RIDGID® Job Site Radio Review – Model R84082
RIDGID® Job Site Radio
The folks at RIDGID® sent us their latest Job Site Radio to listen to and test out it’s toughness. As we previously reported by showing off an abusive RIDGID® Job Site Radio video, the radio has been built to take the daily abuse of construction and keep performing.
Information from RIDGID®
The new RIDGID® Job Site Radio has ShockMount™ protective armor designed to absorb impacts from demanding job site conditions ensuring playback of your favorites time after time. Water resistant to withstand nature’s elements, it is also the only job site radio made specifically to play and charge iPods® in an exclusive protective docking station. It is the first radio with the ability to change songs via on-board external controls or remote control from up to 25’ away. It also plays every other brand’s music player by using the included audio patch cord. Find versatility on the job site by using standard 120V or RIDGID® 18V battery power and rock like only RIDGID® can.
Includes R84082 Job Site Radio, remote control with key ring fitting and button battery, audio patch cord, (2) AAA batteries and operator’s manual.
Specification: Job Site Radio
- Voltage: 120V AC, 18V batteries (RIDGID only)
- AM Range: 520 kHz – 1710 kHz
- FM Range: 87.5 MHz -107.9 MHz
- Radio Weight: 13.9 lbs
Features:
- Protect and charge most iPod models with exclusive docking station
- Remote control with functionality for iPod
- Weather resistant design protects radio and iPod in damp conditions
- ShockMount™ protective armor is engineered to absorb impacts for maximum durability
- Phase-lock loop digital tuning for exceptional reception
RIDGID® Job Site Radio Review
This year we’ve tested several job site radios and the consistent theme seems to be TOUGHNESS! The new RIDGID® Job Site Radio seems to live up to the company name of “Rigid”.
Almost all today’s job site radios offer really nice sound along with features you’d expect from a good radio including digital tuning, quality sound and the ability to run off brand specific batteries. So I won’t bore you with all that stuff because the RIDGID® Job Site Radio provides all of what you’d expect.
After watching the video of the radio being dropped from buildings and run over by a truck I wanted to see for myself how tough this radio was. As you can see in the adjacent photo I decided to jump up and down on this radio, kick it around my shop and toss it around the parking lot.
Anyone that’s met me in person knows I’m a BIG guy and that poor radio had no problem supporting my hefty weight and shock as I jumped up and down! For me this was important because job site radios get tortured, abused and smashed around at work. The RIDGID® Job Site Radio is certainly one of the toughest we’ve tested!
Cool Features
The RIDGID® Job Site Radio does offer a feature that the competition doesn’t currently offer. This radio has a built-in iPods® docking station that allows you to charge and play your iPod®. This radio also offers a remote control which is also a great feature if you want to quickly turn down the radio for a phone call or conversation.
RIDGID® batteries slide into the back of the radio as you can see in the adjacent photo. If I wanted to point out one area that I feel could use some improvement it would be the battery compartment.
First off, while the battery does fit into the compartment it is a tight fit that didn’t feel very natural and easy to insert. Secondly the battery compartment cover is a hard “rubber” type material that simply snaps over the compartment housing. Again, this wasn’t super easy to open and close. Overall both of these are VERY minor suggestions and really don’t effect the overall performance of the radio.
Overall Impression
RIDGID® Job Site Radio Model R84082 is a great sounding, tough, nearly indestructible accessory perfect for people who own RIDGID® cordless tools. The radio can charge your iPod® and keep everyone on your crew working along to their favorite tunes. If you own RIDGID® cordless tools then we recommend this versatile radio system.
The RIDGID® Job Site Radio Model R84082 can be purchased at The Home Depot. You can purchase it online at the following link:
- Ridgid Jobsite Radio
for $149.00
About the author
Todd Fratzel
Todd Fratzel is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz, and the President of Front Steps Media, LLC, a web based media company focused on the Home Improvement and Construction Industry.He is also the Principal Engineer for United Construction Corp., located in Newport, NH. In his capacity at United he oversees the Residential and Commercial Building Division along with all Design-Build projects.He is also the editor of Home Construction & Improvement.
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does this radio charge the batteries while you listen and it is plugged in? I have a rigid set and want to bring this along instead of the charging station
Jason – Unfortunately it does not charge batteries. From what I understand the folks at DeWALT have a patent on that technology so this won’t change anytime soon. It’s still a great radio!
The people at homedepot said that this radio does recharge the battery. but i didnt buy the battery because it was $100 just for the battery and $100 for the charger. thats $450 for everything. too expensive
The folks at THE HOME DEPOT were not correct. Here is a quote directly from my contact at RIDGID which I confirmed in my own testing. “The Ridgid radio only runs off battery and doesn’t charge.” It does have the ability to charge an Ipod.
