Rating: 
Summary: Great power source, bad tuner
Review: I would give this five stars for its hand-crank charging, which lasts for about an hour of ordinary radio listening. The charging mechanism is easy, not tiring, and, unlike other products in this category, not flimsy.
I give it only three stars because the radio tuner is of low quality; in downtown NYC the FM dial only gets a few stations clearly and without interference.
Rating: 
Summary: Is your radio ready for "The Quickening"??
Review: I'm a big fan of AM radio, and especially Art Bell's late night "High Strangeness" talk show Coast to Coast. I've always wanted a hand-crank powered radio that will work no matter what is happening outside. The recent East Coast black out made that even more urgent. The Sangean Freeplay radio was my first choice, but when I saw this little Grundig for 1/3 the price, I was extremely curious! After reading several positive reviews, I saw that Amazon has the best price. It only just arrived today, but so far my impression is "WOW! COOL!". It was already working, right out of the box on it's own power-that'S a RARE thing nowdays.I like the retro styling of this little thing too! As a kid growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, my parents always had a radio playing on the kitchen counter. They had the same analog dials and tuning as this little Grundig, and they ran for decades without a hitch. AM reception is superb! Better than on my Onkyo stereo receiver. The little built-in light is quite handy for map reading, or short "Where's my keys!" uses. The people at grundig must've grown up like I did because the retro styling of this unit is highly fucntional, but also attractive. The setting for the internal power crank is called "Dynamo". How retro-cool is that? Most of all, I have the feeling that if the lights go out, and Art Bell's "Quickening" comes to pass, this little world band radio will be worth its weight in gold.
But even if it doesn't, this little guy has a permanent place on my kitchen counter.
Rating:
Summary: Is your radio ready for "The Quickening"??
Review: I'm a big fan of AM radio, and especially Art Bell's late night "High Strangeness" talk show Coast to Coast. I've always wanted a hand-crank powered radio that will work no matter what is happening outside. The recent East Coast black out made that even more urgent. The Sangean Freeplay radio was my first choice, but when I saw this little Grundig for 1/3 the price, I was extremely curious! After reading several positive reviews, I saw that Amazon has the best price. It only just arrived today, but so far my impression is "WOW! COOL!". It was already working, right out of the box on it's own power-that'S a RARE thing nowdays. I like the retro styling of this little thing too! As a kid growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, my parents always had a radio playing on the kitchen counter. They had the same analog dials and tuning as this little Grundig, and they ran for decades without a hitch. AM reception is superb! Better than on my Onkyo stereo receiver. The little built-in light is quite handy for map reading, or short "Where's my keys!" uses. The people at grundig must've grown up like I did because the retro styling of this unit is highly fucntional, but also attractive. The setting for the internal power crank is called "Dynamo". How retro-cool is that? Most of all, I have the feeling that if the lights go out, and Art Bell's "Quickening" comes to pass, this little world band radio will be worth its weight in gold.
But even if it doesn't, this little guy has a permanent place on my kitchen counter.
Rating: 
Summary: An inexpensive shortwave radio and a cool toy
Review: I'm sure winding the thing up will get tiresome sooner or later, but for now I just think it's really fun! I love the idea that you don't need batteries. I have to be frank though. This product is not without it's flaws. first off, there is no weather band on this radio- not a feature you want in a "DISASTER" radio. Yeah, the apocalypse is upon us and all I can get is KISS 104, Rush Limbaugh, and a couple of stations broadcasting ethnic dance music. This is a fairly BULKY product for a radio, although I know that the winding dynamo feature is was gives it it's heft. It's definately portable, but probably too bulky for backpacking. Better to just make sure you have fresh batteries and a smaller radio. The flashlight is a waste- if this feature will actually be of use to you in a disaster, then you are probably already screwed. It's great that they included an ac jack, but it doesn't come with an adapter (my guess is that virtually nobody will go out and buy one) and what's the point of plugging it in if it's a winding radio? The same can be said for the extra space they have for batteries- it seems rather pointless. The sound is fair- I have radios with smaller speakers that sound better. I have found the reception to be pretty good and I like the tuning mechanism, a dual knob that allows for fine tuning or surfing. All that being said, I'm happy with the product. It's actually a pretty good deal for a shortwave radio, although there are much better shortwave tuners out there. But for forty bucks? Unless you are REALLY into shortwave I would think that this is a great deal. I think I paid sixty or seventy for my other shortwave model, a radio shack DX-351. My final complaint is that my model doesn't tune very well relative to the numbers on the dial- so if I'm looking for 98 FM it really tunes in on what the dial says is 102. It's a bit of a pain, but if you know that to begin with you can still find your stations pretty easily. It might just be a defect in my model, and I don't feel like returning it just because of that. So while I have taken issue with several features or lack thereof, hey, this is a review and I want to give it to you straight up. Bottom line- I LIKE this gizmo and I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: When the bombs fall, this baby will work!
Review: It is in my emergency pack, in case of post-trib rapture!
Rating:
Summary: All Emergencies Great and Small
Review: My goal in buying this product was to put together an emergency package in case of blackout or hurricane. Some reviewers referred to the impending Rapture - my thought was somewhat less apocalyptic: the electricity has gone out twice in the last year in my condo building and it is alternately scary and boring to sit in the dark without cable, internet or other diversions. This Grundig model is a pure pleasure when you see the sturdy and elegant construction, the leatherette handle across the top for easy carrying, the nice fabric carrying case with outside pocket to store the booklet, batteries, etc.... and when you factor in the reasonable price this is a bargain that could warm your heart while it lights your living room. According to the booklet, the flashlight part is intended to enable you to find your lantern, candles or other supplies. It is bright enough to illuminate a good large portion of the room, or to read by, although it does eat up the power source as someone else noted. The radio is enhanced by a nice long antenna and a fine-tuning knob set into the larger tuning knob. This enables you to fine-tune the stations on the AM, FM or SW bands. The reception is superb: it actually pulls in several more FM stations than my audio system can! The AM band sounds good with little static, thanks to the fine-tuning. The two shortwave bands are new to me; it has been fun tuning across the bands picking up distant stations especially the BBC. For those of you used to digital tuning, you may find it primitive to have to turn the tuning knob, but it gives a nice physical sense of "sweeping" across the band.
