Rating: 
Summary: Price/performance winner!
Review: I am in emergency communications, live in Florida, and I know price/performance when I see it. Right after giving this radio a shake-down cruise that would be expected of any good transistor radio -- I did one thing -- I bought more of them for my ham radio friends.
The light is an LED, so worries about it burning out are out the window. No one knows the lifespan of an LED, because they have only been in general use since the 1970s!
Whoever designed this really thought it out. I would tend to write off the one-star reviews and hesitate not. Especially for the price -- this emergency radio has no equal for the price as of November, 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I bought it!
Review: After being without power for 25 hours in the big blackout of 2003, I decided to get some necessary items and this was at the top of the list. I had never heard of such a radio but after reading the reviews (here and elsewhere), saw that Amazon had the best price, plus free shipping, and ordered it. I cranked the handle for about 90 seconds, and the radio was up and running! I noticed that the flashlight part didn't want to light up while the radio was on but that's very minor. I left the radio on for about 30 min., turned it off and the next day, out of curiousity, turned it on again and the radio played! Now I'm telling all my friends about it. Like other reviewers said, I wouldn't waste it for every day, and for shortwave it's not great, but it's a comfort to know that if no batteries could be bought for love or money, I'll still have a radio to find out what's going on.
Rating: 
Summary: It's OK for a battery radio
Review: FOr the price and convience of having a portable emergency battery radio, its OK.The AM/FM tuner is OK. It's not great. It's not very precise and you need to fiddle with the tuner to get your station locked in. The shortwave is hit or miss. The light works. The hand-crank broke after 3 times using it. It seems it was glued. It was easily fixed using plastic crazy-glue, but somewhat disappointing. I really wanted a FreePlay radio, but I couldn't justify the price. This radio is OK if you have a fresh supply of AA batteries and some crazy glue :) Peace
Rating:
Summary: Buy it for emergencies, use it everyday
Review: From reading the other reviews, I see most people love this radio, but some dog it. They're both right. Your level of satisfaction with this radio will have more to do with your buying motivations than the product. Grundig has a well established reputation for making fine products. If you are a shortwave enthusiast who is looking for a good shortwave radio, sadly I must admit that you need to keep looking. The tuner is iffy (by your standards) and it does not have the 'Grundig Feel' of their more expensive products. But notice Grudig calls it an 'Emergency Radio,' not a shortwave radio. If you want something for peace of mind -that you will never be caught without a radio because of dead batteries- then this is a great product. I live in a hurricane zone and every time there is a storm approaching, all my friends wait in long lines to buy batteries. I know I'm ready 24/7. As an added bonus I'll always have a flashlight with me. (which is more handy than I would have guessed) (Here is the kicker-) If you want an emergency radio AND you like to listen to the BBC or Radio Canada every once in a while, then this is definitely the product for you. I've had mine for a year and a half and I use it at least 3 times per week. The best way to describe the tuner is "credible." It can pick up all the big name stations, even in doors, but it is not stunning. The tonal quality is acceptable but I'm usually listening to the spoken word and not music. (I have an iPod for that ;-) I bought it because I wanted a cheap shortwave. The fact it had a crank and a flashlight was gravy at first, but it is more and more important as I use it. Some notes about the battery: You'll never turn the hand crank enough to fully charge the internal battery. I have a fancy NiCad charger so I charged the battery fully and it lasted 6 weeks of near daily use during Gulf War II. (I'd guess 120+ hours, I was amazed) Problem is, your arm would fall off before you got there. Even if you don't give it a full charge, I find the cranking to listening ratio pretty good. But do what I do- I run it on NIMH AA's and it lasts for weeks. I never pay for batteries but I never have to crank it either. (unless the batteries die) And a final thought on durability which some people discuss. I've dropped mine several times even once from about 6 feet up while I was painting. I have one scratch on it but other than that, it really does look much like the day I bought it. The case is still tight and the controls firm. I give it to my 6 year old nephew and he cranks for hours with no ill effect. I'd say durability is quite good. I hope this review helps you get a feel for the radio. If your needs come even close to matching what this radio was designed to do, then I feel confident it will exceed your expectations in the long run.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for daily use...cheaply made
