DEWALT DC012-CL Worksite Charger/Radio

Wanted a better Radio than what I had been useing for the Garage/Shop. This is a Great Radio. My Garage/Workshop is a Metal Building,, and I had an Outside Antenna for the other Radio,, and expected this DeWalt DC012 would also need the Outside Antenna Connected,, especially when the Door's were Closed. I don't know how DeWalt did it,, but This Radio,, has Great FM Reception,, without the Outside Antenna Connected,, even with the Door's Closed. In Fact,, I touched the Lead's of the Outside Antenna to the External Antenna,, and Absolutely No Difference in Radio Reception. I am Totally Amazed with this Radio. The Sound is So Clear,, and I'm going to have to be careful,, not to disturb my Neighbor's,, because this Radio, can really put the Volume out!! I live in a Hurricane Strike Zone,, so I also wanted one that would run off of Batterie's. Not only will this one run off of Batterie's,, but it will also keep the Battery Charged, and be ready when or If the Power goe's out. If you need a Good Radio for the Garage/Workshop, This is IT,, IMO. Take advantage of Amazon's Promotion's, going on, which saved me about 50 $'s. I spend a lot of time out in the Garage,, doing Service Work on my Machine's, ie Truck, Tractor, Lawn Mower, and haveing a Good Radio to listen to, really help's me. I am so pleased with this purchase. I don't know about the other problem's that some other's have had, Maybe they were Refurbished, or Used Unit's, but The BRAND NEW DC012,, that I got,, is Absolutely Super Duper. I even read that the Extra Bass Mode was not clear @ High Volume ***The Bass Mode is for Lower Volume to get a Fuller Sound***. A New DC012, has a 3 year warranty,, with a ***90 DAY MONEY BACK GAURANTEE***, NO QUESTION'S ASKED IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE RADIO!!! This Radio Exceeded My Expectation's. DeWalt,, You Did Good..** Helpful Tips ~ It is possible to damage the Radio and/or Speaker's, when going to High Volume. Once the Radio and/or Speaker's are damaged,, it will never be as clear again,, and will need to be repaired. When going to High Volume,, Turn the Volume up Slowly, and alway's listen for Distortion; At the First Sign of Distortion,, turn the Volume back down,, until no distortion is heard. Letting the Radio Continue to Play at Distortion Volume Level's, Is Very Likely to Damage the Radio, Amplifier, and/or Speaker's.*****UPDATE June3rd, 2015***I've had this Radio since May of 2014. This Radio stay's out in my Garage, that is unheated and no Air Conditioner. It's the Best Radio that I've ever had. I also compared it to the Cube again. The Salesman Waved his hand over the Bosch 360, that caused the Volume to Change. The Salesman asked me if the DeWalt did that,, and I said, "In my All Metal Garage, with all the Doors Closed & No Window's, The DeWalt Does not change Volume, when I wave my hand over the Radio". This tell's me that the DeWalt must have a Better Antenna/Tuner or Both. How the DeWalt even receive's a good Signal with all the doors closed on a Metal Building, is Unbelievable. I even connected an Outside Antenna to the DeWalt,, and it made no Difference!!!If you want a Good Radio,, Get This One,, Before it become's Outlawed. Seem's like anything now,, that has excellent performance get's outlawed for one reason or another.I can't vouch for the 015 DeWalt; it may be as good too, but I only know about this radio.3/6/16 Update: I've had this radio almost 2 year's now,, and so far no problem's. Recently because I have the Radio Charger, decided to get another 18 volt driver/drill, and went with a new DeWalt 720. Got 2 Coolgo 18v 2A Ni-Cad batterie's for 43 $'s on EBay. Used the Radio/Charger to charge them to full capacity. Took about 1 hour for one,, and about 30 min. for the other battery. This Radio Charger has a Smart charger that will let you know,, if there is something wrong with the batterie's, and once the Battery get's fully charged,, the battery can be left in the radio, because the Smart Charger is a Float charger and will not over charge the battery as well.I had the radio playing in the garage, while the batterie's were chargeing and didn't notice any difference at all in the FM reception. This way,, I've alway's got a Fully Charged 18v Battery, when the other battery get's low,, of if I need the radio, when the power goe's out for an extended period. So far, I really like this radio.***RECOMMEND***When plugging into a 110V outlet, alway's use a "SURGE SUPPRESSOR", cause this Radio has Electronic's, that can get Fried by a Power Surge. I've used Surge Suppressor's for so long on all my electronic's that I forget that Some Folk's don't know to use them to protect their Sensitive Electronic Equipment. You can get them @ WalMart, and you don't have to get an expensive one,, but one designed to protect Electronic Tuner's/Radio Equipment. Some people have reported problem's after owning for a while; I suspect that their Radio has been Zapped by a Power Surge. I've kept mine plugged into a 110 Volt outlet Via a Surge Suppressor, out in the Garage, for over 2 year's now,, and so far so good.Update 7/3/17 3 Year's Old:This is the Best Radio that I've ever purchased. Stay's out in the Garage/Metal Building year round, below Freezing to 110F Degree's. Sound's just as good now,, as Brand New. When the Electricity Goe's off,, the Radio doesn't skip a Beat and goe's Straight to Battery Power.Those people giveing this Radio Bad Review's Wouldn't Know