Makita BMR100W 18 Volt Lithium Ion Cordless
I bought the older version of this a few years back, and recently wanted to upgrade to something with a line-in input for a MP3 player. The older version is essentially identical, except it's blue instead of white, and has no line-in. Unfortunately when I bought the older one, I didn't think I'd ever care about being able to plug in a "fragile" MP3 player on a jobsite. As listening habits changed over the years, I've gotten sick of being at the mercy of local radio programming, and really wanted a MP3 input, so time to upgrade.
I didn't really want to buy the same basic radio over again to get just 1 new feature, so I first tried one of the new Milwaukee jobsite radios. Multiple shortcomings with the Milwaukee led me to return it, and just get another Makita I knew I'd be happy with. Advantages of this Makita over the Milwaukke are:
1) Size: The latest Milwaukee is absolutely huge. The large size is a pain to carry around, and takes up way too much shelf space for workshop use. I'm not sure why the Milwaukee is so large as it is not noticeably any louder than this Makita.
2) Tuner: The Milwaukee is advertised as having an extremely sensitive digital tuner. This was the main reason I tried the Milwaukee, since I live about 50 miles from the local city radio towers. It doesn't live up to the advertising, and struggled to pull in stations more than 20-30 miles from me. The Makita tuner is much stronger, and easily pulls in stations the Milwaukee struggled with, and can just barely pull in the stations 50 miles away that I'm really after and the Milwaukee couldn't get.
3) Buttons/Knobs: The Milwaukee has only up/down buttons for the volume and tuning adjustments. These buttons require a firm, individual push for each incremental adjustment, and are really a pain to make large adjustments. The rotary knob on the Makita is far easier to use.
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This little radio is great. Very compact yet has very good sound quality. Lots of space inside the back, I can have 2 batteries and my Zune inside without any problems. The Aux jack on the inside is not in a very good place, directly above and to the side of the slide on battery making it difficult to use but that is my only con. Some might not like the power adapter or that it doesn't charge batteries, but in my eyes it's designed to be independent anyways. The reception is very good even without the antenna attached, even when inside a concrete basement. This radio has attracted a lot of attention since I started bringing it to the job site.
BalasHapusI bought the older version of this a few years back, and recently wanted to upgrade to something with a line-in input for a MP3 player. The older version is essentially identical, except it's blue instead of white, and has no line-in. Unfortunately when I bought the older one, I didn't think I'd ever care about being able to plug in a "fragile" MP3 player on a jobsite. As listening habits changed over the years, I've gotten sick of being at the mercy of local radio programming, and really wanted a MP3 input, so time to upgrade.
BalasHapusI didn't really want to buy the same basic radio over again to get just 1 new feature, so I first tried one of the new Milwaukee jobsite radios. Multiple shortcomings with the Milwaukee led me to return it, and just get another Makita I knew I'd be happy with. Advantages of this Makita over the Milwaukke are:
1) Size: The latest Milwaukee is absolutely huge. The large size is a pain to carry around, and takes up way too much shelf space for workshop use. I'm not sure why the Milwaukee is so large as it is not noticeably any louder than this Makita.
2) Tuner: The Milwaukee is advertised as having an extremely sensitive digital tuner. This was the main reason I tried the Milwaukee, since I live about 50 miles from the local city radio towers. It doesn't live up to the advertising, and struggled to pull in stations more than 20-30 miles from me. The Makita tuner is much stronger, and easily pulls in stations the Milwaukee struggled with, and can just barely pull in the stations 50 miles away that I'm really after and the Milwaukee couldn't get.
3) Buttons/Knobs: The Milwaukee has only up/down buttons for the volume and tuning adjustments. These buttons require a firm, individual push for each incremental adjustment, and are really a pain to make large adjustments. The rotary knob on the Makita is far easier to use.
