Odyssey Hand Crank NOAA Weather Radio, All Band Emergency Radio, AM/FM Shortwave Storm Radio, Bluetooth, Phone Charger, RDS, Solar, Multi-Function Flashlight, Camping, Hiking

This Eton emergency light/radio works great for me. It take very few cranks to get it up and running. The radio is easy to tune and the channels are clear. I have yet to charge a phone with this but so far I am very pleased with this purchase.

I say it is the best because it comes with a lithium Ion 18650 battery (replaceable) and can use three “AAA” batteries as well as back up. The important thing here is that the battery is not built in, therefore no need to try and send it out for a replacement. The downside here is that if you add the “AAA” batteries with the 18650 you can’t recharge the battery. You have to remove the “AAA” batteries in order to charge the 18650 battery with the USB C charge cable. Another downside to the emergency Eton radios with a built in lithium ion battery is Eton doesn’t reply to emails requesting service.

Update #2 - (deleting Update #1) - After talking to Amazon about the radio, they gave me the phone number of the Eton Service Team. I called...and after a day I reached someone, a real person. He told me that "a few percent" of the radios have this screw problem and that the problem was fixed in the Red Cross Version of the radio. He also said he would give me a warranty replacement. I provided my name, phone number, and email and was told that I would be sent info on how to return the radio. That was 3 days ago...and 3 phone calls ago. Because I was not getting any emails...I called Eton back and left voice mails...and have not received another call in 3 days. I just got an email from Eton stating the replacement radio was on its way. But based on the 3 day delay, I had just decided to return the radio for a refund...and Amazon makes it so easy I did it before I got the email. So...here I am....I have returned the initial radio, the refund is in process, and the replacement radio is on its way to me. If Eton had only communicated with me in a shorter amount of time. (Sometimes life is really is like an episode of "I Love Lucy!") I wish I had received some kind of communication earlier...now I have to work through this follow-on situation. But it is good to know that Eton followed through with their promise. ======Original review====== Radio & electronics - work well. Clear signal on all bands. Light and SOS work as promised. I was really encouraged at first. Battery compartment - a problem that ultimately makes the radio unusable! The battery itself is OK. The problem is with the screw that is used to keep the waterproof compartment lid shut. I used the enclosed screwdriver to open the compartment lid....the fit was tight and removal required more torque than you might expect. Even though I was gentle, the high-ish torque stripped the Phillips head notches on the top of the screw. Now I cannot even put the lid back on to use the radio at all! The metal of the enclosed screwdriver is harder than the metal of the screw - always a bad combination. Someone should have specified a screw with harder metal. The solution under the normal warranty process (and with Amazon insurance) is to ship the whole radio back and get a replacement. And that replacement will almost certainly have the same kind of screw which will be made of the same soft metal. The problem will NOT be solved. Ugh. I would like to go to a hardware store and simply find a new screw, but that will likely void the warranty and insurance. So...I will just have to return the product for a refund. I see no other solution. All these problems for $0.01 screw. Eton should upgrade the metal to a $0.02 screw and save hundreds or thousands of dollars of warranty costs. At best, this is another case of someone in management with a spreadsheet overruling the engineer with the metal property tables. At worst, there is a design team out there that does not know how to design a screw. I am not sure which one is more disappointing. I just know I cannot use an otherwise perfectly good radio, and I have doubts about trying anything else from Eton. Sigh.

Haven’t had much time with the radio but it looks good and does what it’s supposed to. Wonderful radio reception on FM. Some quirks that could be solved... minimum volume is a bit loud... only auto-stored memory, no way to change or manage memory preset stations... can only cycle sequentially, and backwards, the memory stations… screen with poor viewing angles and backlight always on… a screw to lock/open the batteries compartment/cover that inevitably disconnects the radio (loses time and memory presets) and needs a screwdriver to be done… can’t say how long it will last under regular use.

This device is supposed to serve as a support item when you are in an emergency situation such as a power outage, flood, hurricane, earthquake or other emergency. It has a lot of functions incuding a weather radio, short wave receiver, flash light, bluetooth speaker, and most importantly a battery. The battery capacity is ridiculously poor. It cannot charge a cell phone to even 25 percent of power, and it gets depleted rapidly when using the radio or bluetooth. Batteries are expensive of course, but this unit has a very low capacity battery. It has a solar panel that is a sales point but not a functional item. You might be able to fully charge the batter if it was left in the sun in the summer for 12 hours a day or more for a week. It has a handcrank that will charge it only if you turn it for several hours. In short this is a waste of money because the weak battery cannot support the many functions it is designed to provide. The hand crank and solar panel are there to drive sales, but they are not actually useful in practice.

Good quality sound built tough

I wasn't able to get this thing to charge no matter what I did, so I am returning it. The battery is replaceable, which is great, but the battery door is secured by a single self-drilling screw in plastic, which will strip the threads in a few uses. Disappointing! The fact that it works as a Bluetooth speaker is unique, pretty good sound too in that mode too. But, overall it doesn't work.

First, I returned the Odyssey because after a full day of charging, the battery wasn’t fully charged. I. Didn’t want to replace the battery so returned the unit. I own several Eton shortwave radios, and they’re good, But the “emergency “ models don’t stack up well to other brands like Midland. The Odyssey is a fair performer, but overpriced for what it offers. Pros: — Good radio reception on all bands. Not stellar DX performance on AM or SW, but not a deal breaker. — Handy handle for easy carrying. —SOS flashlight and LOUD emergency siren. — Solid display and backlight Cons: — Too heavy for easy portability. Not a good addition to a backpack or go-bag. — Questionable battery (see above). — Abysmal SW tuning. No fast tuning on any band. You’d spend half an hour trying to go from 4 to 21 MHz on shortwave. Tuning on all bands is way too slow, with no direct digital tuning option. Summary: This radio wouldn’t be so disappointing if it were $40 cheaper. But there are far better emergency radios for much less, many of which offer more coverage such as air and VHF. Eton should stick to shortwave radios, where their products are much better.

Fantastic all rounder for an emergency

For me, the go-to radio, whether you can use the NOAA system or not.

Never had to use it and hope I never do but it seems solidly built and if the hand crank is capable of charging it up in a reasonable time then I would recommend it as a decent emergency radio.

The radio which seems excellent, unfortunately arrived looking used. See images. Sending back to request new unused unit. Review rating is low because of the condition ie used. Overall rating would be 4 stars otherwise.

Clearly a used radio not happy!