which is kind of annoying at the rate it charges through solar or crank.
Agreeable_Sense9618@reddit
I own that classic. It runs for weeks on 3 AAs. Use it daily in my workshop for AM radio.
Recent_Frosting_1786@reddit
I have a new one and also one that 20 years old. They both work great. I listen to baseball at night while primitive camping in the Allegheny National forest. Puts me right to sleep.lol
Aggravating-Cook-529@reddit
A bit gimmicky if you ask me. Might as well get a radio that runs on battery and also get a solar battery pack to charge it.
Savings_Succotash432@reddit (OP)
Yeah that's the thing I wanted to most like could I actually charge my phone on the crank
Aggravating-Cook-529@reddit
No not at all. A solar panel is a much much better idea by a mile
bdouble76@reddit
Like a few people have said, midland makes a couple. I went and got the bigger one. Crank, regular batteries, rechargeable batteries, and solar power. I tried it out, everything worked, took all the batteries out, and put with my emergency gear. Like a lot of emergency gear, it gives you a little peace of mind to have it. Midland has a good reputation, I have their gmrs radios also. Been happy with the performance of those. I live out in the dessert now and have been thinking about their base station. Big ole flat roof to put an antenna on, and I'm just curious about the range.
SelectCase@reddit
I bought a solar/battery radio because my delicate hands are too dainty to do any cranking.
joelnicity@reddit
They also use batteries and they have a charging cord
MagnetoPrime@reddit
Looks like you got your answer already, but if you were married to the crank idea, build your own out of an old-timey style exercise bike. More boom for your buck.
NCJohn62@reddit
It really matters which brand you get, I can't tell you what a good one is today but the one I've had sitting on my shelf for about 10 years now was well respected and well reviewed when I bought it.
Summerisle99@reddit
They should only be bought if you heard the ad on Art Bell
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
The radio and flashlight on it will run while you crank it. Using it to charge something requires a much longer time cranking but it’s better than nothing. I have one that’s has the crank, a solar charger, lithium battery and also takes AA batteries. I consider the crank an absolute last resort.
Wayson@reddit
They are not a bad thing to own because if the internet goes out you can still have one way communication through radio to hear news and accouncements. I have two Midland ones. I do not plan to use crank charging to power them and am relying on eneloop batteries instead, but it is good to have a backup means of power.
AmosTali@reddit
So which is it?
If you are cranking to listen to the radio they work well, if you are cranking to charge a cell phone they are crap.