Prepper Segment Part 3: Eton Field Radio Review

Next up is the Eton Field Radio. It does not have the versatility as the Eton FRX5. It does not have all of the extensive power options as the FRX5, such as solar or hand crank. But it will work on D size batteries, so as the name of the product states, it can be taken out in the field for all of your radio listening needs.

Features and specs:

• AM/FM/SW bands 

• FM with RDS (Radio Data System) 

• Dial-in-dial coarse/fine digital tuning 

• Treble/bass control 

• RF gain control 

• Wide/narrow bandwidth selection 

• 50 memory stations 

• External AM/FM/SW antenna connections 

• Local/DX switch 

• Rich orange LCD display 

• Line-in/line-out and headphone jacks 

• FM telescopic antenna 

• Carrying strap 

• Reset/lock button 

• Power supply: 7V DC adapter or 4 D batteries (sold separately) 

SHORTWAVE BANDS AM 520 – 1710 kHz FM 87.5 – 108 MHz SW 1.711 – 29.999 MHz

The Eton Field Radio came in a nice looking box with photos of the pictures and its features and specs. Opening the box showed a well protected product. Materials used were mostly plastic. But the quality of materials used were very good, as is the fit and finish. It felt in hand like a well made product. Also included was the power cord and owners manual.

Having experience with Eton’s products, I was excited to see how the Field Radio would perform. I was pleasantly unsurprised at the performance of the Eton Field Radio. It performed very well, as is Eton’s reputation for excellent products. I loved the fact that is also has inputs on the back for external FM on SW antennas. So if you’re serious about pulling in those stations and have a roof mounted antenna, it will plug right in.

Even without using an external antenna, the built-in telescopic antenna worked very well, as did the tuner. Living out in the country and surrounded by mountains, radio reception is difficult. It’s a perfect environment to weed out quality tuners from the basic. Stations that typically come in, come in crystal clear. And stations that typically come in, came in crystal clear. And stations that typically don’t come in were able to be tuned in and sounded good.  With the digital display there is even a signal strength meter, so you can see the signal strength of the station you are trying to pull in.

The Eton Field radio also came with the controls to get the best result from your reception, such as a selectable gain, and for the best sound, with adjustable bass and treble. I also like some of the other options, like presets, alarms, and multiple timers. The connectors on the side for a line in, line out, and headphones are also cool.

The Eton Field Radio is a great product. And being able to receive communications from all over thanks to the short wave tuner capability is very cool. For those preppers preparing for a potential time when crap hits the fan, the short wave can provide news from all over so you are in the know.  With an MSRP of $189, it is a good value.  Based on its design, features, quality, and performance, the Eton Field Radio has earned our Highly Recommended award. For more info and complete specs, check out their website at www.etoncorp.com.