Wind up radio? Never heard of such a thing.
How long since you left your cave?
They are used in disaster emergency kits and deep in the remote depths of the third world since there are no batteries to go go bad. However, in a "Mad Max: Fury Road" post-apocalyptic scenario, where would any radio transmitters get their power? Or radio newscasters? As a survivor, you could have a radio that would work, but nothing to listen to. I'd think a knife or an axe or even a fish hook and some line would be more useful.
These are storm related radios. A little battery inside is charged by winding a crank...
> Wind up radio? Never heard of such a thing
I bought one about 5 or 6 years back for $7 at Rite Aid.
It actually works well. You can either use batteries or you can operate the crank/generator for about 30 seconds to get 30 minutes of use from it.
You're not missing anything. It's a nice way to ensure you can receive instructions from the government when the SHTF. /s
Amateur radio is the only way to go. Check out ARRL.org if you've never heard of that either...(the latter was a helpful, tongue-in-cheek comment, not sarcasm)
Also known as “hand powered” or “hand cranked”. They were all the rage for preppers a few years back. Cheap models had AM/FM and weather. Better models included other bands like CB and shortwave.
I have come to the conclusion that a hand /solar / peddle powered battery charger is a more useful appliance as the batteries can power more than just a radio.