![[Upgraded Version] RunningSnail Emergency Hand Crank Self Powered AM/FM NOAA Solar Weather Radio with LED Flashlight, 1000mAh Power Bank for iPhone/Smart Phone](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41UzlNS6n0L.jpg)
I'm quite pleased with this little unit. It may not be perfect, but it's only twenty bucks, so it gets five stars. Amazon says it has a 1000 mAh power bank, but the included manual says it's 1200 mAh. I would estimate it's between 1000 and 1100 mAh.
Overall impressions:
The flashlight is not real bright, but good enough for most general tasks in the dark. There are no brightness or flash modes, just simply on or off.
The radio works well enough - the volume goes up very rapidly with the volume control - at 10% of the way, it's already quite loud. I haven't tried it all the way up. The tuning is quite sensitive (tuning changes quickly with slow turning of the dial), but not too sensitive to be able to tune to stations when you're careful. Sound quality is thin and bright, but who cares - this isn't for music listening. There is no headphone jack. The antenna works fine for FM and Wideband, it's kind of short, but helps with reception.
The charging crank turns fine, but it takes work to do so. One minute of cranking makes my hands tired and a bit sore. Five minutes of cranking is alot of work! Part of the problem is that it is hard to find a good place to hold the unit while cranking without having to grip it harder than you should have to. Also, the knob that you hold on the crank is somewhat small. But for a minute at a time it's all fine.
You can charge the unit via USB with the included cable, which is definitely the easy way to accomplish that. You can also charge external devices from the internal battery. I don't know the output current that it provides, but it charges my iPhone 5. More details below.
I made a few tests for your info:
With the unit completely drained, I cranked 130 revolutions (about 1 minute) and then turned on the flashlight. The first 20 minutes shone normally, then started to get dimmer and dimmer. But it kept shining. And shining. And shining. Finally, after over 9 hours of constant dim light I turned on the radio at the same time and very shortly everything went out. Who knows how much longer it would have shone on. Bear in mind almost all of those 9 hours were very dim light, but in total darkness, still very useful to not trip on things when pointed at your feet and do normal tasks when pointed at what you're doing. Good for emergencies.
Then with the unit completely drained again, I cranked 130 turns and then turned on the radio. With moderate volume, it played for 12 minutes before dying.
How about charging phones? I have a rather old iPhone 5. With the flashlight completely drained, I cranked 1300 turns (10 minutes) - no small feat! Then I plugged in my phone to charge from the unit. It added about 2% to my phone battery before it stopped charging. I then placed a phone call (all with no cellular data, wifi, or location services on, and in low battery mode). My call lasted for 5-6 minutes until those 2% had been used. Bear in mind that my phone battery is not what it used to be so your mileage my vary.
I also tested the capacity by charging the unit fully via USB. I'm not sure how long that took, but for sure less than 6 hours. Then I charged my iPhone 5 (again with the battery saving settings in place). It raised my phone battery level by 75% before it stopped charging. That took just over an hour.
Another thing I tested: with the unit fully discharged, I connected my phone and started cranking. While cranking it was providing charge to my phone.
I haven't specifically tested the solar charging, but I did set it in the sun and it looked to be charging. Actually, even under bright indoor lights it shows as charging.
Update:
So within 24 hours a representative from Running Snail was in contact with me, and within seven days I had a replacement one delivered to my house free of charge. This flashlight was in full working condition. I'll put it in the closet and test it in another six months. I can't vouch for the quality of their product as of yet, but they do have outstanding customer service.
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I bought this as part of my hurricane preparedness kit. Out of the box it worked just fine; cranked it up and the battery worked, as did the flash light. Six months later I take it out of the closet again and I crank it up and it doesn't hold a charge. If I turn the light or radio on while cranking it'll flicker for a moment or two, but after that it goes completely dead. I tried winding it strait for five minutes and nothing.
Thankfully I re-tested this before ever having an emergency. Relying on a poor product like this in an emergency situation could be disastrous, or even life threatening.
