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, Yellow

I live in New Orleans and the weather reports indicated that Hurricane Harvey could be sending a lot of rain and tornados our way in addition to knocking out power. I thought it prudent to have an emergency alert device that isn't dependent on the grid or on cell service, so I decided to get one. Initially, I bought an Eton at a local store but it was faulty out of the box. After reading reviews, I noticed that was a trend for their products. After returning it, I did better research going forward and purchased the Kaito KA500BU instead. I've only had the Kaito KA500 for a short while, but it's been fantastic so far. The versatility of having 5 ways to charge this radio is reassuring, especially for a device intended for emergencies. My favorite part is that the USB power is reversible. Being a techie, I have multiple laptops that have now become de facto batteries in the absence of power if necessary. I haven't tinkered with the Short-Wave stations yet, but the AM/FM stations come in crystal clear. One nice surprise is that this little radio is quite loud, especially in NOAA Weather Alert mode. We're still under intermittent Flood/Tornado watches until Thursday, so I left this radio on in the bedroom last night. It received an alert and startled my sleeping wife by blasting it, so I had to move it into the next room. The hand crank seems to work well, providing a few minutes of power each time. We've had so many alerts right after receiving it on the initial charge that it was likely run down early from that. It's charging by USB now and I expect the battery to hold a charge longer once it's been fully charged and cycled. The LED reading lights, flashlight, and strobe light are a nice touch. The reading lights were a big selling point for my wife. I need to buy AA batteries and actually get some sunlight before I can test the auxiliary battery and solar power functions properly, but based on my experiences with this product I expect them to work well. Overall I'm very please with this purchase and would recommend it to others without reservation.

I like this radio! It claims that it is a solar radio and it is! Other radios (like Eton) claim to be solar radios but after buying them and using them, you find that they can be charged by solar power but the power does not last very long and a back up battery is primarily used to power the unit. I leave this radio out in my Florida room and let it charge up by solar power. When I want to use it I turn the radio on and listen without any problems. I have used the radio for at least 1/2 hour without any problem, I don't know what the total capacity of how long the solar power will last when the unit is not in the sun during use. The unit comes with an internal battery that plugs in after purchase and is charged with the solar cells or the AC adapter. You have the capability of putting another battery as a back up but I haven't put one in it and have been using solar power as the sole recharging source. I purchased the AC adapter as a backup to charge the internal battery but haven't used it yet. The AC charger is just a backup in case I need to charge the internal battery fast and there is no sunshine available. The radio sounds good and the tuner seems to be easy to use. In one review, I read the crank was cheap and some people had problems with breaking the crank. For my use, I haven't had to use the crank too much and can't say how durable it is. there are several radio bands on this radio. AM, FM, Weather, and 2 Shortwave bands. I also bought the shortwave antenna for future use in case I want to play with the shortwave bands The radio comes in a variety of colors. I picked blue so it would stand out if I was in a park or grassy area so that it would stand out and I hopefully won't leave it behind. I thought Black and Green and camaflauge would blend into the enviroment and not be easily seen, the Yellow was a little too bright, the red was a second consideration and so the blue was the final choice. I primarily bought this radio for the solar capability and it so far performs as advertised. I like the size, it's not too large to carry easily. It will probably fit into a gallon ziplock bag in case you want to keep the accessories with the radio and save it from some wet enviroments. For approx. $50 on Amazon.com I am very happy with this radio.

We live in a rural area of East San Diego County that is subject to losing electrical power whenever high wind warnings are in effect. During the dry season, wildfires can take out our electricity and phone service and close the roads leading into and out of our area. We already have two battery-powered emergency radios: a Uniden Home Patrol-1 for monitoring police, fire and other emergency transmissions, and a Sony ICF-SW7600GR which can receive upper and lower side band shortwave transmissions. Although we make it a point to keep a good supply of AA batteries on hand at all times, we’d been considering buying a third emergency radio that could be recharged using crank-power or solar-power. After reading all the reviews, we ordered a Kaito Voyager KA 500 receiver along with the AC power adapter that Amazon recommended for it. It was only after the radio arrived and we went to charge it that we discovered that we had been sent the model KA 500L, which does NOT accept AA batteries. Instead, it uses a single 2000mAh lithium battery, which was included with the radio. To charge this lithium battery using AC power, you need a Kaito KA722 34W 4-Port USB Wall Travel Charger, which connects to the radio via a micro USB port on the back of the unit. (A USB-to-micro USB cable was included with the radio.) The adapter recommended by Amazon was not compatible with this model and had to be returned. (To its credit, Amazon made returning it very easy and a refund was quickly forthcoming.) Fortunately, the lithium battery that came with the radio was already charged, so we were able to test it out right away. We’re located about 44 miles east of San Diego in a mountainous area that is less than ideal for radio reception. Even so, we were able to receive all of San Diego’s AM stations including KOGO, the one we listen to most often. Using the radio’s little telescoping antenna, we were also able to receive the FM stations, including XLNC1, San Diego’s classical music station located in Tecate, BN, Mexico. Even during the daylight hours when short wave reception is less than optimal, we were able to receive WWV in Boulder, Colorado. Switching to the weather band, we were able to receive the one NOAA station available in our area. Once the correct AC charger arrived and we were able to fully charge the radio’s lithium battery, we used it to charge our Samsung cell phones, just to see if we could. Again, no problems. Our initial impression of the Voyage KA500L is that, as a backup to our other battery-powered emergency radios, it does what it claims it will do and is perfectly adequate for an emergency radio costing less than $50.00. Ideally, we will never be in a situation where we will have to depend upon it as our only emergency radio. If that does happen, however, it will undoubtedly meet or exceed our expectations. Incidentally, we keep it stored in its original box, which fits nicely into a little over-the-shoulder canvas messenger’s bag that we got on eBay for $12.00.

