Equipment review program
We review emergency communications equipment: weather radios, FRS/GMRS and amateur handhelds, HF and portable receivers, antennas, power and charging gear, related accessories, and the software and firmware that go with them.
Submissions are welcome, and we would rather hear from you than not - from established manufacturers, and from independent builders without a press budget, who often make the most interesting equipment in this field.
Why submit to us
Our readers are not browsing. They arrive either preparing calmly for a season, or with a storm inbound and a decision to make that evening. They want to know what actually works when the power is out, and they act on what they read.
A review here is written by a licensed operator who has used the equipment in the conditions it is sold for, and who says plainly what it does and does not do. To this audience that is worth considerably more than an advertisement, and it is the only kind of coverage we offer.
How to submit
1. Email us first. contact@emergencyradio.org - tell us what the product is, what distinguishes it from the obvious alternatives, and include the specification sheet. Press-release language is not persuasive here; a frequency chart is. If you are unsure whether your product fits, ask. A short email costs nothing and we will tell you honestly.
2. We reply with a yes or no. Usually quickly. Before acceptance we may decline for any reason and none is owed - but you will not be left wondering.
3. If we accept, we will publish a review. We do not accept equipment we do not intend to review. Acceptance is not a maybe - the narrow exceptions are set out in the terms below.
4. We send a shipping address, a reference code unique to your submission, and an expected timeframe. The code must appear on the outside of the package so it can be matched to your submission. Do not ship before acceptance has been confirmed in writing by both sides - equipment arriving without a code creates no obligation to review, publish, respond, or return.
5. You see the facts before anyone else does. At least 72 hours before publication we send you every factual statement the review makes about the product, so that any error can be corrected. The terms of that are set out below.
What we will not do is trade a conclusion for a sample. If that is what you are after, this is the wrong site - and the rest of this page sets out exactly where the lines fall.
Terms and conditions
EQUIPMENT REVIEW PROGRAM - TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Walk Up Web, LLC, operator of EmergencyRadio.org
Version 1.0
Last updated 22 July 2026
1. PARTIES AND ACCEPTANCE
1.0 These terms are offered by Walk Up Web, LLC, which operates
EmergencyRadio.org. In these terms "we", "our" and "us" mean that
entity, and "you" and "the submitter" mean the person or
organization submitting equipment. The agreement formed under 1.2
is between those two parties.
1.1 Acceptance is confirmed in writing. Our acceptance email states
the version of these terms then in force, the shipping address, a
unique reference code for the submission, and an expected timeframe.
1.2 No arrangement exists until the submitter confirms agreement to
these terms and conditions in writing. Equipment shipped before
that confirmation is treated as unsolicited, and creates no
obligation to review, publish, respond, or return.
1.3 The terms governing a submission are the version identified in its
acceptance email. Later changes do not alter them.
1.4 The reference code must appear on the outside of the package.
1.5 An expected timeframe is indicated at acceptance. It is an
estimate, not a commitment; material delays are communicated.
1.6 Pre-release and pre-production equipment is accepted. Where a
publication date is agreed at acceptance, that agreement binds
both sides. A date imposed after acceptance is a condition under
5.1.
2. REVIEW STANDARD
2.1 Equipment is used before it is written about, in the conditions it
is sold for.
2.2 Reviews state what was tested, for how long, and what was not.
2.3 Products are assessed against their own class and price.
2.4 Strengths and faults are both reported.
2.5 Uncertainty is stated rather than resolved into a conclusion.
2.6 A review of pre-release or pre-production equipment says so
plainly, and states that specifications, price and behavior may
change before retail release. A fault in a pre-production unit is
reported as a pre-production fault.
3. ACCURACY CHECK
3.1 The factual statements in a review are sent to the submitter at
least 72 hours before publication, for correction of error only.
Where that window would end on a weekend or public holiday, it is
extended to the next business day.
3.2 Covered: any statement of fact the review makes about the
product. Which particulars apply depends on the equipment, and
some, all or none of the following may be relevant -
specifications, model numbers, frequency and power figures,
dimensions, battery and runtime claims, prices, features, and our
account of the product's behavior.
