Got this handy device due to living on the east coast of Florida and hurricane Matthew making me pucker up and sweat. I forgot about hand crank radios and flashlights (which this is both and more) until a friend of mine asked if I had one and was baffled that I didn't already. This thing has everything! Makes you wonder if Doc Brown from Back to the Future or MacGyver works for Kaito. Picks up my local radio, weather and shortwave radio bands with no issues. (Now I can eavesdrop on truckers) Even sounds good. The LED light is pretty bright and the reading light is a good mix of not too bright yet not too dim. The red S.O.S. blinking light doesn't pattern actual Morse code, but who the heck can read Morse code anyways. (Pipe down military vets) It charged up perfectly with the solar panel and hand crank. And the hand crank is easy to turn. Even after consuming all your alcohol during a hurricane party so it doesn't get warm and spoil when the power goes out. And now for the answer that most people are probably curious about...(long pause for effect)... it DID charge my iPhone 6. Nothing spectacular but approximately 2% every 5 minutes. The great thing is if your phone needs more juice then just crank the sucker up. So to make a long story...err...review short...the Kaito Voyager KA500 got me through a hurricane and I would definitely recommend it.
I ordered a radio and it arrived on time and the quality exceeded my expectations. The radio arrived in perfect conditions and it comes with a 24” USB cable. The radio dimensions are 7 3\4 inches in length, 5.5” height and 2” in width. The radio comes with a collapsible antenna measuring 14.5” when fully extended. The radio comes with a rubber covered nylon strap on top for easy carry and it is very comfortable to hold. All the knobs feel firm and durable. All my radio functions work as advertized. I completely drained the battery and solar charged it for 4 hours and it provided 3+ hours of radio charge. The reading, flashlight and SOS lights work very well considering their size.
Cell Phone Charging
The included USB cable fit perfectly my Samsung Galaxy S6 and can be very slowly charged by the radio. Let me emphasize VERY SLOWLY cell phone charging. While charging my cell phone I had trouble picking up radio stations. I don’t know if it is designed that way or if the cell phone charging was impeding the radio to pick-up reception. I would not recommend relying on the radio to charge your cell phone.
Crank Power
After letting the battery drained, I cranked the radio for 3 minutes and that was enough to re-charge the battery for 22 minutes of radio.
I would definitely recommend the Voyager Kaito KA500L.
There's lots to review on this radio because of its many features, so for people who don't like long reviews, the short story is that it's WAY better than I'd ever hoped, that I highly recommend it both for emergency and for everyday use, and that readers should at least scroll down to the part where I tell how I messed up the initial charge, just in case they are no more observant than I am. It does everything they say it will, and does it better than any radio I've had.
Other condensed points for readers who are pressed for time:
** Keep the box in a 2 gallon Ziploc bag--it may come in handy some day (see below)
** If you want to listen to the radio, I *think* the manual says the radio works better NOT plugged in to the AC adaptor (if you ordered one) because it will cause some interference. True, not too much but some. Usually it's just a little hum and I often play the radio plugged in, but I think you're supposed to unplug it when you turn it off so the battery doesn't overcharge.
** Check the date on critical reviews, and look for reviews elsewhere on the net. I did and decided the current radio would probably be good, and I'm happy.
** READ THE MANUAL. It's short and very good.
** Be SURE to plug in the internal battery correctly and securely before the initial 6 hour charge, if you get the optional AC adaptor. Otherwise, you'll get no charge. This is how I messed up!
** PROS: Shortwave, AM/FM, NOAA weather; solar, crank, 2 AA battery charge, OR an optional AC plug; reading AND flashlight; cell phone charger and one or 2 more that I haven't tried. Good reception, at least to my satisfaction certainly (but I'm not radio savvy), small size that fits nearly anywhere and picks up stations nearly anywhere; lightweight for carrying in case of evacuation; and overall just very pleasantly surprised by the great value for the price.
