Best NOAA Weather Radio with Solar & Hand Crank

There’s an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is especially true when it comes to events that are completely inevitable. And if there’s any word that applies to foul weather, it’s “inevitable.” No matter where you live, there’s some kind of disaster that’s virtually guaranteed to happen. For example, if you live in most parts of Florida, the question isn’t if you’ll get hit by a hurricane, but when. The same goes for tornadoes in Oklahoma, crippling heat waves in Arizona, and blizzards in the upper midwest.

If you want to be prepared, it’s good to have a NOAA weather radio on hand. But by its very nature, you’re liable to be using one of these while the power is out. If you’re desperately listening for up-to-date tornado information, the last thing you need is a dead battery. That’s why a good NOAA radio should have a hand crank for emergencies. It’s also useful to have a solar charger, since you never know how long the power will be out for. We’ve reviewed a handful of radio options in the past, including短波收音机. Today, we’ve decided to try our hand at some weather radios.

We’re about to review three of the best NOAA radios on the market today. We’ll kick things off with the RunningSnail Emergency Radio. This radio uses an 18650 battery, which is both easy to replace and easy to recharge. Next, we’ll look at the FosPower Emergency Portable Radio. This is an exceedingly durable option with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. Finally, we’ll review the Raynic Emergency Radio. The Raynic can run on AC power as well as batteries, so it’s also great for fair-weather use. Which one of these NOAA radios was the best of the bunch? Let’s dig a little deeper, and find out!

Weather Radio vs. Alert Radio

There’s one bit of confusion we should clear up before we continue. NOAA is not a manufacturer. They simply give their seal of approval to radios that meet their specifications. There are actually two different types of NOAA weather radio: weather radios and alert radios. Both of them will receive on all NOAA bands, and will pick up local NOAA warnings. Most will work with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology. SAME is a system that encodes alerts for specific locations.

一些收音机可以使用相同的技术为您创建个人警报。这些通常被称为“警报无线电”，即使关闭了电源，也会发挥任何当地警告。我们今天要查看的选项不是警报收音机。它们旨在监视明显的威胁，或在发生灾难发生后听取救济。重点是重量轻，太阳能充电，手动曲柄和其他灾难恢复类型的功能。如果您想在灾难发生后更好的沟通，火腿广播和必要的电源供应也可以是离合器。

Types of NOAA Alerts

So, what type of information might you expect to receive on a NOAA weather radio? The answer is more than just weather. In fact, NOAA radios receive signals not just from the National Weather Service, but also the Emergency Alert System (EAS). EAS warnings cover a variety of warnings and advisories, not just weather-related events. The EAS also broadcasts AMBER alerts, silver alerts, and alerts about other major disasters. If you live near a nuclear power plant or inside an earthquake zone, you can expect plenty of relevant information.

不用说，您的天气收音机中的任何警报都应认真对待。但是并非所有警报都具有相同的重力。这是不同警报类型的细分：

• An advisory is the least serious type of alert. It’s not meant to warn of life-threatening situations or other serious danger. Instead, an advisory will be issued when there’s “nuisance” weather in the area. Light snow, fog, and other conditions that require caution will fall into this category. If conditions worsen, an advisory may be upgraded to a warning. So a high wind advisory ahead of a line of storms can become a tornado warning, for example.
• A watch is issued when there is a high risk of weather that endangers the public, but details are scarce. For instance, the National Weather Service may know hours in advance that a line of thunderstorms is approaching. This line of storms may have all the characteristics needed to produce tornadoes. However, without more information on local conditions, it’s impossible to say more. For this reason, watches typically cover a broad geographic area and a wide period of time. A severe weather watch doesn’t mean that you need to seek shelter immediately. It does mean that you should remain alert and prepared for whatever may happen.
• 当你收到一个警告,是时候采取活动on. Warnings are issued only when there’s an event that poses a severe danger to the public. A warning is also only issued when the event is imminent. You’ll rarely see a warning more than about two hours ahead of whatever is being predicted. Because they’re more severe and more precise, warnings typically cover a smaller geographic area than watches. If you receive a warning, drop what you’re doing and respond to the danger. Even if skies are clear right now, a warning is no joke.
• 紧急警报会出于本身并不危险但可能造成危险的情况。例如，主要的停电只是对大多数人带来的不便。但是，如果您有CPAP机器，则需要生存的力量。琥珀警报，银警报以及其他公共卫生和安全消息属于此类。
• 陈述是一种特殊的警报类型，在咨询，警告，手表或紧急警报之后发布。通常，当手表或警告不再有效时，它们会被发送出去。

Runningsnail紧急收音机

TheRunningsnail紧急收音机is a compact radio that’s designed to be easily carried. It measures 6.3 inches wide, 3.19 inches tall, and 2.48 inches thick, and weighs less than a pound. As a result, it’s very easy to transport. You can keep it in a duffel bag or with your emergency supplies, and it won’t take up a ton of space. The housing is charcoal grey, but the large front speaker grille is high-visibility yellow. This makes it easy to spot in a cluttered basement or other dimly-lit area.

