Hand crank radio: 20 emergency radios from 210 g to a 12,000 mAh power bank

When the power goes out and your phone loses signal or runs flat, a radio is often the only source of news about what is going on. The Polish government’s “Poradnik bezpieczeństwa” (safety guide) puts a torch and a battery or hand crank radio both on the list of supplies to keep at home and in the evacuation bag, and tells you to switch on the radio or TV when you hear the alarm signal¹.

I did the digging so you don’t have to. I went through almost 300 listings on Amazon.pl, one of the world’s largest online stores. I read more than 30 product pages closely and kept 20 radios, from a small one that weighs 210 g according to the seller to models with a 12,000 mAh battery that double as a power bank. You should find one that suits you among them. I have not tested them myself, but I checked the data as carefully as I could, and where it comes from is explained below, in the section on how I chose them. For each radio you will find how it charges, which bands it has, what it weighs and what to watch out for.

Before I get to the models, I explain what a crank and a solar panel really give you, how to read the milliamp-hours on the case and which bands work in Poland at all. Some radios advertise features you will not be able to use here.

Which emergency radio should you choose and what should you look for?

I will not name one best emergency radio, because one will suit a bug out bag and another a home during a blackout. Start with where the radio is going to wait, then go through this list.

• Power. You charge the radio with a USB cable, the crank or the solar panel. Some models also take ordinary AA or AAA batteries that you can buy in any shop. More in the section on power.
• Bands. Every radio on this list receives FM, three have DAB+ and six have shortwave. The NOAA weather band is no use in Poland. Details are in the section on bands.
• Battery and phone charging. Battery capacity in these radios ranges from 2000 to 12,000 mAh. That and the current on the USB port decide how much of your phone you can charge. More in the section on mAh.
• Water. An IP rating tells you what the radio can take, while the word “waterproof” without a rating tells you nothing specific. See the section on IP ratings.
• Weight. In a bag every gram counts. You will find weights from 210 to 900 g in the table, and for five radios the seller gives none or an impossible one.

Crank, solar panel or batteries?

The crank and the solar panel are backup ways to charge for when there is no power at the socket. Day to day you charge the radio with a USB cable, and the crank and the sun are there to keep it going when there is nothing to plug the cable into.

The crank. Philips states for the TAR1609 that 25 minutes of cranking at 120 turns a minute gives around 60 minutes of radio at a reasonable volume². According to the Metronic Radio Joe listing, one minute of cranking gives 6 minutes of radio, so 10 minutes of cranking is an hour of listening³. These figures come from a maker and a seller, and nobody has checked them under the same conditions. Philips also recommends crank and solar charging for emergencies only².

The solar panel. It charges slowly. According to the TAR1609 manual, an hour in sunlight above 60,000 lux gives up to 30 minutes of radio², and according to the Metronic listing 10 minutes of sun is 2 minutes of radio³. The panel is useful for topping the radio up during the day, but it will not fill the battery quickly. The Mesqool CR1030 listing says the panel is 8500 mm² and six times larger than on a usual solar radio, but it does not say how many minutes of radio that gives³.

Ordinary batteries. They are the backup for the day when the battery is flat and there is no sun. The Prunus J-369 takes AA batteries, and nine other radios take AAA. The TAR1609 plays for up to 12 hours on AAA batteries at half volume². The Sangean MMR-99 has a replaceable 18650 cell instead, and the Duronic SDAB1 has an 18650 cell plus a compartment for AAA. An 18650 is a lithium-ion cell 18 mm across and around 65 mm long⁴, so you cannot put AA batteries in its place. Eight radios have no room for ordinary batteries and run only on their built-in battery. The “Spare cells” column in the table shows this.

Batteries in the radio do not always charge a phone. In the J-369 the AA batteries power only the radio, and the phone charges from the built-in battery alone³.

What does 10,000 mAh mean and how much of your phone can you charge?

Milliamp-hours tell you how much charge the radio’s battery holds. In this comparison that goes from 2000 mAh in the smallest models to 12,000 mAh in two Mesqool radios. The mAh figure alone does not tell the whole story, though, because energy also depends on voltage. Raddy gives the SH-906 battery as 10,000 mAh at 3.7 V⁵, which comes to 37 Wh.

Midland states that the 10,000 mAh battery in the ER300 Pro gives up to two full smartphone charges⁶. How it works out with your phone depends on its battery. At the same voltage a 2000 mAh battery will manage less than half of one such charge, so a small radio is mainly there to play and give light.

The current from the USB port matters too. The TAR1609 has a 5 V, 0.5 A port, which is 2.5 W², and the Sangean MMR-99 a 5 V, 1 A port, which is 5 W⁷. From the second one a phone charges roughly twice as fast, as long as the phone accepts that current. For most radios the sellers do not give this figure.

