Looking for a radio for a gift

Mayabird

My sorta-godmother has been looking for a radio. She's in her 70s, isn't a technophobe but also isn't a technophile, and just wants something sturdy and relatively simple that can probably last her the rest of her life. Small enough that she could take it while driving around, something that could be plugged in to the wall normally but battery-powered in a storm emergency. Doesn't need a lot of features or fancy electronics, and definitely not connecting it to the internet or requiring a subscription, though a few simple quality-of-life features might be good, focused on ease-of-use rather than add-ons. Her hearing is fine right now.

I've been looking at reviews and writeups online, but I really don't have that great of a grasp on a lot of technical details. Any recommendations?

Fiendishrabbit

Sangean WR-7 has excellent audio, it's simple to use and with a micro-USB charger (like that for a cellphone) it can certainly be used as a tabletop radio.
Or is that too simple? Too small? Too expensive?

Tofystedeth

I got my dad the Sangean WR-11 for his birthday. Not sure about portable capability but it has a familiar radio interface and was well reviewed, so the similar product FR mentioned is probably a good place to look.

BlazeFire

What do you mean by taking it with her while driving around? Is there a different function required here than what her car radio would provide?

Mayabird

Sangean was actually the brand I was leaning towards most.

It's not the driving part itself, but like, when she goes places, she wants a radio that she can take with her, like when she was out caretaking a beach retreat for nuns (I only know what details she told me, which isn't more than that). Or something that she can move around her house and yard when she's cleaning/chopping wood/pulling invasive weeds - it doesn't have to be handheld but something a bit smaller and lighter would be fine. Also she wants something that can work from a battery at least sometimes, even if it's plugged in most of the time (see: going outside and to strange adventure places).

Basically, something that would be recognizable as a radio in the 1990s, AM/FM both, can be charged or run off batteries, and simple enough for someone familiar to those radios. Extra features may be welcome but are likely unnecessary.

WR-7 is only for FM. WR-11 might be a little too big. Maybe a PR-D15? A little lighter and more portable but still seems pretty alright.

There's just a lot to choose from looking at their radios and since it's not for me, I'm just kinda leery about making a jump and going for something.

Fiendishrabbit

Mayabird wrote: »

Sangean was actually the brand I was leaning towards most.

It's not the driving part itself, but like, when she goes places, she wants a radio that she can take with her, like when she was out caretaking a beach retreat for nuns (I only know what details she told me, which isn't more than that). Or something that she can move around her house and yard when she's cleaning/chopping wood/pulling invasive weeds - it doesn't have to be handheld but something a bit smaller and lighter would be fine. Also she wants something that can work from a battery at least sometimes, even if it's plugged in most of the time (see: going outside and to strange adventure places).

Basically, something that would be recognizable as a radio in the 1990s, AM/FM both, can be charged or run off batteries, and simple enough for someone familiar to those radios. Extra features may be welcome but are likely unnecessary.

WR-7 is only for FM. WR-11 might be a little too big. Maybe a PR-D15? A little lighter and more portable but still seems pretty alright.

There's just a lot to choose from looking at their radios and since it's not for me, I'm just kinda leery about making a jump and going for something.

PR-D15 is an upgrade on the PR-D5, and the PR-D5 is excellent. Simpler than the PR-D15 (fewer controls, fewer functions) and slightly cheaper, but otherwise fairly identical.

Burtletoy

I feel like, a long time ago on the forums, there was a heated discussion about cell phones because radio companies got a law in place that mandated cell phones to have fm radio tuners in them? And googling fm radio cell phone gives a lot of results talking about "how to unlock the hidden fm tuner on your android phone"

I don't know if all phones have them or not, but there is a chance her cell phone already can receive free fm radio (not a streaming service like iheartradio, but actual local fm radio waves for free)

CNET article suggests using the Next Radio app. From the Google play app description

NextRadio offers two ways to listen to live, local FM Radio. If your device has the FM receiver chip activated, you will be able to listen to local, terrestrial FM radio which uses less data and saves your battery life compared to streaming. The activated FM chip allows you to listen to NextRadio during times of emergency, working even when cell towers are down. The cord from your headphone or stereo cable act as an antenna to receive local FM radio signals.