Life Gear LGTF38 LED Flashlight with LED Reading Lamp, NOAA Emergency AM/FM Radio with Alert and Weatherband
by Life+Gear
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List Price: Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Life Gear LGTF38 LED Flashlight with LED Reading Lamp, NOAA Emergency AM/FM Radio with Alert and Weatherband
Customer Review: ALL THE WEATHER ALERT RADIO YOU EVER NEED
Summary: 5 Stars
This radio is magnificent. No need to search for any other weather alert radio. Works perfect. Weather radio siren alert for when you sleep. Wonderful reception for AM FM & weather bands. Love it.Customer Review: Good Weather Radio.....Some Drawbacks
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this radio for it is both more solid, and a little bigger than most portable weather radios. Some of the other reviewers here that have complained of this unit being cheap and flimsy can't possibly have held in their hands as many weather radios as I have. For trust me, some feel so cheap its like they are are a toy compared this unit. And that goes for ones that can be even more expensive than this one. I don't know how many of you out there agree with me, but personally I am not all that fond of the all the downsizing that is going on with a vengeance in just about everything electronic. For those of us with big hands, and who also can remember back to a time when weather radios weighed in at 20 pounds, its a little gratifying to get something that actually has a little beef cake to it. This radio is made of a tough black vinyl material that I feel would take a good drop or bang and keep on ticking. And though the antenna is rather short in comparison to other weather radios I have seen, it still seems to receive excellent reception. However I do have to agree with the other reviewers here that mentioned the poor FM reception. Mine also gets very poor reception in the FM range. Even though I live in an area where there are some very strong local stations. Since I did not buy this radio for its FM, I consider that a minor drawback. Each individual will have to decide how much weight to put on that observation. However one thing I should clear up is the AC adapter that is NOT included with the unit. At least mine didn't come with one. And it came in a bubble wrapped, all in one package. Some other reviewers have mentioned one included in theirs, but if I were you, I would not bet on getting one. Unless you take advantage of the "free", (the shipping and handling charge they charge you is just about all the adapters are worth), you will have to use the hand crank to charge the internal battery. Actually, I have found this unit to be the very easiest on batteries of all the weather radios I own. Mine has been operating on the same 3 alkaline batteries since I purchased this unit last spring and is still going strong. I don't make use of the flash or reading lights everyday, but the radio is on for at least an hour to an hour and a half daily and its as loud and clear as when I put them in. So I would not put all that much stock in the AC adapter being anything you need to purchase in any event. I recommend this radio for those that want a solid little radio that gets excellent weather reception, and enjoys the installed flashlight and reading light. If you are interested in buying a radio that gets excellent FM along with the weather, may I suggest the Midland AM FM weather portable unit, which I also own. The life gear unit is strictly for the weather enthusiast in my opinion..Customer Review: Works as promised.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my mother initially after a storm knocked out the power and we had tornados in the area. She had neither a battery-powered radio nor a functional weather radio (her house has a large hill blocking all the National Weather Service signals from reaching her).
It is rather nice in that it includes a lot of features that are handy.
1. It has a plug for a cellphone charger. At least at this time, you can order a charger plug for many different cellphones directly from the website and just pay shipping (around $5) so that you can charge your cellphone off of the hand crank. Very good idea.
2. There is an LED flashlight on the front and an LED area light that flips up from the side. These are not going to blind anyone, but they will adequately light up a room or help you navigate through a dark house.
3. The FM/AM/Weather radio is functional and adequate for the intended purpose.
4. It has a build-in clock and alarm. Unfortunately, the alarm on/off button is located on the top of the unit and will easily get bumped such that you are turning on/off the alarm accidentally any time you reach for the device.
5. It includes the rechargeable battery in the package, and it will also run off of regular batteries. The hand crank can be used to charge the rechargeable battery or you can charge from a wall plug, also included.
6. It is not a heavy device and would be very easy to carry around. It does have an included carry handle that flips up from the side opposite the lamp. Unfortunately, it's not that robustly built, either, and wouldn't survive a lot of abuse.
7. There is a built-in hazard alarm/light, but it's of dubious usefulness. As mentioned above, the flashlight is not very strong (though adequate for a flashlight), but it is flashed on-and-off with the alarm and likely wouldn't be spotted all that far away unless in pitch black darkness. It also plays an alarm noise over the built-in radio speaker, but again, the speaker isn't very loud. You could easily talk over this and carry on a conversation without yelling with this alarm going off. You'd be better off just yelling.
Overall, this a great emergency utility that should be in anyone's kit at home or in the car trunk. The hand crank can help make up for not having fresh batteries in or having forgotten to charge it with the wall plug. I'm so impressed with this unit overall that I'm investigating Life Gear's other devices. This is great for Tornado Alley residents, coastal folks who are subject to hurricanes, earthquakes, or even blizzards. I can't think of any natural disaster this wouldn't be at least somewhat helpful in.
Customer Review: Seems to be good, but weatherband doesn't work for me
Summary: 4 Stars
When I first got this radio, I cranked it right away and tried to get it to work with no luck, only then did I realize that you have to put the battery in in order for it to store the cranked power--duh :). Anyway, I was able to get radio stations that are normally difficult to get, but I wasn't able to get the emergency weather station. Everything else seems to work as promised, but I haven't tried the cell phone charger yet.Customer Review: Adapters not included
Summary: 3 Stars
This isn't the highest quality emergency radio/light I've seen, but it works. My disappointment is that the AC power adapter and cell phone adapter do not come with it. There is a red sticker on the back that says I can go online to lifegearcompany.com to get the "free" adapters. However, I have to pay shipping. It's $5.95 for the power adapter, and I'm not sure what it is for the cell phone adapter. Also, both of these are out of stock until "July 1, 2009." This is July 10...so I'm going to have to keep checking back until they are available. The additional cost for the adapters is not made clear in the description on Amazon.