3.3 Not covered: anything that is not a statement of fact, including
conclusions, ratings, tone, wording, emphasis, how a product
compares with others and where it places against them, inclusion
or omission of material, and publication timing.
3.4 The accuracy check confers no approval right and no veto. We are
the sole and final decisionmaker on any change.
3.5 Corrections must be supported by evidence. Disagreement with an
assessment is not an error of fact.
3.6 Where no response arrives within the window, the review publishes
as written.
3.7 A record of what was sent to the submitter, and of any reply
received, is kept for no less than two years.
3.8 Errors identified after publication are corrected and noted on the
page.
4. COMPENSATION AND INDEPENDENCE
4.1 No payment is accepted in exchange for a review or in connection
with its content: no sponsorship, paid placement, fee for
consideration, or payment tied to a review's conclusion. Affiliate
commission, which is paid by retailers on reader purchases rather
than by submitters, is dealt with at 4.4.
4.2 Submitted equipment is not returned, save as provided in 5.3.1,
5.3.2 and 5.4. It is kept for testing and reference, or donated, and never
resold.
4.3 Free equipment is a benefit of value and is treated as
compensation. Its receipt does not depend on what a review says,
and because it is not returned, an unfavorable review cannot be
answered by reclaiming it.
4.4 This site earns affiliate commission, and it is the larger of the
two financial relationships described in this section. Where a
review links a product, a purchase through that link may pay a
commission at no extra cost to the reader. That revenue can recur,
and can be larger when a review persuades than when it does not.
Recommendations are formed before commission is considered, and a
product we would not recommend is not linked.
See the affiliate disclosure:
https://emergencyradio.org/disclosure/
4.5 Every review of equipment received free of charge says so within
the review. That is a material connection under the FTC
Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255); the FTC Rule on Consumer
Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) further prohibits fake,
insider-written and suppressed reviews.
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking
https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/rule-consumer-reviews-testimonials
4.6 Published reviews are not withdrawn on request. They are corrected
where inaccurate.
5. CONDITIONS AND EXCEPTIONS
5.1 Conditions attached at any stage end the arrangement: approval
rights, a minimum rating, a guaranteed conclusion, required
wording or links, a publication date other than one agreed under
1.6, or removal of a published review.
5.1.1 A request to append a manufacturer safety notice, recall notice
or corrected specification is not a condition under 5.1. We will
append such a notice to the review. We decide where it appears
and remain free to comment on it.
5.1.2 A request to correct or remove content that is unlawful, or that
would be unsafe if a reader acted on it, is not a condition
under 5.1. Any such request is considered on its merits and
acted on where we agree it is well founded. We remain the
decisionmaker (3.4).
5.1.3 Ending the arrangement means no review is published and we do
not correspond further about the submission. It does not return
equipment (4.2), does not alter or remove anything already
published (4.6), and does not withdraw a licence already granted
under 7.1.
5.2 A review may not appear if the equipment does not arrive, differs
materially from its description at acceptance, or cannot be tested
safely or lawfully. We say which applies.
5.3 Equipment that fails in use, or that is faulty on arrival, is
documented and the submitter is contacted so that a resolution can
be agreed - commonly a replacement unit, since one faulty sample
is not evidence about a production run (8.2). Faulty equipment is
not returned, save as provided in 5.3.2: a fault is a finding, and
findings are ours to keep and to write about.
5.3.1 Equipment damaged in transit is the exception. It is
photographed, reported promptly, and returned on request at the
submitter's cost so that a carrier claim can be made. Transit
damage is a shipping loss, not a finding about the product.
5.3.2 Where a failure involves fire, a thermal event, a battery, or a
risk of injury, the unit is returned for failure analysis at the
submitter's cost. A damaged cell, or any item restricted in
transport, is returned only using packaging, marking and
carriage the submitter specifies and provides; original
packaging is used only where it is suitable and permitted. We keep and may
publish all photographs, notes, measurements and findings,
without confidentiality and without waiting for the submitter's
conclusions.