I’m trying out this radio. With Ipod docked to it there is a hum when the volume is down at a low setting. Is this normal? Or do I have a defective unit?
I’m not sure Tim. I don’t use an Ipod so I can’t test it on my end. Let me reach out to Ridgid and get back to you.
According to the folks at Ridgid:
“User could experience a low hum in the low volume setting (normal-yes). The unit was optimized in the high volume setting.”
Todd, thanks for the reply & getting the info from Rigid. I do hear it also with the other options, too (e.g. FM etc.). Do you notice this, too? I haven’t tried it in the field, yet, so I suppose it wouldn’t be much of a nuisance, outside, but inside I’m sensitive to the hum.
I’ll try to check it out this week and report back to you.
Hi Todd. I had some additional comments to add to this review.
For $150 here is what you don’t get.
1) The most desirable feature in an item of this nature you simply will never get, a universal battery charger. For $150, this radio should definitely include one. Since DeWalt will never allow this, the price point is way off.
2) If I’m reading things correctly, this radio will only work with the 18v Lith Ion batteries. I’m having trouble confirming this as you can’t find this radio, and therefore the user manual on Ridgid’s website. Ironically you can find the discontinued version of this radio. The last version would work with many different RIDGID batteries. Although the one battery I needed it to work with, (14.4v Lith Ion) the old version did not accept. Something I hoped would be addressed with this new version. It was addressed alright.
3) They took away the Race Scanner. Not that that feature was a real game breaker, but regardless its disappointing to see the “Next Gen” version come out with even less features then the previous model.
4) What would have been a nice feature would be to include a USB port and an on board MP3 player sooooooooooo,,,,,, We could plug in a USB mem card full of songs and play them on the radio. You know, like my Alpine Car Deck does. This would also provide a means of charging MODERN cell phones that no longer are sold with 12v cigarette chargers, but USB cables. Maybe even include on board memory that you could transfer music to via USB. There are a billion things that COULD be done just by including a USB port. Think of the possibilities. Sadly, for $150, you get none of this.
What you do get for $150.
A really tough jobsite Radio that does allow you to hook an MP3 player to it, or charge yesterdays cell phone. That’s it.
For $30 I can go to Walmart and buy a tiny CD player radio with a 3.5 mm input jack and get basically the same features as this new RIDGID radio, minus the ability to drop it thirty feet off the top of a building. So we are paying $120 for the ability to run over it with a truck? Pardon me but that’s not a $120 worth of value.
There is a market for this type of radio and even at this price point. For $150 however, this is what I would expect. USB connectivity AND functionality. The ability to be used with many different RIDGID batteries including the 14.4v Lith Ion. Rugged durability and weather resistant. Continue to include the 12v Cig Socket. And if NOTHING more, at least an extra onboard outlet so you can plug in your charger that SHOULD have been integrated to begin with.
This radio in its current form should cost about $80. In fact ditch the IPOD dock and bring the price down to $50. Personally, Id rather have Sirus/XM satellite onboard then the IPOD dock. Now I can listen to crystal clear music, or if I’m insane enough to pay for the NASCAR channels, now I can hear them over my nice shiny expensive radio. There are simply so many USEFUL things that could be integrated into this radio that people would want and pay for that are missing. I’m not suggesting that RIDGID create a “Swiss Army Radio”. I don’t want a jobsite radio that has forty eleven features and costs $800. I am suggesting however that for $150, this particular version is exceptionally lack luster. I can go to Ebay and buy yesterdays version that actually had more functionality then this newest iteration for about $80. So there is no way I’m going to shell out $150 for the new one.
Not sure I totally agree with you here. While $150 is probably on the high side compared to Dewalt’s which has the built-in charger I think you’re missing a couple key points.
1. Most everyone that’s buying a jobsite radio is buying one that fits their most used battery platform (I see this every day on the job with all the different crews).
2. The radio works with all 18V batteries that Ridgid sells, while this may seem limiting most contractors use 18V systems as their base, sure they may have smaller voltages but the vast majority use 18V on something. Most of these jobsite radios are focused on contractors (at least in my opinion).
3. While I’m not a huge IPOD guy there is a HUGE sector of folks that are IPOD users. This particular radio has some IPOD features that actually protect the IPOD and make it a focal point, something other radios don’t do.