The real knockout for me is the crank that enables you to renew your power source if your 3 AA batteries run out: ninety seconds of cranking at two turns per second will keep you powered up for about an hour, then you can repeat the process. It is impossible to overcrank, according to Grundig customer service, and even a baby boomer like me can summon up enough vim to keep me listening 'til the lights come back on. Plus you don't have to store it with batteries in it, which as we know always turn out to be drained by the time the emergency occurs.
I recommend this radio/flashlight very highly. It is well-designed, practical and fun. You will not be sorry to have this little gem around even if you don't experience a blackout.
Rating:
Summary: A Nifty Little Radio and Quite a Conversation Piece
Review: My need was simple- I like to go to bed to the news on the radio every night. Sounds odd I know, but since I was younger something about hearing the news or talk radio as I try to drift off into slumber always was good for me.
To go to bed to say the BBC or Radio Netherlands is even better. There has always been one problem, though- my trusty old Sangean shortwave does not have a sleep timer, and most of the high-end digitals are awfully expensive. So, this radio made complete sense to me. I simply work the crank for a minute or so before bed, tune to the right station and slowly drift off into slumber. The reception is quite good and I like the fine-tuning option. I may not get some of the more hard-to-find stations, but for a basic shortwave radio that picks up all the big broadcasts (BBC, Radio Netherlands, Radio Habana, Radio Taipei, Radio Sweden, etc), this works wonderfully.
It's an interesting looking radio too! WIth its rugged, grey, army-esque design that has cool looking knobs, nice litle crank and a big, telescopic antenna, I feel like I should be taking it up the river with me in 'Nam and checking the trees for "Charlie." When people come over and see the radio, they always inquire as to exactly what it is. No matter how far-fetched the story is that I tell them, they buy it! That's a testament to how interesting this little machine is!
The radio comes in a great carrying case and the literature provided by Grundig is actually quite helpful.
So whether you are looking for a nice little portable shortwave, or something that is healthier than sleeping pills to help you sleep, the Grundig FR 200 is a solid investment.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed with performance
Review: No, the FR200 is not an expensive radio, but I expected more from any product Grundig was willing to put its brand name on. I bought this radio to have with me when I was working in the yard, fishing, etc. The problem is that it drifts off frequency so badly and in such a short period of time that I have to keep it nearby to keep adjusting it. I guess there is a lot of truth to the adage that you get what you pay for.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid this cheesy, flimsy dog
Review: On a catalog page the price might seem right, but this is NOT a radio or flashlight you would want to count on in an emergency. Sensitivity is low, but not low enough to make up for the poor selectivity and fiddly, imprecise tuning. This thing is incredibly poorly made, with loose wiggly knobs, switches that are hard to operate, and a magneto crank that feels like it's about to break right off. A bad deal at half the price. Far better AM/FM/weather channel sets are available for the same price or less. If you absolutely must have shortwave, don't throw good money away on this overpriced toy; for just a bit more you'll find outstanding choices like the Sony ICF SW35. If low price is critical, get the cheapest AM/FM pocket radio you can find, pick up a cheap flashlight, and every few months treat yourself to a couple of new batteries.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed Shortwave & FM but overall a very useful product
Review: On newsgroups and message boards, this handy and compact little radio is being touted as a good choice for beginning shortwave listeners: but I would disagree. As usual for the current line of low-end Grundig products, the "single conversion" intermediate frequency design has resulted in serious image problems: in other words, you pick up a single strong station at two, or sometimes three, places on the dial: in the correct location at the intended frequency, plus one or two spurious images above and below it. In the crowded shortwave bands, this makes listening extremely difficult, as the images cause wobbling whistles and lots of interference (and make it hard to even know WHERE the radio is tuned.) In addition, the planetary tuning mechanism has really dreadful backlash: to tune in a shortwave station, you have to go past it, then back up and tune around until you *finally* get it centered. Then, the radio drifts and a few minutes later you are forced to do it all over again: maddening.
AM (called mediumwave in Europe and much of the world) is more satisfying as the stations are not crowded together as much as shortwave, and the band is shorter so there is more spread from one end to the other: the tuning isn't nearly as critical. Selectivity is pretty good, and sensitivity is excellent. I have not noticed image problems that are as troublesome as in the SW bands.
FM reception was disappointing; selectivity seems poor, and sensitivity rather low. Stations "mush" together -- if they can be picked up at all. Expect only the strongest signals in your reception area.
The generator system works very well though a trio of new AA cells gives more output and slightly better sensitivity.
I tried six units and found that performance varied slightly. One brand new radio had a weak set of batteries that would not charge correctly; another had extremely tinny sound that lacked fullness (surprising to me but probably due to a poor speaker or bad audio capacitor.) A couple of the sets weren't as sensitive as others. So quality control apparently varies somewhat.
The unit I purchased is very satisfactory as a simple emergency and/or AM broadcast receiver, though not much useful for FM or shortwave. But it sounds a bit better than pocket sets, and definitely outperforms most of them in terms of AM sensitivity. (I am a retired broadcast station chief engineer in the SF bay area, with fifty years experience as a shortwave listener.)
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