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Kaito Voyager KA500 5-way Powered Emergency AM/FM/SW Weather Alert Radio, Green
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List Price: $79.99
Our Price: $59.95
Your Save: $ 20.04 ( 25% )
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Manufacturer: Kaito
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Brand: Kaito
Color: GREEN
EAN: 6927674205002
Feature: 5-way powered emergency radio, AC, battery, hand crank, solar, computer
Label: Kaito
Manufacturer: Kaito
Model: KA500
Publisher: Kaito
Studio: Kaito
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Features
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5-way powered emergency radio, AC, battery, hand crank, solar, computer
AM/FM/Shortwave radio and 7 pre-set NOAA weather channels with alert
180-degree adjustable solar panel
High-capacity replaceable rechargeable battery
Rubberized water-resistant housing + 5-LED reading lamp + Flashlight
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Editorial Reviews:
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The newly released Kaito Voyager KA500 is a sister product of Kaitos widely praised emergency radios KA007, KA008 and KA009. With its revolutionary design and versatile functions, its an ideal companion for emergency preparedness purposes, outdoor activities as well as traveling.
Specifically designed for emergency situations, the KA500 offers different methods to power itself. Those methods include AC/DC adapter (not included), three AA batteries (not included), the built-in rechargeable Ni-MH battery which can be recharged from the AC adapter, by hand, by solar panel or by a PC, and the dynamo hand crank which not only can recharge the built-in battery but provides power even when no battery is installed.
At the heart of the KA500, there is an internal generator that recharges the internal replaceable Ni-MH battery pack and powers the radio, flashlight and reading lamp. Also, by plugging your cell phone into the jack on the back of the radio, you can use the crank to power your phone. Not only that, this radio also features a USB port, which you can use either to charge your radio with a PC or charge other electronic gadgets with the hand crank.
You can use the KA500 to receive a wide range of broadcasting including AM, FM, shortwave and NOAA weather stations. The 7-weather channels are pre-programmed and numbered from 1-7, you can easily and conveniently tune into the stations by turning the switch, no more guess work involved.
Compared with any other solar-powered emergency radios, the KA500 has its unique 180-degree adjustable solar panel, which can maximize sunlight exposure to power up the radio or charge the internal Ni-MH batteries. On the back side of the solar panel, there is a super-bright 5-LED reading lamp.
Standard accessories include earphones, user manual and bonus multiple adapter tips for charging select models of Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and LG phones.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: KAITO KA500 VERY VERSATILE
Comment: KAITO KA500 VERY VERSATILE
If considering the Kaito KA500, you want a highly portable radio that does it all. I did. I wanted a radio with versatility in (a) sources of power input and (b) radio signals received.
Public radio served me well weathering Hurricane Katrina's aftermath with a plain boom box. But what if things get dicier? My solution was to put together a disaster/camping/survival pack. And I needed a radio.
I settled in on the Kaito KA500, because nothing else came so close to providing abundant sources of power and station signals. Internet searchings I did indicated sales to military, a good sign. I bought one with the optional antenna you reel out for 23 feet. Here's what I found.
FEATURES
1. Multiple sources of power: It's powered by 3 AA batteries you buy, or crank to charge the built-in Ni-MH battery pack, or use solar panel on back with tilting hinge for charging the battery pack, or connect computer USB to charge the battery pack, or use the AC adaptor to charge the battery pack.
2. Multiple sources of signals: AM, FM, all 7 NOAA weather channels on crystal (NOT analog knob) tuning, SW1, and SW2.
3. Bonus features beyond these basics: White LED flashlight, red flashing LED emergency signal light, 5-LED reading light built into the reverse side of the solar charging cells so it tilts up and down to adjust, and ear bud earphones. These LED light features are powered as is the radio, so they can work with multiple sources of power with no filament bulbs to burn out. The KA500 also includes a USB output jack with wire that fits onto five different cellphone and personal electronic devices to charge them, and all these items come with the unit.
4. Optional features: Long 23 foot antenna you can string out and clamp to the stick-up antenna that reels back into a closed spool 3 inches in diameter, AC adaptor, USB cable for charging the KA500.
EVALUATIVE REVIEW OF FEATURES
1. Sources of power
a. Before putting in any bought batteries, I cranked the radio up for about a minute, and the small light on the front said it was fully charged. It ran for 10-15 minutes without any problems receiving an FM station before I put in the store-bought batteries.
b. The store-bought batteries worked fine.
c. I have not yet used the solar charger, nor ordered the optional AC charger, nor ordered the optional USB charger that charges the battery pack. I have no reason to believe any of these would not work, as everything else has worked.
2. Sources of radio signal
a. FM signals came in fine. The output is mono but quite acceptable.
b. AM signals also came in fine, the usual many signals.
c. SW bands pulled in a lot of stations, somewhat more clearly than AM (I did this testing at night). I got perhaps half foreign language stations, mostly Spanish.
d. NOAA weather was great in another city, mediocre but intelligible here on the Gulf Coast. A separate knob is devoted solely receiving just the seven weather stations, which are received digitally using crystals.
3. Tuning and sound
a. The tuning knob worked fine, as did all other controls.
b. Sound quality was OK When MPB public radio played some vintage Earl Skruggs it was pleasant over the small built in speaker. The earphones actually added some bass. I count decent sound as a bonus, as I did not buy the KA500 for excellence of sound quality. I bought it for getting any intelligible signal under duress.
4. Bonus features
a. The LED flashlight does what one LED does, the same as the one on my keychain and 1/3 as bright as the three on my cap clip-on light.
b. The red flashing LED worked well. It is likely visible for an unobstructed mile or more, probably farther over water.
c. The reading lamp is a real jewel. I turned off all my lights and tried to read. Reading was easy, so this radio can also be a good tent light, has a strap up top.
d. The long antenna boosted reception a bit, not greatly. It improved marginal signals.
CONCLUSION
The Kaito KA500 gives me amazingly versatile sources of power and radio signals for its price. The bonus features make it real bargain. If you want an emergency portable radio of modest price, the best chance of powering up under duress, the widest variety of signals of practical use in a disaster/camping/survival situation, plus a bunch of bonus features, I'd say the KA500 is your best bet by far.
HINTS
1. Keep the bubble wrap the radio comes in and tape the flap shut with duct tape for protection in your pack. Put it in a gallon glad bag and you're set.
2. If preparing for emergencies, online resources offer a lot. I liked:
a. Doug Ritter's many recommendations and supplies. He has set up a foundation "Equipped to Survive" and truly has his heart into survival oriented outdoor gear. You can even download his survival sheet free on that foundation website. You can also spend about a half hour reading the details about his Pocket Survival Pak, which I bought on Amazon. You can spend another half hour reading why he included the items he did in the pak and how he selected his survival instructions. You gotta love this guy.
b. Good survival manuals sold by Amazon, Wiseman's usually topping rankings.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A lot of radio in this little package!
Comment: We purchased this radio to have in our emergency kits. It is an impressive little dynamo! It only took a few cranks to fire up the radio and the lights. The lights are very bright. The weather station came up very well as well as all the other stations we tuned into. It is solid. Very nice. We also purchased the AC adapter made by Kaito. Plenty of options to power it up. Highly recommend this little radio.
Customer Rating:
Summary: the crank works---
Comment: when we received this radio the first thing we did was try it out in the sun. Solar worked, good. tried it in the shade, cranking it worked,good. Didn't like the station it was on, the dial would only go to the right. I quickly figure out that I would be done tuning the radio forever when the dial reached the right end of the dial. I am sending it back. This radio has an old fashioned mechanical tuner, not a digital tuner.
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