5.4 Where Walk Up Web, LLC is unable to complete a review for reasons
outside its control, including illness or bereavement affecting
the personnel performing it, we notify the submitter and return
the equipment at our own expense. This clause covers our inability
to perform. It does not apply to any fault, failure or
shortcoming in the equipment itself, which is dealt with under
5.3.
5.5 Equipment is held at the submitter's risk. We accept no liability
for loss of or damage to equipment while it is in our possession.
5.6 We test in the conditions the equipment is sold for. We do not
perform destructive or stress testing unless agreed in advance.
5.7 No confidentiality is offered. Nothing sent to us should be
treated as confidential, including anything relating to
unannounced or pre-production equipment. Submit on that basis or
not at all.
6. LAWFUL OPERATION
6.1 The submitter warrants that equipment offered for review may
lawfully be supplied to us in the United States, and, where it is
offered as a production unit, that it may lawfully be marketed and
sold here. This warranty concerns the regulatory status of the
equipment. It is not a warranty about our own authority to operate
it, which is our responsibility (6.3). Pre-production
equipment need not hold marketing authorization; the submitter
states its authorization status at acceptance. Agreement to these
terms under 1.2 gives these warranties. Where a submitter does not
give them, the submission is declined.
6.2 We do not test, verify or certify regulatory compliance, and make
no finding about it. Where we have reason to doubt that equipment
may be lawfully marketed, we may decline to review it rather than
reaching a conclusion about it.
6.3 Reviews do describe what the law requires of the READER. Where a
device needs a license to operate, or is legal to own but not to
transmit with under FCC Part 95 or Part 97, the review says so.
That is a statement about the rules a reader must follow, not
about the product or its manufacturer. Equipment a reader cannot
lawfully operate is not endorsed, but it is still reviewed; only
where equipment cannot lawfully be tested at all does 5.2 apply.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97
7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
7.1 Reviews remain our copyright. A submitter may quote a review in
marketing provided the quotation is accurate, is not misleading,
is attributed to EmergencyRadio.org, and links to the review. A
quotation may not be altered, may not be assembled from fragments
so as to change its sense, and may not imply an endorsement the
review does not give. Our photographs may not be used without
permission.
7.2 The submitter grants us a licence to use product images,
specifications and descriptive material it supplies, in a review
of that equipment and in related coverage.
7.3 Either licence may be withdrawn for future use on notice.
Withdrawal does not require anything already published to be
altered or removed.
7.4 A submitter may retain a dated copy of a published review in order
to substantiate a quotation of it. Retaining a copy extends no
licence to republish it.
8. LIMITATIONS AND LIABILITY
8.1 Reviews are opinion and observation. They are not certification,
laboratory measurement, safety rating, or a guarantee of fitness
for any purpose.
8.2 Results reflect a single test setup, location and sample. Radio
performance is site-specific, and one unit is not a production
run.
8.3 Manufacturer instructions, warnings and specifications govern
where they conflict with anything published by us.
8.4 Warranty, defect, injury, recall and support matters are for the
manufacturer or retailer. We do not sell, distribute, service or
warrant any product.
8.5 Content is provided "as is", without warranties of any kind,
express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Walk
Up Web, LLC accepts no liability for any loss or damage arising
from reliance on a review, including any decision to buy, use, or
rely upon a product in an emergency.
8.6 No guarantee is given that a review, or this site, will remain
published for any period. Publication may end without notice if
the site closes, the business ceases to operate, or content is
retired. Nothing in these terms obliges us to keep a review
available indefinitely, and no submission should be made in
reliance on continued publication.
9. GENERAL
9.1 These terms together with the acceptance email form the whole
agreement between us for a submission, and replace anything said
beforehand.
9.2 If any provision is held unenforceable, it is severed and the
remainder continues in force.
9.3 A failure or delay in enforcing any provision is not a waiver of
it, and does not prevent it being enforced later.
END OF TERMS - VERSION 1.0
Revision history
| Version | Date | Change from the previous version | Checksum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 22 July 2026 | Initial version. | 5243e5dccb72 |