a Good Radio if it Jumped Up and Bit Them In The Butt. Get You one, use a Surge Surpressor, that's what I've done,, and No Problem's. I hope when this one die's I'll be able to get another one that is as good as this one. If I had enough money, I'd get another Brand New one just like this one,, and keep it in the box,, till this one give's up the Ghost.UpDate 3/12/18I've had this DeWalt Radio now for almost 4 year's and it still sound's just as good as the day I got it. Never intended to get any DeWalt Cordless Driver's as I didn't think that I could afford them. I needed to Replace my Harbor Freight Cordless Driver because batterie's were no longer available. Then I saw on EBay and Amazon, that the DeWalt DC720's cordless driver's were well within my price range. Now I have 2 DeWalt DC720's 1st one for 36 $'s and 2nd one for 38 $'s and One DC725 Hammerdrill for 41 $'s!! All three were New Drill's. With 18V DeWalt Driver's so popular, the Chinese 18V Batterie's will be around for a long long time. Got 2 18V 3amp yellow/black Chinese Batterie's for Dewalt for 36 $'s. Can't go wrong with the DC012 Charger Radio and DeWalt 18v Cordless Driver's Bare Tool on Amazon and EBay.Update 10/1/18I've had this DC012 Radio now for over 4 year's,, and it still play's as good as it did when I got it Brand New. The Sound is still nice and clear. One thing that I found out over the year's is; When the Radio is plugged into an electrical socket the Electrical Wireing is integrated into the Antenna! I alway's wondered how my Radio was able to pick up station's just as good in the All metal Garage with no window's it would receive just as good when all the door's were closed. I quickly noticed this too inside the house when I used it during the last Tropical Storm. The Radio didn't have nearly as good a reception without being plugged in,, even though there wasn't any Electrical Power. So if your not getting the reception that you desire,, if there is an Electrical Outlet that you can plug the radio into,, it will have much better reception, than with just the Antenna attached to the radio. I still can't get over the one's still complaining about the radio not holding the preset station's when all they need to do is replace the 2 $ and 50 cent 2032 coin battery that they don't even know the radio has. Amazing that they think they know it all,, but not smart enough to read the instruction manual. So Far So Good & It's still the best radio that I've even owned.**UPDATE** 1/25/19 ** I've had this radio now for almost 5 year's. It sit's out in the Garage alway's plugged in with a Surge Protector. It's the First thing that I turn on, followed by the Light's, Air Compressor, then Parts Washer. It sound's just as clear now as when I First Got it Brand New. One thing that I've learned though, is that the Antenna get's better reception when Plugged in! Believe it or not. This is the Very Best Radio that I've ever owned. Happy as a Camel On Wednesday.**Update** 3/1/19 **I've liked the DC012 that has been out in the Garage for almost 5 year's that I decided I wanted one for inside the House!! It came down to the 18V DC012 or the 20V DCR015. After Reading the Review's for the DCR015 I decided that I wanted another 18V DC012. Got it from Amazon again, but the 1st one had a Volume Controller Defect. I called Amazon and they got me a Brand New Replacement very Quickly. The Replacement DC012 was delivered on 2/28/19 and Function's Perfect, just like the 5 year old DC012 out in the Garage. I looked at all of the DeWalt Charger Radio's. Unless you live in California,, I think that the DC012 is a better choice than the DC012-CL {California Model}. Also I read several review's that said the DCR015 has static on the Radio when Chargeing, I'ver never noticed Static when Chargeing with the DC012. I read that the DCR015 shut's off if the Power goe's out. The DC012 doesn't shut off,, but switch's to Battery seamlessly and back again to AC when the Power come's back on. Also Vanon has 4 AH 18V Nicad's for dewalt now. 2 for 45 $'s. Eventually I may go to a 20V Driver/Drill,, but I'll just get a 20V DeWalt Charger for the 20V Batterie's. Last but not Least; DeWalt told me that the DC012 is not being manufactured anymore, What's Left is in the PIPELINE, so if you want a Brand New One,, BETTER GET ONE NOW WHILE THE GITTEN'S GOOD. I've read several Review's about Weak Reception. What I've discovered is that My DC012's get much better reception when Plugged into an Electrical Socket,, whether the Radio is being powered by 120V or 18V, so if you are getting Weak Reception try plugging your DC012 into an AC outlet and you may be pleasantly surprised.***UPDATE 3/19/19***OK in Response to Bad Reception and Static while chargeing a Battery in the DC012: Today I was chargeing a couple of batterie's out in the Garage. While on FM there was Very Good Reception and No Static, Then I switched to AM and that's when I heard Static and Probly Reduced Reception. I rarely ever listen to AM,, so I wanted to see if that's the Band that other's were talking about with Bad Reception and Static. So to help other's,, While Chargeing a Batry ~ FM was Clear and Static Free,, but on AM Plenty of Static and Reduced Reception. I've read this about the DCR015 as well,, so I'm assuming that's the Same Scenerio as well. I rarely ever listen to AM,, so that's why I've never noticed this. Also I can't say how the Reception is on AM when not chargeing a Batry, as I almost never listen to the AM Band.