This radio is everything I expected it to be. Rugged, small footprint, stylish, has great sound (amazing base response considering the size) digital presets for AM and FM radio, water/dust tight compartment for tool battery and or Ipod/mp3 player or to store included 12v power adapter. I use an Ipod shuffle connected to the auxiliary in #2 jack located inside the sealed compartement. It works flawlessly. The radio locks on well to FM stations and not bad for AM stations (I like to listen to talk radio as well). The presets are great and easy to access. The dual function tuner dial is very smooth. Push it in and it changes volume, press again and it changes tuning. Also has channel search function, auto off function for those who like to fall asleep with radio on, wake up tone alarm and clock radio function. Also has 2 AA battery backup inside water proof compartment to save presets and displays the time on the lcd screen. The lcd screen lights up when any button is pressed then shuts off after a short delay to save power. All in all a great radio. So what it doesn't charge batteries. I use cordless tools all the time and generally don't use the stock charger anyway. I buy the fast chargers so don't need another with the radio. It would have been nice to include the transformer inside the unit so a regular 120v a/c cord plug could be used when not using a Makita battery. Oh by the way, I don't own any Makita tools anymore so I just use the power adapter. No problem. I've used the Bosch, Milwaukee, and seen the new Ridgid jobsite radio's. They are all large, bulky, heavy,loaded with unesessary features and parts break off of them. I am enjoying this radio very much and highly recommend it.
BalasHapusI've had both the Dewalt and the Milwaukee and the reciever in this radio is far superior. The battery life is better than the spec. It outlasts the CD player that I plug into it. I've played this radio for three days before charging the battery. Good controls. It's not as loud as the others but that's not a problem. The A/C wire is kind of flimsey compared to the toughness of the rest of the radio but if your careful it shouldn't be a problem.
BalasHapusWhile this radio does not charge batteries or have an internal power adaptor (the external one will be cheaper to replace if it goes bad anyway), it is very sturdy (although a bit heavy, which I do not mind) compact, easy to handle and move - with nice sound (on the bass side). One design flaw is the placement of the inside AUX jack in the way of a slide-in battery. The controls are simple, and for those of us with Makita cordless tools, this is a no-brainer. I am very picky -- and am also happy with this choice. More bells and whistles (i.e., bass/treble controls, battery charger, etc.) would just add to the cost -- more than what is needed for a job site radio. Once again, I was pleased with Amazon's prices and prompt service.
BalasHapusNice,solid,and compact, well thought out. Sounds great, but not load enough for some head banger types. Batteries are pricey but most are. The external power transformer is a pain at times ,it tends to fall out of cords or plugs. It makes a more compact unit, thats more important to me.I'm very pleased over all. Follow up, Sept. 2012 , Radios are still working well Would recommend to anybody . Very pleased.
BalasHapusThis is the perfect jobsite radio for any makita cordless tool owner, it has good quality sound and is loud enough to get the job done without being too big or heavy that you dread lugging it around. I like the AUX plugs for mp3 or cd plug-in, I personally plug my mp3 player into the plug located in the battery compartment to keep it protected from dust and such, it is a nice feature for anyone who has a nice mp3 player they dont want damaged at the jobsite. The fact that it doesnt charge batteries doesnt matter to me since I have seven makita batteries that work with the radio, besides I bought a radio not a battery charger.
BalasHapus
BalasHapusi bought one of these radios specifically because it could run off of my lithium ion makita batteries. once i plugged my mp3 player into it, i was convinced. Then it accidentally fell off of a roof not once but twice. not that i'm saying this radio was built to be thrown off of 30 ft buildings but you get the point. The sound is better than my own car stereo!!! i love this radio. it's loud and the speakers mounted on the side spread the sound everywhere instead of just forward. The clock is very handy because it always displays the time even when you don't have a battery in. That power is supplied by two AA batteries that came with my radio. Well worth every cent!
BalasHapusI purchased this radio just over a month ago and love it. Great sound quality from a compact yet durable unit, it'll surprise you. Nice controls and with the BMR100W model, you have the aux plug. I had no problem with my mp3 player as far as sound quality/loudness goes. As far as no battery charging capabilities, I was looking for a radio, not a charger. I've got chargers that came with my tools I can use. Some may want that option, so be aware of that. Overall, great radio, very happy with my purchase.
BalasHapus