Best wind-up DAB radios UK (2026): DAB+ sets you can recharge by hand
A wind-up DAB radio is a digital set with a fold-out handle that recharges its built-in battery, usually alongside a small solar panel and a USB charging socket. They are much rarer than wind-up FM sets. We found six on sale in the UK whose maker, or for the ROCAM and Acta Berg sets the Amazon listing, says they receive DAB+ and have a crank, and all six pick up FM too. Three come from makers that publish a manual or spec sheet (Sangean, Nedis and Technaxx); the other three are marketplace brands with no maker page we could find, so their figures are listing claims and labelled as such. What separates them is how long each runs on a full charge, what a minute of winding gives back, and what happens once the battery is empty. Prices and stock are refreshed on a schedule, and we haven't used any of these radios ourselves.
Which wind-up and battery radios are in stock now →By Tom Calder · Updated 15 November 2026 · 6 products, all price-tracked
Our picks
Photo: AmazonSangean MMR-88 v2
A light DAB+ set for a kitchen shelf or a bag that can be topped up by crank, sun or USB-C, if you accept a short run time.
as of 15 Nov 2026, 12:07 GMT · Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.ROCAM CR1030DAB
Budget-minded DAB+ listeners who want a colour screen and Bluetooth, and who'll treat the battery figure as a claim.
All 6 compared
Budget-minded DAB+ listeners who want a colour screen and Bluetooth, and who'll treat the battery figure as a claim.
Our verdict
A marketplace DAB+ crank radio that owners rate for its DAB reception, including in weak-signal areas, with a colour screen, Bluetooth and a 57mm speaker. We list the 12,000mAh battery as a claim because nobody has verified it, the AAA fallback is something owners report rather than the listing states, and there's no crank figure at all. Treated as a DAB+ radio you charge from the wall, it's a sensible buy; treated as a 12,000mAh power bank, it's unproven.
Worth knowing: The 12,000mAh capacity is the seller's unverified claim, and there's no published crank-to-play figure
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you're buying it for the battery figure. Judge it on DAB+ reception and the screen, and check the AAA fallback works on day one.
Photo: AmazonBest wind-up DAB radioA light DAB+ set for a kitchen shelf or a bag that can be topped up by crank, sun or USB-C, if you accept a short run time.
as of 15 Nov 2026, 12:07 GMT · Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Our verdict
Sangean publishes more than most brands here: its manual gives about 10 hours of play from a full charge, about 5 to 7 minutes of listening per minute of winding at around 120 turns a minute, and about 15 hours in direct sun to refill the cell. That makes it a believable, modest set. It's DAB+ and FM at 377g with a swappable 18350 cell, but there's no AA or AAA backup, no IP rating and the phone port is a 5V/0.3A trickle. For a longer run the Roberts SolarDAB 99 quotes up to 20 hours, at more than twice the weight.
Worth knowing: About 10 hours per charge, no AA or AAA fallback, and a specialist 18350 cell to replace
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want a long run time, an IP-rated body or a quick phone top-up. The Philips TAR3500 quotes up to 60 hours, with AAA backup, and the Sangean MMR-99 has a rated 1A port and a dust and water rating, though it has no DAB+.
Read the full review →
A DAB+ and FM wind-up radio from a maker that publishes its figures, for a household that wants DAB in a power cut and will keep it topped up by USB-C.
as of 15 Nov 2026, 12:07 GMT · Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Our verdict
One of the few DAB+ wind-up radios whose maker states real numbers. Technaxx gives up to 10 hours from the 2,000mAh cell, about 3 hours to recharge over USB-C, a 150 lux torch with an SOS mode and a USB-A port rated 5V/1A for a phone top-up. It is also honest about the backups: a full charge takes up to 6 hours of winding or 35 hours of sunlight, so the crank and the panel are last resorts. Its gap for a power cut is that it takes no AA or AAA cells and has no stated water rating, so once the cell and your power bank are flat the crank is all that's left. At 293g it suits a grab bag.
Worth knowing: No AA or AAA fallback: the 2,000mAh cell, the crank or the panel is all there is
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want a radio that runs on ordinary cells when its battery is flat. The Philips TAR3500 takes four AAA cells and the Acta Berg DAB+ crank radio three, and the Roberts Play 20 runs DAB+ on four AA cells with no crank at all.
A wind-up and solar set that also gets DAB+, for a home kit where BBC national stations on digital matter.
as of 15 Nov 2026, 12:07 GMT · Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Our verdict
One of the few crank and solar radios on Amazon UK with DAB+ as well as FM, plus a 5,000mAh battery, a torch, an SOS alarm and a charging port in one 19cm box. Acta Berg publishes almost nothing beyond the listing: no battery life, no output rating for the charger, no weight and no dust or water rating, and the brand has no working website. Treat it as a capable-looking budget set, not a rated one.
Worth knowing: No published battery life, charging output, weight or IP rating; the brand has no working website
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want published figures. The Philips TAR3500 states IP55 and up to 60 hours from its lithium cell, and the Roberts SolarDAB 99 is a DAB+ wind-up from a UK brand.
