I’ve been evaluating crank radios lately.
For those who don’t know what one is, it’s a gizmo — usually about the size and shape of a brick — that’s equipped with a hand crank to charge an internal battery. That battery in turn can power assorted features. The most basic is a flashlight, but additional features can include a radio, an emergency weather alert, a flashing light/siren, and a USB port that can supply emergency power to a cell phone or other device. Some also come with solar panels that can extend the charge on the battery. All of them have some kind of telescoping antenna for radio reception.
I’ve looked at about a half dozen different models from different makers, and that's given me a chance to compare how the mix of features work out. Violent weather across the U.S. that destroys towns and kills people are becoming more common. Having something like one of these crank radios could be considered survival gear. Let me share what I’ve learned so far.
Read The Instructions. These things are easy to operate, but if you don’t look at the instructions (which can be minimal in some cases), you may miss out on some important things to know. They should tell you how often to charge the device to prolong battery life, can give you an idea of how long a charge will operate the various features, and let you know things you should avoid doing. Some of them need to be charged to operate initially — it may be necessary to work the crank for several minutes initially to get the battery and power management circuitry engaged.
The Crank. Using it is easy enough — you unfold the handle from its stored position and crank away. The ones I’ve seen so far don’t care if you crank clockwise or counter-clockwise. What several warn about is cranking too fast or too long. One set of instructions with one crank radio said to crank for no more than two minutes at a time, with a minute break before cranking again. Otherwise, it might damage the generator the crank is operating. As noted above — read the instructions to find out.
Be aware that this can be physically awkward. Be careful to find a grip that lets you hold the device securely while you crank. My peeve so far is that the end of the crank that you hold while turning it is usually a tab just big enough to grab between the thumb and forefinger. It rotates freely, but I’d really like to see a crank with a longer handle on the end that would fold out to let you grip it with your whole hand.
Let There Be Light. LEDs have made a huge difference in flashlight technology. They are exceptionally bright compared to old-style incandescent bulbs and use a fraction of the power. I’m seeing estimates with some crank radios that cranking for 1 minute can supply enough power to run the flashlight for a quarter of an hour or longer. A full charge can last for hours. (Using the radio drains the battery faster; charging a phone really sucks down the power.)
The most basic light feature is just one light on the end. Some models have several modes — one for distance, one for lighting up an area, and a combo using both. (The more light, the faster the battery drain, of course.) An additional lighting feature on some crank radios is a separate bar that pops up or folds out, meant to be used for reading, light up a work area, etc. It’s a nice addition.
The ones shown above are all intended to be hand-holdable, but one model I looked at has a form factor that’s more suited to using it as a table lamp to light up a room in a power outage. It also had only the weather band and FM radio options (see below) and a large solar panel. (More on that too.)
The Radio. The one radio band that is a must-have IMHO is the ability to pick up NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts.
Working with the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System , NWR is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards – including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages).
Here are some FAQs about NOAA Weather Radio. It’s always available in the US, it updates frequently, and it can give advance warning of hazardous conditions. If you have a radio equipped to pick them up, NOAA issues alerts in an emergency that will trigger an alarm — although you will have to keep your radio connected to a power supply to use the alert feature because the radio will run the battery down as it continually scans for the alert signal. This could be a life saver in the case of a severe weather event.
See NWS — EAS for more details on how it works. There’s a list of emergency messages — if they look like something you need to keep track of, make sure you get a radio that can handle them.
AM, FM — and SW? AM and FM radio is easy enough to understand, and is useful because it can give you local news as well as entertainment. Most crank radios include them, along with a telescoping antenna.
SW is the Shortwave Band, and it’s a bit trickier to evaluate. Shortwave broadcasts can come from around the world — they have a greater reach than AM and much farther than FM signals. The few radios I’ve tested that have it don’t seem to be able to pick up all that many broadcasts, but depending on things like sunspots and other conditions, you never know what you may pick up. I also suspect they’d benefit from an antenna designed to work with shortwave wavelengths. (Picked up a broadcast from British Columbia the other night, have picked up a broadcast from Europe.)
A few additional considerations. Speakers can differ in how good the sound quality is. The idea is to be able to get information in an emergency, not provide boom box level volume, stereo sound, or high quality audio — but it’s still possible to get decent sound. At least one radio I’ve looked at included a headphone jack — a good thing if you want to be able to listen without disturbing others or are in a noisy environment.
