MMR-99 AM/FM-RBDS/Bluetooth/AUX/Weather/Multi-Powered Digital Tuning Emergency Radio

I'm something of a long time emergency radio enthusiast at this point; been playing with them over the past nearly 20 years. I've owned multiple models by Eton and Kaito, and one from LaCrosse and Altec Lansing. Also tried some low end ones from companies like Running Snail. Almost bought the older yellow Sangean model back when, then finally picked this up early this year and now the search is over. If you're looking for something to use to tune in to broadcasts from the other side of the world while you try to stay warm during a nuclear winter, you'll be disappointed with this model's nonexistant shortwave tuner. For anything else, it's top notch. And you may find yourself using it regularly instead of stowing it away for emergencies. There are tons of options out there, but most are cheaply made. Makes sense -- How much is someone willing to spend on something they hope to never need? This and a few others cost more and are of much better quality. I'd expect this one to survive an actual emergency and I use it in my daily life -- Mostly as a Bluetooth speaker. The radio handles AM/FM and NOAA channels. AM and FM have narrow and wide band capabilities to bring in weak/distant signals, which I've never had in an emergency radio before. Another setting on the unit is between regular and "loud" volume, and you'll probably want the latter if using as a Bluetooth speaker. As far as that goes, it's similar to the Altec Lansing Storm Chaser in that it has vastly superior sound to other emergency radios' tinny little drivers. I actually use it to listen to music aboard my sailboat and it fills the small cabin with music on demand, probably in part due to the passive bass port on the back of the unit behind the speaker. And speaking of sailboats, it's water resistant, IP55. And made of high grade plastic with thick plastic bumpers on the edges for additional impact resistance and chunky rubber covers for the ports -- Rubber covers that properly seat and don't open accidentally. I, meanwhile, accidentally let it fall five plus feet onto a wood floor and it wasn't damaged, not even cosmetically. The Altec Lansing once fell two feet (but onto concrete) and I had to snap part of the facia back into place. Nothing on this is painted with a "rubberized" coating like some plastic units, so it won't get gooey and sticky in a few years like my Kaito Voyager PRO KA600 and Eton Microlink did. That stuff can be scrubbed off with isopropyl alcohol, by the way. Like most water resistant radios this is 100% digital and button-based, as rubber buttons are way easier to weather seal than knobs and switches are. They don't light up at night or glow in the dark, though the display is nice and bright. So are the "high" and "low" beams, along with a third, red flashlight to help preserve night vision. It doesn't have a fold-out reading lamp under the solar panel like many emergency radios do, however. I'd argue that this lends to better durability over having that thing flop open on impact. The carry strap is good quality and secure, the solar works (pop off one end of the strap to fully expose it -- strap ends are easy to pop on and off) and the hand crank works as well and feels very sturdy. Still, best to leave the thing with moving parts alone until you really need it. And consider that you'll do a LOT of cranking for a small amount of charge. This is the case on all such devices. It holds a charge for a long time when not in use. I haven't noticed it to self-discharge at all, though it clearly must since it displays the time 24/7. Time was, I opted for analog radios for bug out bags so they wouldn't run down the battery in storage. Not an issue with this one. It does not accept additional AA batteries for a backup. Or need that feature, in my humble opinion. The weather band tuner receives decently in my weak reception area with the telescopic antenna fully extended, whereas my analog Kaito KA370 pocket equivalent doesn't pick it up at all. It receives FM at least on par with my car's stereo. Has RDS and will even use it to keep the clock set. Haven't tested AM. The closest unit to this that I've owned is the Altec Lansing Storm Chaser. It has superior sound (two speakers) and shortwave, plus S.A.M.E. programming, but is much larger, day glow yellow and has battery issues and no headphone jack, plus a constantly on LED when not completely turned off -- It's garrish rather than discrete and over twice the size. And still sitting in my storage unit whereas this one earned a spot aboard with me. The Altec Lansing does have a built in bottle cap opener for those end of the world micro brews, however, should the day glo yellow not attract all the zombies. (I've reviewed that model, too). If you're willing to drop coin for an endurable emergency radio, I highly recommend this Sangean. Just wish the dark blue color available in Europe was sold here too. Way more nautical looking than army green, after all.

The Sangean MMR-99 is a well built radio that feels great in one's hands. The AM/FM performance is very good. The AM has excellent sensitivity and the adjustable bandwidth, found in the simple menu, can tailor the best sound due to conditions. FM sounds great, especially with the loudness turned on via the menu settings. Lots of low end audio. Unit is capable of 1.5 watts of audio. The Weather also has excellent sensitivity as well. The built in telescoping antenna provides enough gain to hear even the weaker Weather stations that are out of area. All the tuning controls and buttons for various functions have a nice solid detent feel, giving positive feedback. The only con and it isn't a deal breaker is while on AM stations and outside in the sunlight, the top mounted solar panel begins to charge and creates a loud squeal in the audio output. Covering up the panel eliminates the squeal. No squeal indoors with ambient light. The squeal appears very lightly on a weather channel if audio is present. The FM band is not affected by the solar panel squeal. The crank for generating charge for the internal battery stows securely and turns easily with little effort when generating a charge. This is a very nice high quality unit.

