What Is The Best Portable AM/FM Radio That Runs on AA Batteries?

Ltubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 09:57
Last edited 29/04/2026 - 09:58

I'm looking for a portable AM/FM radio that runs on AAs for ease of use and availability, there are a few good options that are unfortunately running on 18650 / other rechargeable batteries from Tecsun, which I just don't want to bother with as I am getting tired of all the crap I have to recharge and I much prefer a 10 second battery replacement over a multi hour recharge wait.

I am considering the C. Crane Skywave 2 / SSB 2 (same radio with an extra function or two) but the speaker seems rather small, in fact it appears to be using the same speaker as their pocket radio, or at least the same size speaker, and while the radio itself has good reviews, it's more marketed towards people who are not too worried about music fidelity, whereas I'm hoping for a bit better sound quality, the speaker in the Skywave is just so small and not really designed for what I want, which is mainly music while I'm camping or travelling. It is a tiny radio, however, and that is great for portability, it's also about a hundred bucks cheaper than the Sangean below even after factoring in shipping costs and currency conversion.

I've also looked at the Sangean 909X2, which seems like a good option, but it's quite expensive and has a lot of functions I don't necessarily need, though it may be fun to dabble a bit when I'm bored at night with all the stuff you can do on it. It's probably about as big as I'd want to go with.

Has anyone else got any recommendations for a portable radio that runs on AAs? I've got a Sangean DPR-45 which is great, but it's a bit big and bulky, and it runs on D cell batteries, so it's more of an at home / in the garage radio.

I've tried googling, but a lot of what comes up is people interested mainly in shortwave / other functions or preppers looking for emergency radios.

Poll Options expired

  • 1
    Sangean 909X2
  • 1
    C. Crane Skywave 2 / SSB 2
  • 1
    Other
Electrical & Electronics Radio

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  • poor_me on 29/04/2026 - 10:45
    +6

    I personally would look for one with DAB function.

  • ForkSnorter on 29/04/2026 - 11:47
    +3

    mainly music while I'm camping or travelling

    Why? Bother other campers with teeny-bopper pop radio and endless ads in the middle of the forest? Or retro 60s-90s music, again with endless ads?

    If it's sound quality you're after, your phone plus a decent bluetooth speaker will beat all of these radios. You can upload your own music to the phone beforehand if no mobile reception. At least you won't have ads, and you'll have control over the musical content.

    • pegaxs on 29/04/2026 - 12:11

      I second this… just use a phone and a bluetooth speaker…

      • LFO on 30/04/2026 - 13:31

        Best ever alternative: use HEADPHONES

        Crank up the volume to whatever pleases you.
        Listen to whatever pleases you.
        Use far less battery.

        Win win.

    • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 12:24

      I don't camp around other people.

      My phone lasts 2 - 3 days if I ration usage, I'm not interested in a device that requires constant recharging. The radios I mentioned last 60 + hours of actual usage (not phone "usage" where it goes flat whether you're using it or not) before you need to replace the batteries.

      I like discovering or rediscovering songs I'd forgotten about, and I also like to listen to some talk radio.

      • ForkSnorter on 29/04/2026 - 12:32

        I like discovering or rediscovering songs I'd forgotten about, and I also like to listen to some talk radio.

        I get that. I pretty much gave up on radio because reception’s crap where I live. I’d love to listen in the car, but it keeps cutting in and out.

        • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 12:40

          Reception is not bad where I live, I mostly listen in the car.

          I did get a bunch of songs downloaded and put in the car, but I have to get them onto a USB and then manually transfer them, it was easier when I was still using an iPhone and any songs I bought on iTunes got automatically synced to my phone and I could play them with bluetooth, but now I've got an android so I'd have to manually transfer them to my phone, and that doesn't solve the problem of me getting bored of them after a while, it's also nicer just to get in the car and turn on the radio, rather than having to faff about with bluetooth and select the playlist I want at the time, I'm constantly finding old songs that I'd forgotten about.

  • techno2000 on 29/04/2026 - 14:10
    +3

    I bought a Panasonic RF-2400D recently for $68 and its decent.
    Runs on alkaline AA and also works fine on on NI-MH AA like eneloop/ladda

    https://www.amazon.com.au/Panasonic-Large-RF-2400DGN-S-Porta…

    • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 14:45

      I actually bought one of those for someone a while back.. I didn't realise it ran on AAs as well as corded.

      • bbinc on 01/05/2026 - 10:09

        Thanks OP for this post. I'd forgot how much I miss a portable radio c/f using phone - shed, garden etc. Got one of these Panasonics from Amazon yesterday, same day delivery! It's great, and I already had a bunch of AA's hanging around.

    • JimB on 29/04/2026 - 14:57

      Your purchases contradicts your username.

