ZHIWHIS Emergency Radio with Bluetooth, 10000mAh FM/AM/SW/VHF/NOAA Weather Radios with Alerts, Hand Crank/Solar/Power Bank/SOS/Flashligh/6 EQ/Timer/USB Player with Preset for Emergencies ZWS-2415

I've owned a more than a dozen weather radios, some of them featured as emergency radios. I've seen the good and the bad; this is a good one.I realize that this is sold as an emergency radio, but in an emergency you need more than a weather forecast from NOAA. You need local news and emergency bulletins. This ZHIWHIS ZWS-2415 equals the best FM radios I've ever tested, including serious ones costing over $250. It's that good. It's also the most sensitive on weather band of all the ones I've tested, receiving my local NOAA station plus three more. I never understood why emergency radios had such super-short antennas, but this one is a decent 19" long.The MW (AM) band is not outstanding, and if all you want to do is listen to AM, I'd suggest something else (more expensive), but it's adequate for local stations and it should receive plenty of stations in the evening. It's better than most other emergency radios I've tested.Shortwave works OK. In a short scan I picked up some international stations. I was encouraged by the inclusion of an additional clip-on extension antenna. But again, if you want to get serious about shortwave, I'd recommend a dedicated SW radio and not an emergency radio at low price point. The addition of a METER band button is a nice addition to help the operator move more quickly through the SW bands.I didn't test the VHF band. In my opinion there's not much there unless you're a ham radio operator, and the best way to listen to those frequencies is with a scanner, not a radio like this.The flashlight is bright, the reading light is bright, the siren is loud and overall it a nice package, and it's going to be my daily driver for weather and emergency use. (Two others are going to Goodwill.)The speaker is decent. I found mid range strong and pleasant to listen to. There isn't much bass, but the radio can be turned up very loud without noticeable distortion. The speaker can be used for radio, SOS, Bluetooth music, AUX Music and music files on a flash drive. It also has sound equalization profiles.It can charge from an integral solar panel but under full sun, it would take something like 84 hours to fully charge the radio. If you seriously want solar power, buy a much larger separate solar panel. It also charges with a crank, but you'd tire quickly.This radio does not charge using USB-C power distribution chargers. It works fine with the supplied USB-A to USB-C charging cable.One important question I couldn't easily answer is how long the radio could operate in weather alert mode on a fully charged battery. I sent an email to Zhiwhis customer support, and they replied that the radio uses about 57 mA in weather alert mode and with the 10000 mAh battery fully charged, that would give about 170 hours (essentially 7 days). That's good to know.If I had to recommend an emergency weather radio under $50, I think this would be it.

This radio is an excellent tool when you don't have access to electricity, for example when you go camping, when you go fishing, or even when you have a power outage in the area. Testing it little by little, I found it very useful thanks to the different reception bases it has, but after reviewing the manual, I found many more features.The radio has the ability to automatically tune in multiple bands, being able to listen to AM stations, FM stations, NOAA channels, and any other transmission in its multiple bands that has a wide spectrum in the MHz.Its battery gives it a long autonomy in basic use, if you keep it at a medium volume on the radio, it will easily have a day of operation. Now, you also have a Bluetooth USB connection.Something that is also extremely useful is the solar panel that it has, with which you can automatically charge the radio even when it is very cloudy, and when it is nighttime, cranking will be a method that requires effort, but it will ensure its operation in any condition.Here in Florida this radio is a must have, especially because of the impact we have every year with hurricane season.Overall this radio feels very solid, is relatively easy to operate and all the features it promises have worked flawlessly for me in the two months I've been using it.

This is one out of several radios in my emergency radio collection. It performs almost as well as the others with batteries that have higher mAh ratings. I especially wanted this one because it has additional VHF and SW bands. It included a dedicated SW antenna and also has bluetooth. These aren't necessarily features I require for my emergency radios, but since emergency situations can greatly differ, it's nice to be prepared for anything. I fully charged this 4 months ago and it is still showing a full charge. Other bells and whistles include an equalizer, timer, alarm clock, and auto shut-off.

I have only one thing to say: The push buttons stick and that's a real problem, especially when the SOS alarm is activated. Very Very difficult to turn off as the button sticks and remains activated under the rubber pad; takes a lot of work to deactivate and silence. It you are very gentle with the push buttons they do work, but that feature is very frustrating and annoying. I do not recommend this emergency radio.

I don't use radios much, but I have always wanted to have one in case of emergency. This is a really good radio, not only for weather emergencies, but also to get news emergency updates. I live in an area where we have periodic wildfires that require sudden home evacuations. So far I haven't needed this for such a situation, but I am so glad to have it if I do. Having evacuated once for a wildfire, I never want to be caught without an emergency radio ever again. The sound quality is great, as is the tuning accuracy. I haven't found the limit on how long the battery lasts, but in Colorado we get a lot of sun, so the solar charging keeps it well charged. I highly recommend this.