** CONS: None yet. I don't know how it will hold up over the long haul, especially since I use it every day, and I don't know what will happen if I need service, and I haven't tried the cell phone charger. But the Kaito is cheap enough that even if I break something and have to throw it out, I'll have paid no more than I did for the 2 NOAA "desktop" weather radios I already bought, not to mention quite a few other radios which only picked up, or CLAIMED to pick up, NOAA stations. And if I do break it, I will probably buy another and try to be more careful. I don't think the value can be beaten.
Now for the details...
I had looked at this radio for many months or longer but was always put off by some negative reviews. They said it was flimsy, wouldn't pull in stations, etc. I kept looking for reviews all over the web and didn't see these criticism, and wondered why. Finally I noticed the dates of those critical reviews. They were from around 2012, and I didn't see those complaints in more recent reviews. So I figured that maybe the company did have some problems with quality control in past years, which they overcame. So I decided to take a chance. After all, it was a great price, and I have spent way over that on weather radios that didn't last very long either, and had no features except NOAA stations. And those weather radios are hard to find the right place for, unlike the Kaito which fits anywhere and so far seems to get great reception anywhere.
When I opened the box, everybody said, "Oh how cute!" I wouldn't care if it was uglier than homemade sin if it performed--and it does, way beyond anything I could have expected. I'm seriously impressed. This will not be an emergency radio, but my everyday radio now.
It IS cute, or rather I would say, stylish and thoughtfully designed. You can see the photos yourself, and it looks really good. I will say, however, that while it gives the appearance of being a really tough field radio, I would doubt it's that tough. Some pieces look a little flimsy, but I'm thinking of the metal sliding piece that turns on the reading light and flashlight, so this doesn't apply to any high-usage pieces. Since I intend to set it on a shelf or carry it out in the yard maybe to solar charge sometimes, I feel it's sturdy enough for my purposes. I wouldn't throw it in the back of a jeep and go off road--unless I had a case for it. The crank that some reviewers complained about seems very good to me, having had several crank radios or flashlights before. I haven't tried the solar panel yet, but in the nuclear reactor that we call a climate here, I'm thinking it will work pretty well. In the past, I didn't have much luck with solar equipment some years ago when I lived in a climate more suitable for habitation, so you be the judge of your local sunshine. I know people here who grow beautiful vegetable gardens in what I'd call the shade, i.e. just a few hours of sun a day, so it's a really, really sunny place. I'm not in a position to really criticize the solar panel yet so look at other reviews to find out about that, preferably people who don't live in Africa or on the Equator or near me.
That is one improvement the company might make. I think they are justifiably proud of this radio. Probably some talented people have worked hard on it. I really like to see a company take pride in their product, and try to respond to constructive criticisms to improve it, or even just to CARE if the consumer is satisfied. They seem anxious to make this product the best they can and solicit user feedback. If this little radio becomes a good seller as it ought, they might consider making a padded case, hard outside and padded inside, to sell as an accessory, with extra room for an AC charger, earbuds, whatever, and maybe a long shoulder strap. A good case like this would cost a good bit, but since this is, among other things, an emergency radio, some people might appreciate the convenience of a traveling case, instead of having to make their own--because anything as vital as a radio in an emergency needs to be well protected from hard knocks and bad weather. For now, I'll just keep the box it came in to pack it in if I ever have to be evacuated or something horrible like that. The box would do fine actually instead of a special case if you only need to transport it on rare occasions, since the box protected the radio just fine during shipment, but I'd put it in a plastic bag to weatherproof it for such transport which could involve bad weather, chemicals, radiation, whatever. I put my box in a 2 gallon Ziploc bag and there's room left for cords or small electronics--plus the manual! So actually, selling an optional carrying case might not really be necessary, if you just keep the box for carrying.