A battery in a radio that sits in a cupboard also runs down. For the TAR1609 Philips recommends topping the battery up to around 50% every 6 months when the radio is not in use, and gives an operating temperature of 0 to 45 °C². The same manual warns that a battery left somewhere extremely hot, such as near a fire or on a hot surface, may explode. If the radio is waiting for a blackout, put its charging in your calendar. What else to prepare at home for a power cut is in my post on blackouts in Poland.

Which bands work in Poland?

FM is received by every radio on this list.

DAB+ is digital radio. Three models from the “With DAB+” group have it, the Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB, the Duronic SDAB1 and the Prunus J-924, and none of them has AM or shortwave. Before you buy a DAB+ radio, check on Polskie Radio’s coverage map whether there is a signal where you live⁸.

AM on these radios means medium wave. In Europe it runs from 531 to 1602 kHz, and in the 2010s many countries, Poland among them, switched off most of their medium wave transmitters⁹. Polish Radio’s Jedynka still broadcasts on long wave, on 225 kHz from the masts at Solec Kujawski¹⁰. The AM range of the radios in this comparison starts at 520-530 kHz, though, so none of them receives long wave.

Shortwave bounces off the ionosphere and travels very far, beyond the horizon¹¹, so on it you will hear stations broadcasting from far away. The Gemmac XLN-297SW, Degen DE13, XHDATA D-608WB, Mesqool 1009 Ultra, Raddy RE40 and Raddy SH-906 have it. The SH-906 also has a VHF band from 30 to 199.975 MHz⁵.

The NOAA weather band (also WB or WX on listings) is an American service. More than 1000 transmitters in the USA broadcast forecasts and warnings on seven frequencies from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz¹². A similar network in Canada shut down all its transmitters on 31 March 2026¹³. In Poland the band is no use to you, so I leave it out of the table, even though several radios on this list advertise it.

What do IPX4, IP55 and IPX6 mean?

An IP code has two digits. The first is about protection against dust, the second against water, and an X in place of a digit means that protection was not rated¹⁴. These ratings appear in this comparison.

• IPX3 is water sprayed at up to 60° from vertical. The FosPower A1 has it.
• IPX4 is water splashing from any direction. The Mesqool 1009 Ultra, Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB and Raddy SH-906 have it.
• IP55 is protection against dust that may get inside but not in amounts that stop the radio working, and against a water jet from any direction. The Sangean MMR-99 and Philips TAR3500 have it.
• IPX6 is powerful water jets from any direction. The Mesqool CR1030 has it.

No radio on this list is rated IPX7, which means immersion up to 1 m¹⁴, so do not put any of them in water. Five listings just say “waterproof” with no IP rating, and in the table those radios show “claimed, no IP rating”. Philips, on the other hand, notes in the TAR1609 manual that the radio must not be exposed to dripping or splashing².

How did I choose the radios?

I looked at hand crank, emergency and solar radios available on Amazon.pl, with customer ratings from 4.1 to 4.8 and at different prices, so that there is something for a bag, something for home and something with DAB+. The Philips TAR3500, Midland ER300 Pro and Sangean MMR-99 have the fewest ratings. I kept them because they have an IP55 rating or a 10,000 mAh battery. I take technical data from the makers where they publish it (Philips, Sangean, Raddy, FosPower, Metronic, Midland, Duronic)^{2, 7, 5, 6}. Otherwise it is what sellers state on product listings, and for weight I mark it “seller’s figure”. Where nobody gives a value, the table says “no data”.

The ratings were given by customers on Amazon.pl, not by me, and I give prices as bands because they change often. Figures as of 14.10.2026.

The listing of a ROCAM-branded radio gives the same model number as the Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB, so it is most likely the same radio under another brand³. I describe it once. What else to pack next to the radio is in my post on the bug out bag.

Radios under 150 zł

There are five radios in this band, all with a 2000 mAh battery. The Philips TAR1609 is the only one of them with a compartment for AAA batteries and runtimes stated in a manual. The Metronic Radio Joe receives FM only, and the Gemmac XLN-297SW has shortwave. The Esky 2000 mAh and the Solarbaby are simple FM and AM radios with a torch. For the Solarbaby the seller gives a weight that cannot be true.

Radios 150-200 zł

This is the biggest group, with eight. The lightest of those with a stated weight is the XHDATA D-608WB, 210 g according to the seller, with shortwave but no room for ordinary batteries. The Prunus J-369 runs on AA batteries, and the FosPower A1 on AAA and has an IPX3 rating from the maker. The Degen DE13 has shortwave, but nobody gives its battery capacity.