I've used this for a few years now with no problems (knock on wood). Lasts multiple hours on a battery, sometimes 5-6 on a 18v. I use it for work, beach and garage. It's nice to be able to charge a battery without bringing a secondary charger (newer smaller model does not work as a charger). Ive left it in the rain over night on the beach with no problems. As the beach is open and can be loud it will put out good volume level. The "xbass" feature I never use as I suspect it will run a battery down quicker and honestly makes it sound worse. I own alot of dewalt equipment and wanted something that makes use of the 10+ batteries I already own. I did modify the radio with a 12volt cig plug I mounted on the top and a side mounted switch and internal 12v regulator for consitant 12v regardless of which battery I use. Makes it much more functional and allows me to run a 12v fan, led lantern and charge phones all off the batteries which saves me alot in d and c size batteries, something I wish dewalt did at the factory for under 5$ their cost, 15$ mine. I have no doubt of its durability, most due to the sturdy roll cage. My friend owns the older model and we got to talking about its durability, he said he used to winch it to an ATV and testified to its durability. He then pulled it off the shelf, turned it on and threw it up in the air and clear across a large garage, it bounced about 4ft up b4 landing again, all the while never turning off. As for cons it runs through the small button batteries it uses for radio presets and its clock function bi monthly. They are easy to replace and located in the back battery compartment. I bought 20 of them for under 5$ on amazon, at 3$ a pc locally this would have been a big deal to me but getting them cheap has fixed that. The sound is good and loud but not "Bose" quality. Ive toyed with replacing the 4" stock speakers but i dont want to tamper with the durability thus far and suspect dewalt made the choice for a few reasons other then cost. All in all a great radio and one of my best purchases, I couldn't imagine the beach and outdoor time with out it. If you already own dewalt batteries purchase it and button batteries, you won't be disappointed.

I received this today in the mail today. AWESOME sound. Very loud and clear. At max volume it's too loud for one room! I'm going to be using it outside and it sounds great. No distortion at all unless you are on max volume with the bass button in use, and then it is only just a very slight distortion. (Turn it down one notch and it is very clear and still very loud.)Would definitely recommend this radio. I've been reading reviews of Worksite radios for the last 6 months trying to find one that would meet my needs: Loud, clear & reliable. I've been happy with my other Dewalt tools and I am happy with this one too.The only small problem I had was that it wouldn't hold the time and presets in memory, but I changed to a new CR2032 battery and it worked like a charm. The battery wasn't just low, it was defective - it wouldn't hold a charge for 2 seconds while you turn the radio off and on. I can't hold that against Dewalt - it's a one in a million failure on a fifty cent battery.

The radio has great sound. Ilove that I can run it on my dewalt 18v battery or plug it in. I also like that I can charge my dewalt batteries in it. Amazon price was the best price I could find.

Great radio,Purchased it with a 18V DeWalt battery, they works perfectly together. Like they said, it only takes an hour to charge and then you have more than 6-8 hours of play. I didn't actually calculated, but it also depends how loud you listen to it.Radio reception is good. The antenna can be set in any direction and is flexible.The only cons I can see is the weight. The power is good in comparison to how long it can stay ON.

Bought this for my shop, since I like to have my music close I thought the plugs on the side would be a great addition.The sounds is decent, but I wouldn't try to ramp up a dance party with it. It has solid reception, and with an aux cord you can plug in your phone or other media player and listen to your music from it which is nice. The plugs on the side easily power most tools I've tried, but I wouldn't plug in a welder since it may not handle the amperage needed. The plug for the stereo feels very thick and durable as well which surprised me.To the meat of it, this stereo is great as a shop stereo, or for camping. If you buy the separate battery it's a solid choice for dragging out to the campfire or the beach, You can sit on it, or stack stuff on it without fear of it breaking. I've actually used it as a stool in a pinch one day and I'm 240 pounds.If i were to buy a durable radio again, I'd go with the next model up when on sale.Pros : Decent sound, aux hook ups for media players, very durable and water resistant, and the plugs are fantastic.Cons : Could sound better for the price, could have been a bit more modern with it's ports for audio connections, and the optional battery should have been included.

I got this radio on a whim to charge batteries and have a few tunes. The ipad 'aux in' is fantastic and the phonics are quite good. The battery charge time is noteworthy as well. All in all a good purchase.