Kaito KA500 5-way Powered Emergency AM/FM/SW NOAA Weather Alert Radio with Solar,Dynamo Crank,Flashlight and Reading Lamp, Color Black

I recently purchased the Kaito KA500 5-way Powered Solar Power, Dynamo Crank, Wind Up Emergency AM/FM/SW/NOAA Weather Alert Radio with Flashlight, Reading Lamp and Cellphone Charger from the Kaito Store and I am thoroughly impressed with this product. Firstly, the radio is incredibly versatile with five different power sources: solar power, dynamo crank, wind-up, AA batteries, and AC/DC power. This means that no matter what the situation, I can always rely on this radio to stay powered and keep me connected to the outside world. The emergency features on this radio are also top-notch. The NOAA weather alert system ensures that I am always aware of any potential weather hazards in my area, while the built-in flashlight and reading lamp come in handy during power outages or other emergency situations. Aside from its emergency features, the radio also has excellent sound quality and a wide range of channels to choose from, including AM/FM/SW. Plus, the ability to charge my phone through the built-in USB port is incredibly convenient. Overall, I highly recommend the Kaito KA500 radio to anyone looking for a reliable, versatile, and high-quality emergency radio. The Kaito Store provided excellent customer service and shipping was prompt. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase and will definitely be shopping at the Kaito Store again in the future.

Let me start by saying that I've done wayyyy to much research on emergency survival radios. I'm talking hours and hours of research. Why? Frankly, I was looking for a radio to replace this KA500. My expectations for this radio were sky high and I was disappointed by some of the features of this radio. But after hours and hours of comparing the features of every survival radio I could find, I realized that this radio is literally the ONLY radio that combines all the features I wanted. You will not find a radio on Amazon or anywhere else that can do everything this radio can do. Radio Bands: The KA500 has a unique combination of AM, FM, SW, NOAA AND Weather Alert. Many radios can do AM, FM and NOAA but few can also do Weather Alert and almost none can also do SW. The reception is better than many reviews state. FM was crystal clear, NOAA was very sufficient, AM and SW were a mixed bag. I don't have much experience with listening to AM or SW so I can't compare them to other radios very well but I got several AM stations that were clear enough. I was able to get a few SW stations, inside my house, during the day, with no external antenna. I was impressed. A stand alone SW radio in this price range might get better reception but, as I said above, you will need several different radios to get all the bands this radio has. And that standalone SW radio won't have the added benefits below. Power Options: No other radio has the combination of power sources that this radio has. Period. This radio can run off crank, solar, AA batteries, Android cell chargers/external mini-USB batteries, or a DC wall outlet. But here is where the radio really fell short of some of my expectations. This radio does NOT charge efficiently from hand cranking or solar power. You're looking at 1:4 ratio at best for cranking. That means 10 minutes of cranking will give you around 40 minutes of play time. Solar is even less efficient. But after researching other emergency radios I realized this was a industry wide issue. Apparently crank radios used to be powered by a Baygen mainspring crank, which didn't even have a battery to store the energy and was extremely efficient (30 seconds gave you 30 minutes!) These radios no longer exist. Now all radios have gone the route of Dynamo and nimh batteries and simply aren't very efficient. So why did I give it 5 stars? Because the radio can operate just fine from these power sources. Cranking the radio at a slow and steady pace will power the radio. Placing the radio under sunlight will power the radio. Your alarm clock radio with weather alert or your fancy SW receiver will not work when the power goes out and the batteries die. Other, cheaper emergency radios can do this but do they take AA batteries? (It's important to standardize your emergency equipment to one set of batteries.) Can they run or charge from your mini-USB external battery? Added Benefits: Let's start with the most important: this radio is weather resistant. That alone sets it apart from so many other radios I was seriously considering, especially SW receivers and Weather Alert radios. Many emergency radios are weather resistant but can't do half the stuff this radio can do. The lights on this radio are also awesome, the flashlight is great and the reading light is even better. Lights are common on emergency radios but rare on SW and Weather Alert radios. Are you starting to see why the combination of features on this radio are truly unique? Finally, let's talk about the most contentious feature: the cellphone charging. So many emergency radios claim they can do this but none can do it well. If you plug in your cellphone and expect the KA500 to sit there and charge it from solar or it's internal batteries, you will be disappointed. The internal battery is too small, the solar charging too inefficient. BUT this is, without a doubt, still a feature because you can hand crank and charge a device. Will it be slow? Yes. But you're essentially getting the exact same thing the Eton BoostTurbine can do, and that alone is $20. A hand crank charger should be appreciated for what it is: an emergency feature that will work when no other options are available. If any other option is available, it will be more efficient. I challenge anyone to comment below if they can find a radio in ANY price range that has ALL the features of this radio.

