Posted: 3/15/2026 5:27:05 PM EDT
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I would like a radio that has AM/FM/Shortwave and NOAA weather for emergency use. Wind up charging and/or solar would be great. Don't need Ham features, just a radio in case of power outage and bad weather. Thanks in advance! |
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I will say skip the wind up and solar options. Theyre gimmicks at best, gears strip out and the solar panels are useless. CCrane Skywave SSB 2 fits the other requirements and the company is GTG. No experience with that model but ive not had a bad radio from them. https://ccrane.com/cc-skywave-ssb-2-with-am-fm-sw-wx-and-aviation-bands There are many other options tho. |
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Check out C Crane Radios https://ccrane.com/emergency-radios/ |
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The Skywave SSB 2 is an awesome radio, but pretty spendy. It's $189, and while it has NOAA alert, it's not a SAME radio so any alert for anywhere the radio hears it will set it off in that mode. I'd suggest going to two radios, personally. And skipping the solar/crank stuff. You can get a USB power bank (or a solar one) that will serve you much better and let you charge phones etc. #1, Tecsun PL330. This is a USB-chargeable AM/FM/SW (with SSB) radio that has a replaceable lithium battery (it's a Nokia standard battery that's still made.) $85 on amazon. Battery will last about 8 hours running constantly, but it's easily charged. #2, Reecom R-1630C. This is a SAME-enabled alerting weather radio with a battery backup that's good for 200 hours. It's $38 on amazon. $65 cheaper with both radios and you get a MUCH better weather radio. You can program the Reecom to ignore nuisance alarms (thunderstorm warnings happen daily in my AO during the summer) but still go off on important ones (tornado, etc.) I own every radio listed here. They're all quality units. The only upside to the SSB 2 is if you wanted one for a go bag it's more portable than two radios, but many other radios include NOAA coverage as a feature so you might not even need that.  
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Like others posted built in solar panel and crank are junk. Get a dedicated folding solar panel and rechargeable batteries. Cheap, easy and effective: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKU3PFE?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_12 Attached File Expensive, complicated but with significantly more capabilities. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZY9GTJV?tag=arfcom00-20 Attached File If you want a dedicated WX alert radio that can be programed for your area then get one specific for that such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00176T9OY?tag=arfcom00-20 Attached File Recommendations come from someone who has a career in local emergency communications (almost 20 years now) and was also involved in amateur radio for years though not so much currently as I deal with comms on a regular basis so tend to shut them off when I clock out now. |
Originally Posted By ar-jedi:
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
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Originally Posted By seek2: I'd suggest going to two radios, personally. And skipping the solar/crank stuff. You can get a USB power bank (or a solar one) that will serve you much better and let you charge phones etc. Originally Posted By seek2: I'd suggest going to two radios, personally. And skipping the solar/crank stuff. You can get a USB power bank (or a solar one) that will serve you much better and let you charge phones etc. This. You want a weather alert radio that sits there 24/7, and have a broadcast receiver to use as needed. #1, Tecsun PL330. This is a USB-chargeable AM/FM/SW (with SSB) radio that has a replaceable lithium battery (it's a Nokia standard battery that's still made.) $85 on amazon. Battery will last about 8 hours running constantly, but it's easily charged. No experience with this, but it's probably as good a choice as anything. #2, Reecom R-1630C. This is a SAME-enabled alerting weather radio with a battery backup that's good for 200 hours. It's $38 on amazon. $65 cheaper with both radios and you get a MUCH better weather radio. You can program the Reecom to ignore nuisance alarms (thunderstorm warnings happen daily in my AO during the summer) but still go off on important ones (tornado, etc.) I own every radio listed here. They're all quality units. The only upside to the SSB 2 is if you wanted one for a go bag it's more portable than two radios, but many other radios include NOAA coverage as a feature so you might not even need that. www.amazon.com/dp/B0921HN6QM www.amazon.com/dp/B003I29YF4 IME the Reecom is the best weather alert radio. Recommend. No experience with that broadcast receiver, but no real experience with anything really current. I do recommend rechargeable batteries instead of the AA's that most think they want, it ends up working out better. Maybe buy a spare battery and a little solar panel for charging if you feel the need. |
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I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
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Thank you all for your suggestions, I will start doing my home work. The radio will be for receiving weather alerts and emergency updates in case of power outage. I wasn't aware there were so many issues with the crank/solar units, thank you for the heads up! Will also investigate solar panels for recharging batteries in case of extended outages. This is part of my meager preps for minor emergencies. |
| Everyone should have a weather alert radio, and the first time it wakes you up at 4am with an amber alert you'll wish you would have bought the Reecom where you can pick only the alerts you want. One other great feature is the substantial battery life on the backup AA batteries. |
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
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Originally Posted By Gamma762: Everyone should have a weather alert radio, and the first time it wakes you up at 4am with an amber alert you'll wish you would have bought the Reecom where you can pick only the alerts you want. One other great feature is the substantial battery life on the backup AA batteries. Don't forget the EOM processing, too. For the uninitiated, NOAA sends an EOM (end of message) signal that turns the radio's volume back down to whatever it was set for (so usually silent) if the radio supports it. Very few radios do but Reecom does, so you don't have to get out of bed to turn the thing off (or come home to the weather radio prattling on.) And yes, the first thing I did with mine was program all the nuisance messages to not alert. I actually forgot one and years later it triggered and scared the hell out of me (dust storm warning for the desert, I live in the mountains) since pretty much the only thing turned on now is warnings for tornadoes and nukes. |
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I have the County Comm GP-7 (re-badged Tecsun PL368). County Comm also sells lots of accessories for it. It offers a ton more functionality in a compact size that is perfect for a bugout situation..... but you will definitely have to learn how to use it. It is not a turn on and use type receiver. $139.95 GP-7 SSB 
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Originally Posted By 8upwitHDs: I have the County Comm GP-7 (re-badged Tecsun PL368). County Comm also sells lots of accessories for it. It offers a ton more functionality in a compact size that is perfect for a bugout situation..... but you will definitely have to learn how to use it. It is not a turn on and use type receiver. $139.95 GP-7 SSB https://countycomm.com/cdn/shop/products/IMG_1534.jpg?v=1737653527 +1. I have a few of those and they are an excellent wide band multi-mode receiver. But like you said it's not just a turn on and figure it out radio. If you aren't familiar with it, you will have to look at the book unless you are used to figuring out different radio systems. |
Originally Posted By ar-jedi:
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
SO MUCH WIN IN ONE POST IT COULD CRASH ARFCOM !!!
