TB-100 TOUGHBOX FM/AM Aux Ultra-Rugged Digital Radio with Built-in Battery Charger, Green

This is my favorite work radio, I now have two. It is not too big and works well. It is not fragile and can be left outside without worry. The built in charger makes it no hassle to use - if the battery goes dead just plug it in, and it runs a long time on a full charge. Reception is good. If I could make any change it would be only two things: (1) Move the ON/OFF button to the top and (2) have an antenna extension or longer antenna option for even better reception of distant stations. But as it is it is close to being a perfect-practical design. I would like to have a Bluebox, but it would be nice if that had a USB output connector. Then a cell phone could be kept on charge while linked via bluetooth. Also, all models should have a convenient point for attaching an extended FM antenna. I have put an electrical terminal under the antenna with a wire attached at that point. Rugged, simple, good perf, all Sangeon traits.

This thing is rugged and sounds great for my purposes. Often times I'll take this boombox outside with me when I'm working on outside projects and doing some backyard gardening or even indoors in my basement shop. Plenty of volume for my purposes of working in the general vicinity of up to sometimes 20' of the radio itself and it doesn't soak the life out of my rechargable batteries in a hurry. I sometimes keep this on from morning and throughout the entire afternoon up until near dusk sometimes and the batteries still hold up for me. Not only do I use this at home, but it's portability and small size is a huge benefit for me. I have also taken this to picnics and when I spend some leisure time to myself in the park practicing and rehearsing my juggling act with my playlist mp3 player through it. This is also an amazing radio to take along to a drive-in movie with and save yourself from a dead car battery when the movie is over (yes, it's happened to me and this boombox now comes along every time now). This definitely lasts through the double features with clarity and plenty of leftover juice to spare. It's design and functions are straightforward, simplistic and practical. There are five user preset buttons, a band function button (AM, FM and AUX for an mp3 player), a volume knob and a tuner selector knob. A momentary (10 second) orange backlit display is a nice feature when switching stations/functions. I have done research before purchasing this and for the price range and positive reviews, I couldn't have been more happy with my decision to go for this. This is my first and only "work" type of radio, so I can't compare it to others out there on the market. My only con I suppose would be the lack of any sort of equalization and I find this radio to lean a bit on the bass side of things and is somewhat "boomy" at times, depending on the type/age/quality of music being played. Nevertheless, I've had this a few years now and has never let me down and for the price point, you can't go wrong if you're in the market to find a decent source of musical companionship. If you want a good reliable radio with a fair amount of power and one that doesn't eat up battery life, I'd highly suggest this one.

I had bought the Yellow LB-100 Lunchbox model a few years back. I much prefer the Green and unlike the Lunchbox, it does take rechargeable as well as standard C cells. It's a simple enough radio. There are times I wish it had a time display, but not a deal breaker. Sensitivity is very good. I use a distant radio station in Fresno as a benchmark. A good radio will bring it in, a poorly made radio will not. Selectivity is great as well. A powerful station 10 kHz away on AM is not going to splatter over. So the receiver is built well and while there is no tone control, the sound does not bother me. If for some reason you take it overseas where AM separation is 9 kHz other countries, you just hold down the band button when the radio is off to make that change. It will erase the presets, but programming as as easy as tuning the station you want and holding down the memory button to store it. 5 for AM and 5 for FM. So its strong point is that it's a good radio and less prone to damage. Good for outdoor and camping as well as in a shop.

