Solar power for red wine drinkers. (Freeplay S 360)

Member Name: janharper

Product:	Freeplay S 360
Date:	06/04/02 (749 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: no batteries needed

Disadvantages: you have to put your drink down to wind it up

Freeplay Ranger is the latest in the Freeplay range of wind up radios. The whole concept puzzles me!

We live in an age when we are always utilising the latest labour saving devices. We use dish washers, washing machines and vacuum cleaners to save our energy, yet this radio is powered by 'human energy'. You turn the handle to generate the power which makes the radio play. It takes work!

This in itself doesn't sound so strange to me, because it does mean that you never need to buy batteries, so it doesn't matter where in the world you are, you can still tune in.

Human energy will always be available and you just wind the handle for thirty seconds to get 35 minutes of play time. (I actually got 27 minutes from mine when I tested it out, but that depends on how loud you play the radio, etc.) You can wind it up to play for about 25 hours but by my calculations you would have to turn the handle for almost 50 minutes to do this.

This idea means that you just need to wind up each time the radio starts to get low on power. Once a day will be enough. It sounds like a reliable power supply. So, I wonder, why does the Ranger have solar power facilities and rechargeable power? If the winding mechanism works, why do we need these too. Strange!

It's almost as though the designers are wary of moving totally away from conventional power supplies incase the public don't accept the product. At least that's my view of it.

My Ranger has a deep blue and black case and the winding handle at the back is easier to use than some of the older models of this radio. Some have a winding dial at the front but I thought this was more efficient. Reception is excellent and the whole design is compact and strong.


The built in solar panel facility lets you charge your radio in sunlight, or you can plug it into the mains to charge it.

I can't see the need for these additional power mechanis
ms on a wind-up radio. After all, it is supposed to be wound up and that's the reason I bought it. If I had wanted to by a conventionally powered radio my forty pounds (that's what it cost) could have been better spent.

There again, if I was using my 'winding arm' for something more important, like drinking my red wine, I suppose I would be grateful for the alternative power supplies. 'Solar power' for red wine drinkers, now there's an advertising slogan they could use (or not!)

If you want to learn more about this radio, or other products in the Freeplay range, including a self powered cell phone take a look at their website:

http://www.freeplay.net

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