Radio without the power lead (Freeplay S 360)

Member Name: pipefish

Product:	Freeplay S 360
Date:	17/08/03 (625 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No batteries or mains needed, Good sound, Solar, mains or wind-up recharge

Disadvantages: You might forget where it is

I have owned one of these for a month and have been very impressed with its performance.
This is one of those products that has been in the public eye for several years but I have not bothered to investigate further even though it has several obvious advantages over other radios. I suppose the main reason is that most people will have several radios in their house already so any new product must be pretty darn good and distinctive to justify buying it....

The wind-up radios were first publicised when various documentaries showed inventor Trevor Bayliss promoting and marketing them in Africa where a larger version was hugely sucessful due to the general scarcity of batteries in undeveloped areas. The radio marketed was a large size as this was seen as a positive selling point over there and questioning people showed that they preferred a larger set. This radio was then later marketed as the Freeplay Ranger series.

The modern high street version is a much smaller size - about 19cm long and 5 cm thick weighing 700g but still features the 'why didn't I think of that?' feature of a wind-up crank on the back to power the radio instead of batteries or mains power. It also carries a solar panel on the top to power the radio and even top up the Ni-MH internal battery as well in sunny conditions. The solar panel also charges the internal battery if the radio is not in use.


Generally the radio has a simple design - there is an analogue tuner, a push button to toggle between FM and AM radio and two solid chunky dials for on/off/volume and tuning and a retractable aerial. There is also a headphone socket and DC 6V adaptor jack to let you use the mains adaptor supplied to charge the internal battery. There is also a cigarette adaptor supplied.
The back of the radio is taken up by the crank handle and a power level LED. The crank is made of thick plastic with a rotating knob on the end of the handle so that it is easy to wind th
e radio up without having to change your grip. There is a fairly thick metal pin holding the winder handle onto the charger which does not look like it is going to break easily. The handle is fairly easy to wind while gripping the radio with one hand and can be wound either way to charge.
The LED illumates when the optimum charging level from winding is reached. It is rated for up to 25 hours playback if the battery is fully charged and 35 seconds winding to provide 35 minutes playtime or 25 minutes at high volume.

The Freeplay has fairly contemporary styling with several different coloured versions available - dark blue, grey or black on black - but still has the standard analogue display and red tuning needle on the front. It is moulded in plastic and a non-slip rubber grip. The UK version has a 2 year warranty with it from Freeplay.

Basically it is ready to wind up and go straight away. Once taking it out of the packaging I was able to wind the radio for 30 seconds and it immediately could start playing at high volume. It is recommended to give a conditioning charge of 24 hours for the internal battery from the mains adaptor first and fully discharge and charge the battery to improve long term life.

Although the tuner is analogue I found the reception to be very good - it picked up several FM stations with complete clarity a lot better than the Sanyo ghettoblaster I have in the room. The tuner is also precise and easily picked out different stations with close frequencies e.g. Vibe 101 and Classic FM 101.3. It also provided a clear signal for Radio 1 which I often have problems getting reception with. The tuning does not slip too much altough like most radios it does not like suddenly being turned around or movement near it can affect the reception signal. The AM reception is also clear, with a little background whine or hiss or distortion.
The frequency ranges are 88-108 MHz FM and 500-1700 KHz AM.

The sound is supris

ingly clear and powerful considering the power source. The sound is better at a lower volume but is also just as powerful at a higher volume although it distorts at full volume. Also the sound is not too tinny and the midrange and bass are fairly good although do not expect thumping bass at high volume as the bass is certainly not up to the
standard of a ghettoblaster or stereo but it is better than most portable radios or personal stereos. Overall I found the sound to be a good range with sharp punchy sound on dance and rock music.
The headphone sound is also good, especially if you have a good pair of headphones (the Sennheiser in-ear headphones from Richer Sounds are particularly good) which improve the range of the sound.

However the best advantage is to have a fully portable radio which does not require batteries. It is often sod's law that the only places in a room that a power cord can stretch to are often in corners of the room that have the poorest reception. The Ranger can be positioned in the best place to get the best reception without this problem, or be taken between rooms or outside.

I found that the first charging wind of 30 seconds left the radio still going after 20 minutes. Switching the radio back on later at night it was still happily playing away an hour later without a wind-up, making me wonder if it was charging from the light in the room or whether it was a trick and someone had hidden a large battery in the unit. This was also playing dance music at high volume so it must have been needing some power!

In sunny conditions it can play off the solar panel for all its power requirements and if it is particularly bright can top up the battery while still playing, or just charge the battery when left off in a sunny spot.
On top of this in a powercut it would practically be the only electrical appliance functioning and would be invaluable in emergencies (e.g. storms, floods, snow) or just for sunny
condi
tions, sunbathing, bathrooms or gardens or barbeques if you want radio for them.

For £40 I am very impressed with it and I think the high price for a radio is easily justified by the performance and its portability and practical advantages. And in case you want to claim the wind-up mechanism you're too late - the patent is pending.


Update: After having this for a few months pumping out dance music for a few hours at a time I still haven't had to use the crank once! The solar panel works topping the battery up. What is most useful is that you can take it round the house and put it in the area of the room with the best reception. The bass is not as good as a stereo but it's great for DIY etc.

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