Panasonic FM Radio Speaker Pocket Player, AM FM Dual Band Receiver.

There are dozens of pocket radios here on Amazon. This is one of the best. The Panasonic RF-P50D gets excellent reception on both AM and FM, and it sounds very good for a radio this size. In addition, as a unique and useful touch, the dial face even glows in the dark similar to the face of a glow-in-the-dark watch dial.

This radio looks almost identical to the earlier version of Panasonic’s pocket radio, which had the same model number as this one except the earlier model didn’t have the “D” on the end of the model number. That one was okay for local stations but had very weak reception of stations that were distant. This revised model has vastly improved reception, especially on AM. I compared this side-by-side to Sony’s small pocket radio, the ICF-P26. The sound quality is similar but this Panasonic is notably better at pulling in weak signals on both AM and FM. Compared to some of the off-brand pocket radios in this general price range – well, there’s really no comparison, yet many of those cost as much as or more than this Panasonic. Here you get reception that closely rivals that of bigger portables. It’s hard to find that in any pocket radio, let alone at this price.

The luminescent tuning dial collects energy from ambient room light and then glows for a while when the room goes dark. It’s a nice touch and useful for tuning the radio in bed. But, if the radio has been in the dark for a long time, such as stored in a drawer or a purse or carrying bag, the dial face will have to be exposed to light for a minute or so in order for the illumination feature to work.

To complete the old time pocket radio feel, Panasonic even includes in the box with this radio a single-ear earphone. My uncle, who passed away many years ago, was a night watchman at a factory and he always kept a pocket radio with him, which kept him company all night as he listened to talk programs through old-style earphones just like these. And, because they only fit into one ear, the user is safer owing to having an ear open to hear things going on around him or her. The old way isn’t always inferior.

My informal observation is that battery life is excellent. Panasonic specs provided on the owner’s instruction sheet included with the radio state that the radio will play 64 hours on 2 AA batteries on FM, or 68 hours on AM. Obviously this testing is at a certain volume level and duty cycle. In real life usage the batteries will last longer if the radio is played at lower volume levels (or through the earphone) and in shorter usage cycles. Playing the radio at high volume levels and for many hours at a stretch will drain the batteries more quickly.

This is a top choice among small pocket radios. Simple to use, sounds good, great reception, free retro earphone – plus a dial that glows in the dark.

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Excellent product. Thanks to Princess A for making this product available

Terrible reception, the sound gets distorted at high volume. Not returnable only replacement. Totally unexpected from a company like Panasonic. The model is outdated, i recommend you go for digital and auto frequency set because it is very inconvenient to carry around with manual tuning which gets touched most of the time.
Panasonic should discontinue this product.

Quality isn’t that good. Feature less, Tuning difficult. Too costly.

Fantastic little unit. Crystal clear sound. Great compact size. Perfect to have on hand for emergency situations

Très bonne radio de poche rapport qualité prix.