I chose this radio over the Sangean U3 based on size, weight, and price. The U3 is larger, weighs about 12 lbs (I don't want to carry that extra 5 lbs up a ladder if I don't have to), and is about $30 more expensive (at the time of this writing). Everything about this radio is great except...the antennas. I'll explain. You'll see lots of reviews complaining about the sound distorting above about 75% max volume. It doesn't. This is the 2nd of these radios I've had. I returned the first one immediately when my favorite, and one of the hottest (meaning strongest signal) AM talk stations crackled on low volume. I thought the speaker was bad. It sounded blown. My replacement TB-100 sounded exactly the same. Doubtful I'd get 2 factory duds in a row so I spent some time playing with the radio. I tuned the radio to a hot FM station that I know comes in 5x5. I heard NO crackles or pops whatsoever. Still, I was getting distortion above 50% to 75% max volume while I was on battery power. When I plugged the radio into AC power, I was able to crank the volume 100% full blast with NO distortion. So with a 5 watt speaker it's a bit of a power hog for C batteries. Sangean probably should have designed this to run on D batteries or a big 6 volt battery (but then the radio would be heavier). That aside, what people have been perceiving as a bad speaker or mismatched speaker/amp combo is really the fact that the antennas in this radio are too small which causes less than perfect reception. The external FM antenna is ALMOST 6 inches tall?! Ridiculous! The antenna is flexible and rubber coated and the unit is about 12 inches wide. So there's no reason Sangean couldn't fit a flexible 12 inch antenna in the box! My cheap Sony pocket radio had a 17 inch (telescopic) antenna. This should have come with a 12 inch FM antenna--period. The internal ferrite AM antenna is only 3 inches. THREE inches?! Seriously?! Come on, Sangean! As a general rule of thumb, when building a radio, you should try to put the longest ferrite antenna in it that will fit in the cabinet. Have you heard of the legendary GE Superradio III? It's renown for amazing AM reception. The ferrite antenna in it is nearly 8 inches long! Size matters with antennas. Sangean should have put in a longer ferrite. As long as possible, in my opinion. Please take into account that I'm a former professional radio DJ, former CB'er, and an overall radio enthusiast so I'm pretty critical and picky about my radio gear. To its credit, even with the 3 inch ferrite, this radio picked up AM stations 141 miles away while indoors, under a 150 watt halogen light, during the DAYTIME (AM reception is usually better at night on all AM radios). This radio is about 7 lbs and made of very thick, sturdy plastic. You can knock the antlers off a moose with it while still hearing your favorite song. The display is large and easy to read and backlit for a few seconds. You can adjust the tuning steps to adhere to either USA or European increments (instructions are included with the radio). Some have complained about the tone. Personally, I like the tone. I've tested this on many genres. Talk, jazz, contemporary Christian, alternative rock, bluegrass, 80's pop, country. It sounds good with all of them. It's not too bass-heavy for Talk. Sound full and rich but clear. Using the Aux input, I tested my iTunes library. Using the iPhone Settings for Music, I was able to select any of the EQ presets and control the tone. As a general rule, I found Acoustic and Jazz to be two settings that worked well with most stuff. The factory tuning for this cabinet is a bit prominent is the low-mid range so it sounds better if you use an EQ that pulls those frequencies down a bit. I do recommend this radio and I'm happy with it for the most part, by I'm disappointed in the antennas Sangean included. They could have done better. I may decide after the warranty expires to crack it open and put a longer ferrite antenna in it. Any increase in size will help. If one were industrious and handy with tools, one could get ahold of a whip antenna (from a car or old CB radio set), cut it to a reasonable length, affix it to a threaded male end of the appropriate fit for the antenna port, and make yourself a longer FM antenna for this. Boy! A 2 or 3 foot whip on this would pull in the FM very well, I'd think! I whine about the antennas and the reception but many customers seem happy with them, so they aren't bad enough to that the radio doesn't work. It works well. I'm just very picky about my radios. Small antennas aside, it's a good, durable, outdoor radio. Get it!

I already owned several products by this excellent company (Sangean) including their HD Tuner which I connected to my NAD amplifier for my Home Office (I love listening to my local classical FM radio station in HD at low volume while I am working at home) in addition to their beautiful sounding HD FM Radio for my guest bathroom and the kitchen. In short, I already knew this company makes exceptional products. This portable heavy-duty FM radio is no exception. It has a nice solid feel to it (it won't blow over with a light to medium gust of wind) and it has amazing sound quality. The control knobs have a "solid" feel to them, as does the handle that allows you to pick it up and carry it. I like the rubber feet on the bottom which protect the unit. Most impressive is the "rechargeable battery" feature. I bought the proper size batteries that can hold a charge, so that I can enjoy this product for hours and not worry about "burning out the disposable & expensive batteries" that were used on my older unit. What is really cool is this unit will enable you to charge the batteries while they are properly loaded in the battery compartment, so all you do is switch it to "battery charge" mode and plug it in at home for a short while and it charges itself for your next "FM radio on-the-go" occasion, and you won't need to plug it during that occasion. I highly recommend this unit for those of you who also still enjoy FM radio for any number of "special reasons" and can appreciate a wonderful electronic product like this.

I do not sit and watch television, but I consider radio essential. I like to move about the house, garage, and yard, randomly accomplishing chores, and I enjoy receiving information passively while I move about and engage in physical activities. My prior solution was to have a bunch of tuners and radios on when I was home, which drove my family nuts. I also hate "features." A thing should do one job and do it well. The TB-100 receives local stations fairly well (WAY better than a CD "jambox," and almost, but not as well as a good automobile radio regarding distant or weak stations), has just enough controls and displayed info to quickly find a suitable station and volume, and is easily portable, in more ways than one. It can be unplugged and will continue to deliver the identical performance from four C cells, will recharge those batteries (if rechargeable) once plugged back in, has a very good quality cord and integrated wrapping posts for it (NOT a crappy detachable cord that was always the first point of failure for my old secondhand multi-feature plastic radios), an integrated handle and protection from bumps upsetting my settings. I do not take this thing to construction sites or pound nails with it, but it is "rugged" and sufficiently waterproof to follow me inside and outside the house, The volume control has usable range, and the sound quality is very pleasant-- Other reviewers have complained about the enhanced bass, but I find the balance ideal for the human voice as transmitted by radio-- I am also an obsessive two-channel audiophile so am not easily satisfied by any noise coming from a loudspeaker. Anyway, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, all products should be made as simple as possible to perform their task well. This one is so indispensable that I have just ordered another.

