shortwave

This is an interesting product from Grundig. It is a wind up radio with a small flashlight included for emergencies. It also has the shortwave bands you need for the BIG broadcasts such as BBC, Voice of America, and Radio Canada. I was also able to receive Radio Netherlands. The trick is to listen at night - at 7 PM and after - as that is when shortwave comes in best. You won't want to use the crank every day as you want to save that for true emergencies. Install three AA batteries for daily use. Daily use? Yes. I was surprised at the very good AM and FM reception. Even in my concrete and steel office I was able to get stations that usually come in weakly on other radios. This is a neat little radio and I am going to get another one for my emergency pack (I live in Florida where we are subject to hurricanes but with the world in the state it is in, my pack now may have several uses). Buy this for emergencies but don't be surprised if you use it every day. I didn't give it five stars because I think they could have built it a bit sturdier for 40$.

I bought the Grundig FR-200 because severe weather in my area sometimes causes power outages. The last time that happened, my only portable radio had dead batteries. The FR-200 will run on 3 "AA" batteries, but also has a built-in hand-cranked generator, and has a built-in flashlight as well.

I didn't expect such an inexpensive radio to perform as well as the FR 200 does. Reception on all bands, including shortwave, seems to be as good as my YB 300 PE, which was twice the price. If anything, the FR 200 might be a bit better on certain stations, and the analog tuner makes it easier to scan the dial than with digitally-tuned radios.

Battery life from 3 alkaline AAs has been very good, so I haven't bothered with buying an AC adapter. The instructions say that ninety seconds worth of cranking the generator will power the radio for about an hour, depending on volume, and my results have actually been a bit better than that.

The Grundig FR-200 is fun for everyday use, is a great choice for staying connected to the outside world when the lights go out, and it doesn't cost much. I like it.

FOr the price and convience of having a portable emergency battery radio, its OK.

The AM/FM tuner is OK. It's not great. It's not very precise and you need to fiddle with the tuner to get your station locked in.

The shortwave is hit or miss.

The light works.

The hand-crank broke after 3 times using it. It seems it was glued. It was easily fixed using plastic crazy-glue, but somewhat disappointing.

I really wanted a FreePlay radio, but I couldn't justify the price. This radio is OK if you have a fresh supply of AA batteries and some crazy glue :)

Peace