Sold out right now (2)
The shop says these are sold out today. We check stock every hour, and each one moves back up the list when it returns.
A pocket-sized DAB+ radio with crank and solar backup and a swappable 18650 cell, from a European electronics brand that publishes a proper manual.
Our verdict
Nedis states 15 hours of play from the 2,500mAh cell and 3 to 5 minutes of radio per minute of cranking, a modest figure, and its manual shows how to swap the 18650 cell. It's DAB+ and FM at 288g, with a torch, reading light and siren. The loose ends are real: no headphone socket, a 1W mono speaker, no published rating for the USB-A output so phone charging is unproven, no IP rating (the manual says to keep it dry), and a manual whose crank line ('around 3 to 5 minutes to fully charge') doesn't match the product page's figure.
Worth knowing: No headphone socket, a 1W mono speaker and no rated phone-charging output
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you want a water-resistant set or a rated phone-charging port. The Sangean MMR-99 has both, a dust and water rating and a 5V/1A USB-A port; the Philips TAR3500 is rated for dust and water but gives no USB output rating. Neither has DAB+.
Read the full review →
The cheapest way onto DAB+ with an AAA fallback, if you'll charge it from the wall and treat the crank and solar panel as extras.
Our verdict
On paper the budget DAB+ answer: DAB+, FM with RDS, 60 presets, a 5,000mAh cell and three AAA cells as backup, in a 410g IPX4 body. Owner reports pull it down. Two owners say the solar panel adds little or nothing, one says the promised automatic switch to AAA never happened and the radio just shut down, and one got under 10 seconds of radio from 15 minutes of winding, though their fresh AAA cells also ran flat within hours, which points to a faulty set. So charge it from the mains, keep AAA cells in it, and don't count on the handle.
Worth knowing: Two owners say the solar panel adds little or nothing, and one got under 10 seconds of radio from 15 minutes of winding, possibly from a faulty set
Who shouldn't buy it: Don't buy it if you expect the crank or the sun to run it. If you can't keep it charged from the mains, a battery-only set or the Philips TAR1609 is the safer buy.
ⓘ As an Amazon Associate, PreparedBritain earns from qualifying purchases. We may earn a commission when you buy, or a fee when you request a quote, through our links. When two products are close, commission can decide which one we pick. A clearly better product always wins. Amazon prices come from Amazon's own product data and show the date and time they were retrieved. Prices at other retailers are checked by us, less often. Prices and stock can change at any time, so always check the retailer's price before you buy.
Before you buy
Check the maker's spec says DAB+, not just 'digital'.
Plenty of listings for wind-up radios use 'digital' for a digital display or digital tuning on FM and AM, which is not the same thing. Every set on this page lists DAB+ alongside FM: the Sangean MMR-88 and the Nedis RDDBCR2000GN (DAB+ and FM), and the Technaxx TX-414 (DAB+ and FM, with no AM). For the ROCAM CR1030DAB, the ROCAM 1009Pro and the Acta Berg DAB+ set, the DAB+ claim comes from the Amazon listing, as there is no maker page to check.
Compare running time on a full charge, which is where these sets differ most.
Nedis gives 15 hours (900 minutes), Technaxx up to 10 hours and Sangean about 10 hours for the MMR-88. The ROCAM 1009Pro listing claims up to 25 hours at half volume; the ROCAM CR1030DAB and Acta Berg listings give no figure. None of the three makers or three listings splits its running time between DAB and FM, so nobody can say from maker figures how much DAB costs on these particular sets. The gap you can see is against FM/AM crank sets, and it is mostly battery size: Sangean's FM/AM MMR-99 runs about 24 hours on a 2,600mAh cell, while its DAB+ MMR-88 runs about 10 on 850mAh.
Look for a winding figure, and treat the crank as a top-up.
Sangean's MMR-88 manual says one minute at about 120 turns gives roughly 5 to 7 minutes of listening, and Nedis says one minute gives 3 to 5 minutes of radio. Technaxx gives no minutes figure but says filling the TX-414's 2,000mAh cell by crank takes up to 6 hours. The ROCAM CR1030DAB listing quotes only a '650mA' crank, and the ROCAM 1009Pro and Acta Berg listings give nothing.
Decide what keeps it going when the battery is flat.
A set that takes shop cells keeps working however long the cut lasts. Of these six, only the ROCAM 1009Pro's listing says it takes three AAA cells, with an automatic switch to them. The Nedis and the Sangean MMR-88 have a lithium cell you can swap (an 18650 and an 18350 respectively, specialist sizes rather than supermarket batteries). Technaxx gives no AA or AAA option for the TX-414, and the CR1030DAB and Acta Berg listings mention none, so on those the crank and the panel are the only way back once the battery is empty.
Weigh up the extras: phone socket, weather rating and weight.
