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A palm-sized emergency radio you can power with a crank, the sun or AAA batteries, and it can even charge your phone.
Not NOAA like the great flood. This is a NOAA weather radio, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I picked up this portable Heartty emergency radio on eBay because it has a dynamo hand crank, which I love. I’ve never actually needed one, but when you dig a radio out of your emergency kit, you never know if the batteries are good. The Heartty isn’t on Amazon now, so the button goes to a similar solar, hand-crank NOAA radio.
- Works with no batteries thanks to the crank
- Weather band for real emergency info
- Can charge a phone or iPad
- Flashlight and strobe siren
- Light and palm-sized
- Battery ships disconnected, which is confusing
- Mode switch takes a minute to learn
- Audio is just OK
▶ Watch the full review on YouTube
Power options
It has a small crystalline solar cell, though trickle charging off the sun usually takes a long while. The crank folds out and tucks into a slot, and it feels pretty robust.
Crank it with nothing else connected, and the flashlight comes on from dynamo power alone.
The battery mystery
At first nothing worked. The battery was disconnected inside a little rear panel, held with a foam spacer. Plug it in, close the cover, and the light turns on.
The selector switch is the confusing part. One position powers the phone-charging USB port, the lightning-bolt position is a blinking red strobe siren, and others are the radio bands.
About the buy link
The video had no product link, and the Heartty radio isn’t sold on Amazon now. The button goes to the FosPower A1, a NOAA weather radio with solar and hand-crank power, a flashlight and a power bank. It’s a different brand, so check the listing for features.
Radio and phone charging
The weather band is the feature I think is undersold. In a flood or other disaster, you want to know if more rain is coming or if it’s time to bail out. I tuned in a local weather broadcast right away.
Flip to the phone position, plug in a Lightning cable, and my iPad mini started charging, and the mini draws a lot of power. It fits in the palm of my hand.
FAQ
Does it work without batteries?
Yes. The hand crank powers it, and so does the solar cell.
Can it charge a phone?
Yes. It charged my iPad mini over USB.
Which bands does it get?
AM, FM, NOAA weather band and shortwave.
Why didn’t mine turn on at first?
The battery was unplugged inside the back panel.
Is this an affiliate link?
Yes. The buttons are #ad affiliate links, and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra.
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