Kaito KA007L 4-Way Powered Emergency Radio Review

I'm keeping a log on my word processor to give you a better review:

I received the radio from Amazon and immediately opened the package and gave the radio 60 turns with the dynamo crank handle (approx. 30 seconds).Then I turned on the radio.I've started checking all the features of the radio and so far everything works fine.All the radio channels worked great, but I had trouble with the band slide switches.It was very difficult to see what band the switch was set to because the color of the case is black and the switches are black.Also the switches have vertical grooves along the length of the slider switch.You couldn't tell if the grooves were suppose to point to the bands or what... but if you looked VERY close you can see that there is a small indented dot in the middle of the switch, which is also black.This small indented dot is your marker to show which band the radio is tuned to.I just so happened to have a Sharpie pen with metallic silver ink.Filling the indented dot with this metallic silver ink makes it so much easier to switch bands without having to start at one end and counting the click of the switch as you slide it across the bands.Also the silver ink dot on the slide switches make the front of the radio look much better.

The eight led lamps in the handle acts like a lantern and gives enough light to see what you are doing in a dark room.You have to get close the lamps to be able to read.

Lets go back to when I first turned on the radio.Remember, I gave the crank handle 60 turns and started my evaluation.This is the 3rd day I've had the radio and it's still playing!!!!It hasn't been on continually for all this time, but I've spent a several hours a day with the radio playing while I check out all the features.I can't believe the radio is still playing.... I keep checking the battery compartment to make sure there are no batteries loaded.It is empty.... The only battery it's using is the chargeable built-in battery.I figure it must have been charged when I got it, because I can't see turning the crank handle 60 times would charge the battery for this length of time.Maybe it could be the solar panel picking up light from inside the house and keeping it going.When it finally runs out of juice, I'll let you know and then how long it actually runs with 60 cranks of the dynamo handle.

There is a small user's pamphlet that comes with the radio. The pamphlet looks like something that came out of a box of cracker jacks.The 3" x 4" pamphlet has only 6 pages and has lots of errors in it.Main thing to remember is; to receive AM, both slide switches have to be on AM; to receive the short-wave (SW) channels, the left slide switch has to be on AM, then select the SW bands with the middle slide switch; to receive all the other bands such as FM, TV1, TV2, WX.VHF, the middle switch can be on any position.The TV bands will go dead in a few days if not already when the broadcast stations change from analog to digital for visual and audio transmission.But who knows, later on some other entity may pick up the unused TV frequencies and you will have access to them.

Day 4:Still playing, but most of the high frequency stations are very weak and hard to tune...probably because of the low voltage of the built-in chargeable battery.The only frequency still playing good is the AM stations.They still sound great.At the top left of the radio, there are 3 indicator lamps.Two are for the power of the charge (low and high) and the other is the tuning indicator.The high power lamp has always been lit since I turned on the radio.

Day 5:The radio is still playing, so I turned on the lantern and left it on while the radio was playing.The radio finally ran down after a few more hours of use and the low power light is now on.
Now for more tests;after cranking the radio for 1 minute (approx. 120 turns), the radio played for about 30 minutes.Only the low frequency channel AM came in clear.Apparently the higher frequencies require a more fully charged battery.I'll check that later.

One hour of direct sunlight allowed the radio to play for about 15 minutes.Apparently in the summertime, it should charge better and play longer.Still only the AM channels will play good.The other frequencies are very weak and hard to tune.
I don't know how long you should charge the radio with the AC charger, but I left it on charge about 24 hours and now all channels are playing good, even the higher frequency channels.

Because you can't play the higher frequencies, and can only play the AM channels when the radio is charged with the crank or sunlight, I'm only giving this product a 2 star rating.

There is no light for the dial, but in a dark room, you can turn on the lantern and shield the LEDs in the handle with your hand to reflect light to the dial to see it.

There is a wire antenna included to help tune in some of the higher Short Wave stations, but there is no place on the radio to plug it into or connect it.I have searched every mm of the radio and can't find a receptacle for it.The lower Short Wave channels work fine with the telescoping antenna when the charge power is strong.


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Product Description:
Stay prepared and informed with the KA007L from KAITO. If the power goes out and batteries aren't available, the KA007L can function for up to an hour with only two minutes of hand cranking or an hour's exposure under direct sunlight Its built-in generator means that even in the most desperate situations, you'll still have access to local news and information - as well as to news from around the world. Plus it comes with a 8-LED camping lantern. The unit's 10-band tuning receives AM, FM, SW 1-4, weather and aviation stations.

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