Tendak Battery Radio Review: A Proper Little Radio That Runs on AA Batteries

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When the power goes, the house goes quiet in a way you don’t expect. The telly’s off, the broadband router’s dark, and the phone’s battery percentage starts to look like a countdown. That’s exactly when you most want to know what’s going on, and a battery radio is still the simplest way to find out.

The Tendak battery radio does one job and does it properly. It’s a small AM/FM radio that runs on two AA batteries, with a big speaker, a long aerial and a headphone jack. There’s nothing to charge, crank or pair. This Tendak battery radio review covers why that simplicity makes it such a good fit for a grab bag and a power cut kit.

What Is the Tendak Battery Radio?

The Tendak battery radio is a pocket radio built to be a radio first. A lot of emergency radios try to be a torch, a power bank, a solar charger and a siren as well; the Tendak radio skips all of that and puts the effort into reception and sound instead.

It’s about 13 x 8 x 4cm, roughly the size of a mobile phone but a bit chunkier, and it comes with a lanyard so you can hang it on a bag or carry it in a pocket.

Here’s what you get:

• Radio: FM (87 to 108MHz) and AM (520 to 1730kHz), with a DSP anti-interference chip for better sensitivity.
• Aerial: a six-section telescopic aerial that extends to about 42cm and rotates 360 degrees.
• Speaker: a large built-in speaker.
• Headphone jack: 3.5mm, for any standard wired headphones or earphones.
• Controls: an AM/FM switch, a large tuning knob and a large volume knob.
• Power: two AA batteries (not included).
• Lanyard for carrying.

A Battery Operated Radio With Nothing to Charge

We say it in most of our kit guides: wherever you can, choose kit that runs on AA or AAA batteries. Then one bulk pack of batteries in the cupboard keeps your torches, lanterns and radio going, and you’re never stuck with a gadget whose built-in battery quietly went flat in the drawer six months ago.

The Tendak battery operated radio fits that perfectly. There’s no internal battery, no USB cable to lose and no handle to wind. Put two AAs in, standard or rechargeable, and it’s ready. Switch it off when you’re done and the batteries last a long time. Keep a spare pair in the same bag and you’ve got radio for as long as the power cut lasts.

It’s exactly the kind of battery radio the government’s own emergency advice has in mind when it tells households to keep a battery or wind up radio at home.

Built for Sound and Reception

Because the Tendak radio isn’t trying to be five gadgets at once, it can concentrate on sounding good. On the Tendak battery radio, the large speaker gives clear sound that’s surprisingly loud for something this small, and it holds its own against radios costing several times as much. That matters when the radio is the only thing in the room telling you what’s happening.

Reception gets the same attention. The DSP chip helps it pull in stations cleanly, and the long telescopic aerial extends and rotates so you can point it for the best signal. Tuning is a large knob rather than a fiddly button, so finding your local BBC station takes seconds.

A Portable Radio With Headphones Socket

This is the feature that sets the Tendak battery radio apart for an emergency kit. It has a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can plug in any pair of wired headphones or earphones and listen privately.

Think about where you might actually be listening. If you ever have to leave home and end up in a rest centre, it’ll be busy and noisy, and a speaker is no use to you or anyone else. At home in an overnight power cut, you might want to keep listening for updates while the children, or everyone else, are asleep. A portable radio with headphones lets you do both without disturbing anyone. Pop a cheap pair of wired earphones in the grab bag with it.

Simple Enough for Anyone to Use

The Tendak battery radio has an AM/FM switch, a large tuning knob and a large volume knob. That’s the whole lot. No menus, no screen, no pairing, no app. Anyone in the house can pick it up in the dark and get it working, which makes it a good choice for older relatives too.

Simple kit is the kit that gets used when things go wrong. When you’re tired, cold and stressed, two knobs and a switch beat a manual every time.

Why the Tendak Pocket Radio Belongs in Your Grab Bag

Small, light and running on batteries you can buy in any corner shop, the Tendak pocket radio is made for a grab bag. Here’s where it earns its place:

• The grab bag: radio and headphones in one pocket, with spare AAs, if you ever have to leave home in a hurry.
• The blackout box: with your torches and the same pack of AA batteries, ready for the next power cut.
• The bedside drawer: for listening to updates overnight without waking anyone.
• Older relatives’ homes: a radio they can actually use, with nothing to charge.
• Camping, caravans and the allotment shed: radio without hunting for a plug.

If you’re building a power cut kit from scratch, a battery radio like the Tendak radio is one of the first things to tick off the list.

What the Rest of the Team Think

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• Runs on two AA batteries, the same ones your torches use
• Nothing to charge, crank or pair, and no built-in battery to go flat
• Large speaker with clear, surprisingly loud sound for its size
• Long 360-degree telescopic aerial and DSP chip for strong reception
• 3.5mm headphone jack for quiet listening
• Simple controls: one switch and two large knobs
• Pocket-sized battery radio, with a lanyard

Cons

• Batteries aren’t included, so buy a pack with it
• AM and FM only, with no DAB (DAB is heavy on batteries)
• No torch or phone charger built in: it’s a radio and nothing else

Frequently Asked Questions