C. Crane CC Pocket AM FM and NOAA Weather Radio with Clock and Sleep Timer

I bought this radio as a gift for my grandmother and it truly is a gem. She loves it and the battery lasts much longer compared to the ones she has had before. It is very easy to use, and the digital display with large buttons has made her life much easier. She is 92 years old and the signal quality is excellent. Using the headphones as an antenna solved the problem she always had of breaking the antenna while handling it. The sound is great and the build quality is very solid. This was a wonderful find.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT RADIO!I've owned many radios over the years and very few are in the top rank. But the C.Crane Pocket radio is definitely one of the best ones. I live in the UK and wanted a small portable that would give me good quality stereo sound on FM so I can listen to classical music through earbuds. The Crane does this perfectly. And mono is even better.The last few radios I've had (Sony, Philips, Sangean and a wind-up Freeplay) have all had irritating faults of one sort or another. They've all been cheap radios, no more than $135 (currently about £100) each. Some wander off-station, others have hissing, distortion, ticking and intermittent stereo etc. I wanted a replacement that was small, portable and cheap - I'm retired and on a fixed low pension and fairly inactive. The Crane overcomes all of these. It's wonderful! If the 'ticking' interference starts up I simply move the radio around slightly till it gets a better signal. This never happened with the other radios.The earbud cable also doubles as an antenna, but there's also a separate antenna cable (with plug) if you're listening to the speaker. Both work perfectly. The built-in speaker (diameter 1.5 inches) is also great for its size.I bought direct from Crane, and service, tracking and delivery to UK were superb. (To anyone ordering from UK, delivery took just 13 days.)Everything about this radio, including design, operation, and the enclosed instruction manual, is intelligently thought out and helpful. It gives clear advice on how to retune the radio to receive better signals, and sensible information about the causes of bad reception and how to overcome them. You don't get this kind of help from other manufacturers.Yes, it's made in China (so is the iPhone and everything else these days) but it's not cheap plastic and there's a sense of integrity about its production that's missing these days from most consumer goods. It's about the size of a pack of cigarettes and has a wide rubber edging so it won't slip out of your hand or slide off a smooth surface. There's also a One Year Limited Warranty for customers in the US and Canada.I'm delighted with it.

Has quality build. Functional design and feels good in your hand. The shape and thin silicone sides make it easy to hold, unlike cheaper radios that feel like a bar of slippery soap. There are plenty of possible presets, to save your favorite stations. In my location rural Northern Calif, the AM choices come in great and all the FM’s are there but benefit greatly by plugging in the supplied soft small antenna. The earbuds also function as an FM antenna whether you wear them or not. Great sound from the earbuds... I’m a musician and these earbuds are better than the pricey name brand one’s in the market in my opinion. Ten pairs of earbud tips are supplied so you can attach the exact fit for your ears. The headphone jack, volume, on/off are conveniently on the top of the radio. Amazing someone thought of that!! So you can have in your shirt/jacket pocket or clipped to your belt with provided clip, AND access those three things without removing/handling the radio! Great! Clock, alarm, weather band are easy to use. There’s even a very handy lock feature to assure bumping any buttons will not change your selected settings.So here’s my reason for buying a simple handheld radio, like my Dad always had on hand: I live in Mendocino County fire country. We have had deliberate week long power outages due to last week’s huge uncontained fires in the entire north bay. Internet down. Cell towers overloaded and not working. The ONLY source of local fire and community information was from good old fashioned AM/FM radios. The corporate utility company promises there will be more power outages soon as they trot through Calif testing/replacing their ancient poles and wires that spark these horrendous fires. SO, radios, generators, battery powered lanterns, flashlights, batteries, and propane bbq grills have been flying off the shelves. This C Crane radio will be my connection for info on any emergency communications (evacuation orders, gas availability, open grocery stores, etc) in real time right here where it’s all happening. I first bought a $20 radio and immediately saw it was a piece of ****. I returned it the next day and researched more and decided on this C Crane. Perfect. Everything I want and more. (And I love the fact that the company is located in our sister Humboldt County to the north)Thanks for listening to my entire story. My reason for buying is clearly for use during a local emergency. If you’re reading this, you’re researching. I highly recommend this humble little C Crane handheld for a modest price, over the other brands/models that are less expensive.