HOW I MESSED UP
Before I forget, I should mention how I messed up, to spare others of my ilk (somewhat clumsy and careless--I can't be the only one) from this boo boo. The manual said to charge it for 6 hours using the AC adaptor (if you ordered one extra) before first use, so I did. There's an internal battery that must be connected before charging, and I did that, per manual instructions. I noticed that the battery access cover was just slightly akilter and I wondered why, but I plugged it in and waited impatiently for 6 hours. When I tried it out, not one thing happened! From having similar radios in the past, I thought batteries (3 AA batteries) would probably still work, so I opened the battery bay and saw that the internal battery, which I had plugged in, had become unplugged before I even started the 6 hour charge! I plugged it in more carefully to be sure it was well seated and tried again.
But after waiting 6 hours, I HAD to see if it would pick up any stations at all, so, well, I didn't wait for the proper 6 hour charge before I tried it, as the manual said to do. I figured I could always buy another internal battery if I mess this one up. I don't live in a great spot, far from everything, so I didn't expect much, and boy, was I amazed. It had the clearest reception of any radio I have, even the car radio (at least the stations I like--can't speak for the others). It picks up FM stations I never knew existed and in the evening scads of stations on SW1 and SW1. Shortwave stations are more limited during the day, which I think is to be expected, but the ones that do come in are loud and clear. My knowledge of shortwave is limited to using my father's set years ago and I expected to be constantly retuning the stations as they drifted in and out. To some extent, I do have to with the Kaito, but nothing like I did years ago. Besides, I consider this the full, interactive shortwave experience! So no, it's not digital, but I don't care. Also, this good reception is without the optional antenna, which I didn't order initially. I'm curious now to see if I could get even better reception with that.
I also like the small size of this jewel. It's easy to find a spot for it, and in this one radio I can switch from AM to FM to SW bands to NOAA weather (just to get the daily forecast fast), use emergency lights, etc., so it's terribly handy and works well for my limited space. I have two other AM/FM radios which I have to put in bizarre locations to pick up a few stations and I am getting rid of those. I have a couple of weather radios that I may give away or store since I don't have much space. This Kaito runs rings around all the others that I have, plus has shortwave and more charging options, a reading light, a flashlight, a cell phone charger (though the manual says don't expect too much of that, like using it with a totally dead battery, yet they say it works within limitations), and can use the optional external antenna, plus another couple of features I haven't looked at yet.
I also have an Eton American Red Cross radio but I was never really happy that it had no shortwave. I really wanted shortwave because I just like listening to the weird stations, but also because if there were a big disaster in my area, I still might be able to pick up SOME news from other countries or locations. The Eton doesn't seem to have AM/FM either, now that I look at it. It quit working so I put it up and later realized what might be the problem, right before I was ready to throw it out. I just now cranked it and it works find by that method, but only for weather, so I wouldn't recommend it, unless NOAA weather is all you care about. If so, an Eton would be fine, but why not get something you can use every day?
Incidentally, desktop weather radios that are so popular can also be fragile. I now have a Midland which I got to replace my first "desktop" NOAA radio that was promoted by the local TV station. I can't remember if that was a Midland too or not, but I knocked it off the table and ruined it. A teeny plastic piece held the antenna connection and that broke, so I had to toss it.
The Kaito's weather radio picks up several stations in my area, and I just had to turn the knob from stations 1 to 7 to find the one I prefer, no codes needed and none of the ordeal of going through every state and county in the USA to find my station, as I have to do with my Midland weather radio. Again, NOAA comes in extremely well. I forgot I have yet more crank weather radios which don't pick up anything at all. I guess that's 2 more radios I can toss now. I MIGHT keep the white Midland like most people use since I already have it and I'll just use it for alerts. I'm not sure how to use the Kaito for alerts. It certainly has that feature, but I see no need to risk running down the battery just before I need it for an emergency, since I already have the Midland. I'm not sure if I can plug the Kaito in and set it on "NOAA alert" because I think the manual says not to overcharge the radio and to unplug it when not in use. Guess I should ask the company about that. I don't really like the NOAA alerts anyway because the Midland beeps so loud for alerts that it could give anyone a heart attack, which sort of defeats the purpose of preserving one's life in an emergency!