We got this for our earthquake go-bag. Nice features: You can power it from a wall plug, regular batteries, via USB link to computer, a solar panel or the rechargeable battery. We love that it will work and recharge without ANY power source around. You could be in a cave underground and this will give you light (not sure about radio, because well let's face it ... you're in a CAVE). But LIGHT ... you really need that. True, it's not a spotlight ... but the reading lamp is excellent, especially if you need to sit down and read a map. VERY IMPORTANT: You can keep your mobile phone powered up with the Kaito by USB link. That to me is huge, since when you've got to run ... you are definitely taking your phone with you ... but if the mobilephone battery conks out after a day or two, you're on a raft in the ocean with no gas. But the Kaito gives you confidence your phone will still work one, two, three or 300 days after the disaster. And this is cool: You can run the Kaito Voyager off an external battery, and when THAT battery conks, you can use the Voyager to RECHARGE the same external battery! Excellent! It's like some cool yin-yang symbiosis. About the quality: We like that this is NOT a cheap design ... the feel is solid and tight. NICE that there's a tight-fitting rubber cap to cover the usb, ac adaptor and headphone jacks. Can't believe some of these radios have no strap, but the Kaito does ... that's good, because what if it can't fit in the backpack? You can TIE it to the backpack using the strap. This is our first "disaster" radio, but on the whole we really like the quality design and features and would recommend it to others. P.S. We'll add a 5th star and more comments after we survive the earthquake.

Radio sólido, bien pensado y con excelente sonido! Además con todas las vías posibles de alimentación, jamás te dejará abandonado.

Very happy with seller received Katio Voyager SOLAR crank ka 500 radio very happy with the seller and the radio is all QUALITY I received the post before the due date ...also I noticed in AUSTRALIA this radio dosent catch weather radio bands i tried all channels...but I'm very happy with my purchase money well spent the solar crank radio katio 500 Voyager works great with all features with reading lights torch beacon works great the emergency hand crank works great I've tested it power the radio turning 1min its built with great quality dosent look cheap at all.. The reception of the AM FM radio is excellent quality it also can charge your phone in an emergency situation I'm very pleased with the design I was thinking to buy a yellow colour but decided on blue is appealing I'm very happy with the colour I purchased look cool I recommend to others who are looking for a radio for emergency or a radio that offers more than just music it can be a portable generator charge your phone or devices it has solar panel that can charge and has many function built in that why I recommend to others this Katio Voyager SOLAR crank ka 500 comfortable I give this product 5 stars on its features and portability if your in the market looking for a emergency radio the Katio Voyager SOLAR crank ka 500 lives up to its name AAA +++

Great radio!

This is by far one of the best emergency or hobby/camping type of Short Wave and Weather band Radios that I have ever used. It has a built in light for the display and is easy to use. I plan on buying more of them. I have had other radios that are limited in functions. This one has the most band coverage on shortwave + weather and regular AM/FM radio. It has built in flash light for easily reading the display in the dark and as a flash light or reading lamp. I'm not yet sure how effective the solar panel is but it's nice to have there. I'll be cranking this in most cases and using rechargeable and regular batteries that will work just fine for my needs. I especially like how the cell phone can be charged with this unit very important for long term power outrages. What I would improve on is the tuning it could use a "fine-tune" feature that would be nice, maybe a dual display frequency counter with the analog and a tone control also would be nice but that's about all I can think of that would make it best of the best. If you don't own one already I'd recommend it for sure.

Das Drehrad zum Einstellen der Frequenzen ist nach wenig Benutzung gebrochen. Die Frequenz kann nicht mehr eingestellt werden. Das Kaito hatte sich von Anfang an für mich recht billig und fragil angefühlt. Vor allem die US-Rezensionen bescheinigten dem Geräte aber immer "built like a tank" und damit recht widerstandsfähig zu sein. Ich hatte vorher ein 10€ Kurbelradio, das war von der Haptik ähnlich und läuft noch. Der hohe Preis ist meiner Meinung nach nicht gerechtfertigt.