La Crosse NOAA Weather Radio review
Ok so the world didn’t end, that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared. Great for emergencies, ski trips, backpacking or when you hunker down camping the La Crosse NOAA Weather Radio keeps you up to date on impending weather conditions in high quality digital audio with 7 NOAA weather band channels as well as AM/FM radio reception.
The NOAA Weather Radio also comes equipped with a small solar panel that gives you a full day of operation with full sunlight. Ambient light also maintains the included 600 mAh Lithium rechargeable battery when not in use. The standard rechargeable Lithium-ion battery can be replaced, but can also be recharged with the use of the hand-crank on the back which conveniently flips over and tucks away to the device when your not using it.
The unit looks cool and feels solid with rubberized plastic housing. It’s smaller than anticipated, but has some weight to it at nearly a bout 0.8 lbs. It’s the perfect size to hold in two hands and crank. The high output hand crank gives you about 30 min or more of power with 1 min of cranking, but the solar cell seems to work very well and will give you excellent payoff for some time in the sun. The solar cell will also pick up ambient light and maintain the battery so it doesn’t go dead. An LED charge indicator light tells you when the unit is charging.
A built-in Mini USB input/output port also allows you to charge your phone or other mobile device or charge the NOAA Weather Radio itself. It also has a built-in LED flashlight. Excellent for when the power goes out or to charge a device in a pinch. A retractable antenna, 3.5mm earphone jack and input port make up the right side and opposite is a built-in high density LED flashlight. The light isn’t super bright but adequate or a personal light source in an emergency.
It doesn’t come with any cables but I had enough extra cables from various cameras and devices to find a micro usb to usb to ac wall plug as well as a micro usb to mini usb for my smartphone. I found the reception for both AM/FM as well as NOAA weather digital bands via the high quality audio IC Chip to be excellent. Well worth the dime and a handy little gadget for anyone to have camping or in a power outage, a must have for any gadget guy.
The unit measures 5.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches and weighs about 13 ounces or about 0.8 lbs.
You can also pick up an optional accessory kit that includes:
Earphones
USB charging cord for the radio
Cell phone charging cord
Three common cell phone charging adapter tips:
Micro USB
Mini USB
iPhone
Model: 810-106, NOAA Weather Radio Available from www.lacrosseclock.com for $59.95
Optional Accessory Kit Available from www.lacrossetechnologyoutlet.com/810-106acc for $7.00
