Review: Eaton FRX3 Emergency Radio

I've had an Eaton FR-200 for several years (pictured on the right in the photo above). Fortunately, I haven't had to rely on it for emergencies, but it had several nice features:

1.  A rubberized body;

2.  An LED flashlight;

3.  Radio with AM, FM, and SW1&2 bands;

4.  It was rechargable with a hand-cranked dynamo, or it also runs off standard AA batteries, or could be plugged in to an AC/DC converter.

5.  It came with an pretty basic, but usable, nylon carrying case.

However, after attending a presentation by the local emergency management agency in November, my wife and I decided we wanted to purchase a NOAA Weather Alert radio. That is where the Eton FRX 3 comes in. Plus, it had some additional features which we would thought would be useful.

1. It lacks the rubberized body, but seems to be solidly built.

2. The flashlight now is has 2 white LEDs instead of a single LED like in the older model. It also includes a flashing red LED. Whereas the earlier model had a switch on the face of the radio for controlling the flashlight, the FRX 3 has a button on one end of the carrying handle, just above the flashlight, that allows you to easily turn on the light while carrying the radio.

3. The radio in FRX 3 loses the short wave bands, but adds 7 weather broadcast bands so you can pick the best reception for your area. The tuner is digital which has some benefits, as I will describe a little later. Most important to us, the radio can be set to sound a weather alert (at least according to the box--the instructions are strangely silent on this feature) (Update--the radio does pick up the emergency alerts, but I'm still puzzled why the instructions don't say anything about this feature). The alert feature can be enabled/disabled with a push of a button. So far, we haven't had any alerts come through, so I can't give an example of how well that works.

4.  Like its predecessor, it can be charged with a hand-cranked dynamo. The handle is now located on the face of the device, which allows a slightly larger handle that is easier to use. It lacks the rubberized body, but seems to be solidly built. In addition, the top of the carrying handle has a solar panel, which can also be used to recharge the device--albeit, it requires approximately 8 hours of direct sunlight (direct, as in outside--not through a window) to fully charge the batteries. It also can run off AA batteries, and can be hooked up to a computer or a USB charger.

5.  There is no carrying case.

6.  Because the radio uses a digital tuner, it also includes a clock and alarm function.

7.  The radio can also be used to charge cell phones (and, presumably, other small electronics) via a USB port on the back.

8.  As a couple other nice features, the radio has an auxiliary input jack, presumably to save the power on cell phone if you are using it for music; and there is a band of glow-in-the-dark plastic around the solar panel on the top of the carrying handle, which makes it easy to spot in the dark.