Coby - Compact AM/FM Radio With Digital Display Reviews
www.sears.com
Rating Summary
“Eats batteries, not very user-oriented controls”
- Pros
- Built-in speaker, External antenna helps pick up stations
- Cons
- Very poor battery life (turns itself on), FM station frequency drift
Coby - Compact AM/FM Radio With Digital Display —
I needed an FM radio to listen to the television sets at the YMCA where I work out, they retransmit the TV audio kind of like the drive-in movies used to do (or still do if you can find a drive in movie that is still open, none around where I live). I bought the Coby CX-50 radio for this purpose, though it also receives AM stations, I don't use it for that purpose.
The Coby CX-50 looks attractive at first glance, and besides the earphone jack, it has a built-in speaker so you can hear the sound even without use of the earphones. It also has an external antenna which no doubt helps it pick up the stations better than those radios with a built-in antenna, which is important to me since the transmitters on the TVs at the YMCA are so weak and feeble with their signal that I have a hard time receiving them even within about 10 feet from the transmitter.
However, the Coby CX-50 has some big flaws which limit its usefulness. Chief among them is that it seemingly turns itself on and drains the battery quickly down to empty even when you're not using it. I realize that the buttons to turn on the radio are too easy to press inadvertantly, but I think this radio actually turns itself on when not in use, and in the course of less than a day will take even new batteries down to nothing in less than a day. Also, the controls for the audio volume and station tuning are on an edge where it is too easy to change the station and/or volume without intending to do so. Also, the Coby CX-50 seems to lack the tuning lock for FM stations, and will frequently drift frequency to a nearby setting, which makes you need to keep retuning back to the station you want to listen to.
I wanted to like the Coby CX-50 but it had too many flaws, it seems to have a lot of features, but they are poorly executed, and the frequent draining of the batteries adds quite a lot to the cost of ownership (there is no AC adapter to allow you to plug the radio into the wall).