This Kaito 5-Way Powered Emergency AM/FM/SW Weather Alert Radio was the best choice for a good, budget-friendly radio compared to others I looked at. The power goes out at least 2 or 3 times every winter, sometimes more, where I live, because of storms and high winds. So having a dependable radio makes a big difference when you're waiting for the power to come back on, which can take quite a while. The size is just right, so it's compact and easy to carry and store, and the controls are easy to use. And, probably the best part is the many ways this radio can be charged up, so you're never in a situation where it can't be powered up and used.

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.

I bought this as a gift for my son who lives in Florida. Weather stations come in like gangbusters, and the regular broadcast and shortwave bands have excellent reception as well. He really likes it.

I just received my Kaito KA500 and have put it through its paces to make sure everything works. I couldn't be more pleased. I love the loudness of the speakers (much improved from the SONY WALKMAN ear buds--yes we still had our children's versions-that got us through the last 48 hour power outage), the functionality of earbuds, good range reception with raised antenna. We received all of our major radio stations. Following the start up instructions, I connected the NI-MH battery clip, gave it the one minute primer crank and the radio was instantly singing. All lights worked well and I like the rugged exterior and light weight of the unit. I was so impressed that the NOAA station we use on the Chesapeake Bay comes in loud and clear when I switched to our weather station channel. I also love the alert capability, so I plan on turning it on for standby alert when the summer storms roll in. I confess that I needed some education on maintenance and storage of NI MH batteries so I called the number on the package insert 1-866-524-676 (PST- 9-5 weekdays). A REAL person immediately answered! He told me that it was best to re-charge the NI MH batteries once a month (something not included in manual). Also, if one must store for a long period of time, he said it would be best to UNPLUG the wires from NI-MH to unit. The batteries would retain more life for a longer time if not connected. Though I think they will still not lose too much capacity if left unused for several months. Basic lesson I learned is that this is a radio I do NOT want to toss into my storm box of gear and forget about for a year, but it is something I shall keep on a book shelf in view where I'll be reminded to charge it monthly. Nothing would make me angrier than to forget to charge this thing and have it not work in an outage. However, even if that happens, there are other power options in this handy helper: AA batteries, solar, and ye old hand crank! All in all, I am thrilled with this replacement of our old WALK MAN (though they only use 2 AA batteries, pretty amazing-- however, they do not broadcast the NOAA channels or have the automatic alert! ). Also, one parting word of consumer advice: do buy the AC adaptor when you order the radio. You'll want it when initially charging Ni MH for 6 hours---that could otherwise be alot of sun time! Stay safe and informed everyone!

This is an amazing radio. I purchased three of them, one will arrive in a few days of this review at my daughters house. It did more than I realized. Here are some tips along with some description. It comes with a rechargeable battery pack that you plug in when it arrives and you can charge. This battery is connected to the solar cell, and crank. So when you turn on the power, you select SOLAR/CRANK/DC to use the rechargeable battery. DC is the rechargable battery. This battery can be charged with the crank, and somewhat with the solar cell which is really for playing the radio rather than charging, and an external USB charger. (many nice ones at AMAZON too), and finally an optional AC charger. I think the USB charging is the best choice. The radio comes with a charging cable to charge the rechargeable battery pack, small end into radio, larger USB end into a USB charger or computer. You can also use 3 AA batteries. Once they are in, selecting BATT in power select them. Thus, you have two battery selections, the rechargeable (DC) and the 3 AAs (BATT). I put batteries in (buy the AMAZON BASICS when you buy radio) so I have both choices. I am not going to repeat the description but I can tell you if feels and seems well made and sounds pretty good, way better than another brand I have.It is everything one can want in a emergency radio. I suggest lastly that the manual be attached to it with a rubberband as it really is important. If I had one suggestion it would be to have a slot to slide the manual in. Finally, this is worth every penny, in fact I cannot believe the price. Get this with PRIME and get is ASAP.. In the box was info to get a free AC adapter if you do a review. I emailed them on how, and never got response.

Makkelijk om In huis te hebben

usability

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!