The Mesqool 1009 Ultra with shortwave and the Mesqool CR1030 with an IPX6 rating each have 12,000 mAh. The Esky 10000 mAh has a big battery, but the seller does not give its weight. The Duronic SDAB1 is the only DAB+ radio in this band, although the seller and the maker give different weights and runtimes for it.

Radios 200-300 zł

There are five radios here. According to the maker, the Raddy SH-906 has 10,000 mAh, shortwave and a VHF band, and weighs 555 g. The Raddy RE40 is a smaller radio with a 4000 mAh battery and shortwave. The Midland ER300 Pro has 10,000 mAh and, according to the maker, will charge a phone up to twice. With DAB+ there are the Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB, 410 g according to the seller, and the Prunus J-924 with a 10,000 mAh battery.

Radios over 300 zł

There are two radios here. The Sangean MMR-99 has a replaceable 18650 cell rated at 2600 mAh, an IP55 rating and a 1 A USB port, but according to the maker it weighs 900 g. The seller on Amazon.pl gives FM only for it, while the maker describes an AM/FM version, so check the variant before you buy. The Philips TAR3500 has a 5200 mAh battery, a compartment for AAA batteries and, according to the seller, an IP55 rating, and nobody gives its weight.

Frequently asked questions

Does a hand crank radio work without power and without phone signal?

Yes. A radio picks up the signal from radio transmitters, so it needs neither a socket nor a mobile network, as long as it has something to run on. A charged battery, the crank, the sun or, on some models, ordinary batteries are enough.

How long do you have to turn the crank?

According to the Philips TAR1609 manual, 25 minutes of cranking gives around 60 minutes of radio. According to the Metronic Radio Joe listing, one minute of cranking gives 6 minutes of radio.

Will a hand crank radio charge a phone?

According to the listings and the makers, every radio on this list can charge a phone. From a 10,000 mAh battery Midland promises up to two full smartphone charges, and from 2000 mAh you will get much less.

Does the NOAA weather band work in Poland?

No. It is an American service with transmitters in the USA. I leave it out of the table.

Which hand crank radio is the lightest?

Of the radios with a stated weight, the XHDATA D-608WB, 210 g according to the seller. Among the DAB+ radios the lightest is the Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB, 410 g according to the seller. For five radios the seller gives no weight or an impossible one.

Where do the ratings in this comparison come from?

From Amazon.pl. They are customers’ ratings, read on 14.10.2026, not mine.

And do you keep a radio at home in case the power goes out? If you use one of these models, let me know in the comments how it works for you.

Sources

1. Poradnik bezpieczeństwa (Polish government safety guide, gov.pl, 2025), PDF, home supplies and evacuation bag lists: “latarka i radio na baterie lub na korbkę” (a torch and a battery or hand crank radio), coi.gov.pl
2. Philips, TAR1609, product page with the user manual: “Only use solar charging and hand cranked power generation in emergency.”, philips.pl
3. Amazon.pl product listings, as of 14.10.2026: Metronic Radio Joe⁠ Amazon store, affiliate link, opens in a new tab, Mesqool CR1030⁠ Amazon store, affiliate link, opens in a new tab, Prunus J-369⁠ Amazon store, affiliate link, opens in a new tab, Mesqool 1009 Pro DAB⁠ Amazon store, affiliate link, opens in a new tab, ROCAM 1009PRO DAB⁠ Amazon store, affiliate link, opens in a new tab
4. Wikipedia, List of battery sizes, lithium-ion cells: “an 18650 is around 65 mm (2.56 in) long”, en.wikipedia.org
5. Raddy (Radioddity), SH-906, specifications, radioddity.com
6. Midland, ER300 Pro, questions and answers: “The 10,000 mAh battery provides up to two full charges for your smartphone”, midlandeurope.com
7. Sangean, MMR-99, specifications: “USB Type-A for Charging (DC-Out 5V / 1A)”, sangean.com
8. Polskie Radio, Cyfrowe radio DAB (digital radio), coverage map, polskieradio.pl
9. Wikipedia, Medium wave, frequency allocation and use in Europe, en.wikipedia.org
10. RadioPolska, Wiosenna konserwacja w Solcu Kujawskim (spring maintenance at Solec Kujawski, 11.05.2026), radiopolska.pl
11. Wikipedia, Shortwave radio, propagation, en.wikipedia.org
12. NOAA National Weather Service, NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, weather.gov
13. Wikipedia, Weatheradio Canada: “All transmitters were shut down during the early morning hours of March 31, 2026.”, en.wikipedia.org
14. Wikipedia, IP code, table of protection levels, en.wikipedia.org