Technaxx rates the TX-414's USB-A output at 5V/1A, enough to top up a phone; Sangean rates the MMR-88's at 5V/0.3A and warns it may not charge devices that need more current, and Nedis gives no rating. None of Sangean, Nedis or Technaxx publishes an IP rating for these sets, and Nedis tells owners not to expose its set to water or rain. For a grab bag, the light ones are the Nedis (288g), the Technaxx (293g) and the Sangean MMR-88 (0.38kg). Every set here has a torch.
For longer power cuts
A radio, torches and a power bank cover a short cut. If you want the fridge, the router or medical kit to keep going for longer, these are the three ways to do it.
A silent battery you can use indoors. Enough for lights, the router and phones through an evening, or a fridge-freezer on a bigger one.
For cuts that run into days. Petrol or dual fuel, outdoors only, never in a garage or shed: the exhaust carries carbon monoxide.
2 to 4 kWh that stays in the house, often with solar panels to top it up, for a long cut or a home that relies on power for medical kit.
Not sure how big? What size power station do you need → · Power station or generator →
We haven't wound, timed or listened to any of these radios ourselves, so nothing here is a hands-on result: each one is researched, not used. Every band, running time, crank figure and battery detail comes from the maker's own page, manual or data sheet (Sangean, Nedis and Technaxx), read between 23 October and 14 November 2026, except for the ROCAM and Acta Berg sets, which have no maker page we could find, so their figures come from their Amazon UK listings and are labelled as such. Roberts' SolarDAB 99 is left off because Roberts now lists it only as a refurbished set, out of stock, and no longer states its running time. Where a maker publishes no figure the table shows a dash rather than a seller's number. No claim on this page rests on owners' reviews. Amazon prices and stock come from Amazon's API on a schedule, not from reading the page. When two products are close, commission can decide which one we pick. A clearly better product always wins. If we do wind and time these sets, the entries will be labelled Used and reviewed by us and show the method. Read our full methodology →
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Common questions
Can you get a wind-up DAB radio in the UK?
Yes, though there are only a handful. We track six with both DAB+ and a hand crank that are sold in the UK: the Sangean MMR-88, Nedis RDDBCR2000GN and Technaxx TX-414, whose makers publish their specifications, and the ROCAM CR1030DAB, ROCAM 1009Pro and Acta Berg DAB+ radio, whose details come from their Amazon listings. All of them receive FM as well, and all have a solar panel.
Does a wind-up DAB radio use more battery than FM?
Not on any maker's figures for these sets. None of the three makers or three listings behind the six wind-up DAB sets here gives separate DAB and FM running times. On battery radios where the maker does split them, DAB doesn't always come off worse: Panasonic's operating instructions for its RF-D10 give about 40 hours on DAB and 30 hours on FM with alkaline C cells. What you can compare is hours per full charge: 10 to 15 hours for the wind-up DAB sets whose makers publish one, against about 24 hours for Sangean's FM/AM MMR-99 and up to 60 for the Philips TAR3500, which carry bigger batteries than most of the wind-up DAB sets.
Will a wind-up DAB radio work in a power cut?
The radio will, because it runs on its own battery, crank or panel rather than the mains. Whether a station stays on air is down to the broadcaster, and our guide to which radio works in a UK power cut covers DAB and FM. Every wind-up DAB set on this page also has FM, so you can switch bands if the digital signal is weak where you are.
Is a 'wind up digital radio' the same as a DAB radio?
Not always. Sellers use 'digital' for a digital display or for digital tuning of FM and AM, which tells you nothing about DAB. If you want digital stations, look for DAB+ in the maker's specification. Every set on this page lists DAB+.
Which wind-up DAB radio runs longest on a charge?
On makers' own figures, the Nedis RDDBCR2000GN, at 15 hours, then the Technaxx TX-414 (up to 10) and the Sangean MMR-88 (about 10). The ROCAM 1009Pro's listing claims up to 25 hours at half volume, but that is a seller's figure with no maker page behind it. It is also the only one of the six whose listing says it takes AAA cells as a backup.
Sources (7)
- GOV.UK Be Ready: 'Get prepared for emergencies' checklist (read 14 Nov 2026): 'FM radio (battery / wind up)'
- Sangean UK: MMR-88 DAB+ product page, datasheet and manualDAB+/FM, 850mAh 18350 cell, about 10 hours, 5 to 7 minutes per minute of winding, about 15 hours of sun, 5V/0.3A output
- Sangean UK: MMR-99 product page and manual (FM/AM, 2,600mAh, about 24 hours)
- Nedis: RDDBCR2000GN product page and spec tableDAB+/FM, 2,500mAh 18650, 900 minutes, crank figure, 288g
- Nedis: RDDBCR2000GN online manual (replacing the battery, safety notes)
- Technaxx: TX-414 Crank Emergency DAB Radio product page2,000mAh, up to 10 hours, up to 6 hours by crank, up to 35 hours by solar, 5V/1A output, 293g
- Panasonic: RF-D10 operating instructions, RF-D10GN editionDAB/DAB+ about 40 hours, FM about 30 hours on alkaline C cells; Panasonic's PDF refused scripted reads, so the table was read through a ManualsLib copy
