Freeplay Energy Eyemax WB 2009 Self-Sufficient AM/FM/Weatherband Radio, iPod/mp3 dock and LED Flashlight (Black)

I bought this radio primarily as an emergency item, but also for general use. The crank is probably the best on the market in performance and ruggedness. The efficiency of the Freeplay system lives up to its reputation. A very brief crank will enable this radio to play for an amazing long time, probably exceeding even the lofty claims of the manufacturer. On a full battery charge (recharged using the wall adaptor) the radio literally will play nonstop for a couple of days, or indefinitely if it's in the sun during the day. Amazing. The weatherband selector is odd in that the normal AM/FM selector is a slide switch on the side of the radio, but to get to weatherband you push a button on the back and tune to the weather channel using a toothed wheel, also on the back, as opposed to the regular tuning dial. Since some areas aren't served by the weather broadcasts, so you need to determine if your area has it if this is a feature you're interested in.As for normal radio performance, this has typical portable radio sound quality - usable but far from hi-fi. It seems to have pretty decent reception, but on mine at least it won't get 88.5 FM which is a shame because that's my local NPR station. The antenna is a typical telescoping type that collapses into the body of the radio. Like any telescoping antenna, you have to be very careful with it extended because they all are prone to kinking.The LED light is a great idea for an emergency radio, but this one isn't bright enough to be of any practical use. You sure can't read by it. It is turned on and off by pressing directly on the LED lens. LEDs have come a long way in the past few years, but this radio hasn't been updated to take advantage of that. You will still need a good LED light in your emergency kit - bummer. I have not used the mp3 cable feature so I can't comment.The manual isn't in the package but you can download it from the website if you're interested in that. Not that you need a manual, but you would think that there would be at least a page that tells you how to use the weather band and LED light.Overall, the saving grace for this radio is the excellent, rugged crank mechanism. It is THE reason why this gets 4 stars, otherwise it is a two-star radio. Most of the others on the market are cheap plastic toys that don't have anywhere near the generating efficiency of the Freeplay. I would be much happier if the radio tuned 88.5 FM, and if the LED was useable - then it would get 5 stars. I paid considerably more than Amazon's current $48 price many months ago, and even with its flaws, I just bought a couple more of these for family members to put in their emergency kits. In an emergency you need a crank radio that will work and not snap off in your hand, and this one is definitely up to the job.UPDATE - I am VERY careful with the antenna on my radios. Yesterday, I was (gently) extending the antenna and it pulled apart. I was able to retrieve the parts that went flying - two brass pieces in every section are supposed to keep this very problem from happening. I was able to get it all back together and re-deform the parts more or less as they should be. It works, but who knows for how long. So, I contacted the manufacturer for a replacement antenna. Turns out this is a discontinued model, and the antenna is no longer available from the manufacturer. I'm hopeful that I can find an other replacement antennae that can work but this is discouraging. So beware! Still the best crank dynamo on the market, but it's a so-so performing radio with disappointing parts availability from the manufacturer. I do see the price on these continues to drop, so it might still be a decent deal. It is, though, disappointing that the manufacturer isn't supplying replacement antennae, one of the few parts it makes sense to replace, available. Would sure be nice if manufacturers actually made an effort to take care of the consumer. I do have to say that the lady I have been communicating with is very, very nice.

Received my Freeplay Eyemax WB 2009 today and tried it out. It's a keeper! Far better build quality than most of the other brands of hand-cranked radios being sold these days. Look up the specs on the energy produced by Freeplay's hand-cranked radios and you'll quickly see that they excel at this technology. They invented this product space.Radio reception on both AM and FM was good. Not as good as a GE Superadio, mind you, bet still far better than I had expected for a hand-cranked unit. The large 3" speaker also produce decent sound, especially for voice signals. Construction quality wasn't "military grade" but it looks like it will hold up nicely. I was very impressed with the quality of the hand-crank mechanism, which is of solid build quality. Only complaint with the build quality was that the alignment of the AM/FM dial was slightly off, reading about 20 kHz too low in the the AM band.Freeplay doesn't include a paper manual with this radio and that is a big mistake! It has some definite operation quirks that will throw people off. In particular, please note the two following items:(1) To operate the flashlight, you have to push the small lens of the flashlight inward.(2) The WX (weather band) operation is even more quirky than the flashlight. To receive WX signals, (a) click on the "Weather Band" button on the back of the radio and then (b) use a ball point pen to move the round geared/recessed widget labeled "WX Tuning" to tune into the weather channel in you locale. The WX Band does work if you follow this advice and you have a local VHF WX channel.All in all, a quality radio that is functional but a little quirky in operation. Highly recommended. Buy one to put up for an emergency. It's well worth $50 and you'll be the hit of the neighborhood when people need info about the current location of hordes of the "walking dead" during the Zombie Apocalypse of 2012.

I had the very first model of the Freeplay Radio when it first came out (10 or more years ago) which was clockwork and I expected this to be the same, but it's not. The previous radio still works as good as they day I bought it but it's big, I wanted a more compact radio to carry round the house and take camping, etc.I have tried maybe 4 other dynamo wind up radios in the past and they were all crap, the dynamo just doesn't make enough energy, so I would not have bought this if I had realized it wasn't clockwork. Though I may have tried it because it's Freeplay. Anyway, this one DOES work as advertised. I haven't used the sun to charge this yet but use the winder. My other Freeplay you crank 60 times (takes 60 secs) and I get 25 mins, as expected. This one I crank for 60 sec and it goes on for ages, not timed it but I can hear the hourly news twice before winding it again (during the news usually). Have also charged if from the mains and that lasts me several days before another charge/wind is needed. I don't have the volume that loud but am VERY pleased with the sound quality for the size of speaker/money spent. The other wind up radios also had crap tuners, this one is great, holds a station all day long. The audio in jack is great, this was the deal maker for me, why buy ANY audio kit that doesn't have the ability to plug in an iPod? Why make any audio kit that doesn't have the ability to plug in an iPod? The short supplied connecting cable is a perfect length too. I use the EQ options in the iPod to get the best sound out of the speaker.I read a review that the weather band didn't work on their radio, mine works just fine. Not sure I will ever need it, didn't buy it for that but quite like the fact it's there should I choose to use it.The other Freeplay is in the bathroom now as this little fella is now my new best friend.