Kaito KA500RED 5-Way Powered Emergency AM/FM/SW Weather Alert Radio, Red

This is my second kaito KA500. The first one I bought about 12 years ago. That went through several years of outer banks hurricanes and rough stormy power outages as well as lawn chair duty under the trees. It is still in service, although the NOAA volume is low. The rest of the device is as new.So I bought the extra charger, but it’s really an optional accessory. I rarely use it. I usually keep the rechargeable mostly charged and use the alkaline. If you’re in the sun or want to crank it a bit you can keep a mostly topped off rechargeable that way for quite a while. Maybe once a year at most I might drain it and throw it to the wall charger, but again, not imperative.This second one is identical. Just the first is green this new one is blue. I like the versatility. Several ways to charge, led lights for when the power is out if you want that. It has several port options so that’s good too. Reception is just fine. You can increase it with a long wire clipped to the radio and hung higher. Not really necessary in my area. The shortwave and AM broadcast are fun to sniff out at night. It’s a good listener. Local FM broadcast stations come in well.The crank is effective. The solar is proportional to the size of the cells. They’re not big but they do function. Buy light colored radios only if you plan on sitting it in the sun. A black radio with solar in a blazing sun all day simply is not going to do well. If you wanted to charge the rechargeable from only sun it would take several days pointed at a good sun. Therefore get the light colored models.As for me it’s generally an alkaline operation.If buy a 3rd one if they’re still for sale in 25 years. I do amateur radio mostly HF and am spoiled with several of the best listening and transmitting radios. For a simple cheap broadcast sw/am/fm/NOAA radio this one does the trick. It’s no piece of junk based on years of time and hours in service.Save the box and store it when not being used. That’s why my old one looks like new and the new one will look the same in a decade.

l originally purchased this product as part of an emergency preparedness kit. My intention was never to use it on a regular basis, so my review really is based more on the features I thought would be essential for an emergency situation, and not so much on whether the product is durable or withstands regular usage.What attracted me to this radio was really its multiple sources of power, and its various uses. I could use either 3 AA batteries, the hand crank, or the small solar panel to power the device. I also liked that the radio had not only AM/FM stations; but also NOAA weather stations and SW1/SW2. An extra added feature is a light source located on the back of the solar panel. There is also a USB port, so I can charge my cell phone on the device if I needed to. This thing is also pretty lightweight, so it should be really easy to carry around.Because it is pretty new, I haven't used the product enough to tell whether its features are reliable. However, I can say that the hand crank radio does work in keeping the radio running for a time, and the light source is bright enough for reading a book and illuminating a small area. Radio stations come in pretty well when the antenna is raised. I haven't tried the solar panel yet, but I'm sure it works OK.Overall, I'm pretty happy with the product. If for some unfortunate reason I find myself in an emergency, I think this thing will come in pretty handy. In the meantime, I am using it occasionally to listen to talk radio.

This little radio is perfect for my needs in the case of the power going out. Works fine. No complaints. Notice the hand crank power needs to be constantly cranked to keep up the power. I love it.

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 bandsThe 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.