C. Crane CC Solar Observer Wind Up Solar Emergency Crank Radio with AM, FM, NOAA Weather, built in LED Flashlight, Cellphone Charger and AC Adapter

I liked the small size and light weight making this an ideal back packing radio. I charged and discharged the batteries several times as recommended for Nickel metal hydride batteries so that they can absorb a maximum charge. The radio will play for about 16 hours on rechargeable batteries. I tested the hand crank and having read other reviews about broken cranks I was very careful to keep the radio stationary. I recommend laying the radio on its back with the dynamo crank overhanging the edge of a table. In this position with one hand on the radio you can turn the crank without moving the radio. The edge of the table acts as a straight line reference to help guide you when turning the crank so you neither pull or push the crank inward or outward which adds stress to the handle. Also, I only turned the crank at a moderate speed which helps with maintaining a good round circular motion. I found that I needed to charge dead batteries at least three minutes to get any appreciable play time with the dynamo. I get about 18 minutes of play with three minutes of cranking.The FM is as sensitive as my full size stereo and the speaker is about what I expected from such a small radio. The whip antenna is really a help in finding distant stations. However, since there is no "wide/narrow" band selection some stations do overlap. AM is fair, the whip antenna of no help in this broadcast range. Nighttime reception was best with AM. The Weather function was excellent! The updates are frequent and more accurate than the local news. You do get weather warnings, but you have to be listening to the weather station at the time of the warning. This radio is not a substitute for broadcast warnings for floods, tornadoes, etc. It is really outstanding as a light weight and portable radio perfect for camping.I did charge the batteries with the solar panel but don't expect this method to be of much use in most cases. You "must" keep the panel pointed directly at the sun at all times and for at least four hours (eight is better) if you expect to have any meaningful play time. Push a stick or other straight six inch long item in the ground and tilt it until is has NO shadow. That is the angle that you need to prop up the solar panel part of the radio to have it facing the sun. You will need to adjust this angle every thirty minutes as the earth rotates. I did not use the USB function so I have nothing to report on that. Finally, I have not run the unit on regular batteries until they are dead, so I don't know how long they will last.Personally, I would avoid using the dynamo part unless I just had to. As a "plastic" handle and a dynamo that resists turning this mechanical system is the most fragile part of the radio.

Great radio and especially for power outages despite also having good sound quality. Would highly recommend (unless you need shortwave capability (but stick with C Crane brand)…

Only one issue with this radio, no lights to signify charging or fully charged. It would of been the best radio of this type. To condition the battery pack you must go by the time it is charging. Usually an overnight charge after battery power has been used up. Do this 3 times in a row to condition the battery pack to have a longer life. Many of these Crank Emergency Radios have tiny buttons to turn on radio tune it or adjust volume. Many have smaller speakers & can't hear from distance in my yard in city limits. Purchased two other radio's & had a hard time grabbing the Tuner, Volume or O/F buttons. I don't have Giant Hands & Fingers & this is a common drawback on some of these type radios. This Crane has a better speaker being bigger then some other's that have similar speakers you have on pocket transistors radio's. I finally got a radio I like for handling, tuner /volume knobs or dials & speaker clarity with loudness. Many other radio's have a small leash attached which I don't like at all. This Solar Crane Wind up has a Thick Leather Strap on top to carry it. My whole hand can fit & grip the radio more securely. There is a lot of pluses buying this radio compared to so many others out there to buy. I can't stand tiny buttons where your thumb & forefinger over match the size of the radio buttons & your fighting to grasp the button & tune stations in. I'll bet women have claimed the same about tiny buttons that dial the volume & tuning the radio in. I got two other Solar windups to sell from other manufactures. Other customers should always ask about this particular problem before buying. I have seen plenty men with bigger hands & fingers then I. My need for this radio is working in my garden listening to talk radio, music & latest weather. I have a Double Lot Yards back & sides & can hear it clearly from 30 yds away with Clarity. Another plus is it lights up looking for your favorite radio station. I use the battery pack that comes installed & use my AAA batts for when other is depleted of power. I charge the battery when I'm inside for the night. I'll use the radio for up to 8 hrs gardening. This is one of the better radios of this type to buy, 4 way power & charging cell phone. I even keep two cell phone batts at the ready. Bottom line is I have no electricity in my yards unless I run cords out. I have many cordless gadgets, tools & all.

Lightweight and a little hollow feeling but still pretty well made. The features and controls are intuitive and easy to use. The speaker does a good job although mono, but it is an emergency radio. Per the manual 90 seconds of winding the dynamo should give 15 to 25 minutes of listening. The solar panel is a bit of an unnecessary feature as it takes 30 hours of sunlight to fully charge the internal battery pack to get 15 to 20 hours of play time. I would imagine 30 hours in the hot sun would not be good for the plastic this thing is made of and they should just drop this gimmick. Using alkaline batteries will get 60 hours at normal listening levels, and rechargeable nickel metal hydride less time. You can't use lithium batteries.It also has an LED flashlight which isn't that bright but could come in handy.Performance wise this thing is very good. I can use two of the seven weather channels in my area. The FM tuning with the whip antennae can pull in a lot of stations, and the AM ability is very good, although you do have to play with orientation of the internal antennae to pick up stations, with so much static that you can't really listen to them, but that's just the nature of AM. I really am enjoying this radio just for general listening and playing with. I think the one thing I would like to have is an indicator of battery level with alkaline batteries, but with the internals and the dynamo it's not a big deal. I'm happy with this thing so far, and I'm looking into other C.Crane radios for purchase.

Purchased to replace a 15 year old Grundig that was basically the design as this C. Crane one. Like that solar panel is now provided to recharge battery and emergency light is larger than on old Grundig. Radio reception on both AM and FM is very good. Speaker is perfectly acceptable for a small portable radio. Unlike the old Grundig this model does not have SW/LW bands but not an issue for me but specific dial for weather channels now provided which is more useful for me. On full charge radio ran on rechargeable battery for over 24 hours before needing to use crank which seems to recharge battery quickly if one is not willing to wait for solar panel to recharge. Power usage seems very low and with 3 AA batteries installed radio will run for much longer. Overall a very good emergency radio that can also be used everyday. Please note that picture on Amazon listing shows that radio comes with an AC adapter to charge battery but this was NOT included with my radio and think it is an option that can be purchased separately. Not an issue for me as solar panel and crank are easy to use.

Bonjour bon produit reçu depuis peu la qualité de son est bonne la poignée du dynamo semble fragile mes le temps nous le dira et il me reste à vérifier cette été pour savoir si le chargement solaire fonctionne bien dans l ensemble ça semble un bon achat2 décembre 2023 marche toujours aussi bien très content sais un bon achat je le recommande toujours satisfait 🙂