Here is my short explanation FM seems to come in as expected, but if the antenna were better / longer i think that it should have been more of a priority. The weather band works. The AM signal pickup seems ok. As far as all the electrical and the solar goes at this price it should have had 3x the capacity. The sound in my opinion is good enough and the unit seems very solid. I would have appreciated the ability to use disposable or rechargeable AA batteries or more of the lithium cells. I own a cheaper radio and the crank on this one is a step above that however that is not much experience. So all in all it feels slightly overpriced, but it does what i wanted and feels far tougher than my other portables plus it has WB. As for the alarm i plodded through without the instructions so rating it on the one progressively louder sound boy it does get loud. I have far too many things to learn about a couple of dozen things. As far as water & dust resistance, well in my opinion unless you can operate a device fully submersed i do not trust it. As far as camping or other activities always bring an assortment of zip lock bags. So i am happy with this radio, but other competitive devices in the same price range do look like perhaps they might better suit your needs. If you have read my review to this point you are a serious shopper and what might be a deciding factor may be size or stereo capability for example one of the Kaito line. An update my radio took a fall 4 feet to concrete and it was destroyed, but i can hardly imagine any radio taking that fall and surviving unscathed, had i taken it apart i am sure i could have restored most of the functions however the crank broke internally. As for me the crank is one of the things an emergency radio must have in perfect working order. As to whether or i will repurchase? It comes down to power and this radios single cell i feel falls below my needs.

Nice sound and quality feel battery hold up well. Good reception. Pricey!

I had a pocket-sized "emergency radio," but when a storm hit and the power went out I discovered it sounded so bad it was painful to listen to, and it was very hard to tune a station or keep it in tune. So I bought the Sangean, and couldn't be happier. First, it sounds amazingly good. Music and voice come through clearly, with lots of presence. (I turned off the "loudness" setting, which to my ears boosted the bass too much, but some people may like it.) Even NOAA announcements sound decent! Second, it has three power sources, including a hand-crank charger, which means it will run even if the battery is completely flat. Third, there are so many useful features: flashlight, emergency light, Bluetooth connection, phone charger, auto-set clock, and more. Finally, everything about it says "quality." It's rugged-looking and feels substantial, and everything works well. Highly recommended.

This is the most incredible radio there is! I have searched for a complete waterproof shower radio with bluetooth. I tried 2 cheaper shower radios from china and they disappointed. The tuner were not able to select individual radio stations, program buttons were not programmable. they all came with auto search/scan and the buttons were stiff and hard to control, both lacked the real features of a true radio. Sangean has the best radios hands down, I have owned the h201 for over 10 years and it has great reception and complete waterproof, however it lacked bluetooth. The MMR-99 has the the bluetooth technologies, it has the timer auto shutoff. they even added a 15 minute setting, it used to be 20 or 10 and they were both not the settings that i needed. 15 minutes is perfect timing for me to get out the shower and get ready before the radio shuts off. The logic in using the features and buttons all make sense, you do not need to memorize the manual. It just makes sense when you want to use a feature, this radio has a lot of presets that you can actually program, and change to the programmed groups that you have created. It displays the time, it has an alarm. The base is rich and sounds great, when i placed in the shower niche the base sound vibration kept moving the radio and it almost fell off the niche. I had to secure it to stop it from sliding. The only issue that I have with this radio is the lack of color choices, I would have wanted a blue color. I know that this radio is not waterproof to the level of the H201, but since it does not get direct water falling on it it will serve just fine. It is well worth the $100. dollars that it cost.

The selling point with this radio is the speaker and Bluetooth connection. It has the features of most other emergency radios but the good speaker really stands out, plus I am able to play music from my iPhone. The two things which could use improvement are another 1650 battery for two total, which should be replaceable via outer door. The other thing is the rubber buttons should light up when the screen does because they can’t be seen in the dark. Good quality and looks stout.

I was kind of hoping that I could use it as a regular radio when I was working in the garage or at the beach. Unfortunately, it isn't really loud enough to do that and the sound quality isn't that great. That rechargeable battery is small. The flashlight isn't very bright. Everything about it feels underpowered. I have been using it as a computer speaker. I'm not an audiophile, so it works fine at low volume in a quiet office. This keeps it charged and ready to go in case of an emergency. I still like it. It feels really solidly built, it looks cool, and it gives me a lot of optionality. Without this, what would I do in a long term power outage? My phone would be dead in a day and I'd be up a creek. Now, between the crank and the solar cell and a wall charger and a car charger, I know I'll have power one way or another - no matter what happens. I know I'll have a radio. I know I'll have a light. I know I'll have a way to charge my phone. That is the reason you buy this device. It doesn't go on the internet or connect to an app or any of that useless stuff modern appliances try to do. It is an army tank. It is like picking up a brick. It is water and dust resistant. You don't get that feeling very often anymore. UPDATE: After 18 months, the charging port is loose. I take back everything I said about its solid build. HAHA. Pathetic. One star. :(