Also known as: FR500, Solarlink FR500, Eton Solarlink
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The Eton FR500 Solarlink was the feature flagship of the crank-radio world: AM, FM, real shortwave, and all 7 NOAA weather channels with alert, plus crank, solar, lights, siren, and a phone-charge output in one 1.9 lb box.1 It has been discontinued for years — Amazon’s own legacy listing says so in the title — and the used market is where it lives, at roughly $30–70 on eBay (thin data; verify current listings).
Key takeaways The full-band-set crank radio, used-only — buy it with the checklist, not nostalgia alone. AM/FM/SW/WX in one crank box is a combination nothing current matches except the Kaito KA500. The known faults are the buying game: a near-certainly-dead NiMH pack, crank-gearbox wear, and the classic Eton sticky-coating degradation (Purple Power cleans it). Tone alert, not SAME; ~$30–70 used, prices are scattered and data is thin. Listening is license-free — no FCC anything, ever. Where it ranks: best emergency radios.
Overview
In the late-2000s crank-radio boom, the FR500 was the one with everything: a 7.75 × 8.5-inch chassis carrying AM (500–1700 kHz), FM, shortwave, and the full NOAA weather band with alert; four white LEDs plus a red flasher behind a magnifying lens; a siren; and a cell-phone charge output years before that was standard. Power ran crank-dynamo-to-NiMH-pack, solar panel, or AC adapter — all pre-USB-C (Mini-USB/DC-barrel era). Even when new, reviews flagged construction and durability complaints — crank feel, plastic quality — and the shortwave, while real, is basic whip-antenna reception.2 Its value today is honest nostalgia plus the band set: no current crank radio except the KA500 hears shortwave at all, and none matches this spread in one box.
Universal Radio’s archive records it replaced by the FR600; no dealer sells it new. eBay, estate sales, and SWL classifieds are the market.
Buying used: what to check
This is the section that matters. A 15-plus-year-old FR500 has four known failure points; work through them before money changes hands:
- The NiMH pack — assume it’s dead. Near-certain on a unit this old. Confirm it’s the standard replaceable NiMH assembly and price a replacement into the deal. The key test: ask whether the radio runs on crank alone — a working dynamo will drive the radio even with a dead pack. If it won’t, suspect the dynamo or charge board and walk away.
- The crank gearbox. Spin it and listen for grinding or clicking — stripped plastic gears are the classic wear item. Output should light the LEDs within seconds.
- The sticky coating. The era’s rubberized soft-touch finish hydrolyzes into goo with age — the signature Eton ailment. It cleans off with Purple Power degreaser (Eton’s own recommendation), 91% isopropyl, or Goo-Gone,3 but ask for close-up photos first and price heavy cases accordingly.
- The rest: telescopic-antenna segments intact, siren working, no battery-compartment corrosion, and ideally the proprietary-barrel AC adapter included.
Pricing runs roughly $30–70 by condition and completeness — but the data is thin, with only scattered live listings; treat any asking price against a fresh eBay search rather than a book value.
GopherTrunk alternative
An SDR needs a computer and power — a crank radio’s entire purpose is working without either, so GopherTrunk is no substitute for an FR500. It’s the grid-up half of the same kit: a $30 RTL-SDR running free GopherTrunk monitors and records your local public-safety and utility channels — the traffic that carries ground truth in an emergency. Our emergency scanner frequencies guide lists what to program; the FR500 is the no-infrastructure fallback that also, uniquely for its class, hears the world on shortwave.
Who it’s for
- Buy the FR500 if you want the maximum band set ever put in a crank radio and you enjoy bringing old gear back to life with the checklist above. Find on eBay →
- Buy the Grundig FR200 instead for the simpler, cheaper, better-aging classic — accepting that it has no weather band at all.
- Want new with warranty? The Kaito KA500 is the current crank-plus-shortwave radio, and the Midland ER310 the overall pick. Full rankings: best emergency radios.
Sources
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Eton FR500 — Universal Radio archive — archived dealer page: full specifications, band coverage, power system, dimensions, and the note that the FR600 replaced it. ↩
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Eton FR500 — The SWLing Post archive — shortwave-listener record of the FR500’s capabilities and era context. ↩
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Eton’s solution for sticky radios — The SWLing Post — Eton’s recommended Purple Power fix for the degraded rubberized coating, plus community alternatives. ↩
Frequently asked questions
Is the Eton FR500 still made?
No — it’s confirmed discontinued twice over: Amazon’s own legacy listing is titled ‘Discontinued by Manufacturer’ and Universal Radio archives it as replaced by the FR600. The used market — eBay, estate sales, SWL classifieds — is where it lives, at roughly $30–70.
Does the Eton FR500 have shortwave?
Yes — alongside AM, FM, and all 7 NOAA weather channels with a tone-type alert, which made it the feature-flagship crank radio of its day. The shortwave is real but basic; a length of wire clipped to the antenna helps more than anything else.
What should I check before buying a used FR500?
Four things: whether the internal NiMH pack still holds charge (assume it doesn’t and price a replacement in), whether the radio plays on crank alone (if not, walk away — the dynamo or charge board is bad), gearbox noise while cranking, and how far the rubberized coating has gone sticky.
How do you fix a sticky Eton radio?
The soft-touch coating on 2000s Eton radios hydrolyzes into goo with age. Eton’s own recommendation is Purple Power degreaser; 91% isopropyl alcohol and Goo-Gone also work. It’s cosmetic — but ask sellers for close-up photos before bidding.
Does the FR500 do SAME weather alerting?
No — its weather alert is the 1050 Hz tone type, waking for any warning across the whole NOAA transmitter’s footprint. No crank radio of its era (or this one) decodes SAME county codes; a plugged-in SAME desktop radio does that job.