I have other Sangean products that I really like, including a table radio and a shower radio. Those units have great sound. This one has a nice overall design for a portable outdoor unit, but the sound quality is nowhere near as good as the others. I get good reception and live in a close suburb of Philadelphia. However, any music that has piano in it is horribly distorted. Voice only is ok, so it's fine for listening to talk. Most rock is fairly good. But something about the sonic signature of piano music causes trouble. So on NPR, the piano music leading in to All Things Considered sounds like absolute garbage. And it isn't only because of radio reception. Using the AUX IN feature, the same distortion results. I piped through some Chopin nocturnes, and it sounds like a distorted mess. Go figure. This is a durable radio and the ability to use (and charge) rechargeable C cells in it is wonderful. Just be forewarned that the audio quality is not up to Sangean's usual standards. Maybe I got a defective unit.

Clear sound, accurate and deep bass. We use two of these at the pool, for separate left and right channel wide stereo. Splash-proof, for using at the swimming pool. ATTENTION, TECHIES! Using two $5 FM transmitters connected to a single, stereo sound source (a Bluetooth receiver), we broadcast on two separate, non-adjacent FM frequencies. We use the two Toughbox radios tuned to each FM frequency. Very impressive sound reproduction that uses ordinary FM technology, instead of far more expensive 2.4 GHz or digital technology. These Toughbox speakers have a somewhat narrow dispersion pattern, so on opposite sides of our swimming pool, pointed to the center of the pool, the sound stays in the pool, at water level, and is hardly noticeable by our condo neighbors. We play music from our phones inside water tight vinyl protectors. If you can understand what I've described so far, you already have figured out that you need to buy three splitters. If you try this, you need to be sure to transmit a mono right only, and mono left only signal ganged to feed each stereo transmitter. Each stereo transmitter must be fed the same mono sound source on BOTH audio input channels... T1○○T2 ○○T1○T2 ○L○○R ○○○ L○○R ○○○Y ○○○○○ Y ○○○○○○ Y ○○○Bluetooth ○○○ Receiver These Toughbox radios have just one speaker. If you want stereo sound, you'll need two. Having wires running between them (into the Aux. inputs) is unusable at a swimming pool, which is why we use two FM transmitters with the splitters. Power to our two transmitters and the Bluetooth receiver comes from a USB charger box plugged into a USB power hub. Just keep the Bluetooth receiver, dual transmitter array, and power source in a small, plastic (not metal) box, like a tackle box. We use frequencies 87 and 108. Entire project cost was about $150. Impress your friends and enjoy!

This is a very good radio, has a built in battry charger. Pair this with four 1.2 volt 5,000 mah batteries and you can get alot of runtime between charges. Well built and is bigger than I thought it would be, sounds great and goes loud without distortion and can be heard over moderate sounds from powertools. And it makes a very good portable radio with self charging if you have rechargable batteries installed in the battery compartment. Well worth what I paid for it and is a good investment indeed.

Bought this to replace a disappointing purchase. This takes only 4 C batteries, and if they are rechargeable, you can switch to recharger mode so they charge while the radio is off and plugged in. The battery compartment door opens easily with a screw/knob, no tools required. Volume and stations are adjusted using dials, so it is quick and easy to do. Sound quality is pretty good for what I need. The unit is squat and stable with a good roll cage to take any impacts or falls, but it's unlikely to get tipped over. The handle has a couple of holes that could be used with a bungee cord to hang it at the campsite. All in all...love it!

Great radio, comes with an extra long heavy gauge cord, but the antenna is a pain. It is a stubby and somewhat flexible antenna, but it stands out past the "frame" or carrying handle. It cannot be folded flat which makes it difficult to store. Also the antenna itself is pretty short which results in sometimes poor reception. I ended up unscrewing the antenna for storage and actually used a longer, metal antenna to improve reception. Otherwise seems like a sturdy radio, but only used it for a few weeks so far. Time will tell. I have not used any batteries in it, so I cannot answer the battery life feature rating.

Love this well made radio. Clear radio signals and good sound. Rugged over build. Aux. in for anything you want to play through.

Absolutely terrific radio. Excellent reception, great sound, rugged, durable, perfect for my everyday backyard listening. Could not be more pleased.