Emergency Weather Radios

Been there done that with Eton….aka ‘Grundig’ aka ‘Tecsun’. I got a PR-D4W Sangean and have never looked back, fantastic reception. Best WB capable portable I have ever used and heard.

I found at least one that runs off an 18650 but the old wire and special plug treatment was done to the battery so I cant simply pull one out and pop another in. I would have to attach the positive and negative wires to the 18650 if I wanted to change it.
I am digging this one quite a bit. Over my budget but I am thinking it might be worth it. It can run off any 18350! Any 18350 so that’s good to know.

I wish there was one out there with everything built in, including a Micro SD or MP3 player for playing music from when there is no radio signals in the far back country. (with AM/FM Weather/SW, and rechargeable LiIon or external USB power.

Yea me to. I watched a review of this one and the only battery it operate off of is an 18350. I wonder why they choose the 18350, from the video it looks like there is plenty of room for an 18650 maybe 2.
I would have one in the mail it it ran off an 18650. I have a ton of those.

Still looking!

I bought a SAST N520 a while back.
It has AM/FM/SW / TF a LED light and it uses a 18650 battery and a USB charger.
For 12.68 it might be worth a try.
Mine works OK but not great, SW is pretty weak but I might just need a better antenna.
https://www.tmart.com/SAST-N520-FM-Radio-Mini-TF-USB-MP3-Speaker-with-LED-Flashlight-Red_p363126.html
:disguised_face:
(The elder has the right to chase after fashion!) :person_facepalming:

Nice find! Cool device. I love that it can use removable Li-Ion cells. I too wish it used 18650 instead.

Is the SW frequency the same or different from NOAA WX frequency?

I’m not enough of a radio guy to tell you.
It goes from 700 to 1900 meters.
I don’t know how that converts to megahertz.
Sorry.
:frowning:

The standard NOAA channels are:

WX1 162.550 MHz 39B 7
WX2 162.400 MHz 36B 1
WX3 162.475 MHz 97B 4
WX4 162.425 MHz 96B 2
WX5 162.450 MHz 37B 3
WX6 162.500 MHz 38B 5
WX7 162.525 MHz 98B 6

The Google says that 162.400 + is VHF and doesn’t come in standard SW radios.
:frowning:

No - most SW receivers (or any other receivers unless specifically mentioned) do not cover NOAA WX/Weatherband.

These are 18650 powered.
This brand (Kaito) seems kinda of hit and miss.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HPFTBV4/?coliid=I2HGXMT9V48NYI&colid=1DU8QV86H0E2G&psc=0&ref\_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I4W8EEE/ref=psdc_6893245011_t3_B0051QJJ1E

I ordered this one found one that’s refurbished and guaranteed for 90 days . I’ll just use it a bit to be sure it’s working. Maybe I’ll buy an new JB 18350 light to go along with it next month.

Need a few more 18350’s now!

Let us know what you think of it once you get it.

Sadly the new stuff is just junk . Grundig as well as other sold out and are now made poorly in china, Their name was bought or they just don't care any more . I have good old radios and wish for some added new technology added but who wants bad receive/poor sound quality and cheaply made junk that breaks after a few years . radio has followed in the Chinese footsteps of ( we can make it cheaper / work worse / break faster and you can sell your reputation, your good name and customer base down the river) . Short wave reception on these radios is a joke . They add endless needless worthless items to these radios to try to add value .( Where's the seat belt cutter or the compass ) ?

I'd like to modify a few older radios to run off of 18650's and add a charging circuit to the ones that take D size batteries .Plenty of room to work with. Generally I opt for radios that run on AA's since I have so many eneloop/rechargeables.

the internet killed radio

Let us know how you like it - I’d be willing to bet you did well for the price.

I just bought the Kaito ka500L. It’s unbelievably cheaply built and I wouldn’t get another. It looks great on paper. The L suffix is for “Long Lasting”. Basically it’s a ka500 with a 18650 battery for “longer lasting” LOL. They beefed up the solar panel as well which means instead of some marginal POS that doesn’t tread water, it will very slowly charge. I left mine in the window and it charged up from 3.702 volts to 3.76 volts in a couple of cloudy days. Which, by way of reference, is less than if you turn the crank handle 20 times. Regardless, at $50 it’s a very cheaply build product, the knob to select AM/FM/SW is poorly designed in that the choices are so close together that the cheap little POS plastic knob they use makes choosing channels a chore. The first one I got didn’t have the AM working, Kaito customer service was supurb and they quickly traded that one for one that was working. The builtin light is also a piece of crap even when compared to the Midland ER200.

My thought is if you need a cheap radio, buy a cheap one, the Kaito KA500L isn’t “cheap” although it straddles the line on price between cheap and not cheap. The Tecsun PL880 (expensive) also has a 18650 battery (but no crank or no solar etc etc) and is in my view is worth the extra money ($100 more so $59 vs $159) if you want a solid SHTF radio. At least you know it will work when you pull it out at a critical moment when it’s most needed.

The portables I have run on AA’s in the radio or a 6 volt wall wart. Well they run just fine on 5 volts so I took one of those Folomov A1 chargers I think, the one with the magnetic doohicky’s that stick to the battery, cut a USB cord off an old mouse, cut a plug off an old wall wart, little solder and heat shrink later, custom cable that will run my radios off any Li-Ion cell. I use high cap 26650’s for lots of runtime.

Side note, SW bands normally start at 1.8mhz and continue to 30mhz.

Thanks for the heads up I backed away from that Kaito brand. The good reviews seemed to be fake or from people who reviewed it by what it’s supposed to do not what it does.

If you have time could I get a picture of this invention?

Thanks