Can a cellphone be charged off the solar power by just connecting to the radio or is cranking always required for that feature to work?
1635228
The owner's manual only makes reference to cell phone charging by crank, so I can only assume it cannot be charged by solar power.
1004043
I am sorry, but I have not did this task but give me a few days and I will put my radio on ...charge my unit and let play until it runs down and give you an answer back on this, I an tell you this much ..my old crank emergency radio lasted for almost three days before I had to recharge that battery. I hope I helped. if you are as happy as I am with my Ambient you will not be disappointed with it's performance. jim
1477075
You can use the device without the solar panels connected. The panels are just used to charge the device.
1281612
Yes, just plug into the USB port and select power out. Turn the crank to charge. As long as you have a USB cable that fits your portable device, it will charge it.
1015973
No. It does not. Not automatically. Some weather radios will automatically turn themselves on and start playing warnings from the national weather service. This radio does not. I would not buy this radio again for any reason. The charging crank broke-off after turning for 3 minutes. It's a nice gimmick (the crank-charger) but in the case of a real natural disaster or just a prolonged power-outage, do yourself a favor. Buy a small, battery-powered radio with an antenna and keep an extra set of batteries in the closet. Much more dependable. If the world goes to pot so bad that you can't find/buy batteries anymore, you should really forget about radios and focus on making stone knives and spears. No. It does not. Not automatically. Some weather radios will automatically turn themselves on and start playing warnings from the national weather service. This radio does not. I would not buy this radio again for any reason. The charging crank broke-off after turning for 3 minutes. It's a nice gimmick (the crank-charger) but in the case of a real natural disaster or just a prolonged power-outage, do yourself a favor. Buy a small, battery-powered radio with an antenna and keep an extra set of batteries in the closet. Much more dependable. If the world goes to pot so bad that you can't... » Read More No. It does not. Not automatically. Some weather radios will automatically turn themselves on and start playing warnings from the national weather service. This radio does not. I would not buy this radio again for any reason. The charging crank broke-off after turning for 3 minutes. It's a nice gimmick (the crank-charger) but in the case of a real natural disaster or just a prolonged power-outage, do yourself a favor. Buy a small, battery-powered radio with an antenna and keep an extra set of batteries in the closet. Much more dependable. If the world goes to pot so bad that you can't find/buy batteries anymore, you should really forget about radios and focus on making stone knives and spears. « Show Less
592854
Yes. You can charge your cell phone. Just place the USB end of your phone's charging cable into the plug on this item and plug your phone into the other smaller end of the cable. Crank the handle of this device and you will see your cell phone battery level indicator pool like it's plugged into the wall. It takes a VERY long time to get a small charge, but in an emergency, it will be better than no charge at all. Hope this helps.
877911
Yes. The solar panel charges at a low rate. I do not have my paperwork with me, but I believe it charges enough to then charge a cell phone 1 or 1.5 times after a 7 hours with direct sunlight solar panel to internal battery charge.David B.Electronic Technician
523970
It would 'create' 12v DC for charging phone devices, etc. It Uses batteries or solar or crank to operate.
402848
Ive found that you cant actually get the crank speed consistent long enough to actually be able to charge either my ipod touch or my samsung stratosphere. I think its best used as a crank radio and not as a phone charger
1862558
No, this is pretty much an emergency way of providing a charge to your cellphone. It uses AA batteries only (Note: you should really use Lithium Ion AA batteries. While other types of batteries do work, it will not provide a steady discharge curve)
480935
Hey, Jeff, No, they will not charge because the solar panel is wired to charge only the one, rechargeable battery that comes with the radio. I'm not sure about the hand crank, though...but I don't think so. The good news is that there is an adapter to charge the batteries, via their regular charger. So I guess, kind of in a secondary sort of way, you can charge your AAA rechargeable batteries with this unit. But with the adapter, not the hand crank, or the solar panel.
1069973
Yes, just connect it independently to the batteries(not through the solar charge controller).
2116747
Technically yes, the system runs on its internal battery so plugging it into the cigarette lighter will charge it. I found what I have to do is leave my Bluetooth on my phone in the "on" position all the time, and turn this off when I get out of the car. Then when I return to the car, turn it on and my phone automatically connects. A bit of an annoyance but it beats all the other wires hanging around and the feedback I used to get from them.
1245916
The solar panel will not charge a cell phone. Hand cranking is the only way.
1022869
both i believe ....the solar can be used directly for listening to radio only....
2254340
yes... the solar panel doesn't charge it all the way up. The best way to "top it off" is to plug it in to a car phone charger or something simialar to that. A tablet charger works the best.
1643516
I can't address your question directly since I've only charged my iPhone on it intermittently a couple of times. However, maybe this will help: I also have an Eton emergency radio with a built-in solar panel and a crank. Even starting out with that fully charged, the charging rate on a sunny day can't keep up with the demand running it. However, I'm able to run it all day at the beach if I plug it into the Eton speaker system and use its solar panel instead. So, I don't think you will have any problem with performance charging your iPhone on it. I can't recommend this unit enough. Can stay out on the beach for a typical five hour period and keep the radio charged up. The speakers sound really good too when I use them to play music through the iPhone.