Bought this to add to emergency kit and tested it out when I received. Very, very pleased with this compact little unit! Seriously everyone should have one in their car- if your car battery dies and you can't charge your cell on it, this will give you plenty of charge to call for help. I plan to bring when camping, too. Only 5" long, great item to add to survival backpack, keep in car, and at home for emergencies. Simple and inuitive to use which is good in an emergency situation. After prepping the battery with 3-5 min of cranking I tested the light, radio, and USB charger. After testing all those things I was still able to charge my iphone from 75% to 92% on that initial crank and it didn't take abnormally long. The flashlight works fine and the radio works great on WB for NOAA station and on FM. For some reason AM reception is a little scratchy static-y, though pointing antenna in to find best signal helps. Also the dial tuning makes it easy to find a signal, plus there is a signal light that comes on when you find the best signal. Awesome! The unit is a bit hard to hold when cranking as you can't wrap your fingers around the unit when cranking or crank will hit fingers. Best way seems to be to hold upright on the edge of a surface (table, knee, etc) and secure with one hand pressing down and cranking with the other.
Due to coupon promo on this unit, I also purchased the MD-093 unit in red from Runningsnail which is larger and heavier, with a bigger battery, clock with screen display(also displays radio station), and metal clip to hang from a belt. This unit was more complicated and didn't seem to work, had to read directions several times and finally figured out you need to switch the small switch on bottom from AAA to LI-ION. Not good in an emergency, especially if someone needs reading glasses and doesn't have them with them in emergency situation. I prefer the 088 because it is smaller, easier and more intuitive to use, and seems to receive AM signal better than the 093. Also the 093 has button tuning instead of a dial which makes it much harder to find a signal as you need to stop at every station to see if there is signal, whereas with dial you can listen for signal while turning dial. Plus there is no tuning light on the MD-093. The 093 includes a micro USB cable and iphone adapter which fits my 5SE, which is nice but does not outweigh the the negatives. I was afraid the smaller 088 unit wouldn't charge well enough but it will be adequate. I ordered both to decide which I like best before ordering more, and while I am not returning the 093, I will be buying more of the 088's.
It just arrived, and we've checked it out.
It had some kind of charge in it already, as we were able to light the flashlight, which is very bright and should be good for most situations.
We did some cranking for a few minutes to test the radio. Worked great. Got to the weather band easily and picked up a broadcast for our area. Very assuring! Also picked up FM and AM. Handy indicator light lets you know when you are getting to a good signal.
We have now given it a full charge by connecting it up to our laptop. Took a couple of hours.
Instructions are clear and contain some diagrams.
Not sure about charging cell phone. Will have to check that out further. Instructions note that cell phone charging should be reserved for emergencies only and not for general charging.
Lots of features in a compact package. Impressive.
SO FAR SO GOOD!
***UPDATE***
After a fews weeks the seller reached out to me and apologized for the defective unit. They offered to replace at no cost. I received the new unit and so far it is working properly. I wanted to update my review to show they were proactive in replacing my original order although o already received a refund from Amazon and with great customer service. Thanks Running Snail for your service.
***Original Review***
The product worked great when I first got it except for the NOAA stations. Unfortunately days later when I was actually in the midst of Hurricane Florence, I couldn’t pick up a single thing. It didn’t even try to get a signal. The battery life was fine and flash light worked. Even after the storm I still couldn’t receive a station signal. I guess I just got a defective unit.
Feature Product
- New Design: 1000 mAh power bank for charging your iPhone & cellphone via Micro-USB cable directly, no need of adapter anymore;
- A Must For Emergency: Keep this AM/FM & NOAA weather radio with your family, get up to date with the latest weather and all hazard information for your area;
- More Than A Radio: Compact sized flashlight radio with 1W longer lasting powerful LED can be with you in camping, backpacking, hiking or any other outdoor activities;
- 3 Rechargeable Ways: Micro USB charging, Solar charging, Manual hand crank to wind up the internal battery;
- What You Get: RunningSnail emergency radio, Micro USB cable, instruction, appreciation card, our worry-free 12-month warranty and friendly customer service.
Description
MD-088s Crank radio receives AM/FM/7 NOAA Weather channel to get up to date with the latest weather when tornado, flood, storm is around the corner;
1000 mAh power bank for charging your phone in case of the emergency, bright long lasting 1W LED flashlight to keep you safe in case power outage.
Forget Adapter
1000mAh power bank charge your cellphone or any other USB devices directly via Micro USB cable, no need AC/DC adapter anymore
Keep Your Family Safe
NOAA WB band provides up-to-date weather information to ensure your safety and keep you powered and connected in serve weather,
AM/FM channel access for entertainment and more.