Review: Got this radio for Christmas. I was intially impressed with its reception both am and pretty good for shortwave. However, this is not a radio that you would want use long term. I used it daily for 3 months when my other portable radio (10 years old) died. It was the evident the radio was cheaply made. The volume knob came loose over a month ago--you have to shove it back on. The radio fell over from my dresser about 3 feet on to carpet and the station finder stuck in a slanted position. Additionally, there maybe some problems with the eletronics the volume seems to have a mind of its own it goes up and down randomly. Also if you use batteries in it the flashlight feature can easily come on during transport...so there go your batteries. That said: it worked for the first couple of months and maybe it can serve as a back up radio, but it would be cheaper to have good 20$ radio with some batteries handy.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT LITTLE MACHINE
Review: great radio at a good price bought two.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Radio In A Small Package
Review: Here's a little tip on how you can "recharge" the Ni-MH/Ni-Cd batteries without having to turn the handcrank. If you have a cordless phone, check to see if the plastic connector on it's Ni-MH/Ni-Cd battery matches the battery in your Grundig FR 200. If it does, plug it in and let it charge overnight, it will fully recharge the battery and last for weeks.
The Grundig FR 200 is a powerful little radio, I judge radios by their ability to pickup out of town stations on the AM Band. And this radio passes the test with flying colors.
Rating:
Summary: Good little radio - nice little generator, too.
Review: Hurricane season here in South Florida was a tad awesome this year - and with that reality check, my hurricane grab-bag has included as many multi-power source units as possible. This little radio made the list with it's built-in generator.
When I recieved it, I tried out the generator immediately. Following instructions, I cranked for 3 minutes - no problem there, the equipment isn't pissed-off-gorilla proof, but it isn't fragile, either. After my crank time, I flipped the switch, and the radio worked immediately. THEN I pulled out he antenna. Great reception.
What more could I ask for? Radio works, generator works, it also takes batteries. It has a hole for an AC adaptor - however, mine did not come with one... but while I have this generator, who cares? Radio works a long time for 3 minutes of cranking.
Rating:
Summary: Very low quality product from Grundig..
Review: I agree COMPLETELY with Ted Carnevale! I bought this expecting a quality product and was surprised to see that it is made in China and you soon find out how low quality the thing is... The crank option seems ok at first, but the claim that it will run for an hour or so on a minute or two of cranking is bogus. I know a bit about batteries and have substituted a battery and the crank/dynamo is still not sufficient to make and then hold a charge in the battery. Unfortunately Freeplay has moved away from their extremely reliable clockwork method to this sub-standard crank/dynamo nonsense so I have no alternate suggestions. I am guessing that most buyers have not used the crank option much?
Rating:
Summary: Just What I Needed
Review: I bought the Grundig FR-200 because severe weather in my area sometimes causes power outages. The last time that happened, my only portable radio had dead batteries. The FR-200 will run on 3 "AA" batteries, but also has a built-in hand-cranked generator, and has a built-in flashlight as well. I didn't expect such an inexpensive radio to perform as well as the FR 200 does. Reception on all bands, including shortwave, seems to be as good as my YB 300 PE, which was twice the price. If anything, the FR 200 might be a bit better on certain stations, and the analog tuner makes it easier to scan the dial than with digitally-tuned radios. Battery life from 3 alkaline AAs has been very good, so I haven't bothered with buying an AC adapter. The instructions say that ninety seconds worth of cranking the generator will power the radio for about an hour, depending on volume, and my results have actually been a bit better than that. The Grundig FR-200 is fun for everyday use, is a great choice for staying connected to the outside world when the lights go out, and it doesn't cost much. I like it.
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