Freeplay Devo Wind-up Radio Full Review
Posted: 03 April 2008 by Chris Stevens
Wind-up radios may conjure images of caftan-wrapped figures in the Afghan desert, straining to hear a broadcast against the onslaught of a sand storm, but these radios actually have universal appeal. The wind-up has transcended its humanitarian roots and emerged as a useful energy-saving device, and the Freeplay Devo is no exception.
What surprised us most about this ingenious little gadget is that 60 seconds of winding the radio gives a full hour of FM listening. It's the kind of return on investment only a fool could ignore: rotate this handle for a minute and in exchange you might hear the world news, a play, or whatever music you can find on the airwaves.
The Devo is utilitarian in looks, its one attempt at beauty being a faux-carbon-fibre fascia that adorns the front of the unit. This is slapped on the otherwise silver chassis like Chanel No.5 on a drag queen -- it might hint at a classy exterior, but there's no getting away from the military-industrial feel to this radio. The chassis feels rugged, though it's not got anything on the PURE Oasis reviewed by our our sister site, CNET.co.uk. Where the Oasis is reinforced with aluminium, the Devo relies on a thick plastic case.
The FM and DAB tuners take the form of two concentric rotary controls. The outer part of the control dial changes FM frequency, while the inner control switches between DAB presets. This is particularly useful for those who flick between FM and DAB broadcasts, because there's no need to keep retuning the radio when changing between technologies. The radio will remember its DAB and FM tuning positions as long as you don't jog the dial you're not currently using.
The crank tucks neatly round the back, nestling next to the RCA jacks for plugging it into a bigger sound system
FM frequency is illustrated by a conventional tuning needle and printed scale. This goes some way to explaining why the FM radio will reward 60 seconds of winding with an hour of radio, while the DAB tuner, with its power-guzzling LCD and digital-analogue conversion circuitry, will only give a paltry three to five minutes of play for the same wind.
Charging for extended DAB radio use is an experience we wouldn't wish on anyone, but for FM radio, the handle is perfectly adequate and won't strain your hand. And besides, the Devo comes with an AC/DC adaptor so if you've got a wall socket free, you can charge from the mains -- though it'll take you 20 hours to power up fully.
Setting up the Freeplay Devo is straightforward -- all the more so because it doesn't rely on removable batteries or, necessarily, an external power source. As soon as the Devo is charged and switched on, the DAB part of the radio auto-tunes itself to all available digital radio stations and displays their names on the built-in LCD. The FM part of the radio is equally simple to operate, with the added benefit that it uses far less power. Continue reading...
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