Solar DAB radio....

decsdad

http://www.homevisionuk.com/acatalog/Roberts_Radio_SolarDAB_2.html

Thinking about getting one........anyone have one.....any thoughts ?

Grandmama

I have one in my Campervan. Had it about 6 months. Apart from the First time charging on the mains I have not had to use the mains charger since. I put it in a window. When the radio is on and working you can see if the battery is charging in daylight. Unfortunatly you cannot see the bars when the radio is off, but be reassured it does charge up when off and although some days have been cloudy it seems to recharge anyway. It lasts ages when on and listening to the radio. Sound is good. Wish it had a sleep button though. Very happy with it. Not the first solar radio I have had but as good as any other. Mine is the white one and it is still looking good.

Cardew

I can't find the spec of the radio anywhere, but I suspect having it playing it uses about 2 Watt at the most. So having it on and playing 24/7 for 365 days a year when connected to the mains would save approx £2 a year - probably less.

I bought an DAB/FM radio from ASDA. for £25. It runs on mains or 6 AA batteries(the solar one uses 3 AA batteries). Using it in the garden I can use rechargable AA batteries if I wish.

So IMO the solar aspect of the radio is just an expensive gimmick.

zeupater

Hi

I've had one of the solar/wind-up generator types for years, without the wind-up you'll find that, if you're using the radio for more than just short periods, it'll spend most of the time plugged into the mains anyway.

If you really want to be green and have a solar powered radio in the house and want it on in the background (when it's light ), pick up a 12V/12W panel from somewhere like Maplins for <£50 (when they're on offer) along with a 12V multi voltage adaptor for around a tenner, plug it into a non-solar radio, put the setup in a southerly facing window and leave it on all day.

Regards
Z

Ben84

Cardew wrote: »

I can't find the spec of the radio anywhere, but I suspect having it playing it uses about 2 Watt at the most. So having it on and playing 24/7 for 365 days a year when connected to the mains would save approx £2 a year - probably less.

I bought an DAB/FM radio from ASDA. for £25. It runs on mains or 6 AA batteries(the solar one uses 3 AA batteries). Using it in the garden I can use rechargable AA batteries if I wish.

So IMO the solar aspect of the radio is just an expensive gimmick.

True, radios use very little electric, but the financial and environmental savings get much better if this radio allows you to stop using disposable batteries.

You could always use a battery charger for similar savings, but having the radio charge itself without little or no effort from the user (and without needing other planning and equipment) is a good thing too. I can see this being useful.

leo~saphira

Anyone missing the key here..

"DAB radio".. after factoring the cost of getting a standard mains DAB + the cost of a panel and reg isn't it cheaper to buy this solar DAB radio?

zeupater

leo~saphira wrote: »

Anyone missing the key here..

"DAB radio".. after factoring the cost of getting a standard mains DAB + the cost of a panel and reg isn't it cheaper to buy this solar DAB radio?

Hi

I agree, depends on how you want to use it. As mentioned, my solar (analogue) radio has always worked fine for a (short) while, then it dies and needs winding up quite regularly, the other problem it that because of the requirement to minimise power drain, it's fitted with a relatively poor speaker which doesn't reproduce any bass so effectively sounds like a 60s/70s 'tinny' transistor radio. Don't think that I'm anti-solar radios or anything like that, but one with a small solar cell must have design specification limitations, and they will show in either sound quality, power longevity, or both. Mine's fine to take to the bottom of the garden for a while or for some outdoor activity like camping, where usage would be limited, but I wouldn't bother using it around the house.

With a panel as described, a good quality sound can be available from sunrise to sunset without a battery, or 24x7 with a 12v battery. I power mine directly from a panel to provide background music throughout the day, every day, summer or winter and it performs well in all but heavily overcast conditions.

It really depends on how the OP (decsdad) wants to use it.

HTH
Z

paulwf

I don't know about DAB radios but analogue radios use VERY little power...I had an old radio that ran on 2 x D size batteries and using the radio for several hours a day the batteries lasted for a good 6 months.

We have a big pile of AA rechargeables (high capacity ones are a similar price to say Duracells) and a 15 minute charger...we try and make sure everything uses AA's which makes it very convenient and cheap to run our gadgets. The trick is to try and buy cameras and MP3 players etc that use AA's not their own integrated batteries.

I bet using rechargeable batteries for a couple of hours a day an analogue radio would cost under £1 a year to run (I haven't done the actual calculations though).

The most versatile and green option would probably be a pile of eneloop batteries and a decent solar charger rather than lots of solar gadgets, although personally I'd rather use a decent mains charger and save money and energy elsewhere by looking at much more power hungry appliances.

Cardew

On a money saving website, surely the issue is to consider if the solar rechargeable facility is worthwhile.

The model illustrated costs £80. I suspect this is about double the price of a similar specification radio without solar recharging.

As stated above, to run a 'normal' radio on mains electricity would cost pennies a year. Ditto for electricity to charge rechargeable batteries.

In any case I seriously doubt if the solar facility on the radio would provide sufficient power to allow the radio to be used for very long.

decsdad

Ok, thanks for the replies.
Taking on board all the information I will be going for a plug in DAB radio with rechargeable batteries.