TIM Uhler
When I first started working on the jobsite, the only music we had available was via a radio in an open truck door and blown speakers; inevitably we often ended up with a dead truck battery. We were blown away when we got our first DeWalt radio because we could listen to whatever station came in best and keep the radio close to where we were working.
In 2011 I tested a number of jobsite radios for Tools, and a few since. The way we listen to music has changed a lot since then. I used to bring an Ipod with a “work” playlist. Now I stream Google Music ad-free. We can pick an artist, or song or mood and find a playlist to match what we want to listen to. One of our favorites is a station based on “Who’s That Girl” by Madonna. Lots of great 80’s music, upbeat and makes bad weather bearable.
Since 2014 we’ve been using the Milwaukee Radio/charger and it has held up very well. We use the top compartment to keep all our commonly used driver bits.
Last spring I asked to review the Milwuakee M18/12 Jobsite Speaker because we had a lot of Milwaukee batteries and don’t really use the radio feature of the other model.
Features. First off this is just a speaker, it doesn’t charge or have a tuner to listen to radio stations. You can connect a device through Bluetooth or an auxiliary cable. Whether is plugged into an outlet or running off an M18, or M12 battery it’ll charge your device through a USB port.
Milwaukee claims this is the “industry’s loudest clearest sound system”. I don’t know if that is true and I don’t really care. It is loud and sounds great. It is noticeably better sounding than Milwaukee’s radio/charger. A 40 watt amp powers two tweeters, two mid-range woofers and two passive radiators for bass.
It sounds really good, even turned all the way up. We have found we can play it for 8 hours on a 4Ah battery. The IP54 protection, impact-resistant roll cage, side caps and grill make this model rugged. Time will tell how rugged, but so far so good.
While I love this little unit, it isn’t without its flaws. I can’t get 100’ away with my phone before losing connectivity. I’d say 50’ is the max usable range. It also doesn’t have a tuner for am/fm. I don’t know that this is a big deal because many stations stream over the internet and have apps, so you stream through your device.
It runs online for $150. I will recommend this unit because it is small, relatively inexpensive, sounds great and is super portable. Instead of blasting music, we just keep it close to where we are working. It’s great to take camping, too, and since it charges through the USB port, I can keep my phone close and charged.
Just remember to play music at a volume that it won’t bother the neighbors, or, better yet, play music the neighbors like.
This article originally appeared in Tools of the Trade.