Not Just Use at Home
Pocket size perfect for camping, hiking, walking, backpack, pool trips, picnics, gardening, holidays, bright long lasting
1 Watt flashlight to light your way in the dark or any emergency situations.
More Power to You
- Hand cranking: 1 Minute of cranking supports over 20 minutes of light or 5 -10 minutes of radio listening;
- Solar charging: Place the radio with solar panel under the sunlight;
- Micro USB input: Charge Cell Phone and USB devices directly.
Package Contents
-1xMD-088s Hand Crank Radio
-1xMicro USB Charging Cable;
-1xUser Manual;
Seller Warranty
- 45-Day Money Back Guarantee;
- 12-Month Replacement Warranty;
I bought this radio during the hurricane season a month ago. I recommended it to everyone and then it went out of stock. I am so glad that it's back now! I compared it in a totally dark room to another similar radio with a brand new internal battery and the Running Snail's light was much stronger. I used my old one during Hurricane Sandy, placed it on top of my dresser and it lit up the whole room! This one is even better...I hope we have no hurricane or blackout but good to know this will do the job. The sound of the radio is also great and I love being able to hear the weather. I sent a private message to Running Snail to ask when the radio will be back on Amazon and received a fast and very friendly reply that it's back! I plan to order more as gifts (already did and they love it). I LOVE this radio and the price is great. To be in an emergency situation without a radio or light is terrible, you feel lost and uninformed and even if you have a little pocket radio, you may run out of batteries. A windup radio is a must! I am crazy about this radio/light. Best thing you can buy for yourself and as a gift for someone! THANK YOU Running Snail, you're the best!
bought this after the wild fire in CA, added this to my emergency supply bag. I was testing this unit and left the flash light on over night, it lasted all night. Tested the radio and it lasted over 6 hours. My wife was annoyed with the radio so she turned it off without telling me. I tried the cranking, it works just like it said on the instruction manual. All works great, but i can't find the batter indicator. I have no idea when the battery is fully charged or not.
After recently having a fluke snow storm in an area that doesn't get snow but maybe a little flurry once every few years, that downed thousands of trees and power lines and left some folks with no power for almost six days ( I was one of the lucky ones who only went 1 day without), it was a difficult reminder to be prepared. I fortunately had a full tank of gas in my snowbound car lol and that's where I had to warm up and charge my phone. I have had a crank radio and flashlight in the past and had been wondering if there was such a thing as a crank phone charger, as I was skeptical as to how well a solar charger would work on dark stormy days with minimal sunlight. Then low and behold this nifty gizmo popped up and it is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I imagined it to be this big bulky thing but as you can see from the photo I included it's next to my computer mouse. People have to remember this is a manual crank device and the instruction booklet says 3-5 minutes of cranking will fully charge the device. That does make your arm tired pretty quickly but this is ok as far as I'm concerned because it is better than NO flashlight radio, and charger.
As for how it works:
Radio: I opened cranked the handle a few times and tried the radio...It works!
Flashlight: I cranked the handle maybe for 15 seconds and turned the flashlight on....It works! '
It's a very bright LED light and I just left it on facing the wall while we watched tv. It never dimmed at all and after about 2.5 hours I went to bed and had to turn it off. SO it stayed on all that time with just that little bit of cranking.
Phone Charger: I cranked the handle 20 times (I counted Lol) and plugged my phone in....It works! At 73%
My phone made the tell tale beep of when you plug a charger cord into it and after about 10 minutes my phone had charged up about 6%. At 73% it says roughly 59 min until fully charged. I imagine if I cranked the unit until it was fully charged, it will charge the phone more. SO, it is slower than a wall charger, but THAT IS OK to me. It has just proved itself that is works in all aspects and I am satisfied that I have a new tool to help myself survive and emergency.
OH and there is also a solar panel on the top of the unit that also charges the battery in the unit. This little thing seems totally worth the very affordable price.
So, I started winding the radio before checking to see if it already had a charge. The winding is relatively easy. According to the manual, one minute of winding will give you three to five minutes of radio time and five to seven minutes of flashlight time. If I understand the manual correctly, seven hours of winding will fully charge the battery. I,m not certain I understand the functionality of the solar panel. Apparently it has limited capabilities and can supply only a partial charge.
I live in the city, so it was easy to pick up multiple radio stations in both FM and AM. I didn't even need extend the antenna.
The radio comes with a charging cord and a USB adapter.
It sounds like a small radio, nothing spectacular.
I'm placing together emergency boxes, one for me and one for my daughter, so I've purchased two of these radios. I'm satisfied with my purchase.
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