Eton

International Design Excellence Awards... Etón FR500 and FR1000 won a design award for Communication Tools in this year's 2008 competition.

One of the first things you notice about Eton's ARC Solarlink FR-500 is it's innovative appearance...isn't it a beautiful design? But the beauty of this emergency radio is more than skin deep and is loaded with revolutionary features that make it one of my favorites...

• The FR-500 will definitely keep you in communication with the outside world because it plays AM (520-1710 KHz), FM (88-108 MHz), SW (5.8 - 12.2 MHz) and all 7 NOAA Weather Channels.
• You'll appreciate the large, clear, easy-to-read digital display.
• The FR-500 is easy to use because the functions of buttons and knobs are obvious and clearly explained in the owner's manual.
  Click here to read the FR-500 Owner's Manual...
• Your FR-500 will proactively inform you about weather alerts while your listening to another radio bandwidth and even if the radio is turned off because there's an innovative Weather Alert Feature!
   

  Charging Knob (at top of picture).

• One of the most important features of any emergency radio is that you are able to use it under any conditions without depending on batteries or the power grid. The FR-500 has always got you covered because it can be powered five ways...

• If the power grid is available you can charge the long-lasting Ni-MH batteries using a conventional 5v AC/DC Adapter (available separately below). This is the fastest way to fully charge the batteries. A fully charged battery will give you about six hours of play time at low volume.

• Up to your ears in AC/DC adapters? If you have a computer with a USB port you can fully charge the batteries using a USB cable with a mini-USB connector. It plugs right into the back of the radio. And if all your USB connections are taken you don't have to bother switching cables if you can use my FreePlay Universal Mini-USB Charger to charge all your USB powered devices.
• No power available for a charger or a computer? Now you have three options...
   
  • You can use the Crank Dynamo by setting the charging knob to Dynamo. As is the case with any emergency radio, cranking is for emergency situations or when you are simply away from the power grid. For example, cranking 120 times per minute will give you about 4 minutes of radio play time depending on the volume. Fully charging the radio using the crank is not practical since you would have to crank at a rate of 120 cranks per minute for three hours! But the crank dynamo is efficient and keeps you in communication with the outside world when you need it most.
  • Your FR-500 will run on 3 AA batteries (not included). Set the Charging Knob to Battery.

• Is the sun out? Then powering and charging the radio is effortless because there's a solar cell across the top of the radio. Set the Charging Knob to Solar and the solar cell provides sufficient power to both run the radio and charge the battery. Eton claims this will work in overcast conditions, but I found direct sun was required. Once again in most situations you will be partially charging the battery because it would take 12 to 15 hours to fully charge the battery using the solar cell.
• You'll always know how ready your FR-500 radio is for an emergency because there's a power light glows green if the batteries are fully charges, orange if the power level is medium, and red if the radio needs to be charged. There's also a charging light that glows different colors depending upon how the radio is being charged...it's a nice touch.
• You can charge your cell phone...but Eton's approach with the FR-500 is more efficient than other emergency radios because you have the option to just charge the cell phone when the Charging Knob is at the OFF/PHONE CHARGER position. This means fewer cranks, and more importantly less time, are required to get adequate usable time on your cell phone. You can also charge the cell phone when you have the charging know set to Dynamo but it's not as efficient because you're charging both the radio's battery and the cell phone battery.
• Finally...an emergency crank radio with an alarm clock! It's even got a Snooze Button.
• There's a Sleep Feature. Set your FR-500 to automatically turn off after 10, 30, 60 or 90 minutes.
• It's easy to use your FR-500 emergency radio in the dark because there's a LCD Backlight feature. You simply press the Light Button and the backlight stays on for five seconds.

• You'll be able to see because there's a bright, 4-LCD light.
• There's two ways to summon help. There's a Flashing Red LCD Light that can be used with or without the radio. There's also a loud siren that can be used with the radio on or off. But I can't imagine why you ever use it with the radio on...it's loud!
  
• There's a earphone jack for private listening which also conserves power.
• You can play your iPod or other portable device through your FR-500 because there's an AUDIO-IN JACK on the rear of the radio so you can play your iPod or other portable device through FR-500.
• The FR-500 is the perfect size at 7 in. x 2 in. x 8 in. (L x W x H) and weighs just 1 lb. 13 oz. The ergonomic design makes it easy operate.
• You won't find a more thoughtful or more appreciated gift.

You can plainly see the FR-500 has got everything you could possibly want in an emergency radio and more! You already know every household should have an emergency radio. Now congratulate yourself for waiting to find one of the best emergency crank radios available at a reasonable price. And the incredible features make the FR-500 great for camping, RVing, or any activity that takes you off the beaten path. Even if you have access to the power grid, you feel great when you use a totally green product that avoids using disposable batteries and contributes to lowering carbon emissions by not plugging into the power grid? Every little bit helps!

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