The battery is a rechargeable 18650, which can also be replaced easily. You can charge the radio in three ways: Micro USB, solar, or via the hand crank. The solar power panel on top is necessarily small, so the solar charge is very slow. In this mode, you’ll basically need to leave the radio out all day. That said, you can always crank it for an extra boost. The whole unit is also protected by an 18-month warranty.

无线电功能

In addition to seven NOAA stations, the RunningSnail radio can also be tuned to ordinary AM and FM stations. Not only that, but it doesn’t just function as an emergency radio. It can also be used as a power bank. Be careful, though. The 4,000mAh battery will only charge a modern smartphone a little more than one full cycle. Unless you want to totally drain the radio battery, you should use this feature sparingly.

The built-in flashlight has three different modes. In addition to full brightness, it can be dimmed and used as a reading light. It can also be used as an emergency signal by pressing the large SOS button. Finally, you can activate the motion sensor and use it as a night light. That way, it will trigger when you get out of bed, but remain off otherwise. Keep in mind that leaving the radio in motion sensor mode will slowly drain the battery.

FosPower Emergency Portable Radio

TheFosPower Emergency Portable Radiois similar in size to the RunningSnail radio, albeit about half an inch shorter. It’s also correspondingly lighter, at 10.9 ounces. That said, it’s exceedingly durable, with a tough black housing and construction orange speaker covers. It’s IPX3 water-resistant, which means it’s splash-proof, if not fully waterproof. Better yet, it’s protected by a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty.

The internal battery pack recharges via Micro USB under normal conditions. Under more extreme conditions, it can also be charged via the crank or the small solar panel. In addition, you can install a set of AAA batteries. Normally, we wouldn’t be too excited about a radio that can run on ordinary batteries. But in an emergency, we’re stoked to have as many options as possible!

无线电功能

Fospower Radio提供了与RunningSnail相同的许多功能。它的手电筒可以非常明亮或简单的昏暗阅读灯。手电筒也可以设置为SOS模式以发出帮助。电池组也可以作为电源库加倍。但是，总收费仅为2,000mAh，是Runningsnail的一半。它也远远少于普通的智能手机电池。换句话说，您可以下达一些紧急文本或寻求帮助，但仅此而已。

就实际的无线电性能而言，您将获得与大多数其他NOAA收音机相同的选项。除了紧急频段外，您还将获得普通的AM和FM站。这些可以帮助您更平凡的日常目的，例如检查本地流量报告。

Raynic Emergency Radio

TheRaynic Emergency Radiois a bit beefier than our last two options. It’s 7.5 inches long, 4.7 inches high, and 3.5 deep. It also weighs in at over a pound, so it’s nice and sturdy. Not only that, but the housing is IPX3-rated for water-resistance. It’s not fully waterproof, but some splashing or rain splatter is not going to damage anything.

该收音机具有内部电池组，可以通过太阳能电池板，手动曲柄或微型USB充电。它也可以以简单的交流电源运行。如果您根本不想排出无线电电池，就可以将其插入。只要电源活跃，它将继续运行。电源熄灭时，它将自动切换到电池。作为另一个选择，您还可以使用三个AAA电池，就像Fospower Radio一样。有了所有这些选择，如果您需要求助于手动曲柄，我们将感到震惊。

无线电功能

Raynic紧急广播电台具有三种模式的内置手电筒。它可以作为明亮的聚光灯或昏暗的阅读灯。按下SOS按钮时，它也可以用作应急信号。此外，5,000mAh电池非常强大。当用作电力库时，它可以轻松地为市场上的任何智能手机充电。

Final Verdict

In terms of pure radio performance, these three radios are roughly equivalent. They all allow you to listen on NOAA, AM, and FM bands. Beyond that, though, there are a few key differences. TheRunningsnail紧急收音机提供最佳的电池性能。18650牢房易于充电和更换，并兼作紧急电力库。

TheFosPower Emergency Portable Radiois a little bit different. It’s the smallest radio of the bunch, with the most durable housing. The lifetime manufacturer’s warranty offers a lot of reassurance in that regard. That said, its battery pack is fairly small. If you need to use the power bank function, you’ll likely be disappointed.

TheRaynic Emergency Radiois king in terms of both power supply and charging options. The 5,000mAh battery is exceedingly powerful, and lasts a long time before needing to be charged. You can even run the radio on AC power for convenience during non-emergency times. That said, it’s noticeably larger and heavier than the other NOAA weather radios we looked at.