Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Makita Radio

Radios have been ubiquitous on the job-site since the advent of the boombox. The limitations of the standard portable radio in the harsh environment of the construction workplace are obvious. First, they are relatively fragile and not designed to take the day-to-day abuse from weather, rough handling, and constant movement common on the job. Second, they have significant power related issues by using either a valuable electrical outlet or requiring expensive carbon batteries and they are prone to shorting out power sources if they get wet. Third, they are rarely productive and do little to support the worksite other than provide music for entertainment in the immediate vicinity of the radio.

Four of the leading manufacturers of job-site cordless tools have engineered job-site radios designed specifically for the construction industry. Not satisfied with simply making a radio rugged and weather-proof, a couple of the more popular radios have integrated chargers to accommodate the needs of contractors and builders for fresh, fully charged batteries for their tools. A couple have addressed the issue of using a power plug by having pass-through plugs. Not surprising, the major brands most often seen are from Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee and Dewalt. Each has its selling points, and one is a clear winner above the rest.

Makita has two offerings, both identically priced, the only apparent external difference being the color. The traditional blue version of the Makita radio does not have the MP3 player jack that is on the high-visibility white version is the only technical difference. Both are cordless and designed to run on a standard Makita slide or pod batteries or a Makita 18v LXT Lithium battery with a charge life of 16 hours of playing time. It has rugged rubber bumpers and powerful speakers. It has a separate adapter for AC operation.

The Milwaukee offering is in the same price range, and has the additional features of being able to use a wide variety of Milwaukee batteries from 12 to 24 volts. It has jacks for MP3/iPod and external players. It has an integral AC power cord with pass-though plug. It's the usual Milwaukee red and black color.

The Dewalt version is completely cordless, running off the entire line of Dewalt batteries from 7.2 to 18 volts. It it able to charge the complete line of Dewalt batteries with a fast one-hour charger. There is an auxiliary jack for external component. It should be no surprise it is yellow and black.

The Bosch job-site radio is the best of the bunch, packing a number of desirable features in a very rugged four-sided exterior frame. It has not only the expected function of being able to charge all Bosch batteries, it has a 12vdc plug for charging cell phones and 2-way radios and cameras, and the added benefit of a 4-plex GFCI power outlet, an MP3 jack and integrated CD player with CD/RW capability – a very desirable feature to those who need to upload digital film from their cameras. It has a key chain remote. It's the pale Bosch blue with bright aluminum frame with black corner bumpers. It is nearly twice the price of the Makita, however, it offers the best value, ranking it above the others in a feature-by-feature comparison.