Midland ER40 Emergency Crank Weather Alert Radio w/Flashlight

Nice to have around the house as a just in case item. Well made, solid construction. I have several as a backup in various places. Good price point.

Being a night shifter, I woke up to a tornado on the ground with a couple minutes to seconds before it started ripping apart my neck of the woods. After the extremely close-shave with danger, I opted to get a weather radio. My conclusion is this: The alert is loud enough to wake me from a deep slumber and gives a direct feed to NOAA Weather Radio alerts that can sometimes give as much as a full half-hour warning in advance. I whole-heartedly recommend the package deal that comes with the hand crank emergency radio and the wall powered one together.

Overall this radio works and functions as described. It does charge with hand crank and solar. But it's ability to charge is slow at best. To keep it charged it needs solar several hours each day. I would dread using hand crank to charge it, lol. I am keeping it but I would just advise getting the much more compact battery version for regular use.

Small in size, rugged, includes AM and FM bands in addition to WX band, and its built-in flashlight isn't bad at all. Hand crank to charge is easy to use and the solar cell on top absolutely does charge it. My nearest NWR station is about 20 miles away, reception is clear even without extending the antenna. Its speaker is small so this isn't ideal for music listening but it works quite well for speech. I take this radio with me on camping trips, it's great to have to keep on top of the weather. Well worth the money.

Bought for son's birthday. I always try to get some gadget for camping. He loved it. Has an alarm, flashlight and weather alert. Comes in extremely clear.

Bought it as a gift for my dad, he absolutely loves it.

Satisfied

Works well. The size is small enough to fit in a backpack. I had no issues with build or function.My complaints are that it lists using a 18650 battery. But it’s not a standard size. At least of any other 18650 I’ve ever seen. The issue is that if you’re creating a bug-out bag and need to standardize on a battery type to conserve space for extra batteries then this is a different battery. Apparently only available from Midland.Also, it appears to always display the time, even when off. This is an emergency radio. It’s going to spend most of its life in a drawer or backpack. Yet this clock and display running will slowly eat away the battery. So when it’s really needed, it won’t be fully charged. Sure, it can be cranked, but that is a slow process. And, you know, emergency. There isn’t an apparent way to turn that off. A solution is to keep the paper/plastic tab installed so the battery doesn’t make contact, then remove it when needed. Minor complaint.