Be sure to READ THE MANUAL!!! It's just a leaflet, but it's full of info and deserves careful study. I know that seems an unAmerican thing to do, but read it anyway. This little radio has so many features that it's really necessary to know the precise settings etc. required for each one. You'll be glad you did, I think, and avoid frustration from not using the radio correctly. I'm going to read mine over again to be sure I understand all the features. The manual should answer most questions a new buyer will have, and reading it will give you something to do while waiting for the initial 6 hour charge for those who got the AC adapter. Of course, being an American I didn't read it ALL before I started using the Kaito, but that's what one SHOULD do. And it's all in English! No leafing through 10 other languages before you come to the one you want!
I've been so excited about this terrific little radio that I forgot until just now that my favorite candy also came in this shipment! Yes, I love my Kaito, I'm very pleasantly surprised at how great it is, and I heartily recommend it, except to people who want to throw it in their jeep's floorboard or let the kids toss it around. This is what I've wanted for many years.
Review
Kaito Voyager KA500 World (Radio) Receiver
November 27, 2017
The Kaito Voyager KA500 World Receiver is a compact radio receiver with multiple power source options and emergency use features. At Amazon.com I paid $49.99 and there was no charge for shipping.
Optional accessories are an AC charger and a shortwave external antenna, each costing $9.99. The shortwave antenna is a 23 foot long wire that clips onto the telescoping antenna. Accessories are available from Amazon and the manufacturer. I was offered (November 2017) one accessory free if I would publish a review at Amazon.com.
The outer case is bright, yellow, hard plastic with black accents. The plastic carries no recycling information. The radio measures 8” x 5” x 2.6”. The telescoping antenna extends to 14.5”.
The user's manual may be downloaded free from Amazon.com under “Product Information” or kaito.us in the “Radio Parts” section.
The description on the Amazon web site is accurate and I will not repeat those details. My overall evaluation of this radio is quite positive. If my comments below seem mostly negative, it is because I am not repeating the accurate Amazon description.
My biggest disappointment is that this radio cannot be left plugged in to a power source. The users manual page 7 (hereafter UM7), under “Charging via USB,” warns, “The max charging time is 6 hours.” A further warning against overcharging is found on UM8. As annoying as this is, I fear that it will be impossible to avoid overcharging. There is no way to know how fully charged the batteries are and therefore how much longer they can be charged without overcharging.
A second annoying “feature” is that the radio electronics can be damaged by temperatures found in a car. UM15 warns, “Do not expose to moisture or temperature above 130 F. Do not leave it on dash board in your car, the extreme heat will damage the electronic parts inside the radio.” Given that UM5 and UM8 emphasize that solar cells must be put in strong sunlight and that solar charging is very slow, it is easy to imagine owners placing the radio on their dash board for solar charging. Don't!
The solar cells are attached to a rotating frame that folds flat against the radio body or rotates to most effectively intercept solar rays.
Power indicator lights on the front of the radio are a welcome feature. When the rechargeable batteries are low, a red LED lights. Otherwise the green charge light is lit. Unfortunately, when tuned to a strong radio station, a red tuning light is lit. It is positioned beside the low battery light and is easily confused with it.
If the batteries are to low, you can hand crank continuously while listening to the radio. It only takes a couple minutes to build up enough charge to do this. Cranking time to achieve a full charge is not noted. The Voyager's output port can be used to charge other devices with a USB connection. The source of pass-through power can be the hand crank or the AC adapter. Other devices cannot be charged from the Voyager's batteries.
Ports for 5 V DC input, 5 V DC output, earphone, and 6 V DC input are under a rubber cover on the back. Because of interference, it is recommended that one not listen to the radio when the 5 V DC output port is in use. Unfortunately, the labels on these ports are molded in raised relief into the plastic and are almost impossible to read. I aimed a flashlight almost parallel to the back of the radio and was able to make them out with a little difficulty. All four of these ports have shapes that exclude the wrong male couplings, but printed labels would be beneficial.
