Weather X FR182R NOAA Weather Band and AM/FM Radio with Flashlight/Lantern - Red/Black

This is a very workable all in one unit. A handy thing to have in case of emergency. The minus 1 star stems from the fact that the switch too easily goes from off to lantern to siren and man that siren draws attention (LOUD). Good if you are lost, bad if you are playing around with it in your office. Overall definitely worth the price, just wish the siren button wasn`t so easy to turn on by accident, I could easily see that happening if I took this camping, fumbling for this in the dark or just not really paying attention to the switch sequence.*********************************Update.........After further review and use I give it 5 stars. All the functions work perfectly and the "lantern" is quite bright. As for the switch, I got used to it, got a feel for it. No more loud siren in the office (sorry boss!)

Overall I am happy with the purchase, but it could have been better.This is larger than I expected, so check the size, don't just look at the photo.The light is not so brightThe siren is too easy to operate accidentally, but after a while you get used to it.FM Radio works well however I have not got the weatherband working yet

I purchased this knowing of the switch issue with the siren. I gave it a shot anyway because it comes in at an exceptional price point (just over $10 at this writing) and has the functionality I'm looking for. I'm glad I took the chance, but I probably would've only given 3 stars if I hadn't known about this going in. Setting the right expectations made all the difference. (Thanks for the heads-up, Amazon reviewers who go before me!)At any rate, I'm building individual emergency kits for my boys and was looking for a good, fairly lightweight multifunction unit to include. This unit is good for what it is, a solid multi-function flashlight/radio that is not very heavy (4 AAs help keep the weight down) and doesn't take up much more space than a "standard" handheld flashlight.The flashlight is pretty good. The lantern is excellent and very bright, but the torch is neither quite as bright nor as focused as I was hoping. It's not bad and not worth losing a star for, but it won't be the only source of focused light in these survival kits either.I've had good luck with AM and FM reception so far; although it hasn't been tested in deep wilderness yet, it hasn't failed me yet either. It's been easy to find stations, and they've come in pretty clear. The sound itself is kind of flat, but I'm not getting this to rock the house. It does what I need. The weather band is indeed a quiet channel with a constant low-level static, but it's still fairly clear and easy to understand at conversational noise levels. I'm sure the low volume and constant static will be problems in high winds or other noisy situations, though. A headphone jack would have remedied this, but alas... no headphone jack. Too bad. That's the biggest real drawback of this unit in my opinion.I agree with others that it's way too easy to turn on the siren, especially at first. But I got used to it pretty quick and it doesn't happen too often. Still too easy to do, but I don't plan to need it all the time, so I can live with that. I wonder about battery life with just the 4 AAs, and it's too easy to leave on (or accidentally turn on) one of the two "on" switches (for the flashlight/siren and for the radio). I might consider storing them with the batteries out.With the switch issue with the siren, this is probably not a good everyday kind of flashlight, but this is mostly a good unit and seems very well made for my purposes. It does everything pretty well, doesn't do anything really badly, and does a couple of things exceptionally well (the lantern and the siren, which is a great siren despite the button issue.) Its low cost also means exceptional bang for the buck.I'll update if durability/dependability issues crop up, but otherwise a solid four stars.

As a flashlight it is great. As a lantern it is great. As an FM radio it is OK (clear reception, tiny, tinny speaker.) As an AM radio it stinks (lots of static unless positioned just "so.") As a Weather Band radio it stinks - no amount of tuning, turning, point different directions, inside, outside, high, or low positioning brings in much more than a faint, static-obscured signal. I bought it for the Weather Band feature, so it is pretty much just a cool flashlight with a handy FM radio. With what I've spent on this and another "emergency" type weather band radio I could have bought a really good dedicated weather band unit, which is all I want. Maybe I can help you to not do the same.

I order one of these and I have to admit I'm underwhelmed.The unit feels cheap but that is not unexpected given the price.The flashlight, strobe, and lantern functions work as expected but the selector switch is too easily moved to the wrong setting.The AM/FM radio part is okay but the tuning is a bit fiddly and the sound quality is right up there with a late 1960's pocket transistor radio,The siren is loud enough to be annoying but not loud enough to be noticed at the other end of the house.The NOAA Weather radio sucks. Indoors, I could not get it tuned and receiving well enough to use. Outdoors was better but still marginal. Under the same indoor conditions my Kaito KA332W had no problems tuning in and getting clear reception on Weatherband.I am returning this for a refund.

Great Deal!! Can't go wrong. I received it on Saturday and already had to use the NOAA weather station alert. This is Monday and we have had tornado warnings around. It was nice to be able to get an update when the cable went out. The lights are bright. The side lantern is really bright. The sound is good. The radio stations come in clear along with the clear NOAA weather station. The siren is a bonus and is pretty loud for a hand held. I live in the hurricane area so this will come in very handy. Hope I won't have to use it to much.

Because it is so easy to accidentally turn on the radio dial, AND the sliding button for the flashlight, it is very easy to run the batteries down without knowing it's been left on. I usually turn flashlight with the light area pointing down on the shelf -- which keeps light from escaping as a warning that the switch is on --They really need to work on the ON/OFF design, since this is supposed to be a tool for emergencies.Otherwise, the light is sufficient both in the lantern and flashlight, and the radio has an adequate sound.