I bought this on Amazon a few months ago. I’ve put it on the door knob in the hallway for easy access. Because it has a good flashlight included, I don’t need the little flashlights, and you have the reading lights also. I like that it has a hand crank for recharging the unit, but will also recharge by USB cable, or solar, or you can add AAA batteries.

What is nice is that it will also recharge your phone by the included USB cable. It may take a while to recharge your phone, but if you are in a situation, with no power, and your phone’s charge is low or nil, this will get your through. Enough to be able to make an emergency call. It also has an emergency audio alarm that can get someone’s attention if you are unable to call for help.

*A short time ago my electricity went out during the night and it was then that I realized that this “non-digital” device also didn’t have illuminated buttons, so you had to get another light source to be able to see how to turn it on and tune it. I just ordered and received a Mudder USB LED Light for Laptop, that has a gooseneck and works perfectly for drawing it’s energy from the device and lighting all the control buttons.

I think I bought this more because of having watched many hours of the devastation, caused by Hurricane Helene, in the Asheville, North Carolina area. There were repeated stories of persons and families being stranded with no connection to the outside world. Having a weather radio, and access to regular radio stations for news would be a boon to your survival. But also being able to recharge the unit, if your electrical power was off would be a blessing, and being able to recharge other devices, like your cell phone, would be absolutely essential to connecting to the real world again. And, without power, the night becomes a long hard to endure event, so having a reading light or a flashlight, that would work, without batteries is a must.

I had visited Asheville about five weeks before Hurricane Helene came through Western North Carolina. It was such a wonderful visit. Less than a day really. I arrived in Asheville late on a Monday afternoon, and had dinner at the East Village Grille, then checked into my hotel, a Quality Inn, and had a brief jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway, where two black bears crossed my path, a short distance ahead of my car. My hotel stay was very comfortable, and even the toilet was a “quiet flush.” The next morning, I got up early and drove around downtown Asheville, passing through the Tunnel and then finding another way above the tunnel. While doing this new route, I turned into an old residential neighborhood and saw two wild turkeys which quickly disappeared before I could get their picture. The morning air was cool and pleasant, because Fayetteville had been extremely warm for quite a while.

And the last place I visited before leaving Asheville, a little after noon on Tuesday, was the “New Morning Gallery.” I’ve visited this gallery several times through the years and even bought a bowl my last visit. Most of their wares are located on the second floor of the gallery. This gallery is located in the Biltmore Village District, and this was one of the areas severely hit by the flooding. Biltmore Village was a high end shopping area, and seeing it go from haute cuisine, to mud pies is devastating. New Morning Gallery web site.

After I watched the hurricane videos of the flooding, I later re-watched the videos of the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean that came ashore and washed away the lives of thousands. And now, I’ve watched just a few news reports of the California fires and see where whole neighborhoods have been razed to the ground, even those homes along the Pacific Ocean with their million dollar views. Now the million dollar views are available to all who can travel the Pacific Coast Highway. At least until realtors and construction crews start to rebuild.