These are hard to beat for the money. Clear and crisp sound and 2x AA battery usage. For an emergency weather radio this little jewel locks on to your local NOAA station with ease. Great little radio on AM & FM also. Picked this one up prior to past hurricane season.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKU3PFE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
ETA: The reviews aren’t that great, but I have to disagree. Guess I got a good one. ymmv
How about this one?
Does it use an 18650 cell? Is the cell removable?
From the reviews is seems like I does use an 18650 and you can replace it.
From what I have been reading, many of these radios that operate off 18650s come with cheap batteries. Many of the complaints can be fixed by replacing the battery with a better built one.
I’m looking at that one too, but can’t wrap my head around thd cost on a radio that can be stolen/lost/broken in the beach or picnic.
I wonder, is it safe to run unprotected batteries in a muggle radio that is likely to be run down to the ground in an emergency?
Yeah, but some reviews mention some custom harness that the cell is tied to. I couldnt tell if that harness can be easily moved to another cell.
Any feedback on this yet? How do you like it?
I received this one last week. Haven’t had time to really play with it but I do have some initial comments.
The sound is really pretty good for the size and it being a weather radio. It seems to have a higher end tuner in it because I can pick up stations I have never heard before. It’s very solidly built. The solar panel does seem to charge the battery under full sunlight. I have no idea how long it would take to fully charge the battery but it does charge the battery and so does the hand crank.
I do not like the fact that the only battery it can use is a short 18350 button top. It comes with one that I tested to be about 850 mAh which really isn’t that bad. I ordered some extra Keepower 1000 mAh 18350s and they are a little big. I can cram them in but I don’t feel comfortable doing it, its a little hard to get the battery back out. Presently looking around now for some shorter 18350s. Why they didn’t use a 18650 instead is beyond me. There seems to be room for it. The other issues I have are the very flimsy battery cover and the antenna is very easily bent when fully extended. I stopped pulling the very thin last section out.
Thanks for the update.
While I liked that MMR-88 in general, I decided that relying on an 18350 Li-Ion cell for power supply during emergency was not the best thing, so I looked for something that runs on more common/readily available batteries instead. I ended up getting this LaCrosse S89102. It runs on 3xAAA cells. On the positive side, it’s small and pocketable. On the negative side, because it’s so small, it has a tiny speaker which can’t get loud and can’t produce good audio quality, but it’s usable in emergency. It would have made for a better radio if they made it slightly larger and allowed for use of AA cells instead.
Also just got this no-name one from Amazon. It has a built-in 2300 mAh Li-Ion cell, but also allows you to use 3xAAA. The tuner seems to be fairly good. However, the speaker, while pretty loud, sounds buzzy/distroted, even at low volume. I have to think there is something wrong with this particular one. I might just try a replacement because otherwise I like the form factor.
This guy’s radio reviews have been cnsistently reliable in my experience:
The site has a search function, quite a fewof the radios reviewed include the weatherband
Thanks. Good resource.
Unfortunately, even the cheapest units he reviews are more than double the price point I’m looking at, aside from the MMR-88 that doesn’t use common AA/AAA cells. Alas, maybe that is what it costs to get a decent weather radio. The cheap stuff out there seems to be just that - cheap. But on the other hand, I don’t want to spend $100 on a radio that is going to get beaten up during various camping trips and other outdoor activities.
I am very pleased with my Tecsun PL-880. Sound and reception are excellent. Love the rechargeable and replaceable 18650 power supply. Great radio overall.
Here is another arrival. Other than the silly name, I actually quite like it. Nice form factor, and the speaker appears to produce clear and loud enough sound. The internal 18650 2000 mAh cell is easily accessible, but would require re-soldering some wires if one was to swap it out for a better quality larger capacity cell. Not planning on messing with it.
This radio is available on Amazon under many different brand names and in many different colors. I just ordered this one as they had the best deal going at the moment.
Ewww…don’t get any salt on it. 
Looked at the Tecsun Pl-880 .
Great reviews ..nice looking radio
Just bought a Eton FRX5BT.
First thing I noticed was that it was a return because the radio was on. How long is anybodies guess.
It sound better then the Grundig but reception is not better. Plus no short wave. It has a 2000 mah battery that is begging to be changed into a 3000mah plus. About 18 hours of playing time.
Review…
I’m not sure I’m keeping it. It has a million features, but I think the SW is critical when it the brown stuff hits the fan. For the money, it should of been there.
Terrific beach radio……but I would put it in a strong, sealable plastic bag to keep the sand out.
I’m debating it……