Reddit reviews Eton Rugged Multipowered Portable Emergency Weather Radio & Flashlight, Green (NSP101WXGR)

If you find a radio capable of all that across the different bands and able to power itself in the mentioned price range I'd genuinely love to know what it is as I've been throwing my money away piecing it together.

My main go to radios are the Eton scorpion II which receives AM/FM/NOAA broadcasts in addition to being an extra flashlight and phone charger. I've had this for months and have not had to charge it yet(crank nor USB), the solar recharge has kept up with my usage just sitting opposite a window or on my dashboard when driving.

https://www.amazon.com/Eton-NSP101WXGR-Scorpion-Portable-Multi-Purpose/dp/B00WS6SKTM

For communication I have a cheap baofeng uv5r5 requires a ham license to use which is max $15 to test for and a few hours of study. It works on ham frequency ranges and also receives NOAA (edit: and FM) stations and has another built in flashlight.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00YMN0SCG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498753670&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=baofeng+uv-5r5&dpPl=1&dpID=51Iz2MzNWNL&ref=plSrch

For truckers would think you'd want a citizens band radio with no licensing requirements. I had one of these in the early 90s which would pick up some traffic but from what I gather reading online I don't think they get nearly as much traffic and can probably glean just as much information hitting local repeaters as you travel. Hammies are always giving updates on weather and driving conditions while mobile, at least in my area.


For emergency channels (again as far as my area goes) many emergency response have switched from analog to digital broadcast which means analog sets like the baofeng can't pick up the transmissions. I think you'd need a scanner or type of radio they use whatever that is.

I have other cheaper backups but those two aforementioned radios are my go to. My eton keeps itself charged and I can charge my baofeng through other means.

Edit: and of course I'm still not finished in what I want as far as radios go. At some point down the road my next radio related purchase will probably be something with shortwave reception capabilities.

The Eton Scorpion II is a water/shock/dust resistant tank. Hand crank, solar panel, AM/FM/NOAA bands, USB chargeable, and will charge your phone or electronic devices. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

http://amzn.com/B00WS6SKTM

I wish I had bought this one instead: https://www.amazon.com/Eton-NSP101WXGR-Scorpion-Portable-Multi-Purpose/dp/B00WS6SKTM