Crank radios are increasingly being offered with DAB+ and are currently very popular. The Sangean MMR-99 DAB is a representative of the upper class of this device category.
Dem MMR-99 DAB You can see at first glance that we are not dealing with a cheap radio. The first thing you notice is its high-quality and extremely stable housing. By the way, this has protection class IP55. This makes the housing very insensitive to dust and normal water jets, regardless of direction.
equipment
The front is divided into two parts. A powerful 5.5 cm larger mono speaker is installed on the left, which has an output power of 1.5 watts. The spacious LCD display installed next to it has a line around 1 cm high and eight characters long. Various symbols, such as the charge level indicator, selected memory bank, currently active mode and more, are arranged above it.
Ten buttons covered with soft plastic and two rockers for volume and station search are used to operate the radio, which, in addition to DAB+, also works on FM. Most keys have dual functions. Here the duration of operation determines the function carried out. These include, among other things, control functions for Bluetooth, which the radio can use to play audio.
Other features
The connection panel is located on the right side, where all sockets are hidden behind water-repellent protective grommets. In addition to a USB-C charging socket for connecting an external power supply, there is also a conventional USB socket installed, which can be used to charge a smartphone. In addition to the obligatory headphone jack, there is also an aux input, which can also be used to play separate analog audio sources via the MMR-99 DAB.
A small solar cell is installed at the top. It is not intended as a primary energy source as its power generation depends heavily on incident sunlight. This means it can take an extremely long time to charge the built-in 2,600 mAh 18650 lithium battery. This is better done with the dynamo hand crank installed on the back. It generates most power at around 100 revolutions per minute. According to the operating instructions, which can only be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, one minute of cranking is enough for 5 to 7 minutes of radio operation.
There are three light sources installed on the left side, which can be switched via a separate control panel next to the solar cell. Compared to other crank radios, the light output is extremely low despite two brightness levels. There is also a built-in red LED that provides weak, glare-free light. Finally, an optical and acoustic alarm function is integrated into the device.
Commissioning
Immediately after switching on for the first time, the automatic DAB+ station search starts. The time and date are taken from the digital radio data stream. This means that setting up the radio is essentially limited to selecting the menu language. There are seven languages to choose from. In addition to English and French, this also includes German.
How is the reception?
In addition to the automatic scan, the MMR-99 DAB also offers a manual station search. There is even a dedicated button on the control panel for the complete scan. The progress of the scan is shown on the display using five arrows and the number of programs already read.
All relevant parameters for the currently running program, such as the program category, data rate used, reception frequency and radio text, can be called up using the Menu/Info button. The signal strength is illustrated using an eight-digit bar. This only makes it possible to carry out a slightly more precise reception analysis than is always offered with the four-digit mini bar display in the upper right area of the display.
About the channel list
In the standard setting, the stations found are saved alphabetically. Alternatively, you can also have the stations sorted by ensemble in the menu interface. Another option is to empty the station memory. A useful feature if the device is often used in different locations and you do not want to have stations in the station list that are not available at your current location. They are marked with a question mark in front of them.
An automatic scan is offered on FM, which stops at the next station that can be received. The scanning sensitivity can be adjusted in the menu interface. This means that the search doesn’t just stop at local stations. A manual station search in 50 kHz steps is also available.
The reception performance on DAB+ and FM is in the solid midfield with slight ambitions to achieve a little more than the local average.
Special functions
Thanks to Bluetooth, the device plays music from your smartphone, among other things. This can also be charged with the MMR-99 DAB. The radio also has an analog Aux input that can be used to connect other audio sources. A sleep timer and an alarm function complete the equipment list.
Battery life
With a fully charged battery, the crank radio can play DAB+ for 20 hours and 45 minutes in one go at half the volume. In FM mode, the radio lasts for 22 hours and 50 minutes. A fully charged battery is also enough for 10 hours and 20 minutes of light in the brightest mode. With a lower light level, an even longer operating time would be possible.
Hand crank
The hand crank that drives the built-in dynamo leaves a solid impression and is easy to use. Relatively at least. Because it takes a bit of force to turn the crank. In order to generate enough electricity, you should be able to achieve 100 revolutions per minute. Which can really get in your hands.
Simply because you have to crank for a long time to pump at least some power into the integrated 2,600 mAh lithium battery. Ten minutes of cranking is enough for 68 minutes of DAB+ radio reception. On FM it is enough for at least 55 minutes. These are only guideline values because it also depends on how evenly the hand crank was operated.
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Source: www.digitalfernsehen.de
