I've had this radio for a little over half a year now and it should be mentioned at the outset that absolutely nothing has broken on it, despite taking it on 2 Gold D of E expeditions! So, here’s what I think;
The Good...
-Its small size and weight (the smallest I could find for AM/FM digital tuning) along with the clip on the back makes it an excellent radio for cycling/ running etc as well as just walking around.
-The digital tuner with presets is worth the extra money over a radio with an analogue tuner being quick and easy to change station. It is easy to preset a station as long as you know its frequency in the first place as the radio won't tune automatically.
-Battery life. I have used this radio a lot (through headphones and powered speakers) and changed the AAA battery only once. The battery life indicator will warn you in plenty of time so that you don't run out of battery life in the middle of a football match!
-Reception. FM reception is good - my powered speakers cause a lot of background noise unless the radio is placed as far away as possible. AM reception depends on the orientation of the radio of course but it is usually possible to position the radio while cycling and running to get reasonable reception. In the hills on a gold D of E training expedition FM radio was non existent so it was nice to be able to listen to MW radio – and the Man U vs Newcastle match!
The Limitations - considerations for getting a different radio...
-This radio does not have LW capability. If you are wanting to listen to this (cricket comes to mind on these frequency’s), you may consider getting a larger radio with long wave capability I would recommend considering the Roberts R9988 radio for LW (its about the same price and is a very good radio) – my Dad uses it.
-The cost. I bought this radio as soon as it came out for £80 and for me it was worth this as I use it a lot. If you do not want to listen on AM frequencies (I listen to football and F1 on this mostly – radio 5) then it will be far cheaper to get an FM radio. Otherwise at £50 I think this radio is worth the money!
Oh yeh... i think it looks cool too!