The KA500 has the NOAA Alert feature. When weather is threatening, NOAA broadcasts a signal on the weather band which tells some weather radios to turn on their sound. To use this feature, you dial in a weather band station and then switch to “NOAA Alert.” The sound turns off and the radio enters a monitoring mode until it receives an alert signal. Because this mode consumes power, it is recommended to use the AC power source with it.
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
The Voyager has lights. The flashlight is a single colorless LED. The SOS light is a single red LED that flashes. It does not flash SOS in Morse code, however. The reading lamp is five LEDs attached to the back of the rotating solar cell frame. It would be a useful floodlight if the single LED flashlight is insufficient. Also, the tuning dial is illuminated.
I am glad that I bought this radio and I recommend that anyone wanting a radio to take along on outings consider purchasing this one. I look forward to being able to crank for power instead of worrying about dead batteries. I am also planning to start listening to shortwave from time to time.
I just purchased this radio today and received it the same day. Love the Amazon delivery service!! I also purchased the extra antenna and the AC adapter (Kaito AD500 AC Adapter for Kaito Voyager Series Radios) that was shown by Amazon as additional items purchased with this radio. Well, I can't figure out where to plug the adapter in - I'm thinking it is the wrong one for this radio even though it says on the box that it is made for Voyager KA500 series radios. I read the tiny print in the tiny manual that comes with the radio and perhaps there is some other adap/ter made for this radio????
I wanted to try out this radio tonight with the power adapter and I am frustrated and disappointed that I will have to wait until tomorrow to call Kaito and figure out what is going on with the adapter.
I am sure I will ultimately be happy with the radio purchase - just wish I could have found out tonight how nice it seems to be.
UPDATE: 05/09/2017 - I spoke to a very friendly, helpful person at Kaito. He explained to me that the radio I purchased is a newer model and is sending me out the correct AC adapter for it.
I also asked him a couple of technical questions and he was able to give me helpful answers.
I ended up turning the radio on last night, as it seemed to have a full charge, and was able to make sure that everything worked well. I was able to receive a weather channel, an am channel, and so sort of fuzzy SW channel. I am sure that if I used the extended antenna that the SW channel would come in more clearly.
Also, the lights worked and I had fun cranking it, too!
It is a very sturdy and well-made radio that I purchased in the event of an emergency or power outage and I feel confident that it will be quite helpful if either event occurs.
Feature Product
- 6-way powered portable emergency radio with hand crank generator, solar panel, compartment for 3 AA batteries (not included), 5V USB input, 5V AC/DC input with a wall power adapter (sold separately), built-in NiMH replaceable and rechargeable battery pack
- Comprehensive coverage of AM, FM, 2-band shortwave and 7 pre-programmed NOAA weather channels for entertainment, sports, talk-shows, breaking news around the world, and 24/7 real-time weather forecast (USA and Canada ONLY) with PEAS (Public Emergency Alert System)
- Works as an emergency mobile battery charger with built-in standard DC 5V USB output port for charging mobile devices, such as smart phones, GPS units, MP3 players, digital cameras, and etc. Other features include a 5-LED reading lamp, LED flashlight and a red LED S.O.S. beacon light
- Telescopic antenna extends up to 14.5" for high sensitivity reception assisted by advanced semiconductor circuitry design and LED signal strength indicator for pin-point tuning accuracy, and built-in speaker delivers loud and crispy sound
- Made of strong premium impact-resistant and water-resistant ABS material, suitable for both indoors home/office use and outdoors recreational activities
Description
The Kaito Voyager is the perfect radio for emergencies and disasters. It comes with a High quality AC type brushless generator and the solar panel powers the radio by itself and charges the built-in batteries as well. To maximize the sunlight's rays, the solar panel is designed to tilt with the suns position to receive the energy during the day time.