  • pegaxs on 29/04/2026 - 12:22
    +1

    Why no 18650's?? Why no rechargeable? If it takes 18650… you know you can carry spares, just like you would AA batteries? And you would probably have to carry less of them.

    A typical AA battery has 2~4Wh of power storage… A 18650 has about 9~12Wh. You would need 2 to 3 AA batteries for every 18650 they replaced.

    Or if internal battery, why not just take a battery bank with you? Or even a small USB solar panel…

    My go to portable radio is the Shihuadon/XHDATA R-108. You wont like it, as it has a rechargeable battery in it, but I personally think that "must run on AA" is a bit of a silly requirement considering how much more energy dense and environmentally friendly 18650 rechargeables are. You could even throw in an extra BL-5C battery in case you need it. smaller and lighter than a pack of AA's

    • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 12:31
      -1

      Because I always forget to recharge stuff after I've used it, and I just don't want the hassle of having to do that + a million other things, but I always have spare AAs around, and if I don't, I can take a quick trip to just about any store and they are almost guaranteed to have some, particularly rural stores that are near, or nearer than anything else, to places good for camping.

      I like the availability of AAs, they're one of the most common items around because so many things use them. I don't care about energy density for a device such as this, the radios I mentioned can last 80 or more hours on 2 - 4 AA batteries, depending on how high the volume is, and whether I'm using the display light or not, and AAs are nothing when we're talking about environmental damage, as long as they're disposed of responsibly.

      • pegaxs on 29/04/2026 - 12:42
        +1

        Because I always forget to recharge stuff after I've used it,

        Then that is on you, not the fault of the battery.

        I like the availability of AAs, they're one of the most common items around

        A radio that lasts almost a week of constant use and 2 back up spare batteries… Just how long are you going out "camping" for? You dont "need" other batteries at that point.

        the radios I mentioned can last 80 or more hours on 2 - 4 AA batteries

        If they lasted 80+ hours on AA, they would last 3+ times longer than that on 18650's. You could carry your radio and 2 spare 18650's or 2 spare BL-5C batteries and not "need" to go to a "rural store" and buy new batteries…

        Anyway, in whatever reason you have to justify it to yourself, my other suggestion would be the XHDATA D219.. it takes "AA" batteries and is AM/FM1/FM2 and nothing else…

        • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 12:46
          -2

          Then that is on you, not the fault of the battery.

          No shit. I never said they were bad batteries.

          A radio that lasts almost a week of constant use and 2 back up spare batteries… Just how long are you going out "camping" for? You dont "need" other batteries at that point.

          On and off, most of the time a few days, sometimes more, but recharging a battery is the last thing on my mind when I get home. The charge time is also something I'm not interested in dealing with.

          Anyway, in whatever reason you have to justify it to yourself, my other suggestion would be the XHDATA D219(xhdata.com.cn).. it takes "AA" batteries and is AM/FM1/FM2 and nothing else…

          Thank you for a suggestion that is actually useful.

          • FrozenFred on 29/04/2026 - 15:05
            +2

            @tubeidea: Be good and use rechargeable batteries. you can buy a set of 18650's or AA, have like 10 of them, and swap out as they die. 18650 ones you'll only need a couple though

      • skillet on 30/04/2026 - 08:36
        +1

        You can charge up 5x 18650s and you have 5 chances to forget. Get a Liitokala 4 bay charger you can do 4 at a time.

        The 18650 rechargeables self discharge 1-3% per month you lose almost nothing and the power density is many times of an AA. You will be swapping out AAs more often than the 18650.

        Due to your forgetfulness you might also leave an AA to cum alkaline jizz all over your device if it's left over discharged. Disposable batteries are evil.

  • Shame on 29/04/2026 - 13:36
    +1

    Sony ICF-S10MK2

    • tubeidea on 29/04/2026 - 14:44

      I've got a couple of ones the same size coming, but I was looking for something with a bigger and better sounding speaker, the pocket ones don't have great sound quality.

  • qtr pounder on 29/04/2026 - 20:31
    +1

    Starlink Mini
    Bluetooth party speaker (for 'quality' sound)
    Phone/tablet
    Portable power station with a solar blanket for charging.

    Radio from anywhere in the world, listen anywhere in the country that you can see the sky, for as long as the sun shines a few hours a day.

    🤷‍♂️

    • topherboi on 30/04/2026 - 07:57
      +1

      Can the Starlink run on AAs?

  • jonkvh on 01/05/2026 - 10:12

    This one: https://www.canohm.com.au/sangean-digital-portable-radios/dp…

    Been using it for 6 years on battery. Use it every night. It's about to get it's third set of new rechargeable batteries.

  • Downvoter on 29/04/2026 - 10:35
    -2

    Whatever the first search hit is from Temu

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