DEWALT DC011 Combination Work Site Radio and 7.2-Volt to 18-Volt Pod-Style Battery Charger

Amazon Sales Rank: #1423 in Home ImprovementBrand: DEWALTModel: DC011Number of items: 1Dimensions: 14.50" h x 11.50" w x 21.63" l, MP3 player and iPod compatibleBuilt-in charger for 7.2-to-18-volt DEWALT battery packsWeather-resistant speakers with dual bass ports for maximum bass and rangeWeighs 13.2 pounds

MP3 player and iPod compatible, the DEWALT DC011 combination work site radio and 7.2- to 18-volt pod-style battery charger lets you listen along to your favorite tunes on the job. In addition to robust music playback abilities, this radio features a built-in charger for 7.2- to 18-volt DEWALT battery packs (except Univolt), and can charge batteries in as little as one hour. Radio features include an AM/FM digital tuner with LCD display, a built-in clock (so you know when it's time for lunch), and an 8-station memory preset feature. The radio can also draw power from a 7.2- to 18-volt DEWALT battery for cordless convenience. Also included is an auxiliary port for connection to CD players, MP3 players, and portable satellite receivers (cable not included). Other features include high-efficiency weather-resistant speakers with dual bass ports for maximum bass and range, a dual pivoting 11-inch flexible antenna, and a weather-sealed charger door. The built-in DEWALT 3-stage charging system provides maximum run-time and extends the overall life of the battery.

Most helpful customer reviews164 of 173 people found the following review helpful.Why am I the Power Manager?By John JamesI must confess this was a bit of an impulse buy. I already owned theDC911 radio/charger, but had been driven crazy by the knob tuning, and really liked the idea of being able to keep my MP3 player with the unit.When using the DC911, it's always been nice to just grab the radio, walk wherever you're going to work, and carry your music with you. There are plenty of times I know I don't need to recharge a battery, but just want to listen to my tunes while I work. The DC911 gave this to me, and would run seemingly forever before needing another charge. When I plugged it in, the battery charge was fast.A worker friend had won the Milwaukee version of this product. The digital tuning was great. The presets were very convenient. The fact the Milwaukee product is not also a charger is brain dead. I looked forward to DeWalt catching up with the digital features, though. When the DC011 showed up, I gladly took the plunge.What I have discovered after a month of use is that this radio is nothing short of frustrating from a feature standpoint. The digital tuning is convenient, but the presets have proven to be useless. Why? Because they are far too volatile. As another reviewer pointed out, the unit will exhaust a freshly charged DeWalt battery in 50 hours or less. What that means is that your radio will be dead if you leave it in your truck over Labor Day weekend, or even Monday morning if you were to unplug it early on Friday. To counter this, you find yourself consciously thinking about taking the NiCad battery out of the radio every time you put it away in your truck. Oh, but that it were that simple! After a week of doing just that, I found that the two AA batteries were now dead, safely taking my presets with them! I performed this test twice, not quite believing the first set of results. The silly thing is that the only thing the batteries are really trying to do while the unit is both turned off and unplugged is save the presets (why aren't they in a small chip of NVRAM?) and display the digital clock. Why that burns through a set of AA batteries in a week is beyond me.What I find I have done is move from a nice unit (the DC911) that can be characterized as a portable radio that just happens to be a battery charger over to a frustrating unit (the DC011) that is a battery charger that just happens to be a radio. If you leave the unit plugged in at all - and I mean ALL - times, you have good functionality. If you unplug the unit for a short time, you have adequate functionality. If you unplug the unit for a weekend, you're going to be quite disappointed when you return to it on Monday.My best recourse at this time is to just remove the AA batteries, forget the presets, totally ignore the clock (which most couldn't care less about, anyway), tune it manually when in use, and take the battery out of the unit when I turn it off and put it in the truck. I am now playing the role of power management for a product that has less power management complexities than laptops that have been managing this problem effectively for over a decade. Sadly, I expected better engineering from DeWalt than this.47 of 49 people found the following review helpful.Battery DrainBy The SchreibI have found out that if you leave the unit unplugged for more than fifty hours, with the radio off it will discharge the Dewalt battery. In my case I use an 18 Volt battery. I e-mailed Dewalt with no answer and finally called the 1-800 number and did talk to a customer service rep. Dewalt claims that it states in the directions the battery will discharge if left in the radio/charger due to supporting the memory and that they have been receiving calls on the issue. I find it amusing that two "AA" batteries will support the memory for an extended period of time but an 18-volt battery discharges after 50 hours. You do the math. I thought the reason you purchased a battery operated radio was to use it when no power was available or during a power outage in my case. This radio does have great sound and enough range to handle most job sites. I do like gadgets and this is a simple but effective design. They use two search functions to find stations, one by the tune knob and the other by scan function of a push button. It has three modes of operation, FM, AM, and Aux for CD player or other device.They also added a removable hard case holder, which could be used for a CD player to one of the handles, and it comes in handy for my MP3 player that I connect to the Aux function of the radio. Both the 20 gig player and cord fit into the case.Yes there are a couple of features I wish they would of added, for instance only 4 memory buttons for FM and 4 for AM band is really not enough. A weather Band would have also been nice for contactors on the job site. I bought mine for the workshop but it is in the house and has to stay plugged in. Someone dropped the ball.75 of 86 people found the following review helpful.Dewalt, what were you thinking?!By John McQuittyDewalt, what were you thinking? This thing is way to expensive for a portable radio, and it's way too expensive for a charger, but maybe for the convenience of both together...... However it is severely limited as a portable radio. The batteries run down over the weekend when the thing is turned OFF. It's no good on a job site - at least not for very long. I'll put it in the shop and use it for a VERY expensive plug-in radio, but I have no Dewalt products in the shop so the charger is useless. Dewalt, I expected better from you. Don't get very far from your extension cord with this thing. Not recommended!See all 62 customer reviews...