Most of the crank radios that have come my way have basic controls: an on/off knob that controls volume, a knob to tune, and some kind of switch to select different bands. One radio I've tested has push button controls that can scan from station to station, and 5 buttons that can be preset to selected frequencies. It has an LCD display to show the frequency, a bit more exact than sliding a needle back and forth across a range of frequencies in an analog display.
Some have an indicator light that comes on when you land on a radio signal, to help with tuning. If you have one with a pop-up light panel, it helps if it puts some light on the controls. If you’re in a black out situation, you may have trouble sorting out the controls in the dark…
Give Me That Power! The thing that has been a game-changer is how battery tech has advanced. The drive to pack more power into laptop batteries and then cell phones over the last few decades has gotten us to the point today where rechargeable batteries are turning up in all kinds of devices these days — and all those devices people use to charge phones are now turning up for everything else. USB charging ports are turning up on things like desk lamps and wall outlets.
As with phones, there’s still some uncertainty about what kind of plug will be on the other end that goes into the device to charge it. USB C style plugs look like they’re becoming a standard, which will help reduce the number of unique charging cords that have to be used with a particular device. Speaking of which, some of these crank radios not only have ports you can plug into to power something else like a cell phone, some of them come with a variety of attached cables. If that’s a feature you want — so you have one less cable to tote around — make sure it will work with your phone.
The batteries themselves are usually NUSPI — No-User-Serviceable-Parts-Inside. As noted above, instructions that come with a crank radio usually have advice on how to manage the battery to prolong its useful life. (Some promise they’ll be good for years.) A few have the option of battery replacement — by a qualified service center.
One of the specifications for a crank radio is battery capacity — how much power it can hold. A bigger battery will provide power for a longer time between charges. The trade off is that it will will weigh more. At least one device I’ve sampled had an additional option: a compartment for a conventional battery for when you don’t have time to charge up the internal battery or don’t want to sit around cranking away. If nothing else the battery compartment makes a handy place to store the charging cord.
The solar option is another feature found on some crank radio models. If I’m reading instructions right, they may not be able to bring the internal battery up to a full charge, but they will supplement the battery, effectively extending the power available, and can at least keep it partially charged. Just keeping a crank radio near a window where light can reach the panel can provide some charging.
Bottom Line:
Having a crank radio can be a useful tool when the power goes out or just if all you want is a rechargeable flashlight or a portable radio with extra features for if and when you need them. If you live in an area where severe weather is a possibility, a weather radio function with an emergency alert feature could become a life-saver. It might be a good idea to have one as part of an emergency kit in a car.
Crank radios come in a price range that depends on the features they boast. There are a lot of companies out there marketing these, competing on features, design, and price. Decide what’s important to you and that will help you sort through the choices. In no particular order:
- Do the radio controls have knobs for volume and tuning, or are they all push-buttons? Are the controls for the various features easy to figure out in the dark?
- What kind of lighting options do you want — a basic flashlight or multiple modes?
- How big and clunky is the unit? Does it come with a carrying handle? (A few I’ve seen throw in a tiny compass. I’d hate to have to do map and compass with one, but it’s the thought that counts I guess.)
- Is the radio sound quality acceptable? Is there a headphone jack?
- How easy is it to use the crank?
- Will you be using it far from an outlet so a solar panel is a good thing to have?
- How weather resistant is it?
- How much battery capacity do you want?
- How many ways are there to charge it?
- What radio functions are important to you? Do you want auto-tuning? Pre-selects?
- Will you be using it to charge a cell phone in an emergency? What options does it offer for that?
- Do you want an emergency siren? Flasher? Those are usually part of the package.
Some of this you won’t be able to evaluate without getting hands-on with a device, so before you buy check out what return policies the vendor has. These aren’t bad gift ideas either; odds are you know someone who could use one of these.
One more thing.
These crank radios are emergency survival tools that work at an individual level. The more help you can give yourself, the easier you will make it for emergency service responders if things go really bad. Have plans for the potential emergencies in your locale and what you will need to do. Be aware of what community resources are available — and what you can do to make them more effective. We are entering into a time of ever greater disruption from climate. We are all going to have to make adjustments and be prepared for what is becoming increasingly likely.