I have reviewed the Kaito KA110 Compact Digital AM/FM NOAA Weather Radio which is small/portable and great for emergencies.
But now I’m going to review the Kaito KA580. With the 110, it was powered by a 3.7 Lithium battery, but for its big brother, the KA580, it features 6-way powering: 1;5V Built-in Lithium Battery, 3 AA Batteries, Solar Power, 5V USB input, 5V DC Wall Power Adapter (not included) and a hand cranked generator.
So, if anything, this is the ultimate emergency radio because if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, there are ways to get power working on this radio.
The radio is much thicker than its KA110 little brother but the fact that it comes with a LCD back-lit display featuring calendar, 24-hour clock with alarm, count-down sleep timer, micro SD card reader which can read MP3 and Wav files and support up to 64GB Micro-SD Cards.
The radio also comes with an antenna that extends up to 17″, the device has an LED flashlight, SOS Beacon Light with Siren and also an Emergency Mobile Battery Charger with a built-in standard DC 5V USB output port to charge your mobile device or other electronics.
As for the radio, it comes with AM/FM and 7 pre-programmed NOAA weather channels. The NOAA Weather Radio worked perfectly in giving weather reports for my area. The channels are pre-programmed, so that’s awesome.
Primarily, I see people wanting this device for the NOAA weather reports especially during time of weather related pending disasters.
With that being said, one can listen to the radio and have your headphones plugged in via the 3.5 mm audio input or through its speaker. The display is back-lit and was easy to read.
So, you get your money’s worth with this small radio which offers so much for under $40. While I love the KA110 for its small size, when it comes to emergencies, if you run out of battery power, the KA110 is dead. With the KA580, if the batter(ies) die, at least you have the extra solar power and also the hand crank wind-up, just in case.
So, it all comes down to preference. But for those who want that peace of mind during emergencies, the Kaito KA580 is the way to go!
And if you are willing to spend a bit more, definitely look into the Kaito Voyager Pro (which has a 180-degree adjustable solar panel, thermometer and humidity meter) or the KA900 which has stronger construction.
Highly recommended!
