There are now radios with special weather channels that can warn you of natural disasters, extreme weather and other hazards much before they happen. These forecasts and warnings can be life savers and it is always good to be well informed especially if you are outdoors on a trip. The manufacturers of these radios have gone a step further and provided self-generating power recharge to make these models more dependable in an emergency. These models came to be known as emergency crank radios as they had a cranking mechanism to generate the required power to recharge the batteries inside. There is a small handle which has to be vigorously turned which generates the power like a dynamo, and gets stored in the battery.

Eton Corporation is one of the famous companies who are well-known for their models of emergency crank radios. Among their models the FR300 is quite popular and is also certified by the NOAA to be a All-Hazards Weather Radio. The radio is able to receive the broadcasts from all the available weather bands. It also includes a function by which the radio automatically turns itself on whenever an important alert is broadcast. Apart from the weather bands the radio also receives the regular AM and FM frequencies. The cranking handle is conveniently placed on the side of the radio which makes it very easy to turn without anything getting in its way. This manual dynamo will power NI-MH batteries inside the radio. The cranking mechanism is very efficient and several tests have shown that only half a minute of cranking can make the radio work for a little more than half an hour.

The Ni-MH batteries can also be recharged by a power adapter, and the radio can also run on three regular sized AA batteries. A fresh set of AA batteries is known to last for 24 hours without affecting the quality of sound even if you play the radio throughout that time. The Eton FR300 emergency crank radio is also fitted with a light source of two LED that are quite bright. This comes in very handy if you need to see your way in the dark or just need to have a light surrounding you in the outdoors. Apart from the flashlight the radio is also equipped by a red LED light which flashes like a beacon.

FR300 emergency crank radio has a sturdy build and can withstand rough use. As its name suggests it is the ideal device to have in any emergency situation, as it is extremely dependable and will work when you need it the most. The radio is also fitted with a siren, which you can use in an emergency, when you want to make your location known to a rescue party. Apart from all this the radio also has a cell phone charger with a free adapter included for your particular model of cell phone. The best part is that all these built-in devices can be charged by the cranking mechanism and do not have to depend on batteries for them to work.