On the bottom side of the solar panel is a 5 LED reading lamp that you can use in poorly lit conditions. The super bright LED on the side can be used as a flashlight or can be a red flashing emergency signal. The radio is designed to charge many small electronic items with its USB jack that can connect to many standard USB enabled gadgets like your iPod or cellphone. The weather alert feature enables you to receive the alert signal when a disaster arrives. 5 LED reading lamp for camping and emergency use. White LED flashlight Red LED blinking for emergency alert. AM - 520-1717 KHz FM - 88.00- 108.00 MHz SW1 - 3.20-9.00KHz SW2 - 9.00- 22.00KHz Weather Band - 7 standard bands for all stations, PLL crystal control circuit for stable reception Weather Alert - To be activated by weather alert signals.
I personally tested this radio when Hurricane Maria hit Dominica as a category 5. We had no power for 6 days. It made a serious difference to our lives. We were able to power up our phone with it, so that we could send text messages to let people outside of the country know that we had not perished. We could exchange text messages with a friend who got us ferry tickets and plane tickets for us to be able to leave the country. It also made it possible to listen to the radio so that we could hear information, and not feel so isolated and desperate. It also provided light, although we did have other light sources, so we didn't depend on it. I recommend buying this and ensuring that you have a good stock of batteries as in my experience the solar power takes a while and sometimes you just don't want to keep cranking it. Overall, it made a huge difference to us during our 7 day long hurricane event and aftermath. I wish I could have left it behind for others to benefit from, but we travelled onto another Caribbean island so I felt I may need it, just in case....
After Hurricane Irma, im on my 3rd day without power. Having this little radio helps immensely. It does a pretty good job of charging a phone, and picks up local radio stations nicely. The LED lights are comfortably bright, and light up a llarge-ish very nicely. I dont know anything about.SW radio, so i cant answer to that. Im very happy with the purchase, and may order another for a friend.
*UPDATE*
After having the radio for one, Ive encountered a problem: the radio actually PULLS the charge from my phone. I plugged the phone in at 53%, checked it about an hour later, and it was DOWN to 30%, even though both the radio and phone indicating charging. I charged the phone to 80% percent with my car, plugged it in again, cranked it up, and hour later, it was down to 69%. It's possible that i just got a defective product, but i wont return it because i still really like the light and radio aspect.
I bought this to replace a radio from a different company that I had and liked until I accidentally kicked it into the lake while night fishing and that was it's death blow. For some reason the other radio I had went up from about $40 to now Amazon is selling it for $150 and while it was good it certainly was nowhere close to being that good. After some research and reading a LOT of reviews here on Amazon I decided on this radio and I'm even happier with it than the one I'd previously owned.
I like the fact that it comes with the rechargeable battery so I didn't have to spend more money on that like I did with my previous radio. When fully charged it plays for several hours (after being fully charged with the AC adaptor I purchased separately here on Amazon) before I need to wind up the handle to recharge the battery manually. I keep forgetting to time how long it will play after charging it by winding the handle, but it lasts long enough that I consider it to be working good under those conditions also. Of course the length of time the charged batteries last will vary depending on the volume you play it and other factors. Tomorrow morning we're supposed to have some severe weather moving through and hopefully I'll remember to leave the weather radio function on so I can see how that works.
One of my favorite features on this radio is under the solar panel there are 5 LEDs that you can turn on to light up a small area. I find this really helpful during night fishing when I have to tie knots on my fishing line and the poor lighting where I fish makes tying knots a real challenge. These lights will not light an entire room, but they do nicely for tying fishing knots in poorly lit areas. Overall I'm very happy with my purchase and if something happens to this radio I will buy another one. My only complaint and it's a minor one is the antenna only lifts straight up and it will not swivel so you can point it for better reception. That being said though even with the antenna not being able to swivel it does get good reception on the radio stations I listen to regularly.
