The Ambient Weather hand crank emergency radio can also be powered by AC, DC, USB, and solar power. It has AM / FM / Weather radio, a smart phone and portable device charger, 3 LED flashlight, and a 3.7V/800 mAh lithium ion battery. When the power has gone out this device will always work and charge other devices as long as you can crank the handle.
Listen to musician David Byrne, who lives in Manhattan. I bet lots of folks there wish they had a a device like this solar hand-crank generator. From his listserv yesterday:
It was a weird week. Uptown and in Brooklyn, and in many other places somewhat more remote, life went on as normal. I know, because I visited those countries and saw this with my own eyes. What was weird was that these other countries are so close—thousands of Recharge zombies would trek over the Williamsburg Bridge or up the avenues to visit friends who lived there with power, or they’d huddle around in a bank lobby or coffee shop with outlets”¦ and a flushing toilet.
We have an old school hand-crank emergency radio. It’ll play the radio for 30 minutes with a few minutes of cranking. When the Northridge quake hit in Los Angeles and the power was out, I had to listen to the radio in the car for news. With a hand crank emergency radio, you can listen to radio anywhere, always – and charge your phone too. A hank crank radio is definitely a preparedness tool that should be in all homes.
(This is the first in a series of posts on preparedness inspired by John Robb’s Resilient Communities. I’ll be featuring useful gadgets, gear, food and water storage ideas, and more. Feel free to jump in with ideas.)