| As mentioned, the tecsun handheld and the Reecom WX alert radios are my go-to and served me well. The Reecom has woken me up in middle of night with tornado in area more than once. The Tecsun was a primary information source during the ice storm black out in '21 for 4 days. Cell phones were useless and could barely get a plain text message in or out as the towers were either dark or massively overloaded. Both are bedside and always kept with fresh batteries. |
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The GP-7 was a neat radio for it's time, but it isn't a great deal for the price, and the fact that you need a second part for AM reception (the T-shaped bar antenna) annoys me to no end. Tecsun has other radios that are $50 cheaper (like the PL330 mentioned) with virtually all the same features without any easy to lose parts and a more intuitive user interface. If one insists on that radio, the PL368 the GP7 is rebranded from is $45 cheaper than the GP-7 is. Like the PL330, the GP-7 doesn't do NOAA weather radio. As an aside, it's interesting that many of the newer gen radios (including the GP-7 updates) from Tecsun seem to have dropped support for AA batteries, which is a negative IMO but time marches on. |
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One comment / question though is who are you planning or expecting to listen to on "shortwave"? It's not uncommon that people want the capability with no understanding of what there actually is on shortwave/HF to listen to these days. There is almost nothing really useful available via shortwave broadcasting anymore. If you want to listen to amateur radio you're going to need a much larger antenna, plus you'll need an SSB-capable receiver. |
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
Seems like a neat little broadcast/shortwave receiver, it's not very cheap though. This Portable Radio Hides a Proper SDR – MLite-880 If you want to tune around and listen for SSB amateur voice traffic, or just in general spinning the dial the spectrum scope display should be pretty helpful. These are insane, tiny, seem to work and are cheap (under $40)  This Latest Multi-Mode Receiver Is Now Even More Awesome! ATS Mini V4 |
This is...a clue - Pat_Rogers
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
I'm not adequately aluminumized for this thread. - gonzo_beyondo
CO, MI, OR - Please lobby your legislators to end discrimination against non-resident CCW permit holders
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Originally Posted By Gamma762: snip These are insane, tiny, seem to work and are cheap (under $40)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWfYFESBa0sYour post made me curious so I bought one, and I'm genuinely amazed at how well this stupid little thing works on the HF bands given it's price point and size. |
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Originally Posted By phlat: I will say skip the ONES WITH BUILD IN wind up and solar options. Theyre gimmicks at best, gears strip out and the solar panels are useless. I've been using solar to do that the last 25 or so years but I'm interested in learning how you're providing power for these tiny 1 to 3 watt loads? Small solar panels are ideal for charging tiny batteries. |
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Originally Posted By Cacinok: @seek2 Did you upgrade the firmware or just go with what came with it? @Cacinok Just the stock firmware. It's showing that as v2.33 Sep 22 2025. It's a little goofy how everything is divided up into bands (I'm used to HF radios where you select the MHz/KHz and dial it in) but otherwise seemed completely usable to me. Far better receive quality than the uSDX type radios. I'm really stunned by how good the audio quality is from such a small speaker as well. |
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Originally Posted By seek2: @Cacinok Just the stock firmware. It's showing that as v2.33 Sep 22 2025. It's a little goofy how everything is divided up into bands (I'm used to HF radios where you select the MHz/KHz and dial it in) but otherwise seemed completely usable to me. Far better receive quality than the uSDX type radios. I'm really stunned by how good the audio quality is from such a small speaker as well. Thanks for the info. Looks like a good product for the price. |
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Originally Posted By Cacinok: Thanks for the info. Looks like a good product for the price. It is, but I don't want to over-sell it, the Tecsun PL-330 is probably a better choice and easier to use, but it's also about $20 more. I don't think you can get into a SSB-capable radio cheaper than the ATS Mini, though, and it's about as portable as they get if size and weight are a factor -- it really is surprising how much capability they stuffed into such a small package. |
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Originally Posted By seek2: It is, but I don't want to over-sell it, the Tecsun PL-330 is probably a better choice and easier to use, but it's also about $20 more. I don't think you can get into a SSB-capable radio cheaper than the ATS Mini, though, and it's about as portable as they get if size and weight are a factor -- it really is surprising how much capability they stuffed into such a small package. No worries. In the end, I'll probably buy both. Put one in the car and one in the home office. |