Upon opening the package and reading through the enclosed papers I saw an offer where the company says if Amazon buyers write a review on Amazon for this radio that they will send you your choice free of charge either an AC adaptor or a shortwave antenna. After posting this review I will contact the manufacturer and let them know I've posted this review and which I prefer and then I'll have to wait and see if they honor their offer. As soon as I receive the free item I will write an update to this review letting readers know they lived up to their end of the deal. If I haven't received my shortwave antenna by September 1st which gives them about 7 weeks which should be plenty of time then I will update this review at that time and lower my star rating to reflect that they did not honor their offer.
Update 7-15-17: Since writing this review I've had a chance to hear the weather alert system on this radio and it worked perfectly and I received my notifications about 90 seconds before the same information was displayed on my TV. While 90 seconds does not sound like a lot of time in an emergency sometimes seconds can mean the difference between life and death or serious injury so I'm glad to have it. The sound effect for the alert system notification is quite loud and irritating which is exactly what I want so that it will get my attention so I won't be distracted and miss information that could potentially save my life if bad weather is heading for my location.
Also, about 8:15 p.m. ET the same night I published this review I emailed the company to request my free shortwave antenna they offer if buyers will write a review here on Amazon and I was pleasantly surprised to see a reply from them within an hour saying that it would be sent first thing the following morning. I received the package today and was a little disappointed that the manufacturer sent me an AC adapter for writing this review when I requested the shortwave antenna since that's what I really wanted since I already bought an AC adapter here on Amazon at the same time I bought this radio. However, since they were so fast to reply to my email requesting the shortwave antenna and also very quickly shipped it I won't bother them with requesting that they send me the antenna and I'll just keep the extra AC adapter as a spare in case something ever happens to the one I bought. I'll just have to buy the shortwave antenna myself one of these days. Overall even with the little mix-up with sending me the wrong gift I'd still give the company a good solid A for trying their best to live up to their end of the bargain..
It is my own fault that I did not notice that the power adapter is not included. This product works great, but you need the power adapter. It will drain battery quick if you have it set to give you weather alerts which is the reason I bought this.
The reception in this is very very clear. I'm considering buying this as my work radio since the one I have has poor reception at times.
The reviews for this product may be somewhat skewed. I gave it a 5 simply because the product as advertised meets and even somewhat exceeds expectations. When the product is delivered, they include a sheet that says if you review the product they will send you the power adapter for free. So there may be people out there that don't like this product but give it a positive review just to get the adapter for free. It's a clever marketing ploy albeit somewhat dirty business tactic.
I bought a green Voyager KA500 radio after my best friend who lives in Puerto Rico recommended it to me. He spent almost two months without power thanks to hurricane Maria, yet the black Voyager KA500 worked great for him. I was impressed first by the size - it isn't too big or too small - and then by the built-in battery life. My last crank powered radio only gave me 30 minutes of listening time with 2 minutes of cranking up. The Kaito Voyager KA500 gives me a bit over two hours of listening (FM and weather radio) after cranking up for two minutes, and a lot more after charging via USB for 6 hours. The flashlight is a nice and welcome touch. I haven't tested the solar power yet. It is a nice bonus, but not the way I plan to charge my radio regularly. Sound quality is okay, not audiophile-approved, but clear and loud enough. Reception on all bands is adequate, except for the shortwave bands where you only get some mumbling, if you're lucky.
** UPDATE **
I was so satisfied with my Voyager KA500 radio that I ordered another one in blue for a gift to a friend. When the blue one arrived, it turned out to be the Voyager KA500L, not the KA500. While it's almost the same radio, there are a couple of key differences between the KA500L and KA500 models. The KA500L has a larger solar panel and a Lithium-ion 2000 mAh battery, but these changes come with the sacrifice of AA battery support. While the original, non-L KA500 only has a 600 mAh Ni-MH battery, it does support AA batteries so you can get higher capacity rechargeable batteries, well above the KA500L's built-in battery. Some people may see the KA500L as an upgrade while others may see it as a downgrade, and others might not care either way. I wish Amazon kept separate pages for the KA500 and KA500L but as it stands right now, it looks like you will get either one.
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