Lastly here are some thoughts from the folks at Ridgid in response to your thoughts:
We opted to put more cost in here for remote control and Ipod functionalities/protection (control Ipod with remote, as well as mode FM,FM2, AM, IPOD, AUX transition via remote, Ipod heavily protected safe inside compartment)
FM radio reception is dramatically improved as well vs. previous RIDGID model
Sound quality in general has a nice upgrade vs. the previous RIDGID model
I have a question, i’ve had my radio for a few months (love it)… Although now out of the blue it stopped charging my ipod. It charged it just fine before, and now it just stopped. I tried 4 different ipods (some different models) it wouldn’t charge any. I can’t find my reciept so I don’t know if they’ll fix it… have other people reported this problem?
Let me check with Ridgid and get back to you.
I got a quick response from Ridgid. This is the first such issue they have heard of with the radio. So here’s why they said directly:
“First we’ve heard of the issue. All RIDGID products are covered by a 3yr warranty along with a 90 day exchange policy. Without a receipt he may have to contact a local service center.”
I recently bought the Ridgid and the remote wouldn’t work outdoors. I thought it was the battery but it worked fine indoors. I even tried it with the radio indoors but right at the door way and as soon as I stepped outside the remote stopped working, even with it pointing directly at the front of the radio and only 1-2 feet away. I assumed it was defective and combined with the fact that (indoors) the remote doesn’t skip to preset stations, decided to return the radio. While trying to decide whether to try another Ridgid or another brand I found several other people who had the same issue with the remote. Seems strange that Ridgid gives the remote as qualification for the high price (“We opted to put more cost in here for remote control….”) given that it only works indoors. How many jobsites are indoors only?
I also recently bought this radio for my birthday (May30) and I realized that the remote does not work outdoors. It works perfectly fine indoors, but as soon as I step outside, it will not respond. I did find out that if I slightly cover the sensors (just enough to provide shade but not covering the sensors themselves) on the radio itself, the remote will respond. It’s as though something outside is interfering with the signal sent from the remote to the radio. I hope there is a fix to this. 🙂
Siege – I heard back from the folks at Ridgid and here’s what they had to say.
Purcased a radio gave it as a gift and when we took it out of the box it would not turn on. Took it back and they sent us a new one. plugged it in and it worked ok. Put it right back into the box gave it to my son as a gift he plugs it in and now it will not turn on again. when plugged in it makes a clicking sound but will not turn on when pushing the power button. any suggestions.
Not really wanting to send it back again for fear we will face the same issue.
I’ve never heard of any problems before. Take it back to Home Depot and have them look at it.
Hi Todd. In a previous post you stated that all ridgid 18v batteries work with this radio. I have an older pair of 18v batteries which i believe are nicad. BD0815 is the part number. I briefly tried this battery in my radio and it did in fact power it.
I’m curious if you have any insight on whether or not it is SAFE to run the radio off of these batteries or not. My confusion is in the fact that the number plate on the radio states to use battery R84008 and R840084, as does one section of the instruction manual. While I believe I read somewhere that “all ridgid slide-mount type 18v batteries” will work, as you stated.
Any insight would be appreciated as I do not want to damage my radio.
I spoke to an official at RIDGID just now and that battery is completely safe to use. Thanks for checking in and please let me know if we can help you out any other way.
Todd
Greatly appreciate you checking into that for me. I hope the information is useful to anyone else who might be wondering the same thing.
Thanks!
My pleasure…that’s why we are here!
My ridged R84082 is stuck on iPod, will not change mode, any ideas ? Thanks
Not sure…I’ll reach out to Ridgid.
Hey Todd,
I wrote back in 2012 about problems with the remote not working outdoors and found others online with the same problem. A few days ago (June 2014) another person (Siege) wrote in with the same issue. Seems like it’s still an ongoing issue. Any info on an upcoming fix? I still haven’t purchased a radio because I can’t find one I like and was hoping Ridgid would take care of the remote issue so I could try theirs again.
Thanks!
I inquired with Ridgid on this issue and this is the response:
Okay. Hello Todd. My ridgid is stuck on the iPod mode how do I change it back? Please help.
That seems reasonable. I guess I’ll try the Ridgid again.
Thanks for the help!
I cannot find my user manual and would really like to find the size of the battery I need to replace the old remote battery. Thanks for your help
Here’s a link to the manual. https://cdn2.ridgid.com/resources/media?key=c539896b-e753-4934-a9ee-1eae92910828&languageCode=en&countryCode=US&type=document
My radio works fine when plugged into power. However it does not work under battery power. It will not turn on at all under battery power. Is the a fuse inside that could possibly be causing this?
Not sure, did you take it to a HD for service?
I bought the radio last year. I have only used it aprox. 5 times. The volume doesnt work???? Im frustrated.
My radio buttons have all stopped working. It turns on with battery or cord, but will not change any radio stations or go to any other modes. Only plays a.m. 87.5…Volume button is the only button that work