The review for this product actually came from working with my Uncle on the weekends. He owns a construction company and sometimes I earn a little extra by helping him with the easy stuff. Well one Saturday I say, “Uncle Johnny we need to get some music out here”.
He gave me the company credit card, and I went to town doing what I do best, finding the “BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK”.
Hence we have the Ridgid R84082.
Jumping online I start my research – and it all comes down to this video. Everything else was just icing on the cake.
Really, how can you top that?
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
The Ridgid Jobsite Radio R84082 has a number of other features that no other model includes, most notably, a 30 pin connector dock for direct connection to an iPod. This dock not only charges your iPod, but it also lets you navigate through a playlist from the radio’s control panel. This reduced the chance of getting dust or moisture into the well protected MP3-player compartment.
This is also the only model in our test with a remote! Can you believe that? We could stick this puppy up on a shelf and never have to touch it or worrying about knocking it over etc. The remote is good up to about 25 ft. The Ridgid Jobsite Radio R84082 has a metal plate for attaching a longer antenna which we made from a scrap of electrical wire. The rubber covered battery compartment did allow some water and dust to get to the battery pack but the iPod compartment stayed clean and dry through all of our working conditions.
After I showed Johnny the video, he actually let me perform my own little drop test from a 4 foot construction table, held over my head (probably 12 feet) onto a durable interlocking mat, and it dropped no problem. More importantly, it worked after it was dropped; all of the electronic components were fully functional.
CONS:
The biggest con of this radio is it’s inability to charge battery packs. For the most part, it is easy to operate, though the latch on the front is fussy and the remote is difficult to slide into it’s holding slot on the side of the radio (but at least it has one) . The roll cage, which surrounds the radio and holds it in position with a compressed number grommets, took a beating in our drop tests. The good news is that the roll cage was designed to sacrifice itself to protect the electronics and can be put back together again after a nasty fall. The bad news is that this reassembly takes some patience.
SUMMARY:
The quality of this radio is undeniable. It is the only model that includes a remote and allows for external control of an iPod. The iPod Compartment also stayed clean and dry, and it never opened once in our drop tests. The only real weak points are the rubber covered battery compartment and this model’s inability to charge batteries.
Am I wrong?
If you have purchased this item based on my review,
LET THE READERS KNOW
HOW GOOD ( OR BAD) I AM
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