Coach,
if you're looking for a reasonably priced alternative try either the
Grundig (FR 200-450) or the
Kaito 007-009 models
My dad lives in "hurricane alley" and bought the Grundig FR-200 so I had a chance to play with it when I was down there in January. I was very impressed. 100 turns of the crank gives you 30 minutes of play time & the reception was a lot better than I expected (while channel scanning one night I even got WGN)
The only negatives are there is no AC adaptor included (you have to buy it separately) and the dial doesn't light up making tuning a bit of a challenge.
Now with that being said I just ordered a Kaito 009 for myself. The reasons I opted for the Kaito is that the AC adaptor is included and they have 4 SW bands, TV 1/2, aviation/marine and weather channels. (the Grundig only has AM-FM, Weather, and 2 SW bands). The Kaito also has a built in solar panel for charging outdoors even while running the radio.
Both are around $40.00 each most places although I found a Kaito on sale for $30.00