New toy for the shack: The Kaito voyager pro KA600
Received my Kaito voyager pro KA600 the other day and have been scanning around the shortwave bands deciding what to think of it. I ordered the Green model since it was $20.00 less than the black radio at the time over at Amazon. Not sure why the black model would be more.
Tune in the world with a Kaito voyager pro KA600
The Kaito Voyager pro KA600 is a decent receiver.
So far it is a decent receiver on the shortwave bands although I wouldn't say it is the best emergency radio I have ever used. It does receive AM/FM as well as the shortwave bands which is a nice touch, and it does have a hand crank to either charge up the internal battery or charge up other devices like cell phones and my son's Playstation PSP, although the little IN/OUT switch on the back under a protective rubber flap is a little hard to use. When charging the internal batteries you select IN and when charging another device you choose OUT. It would have been nice to have this feature on the face somewhere easier to get to. It is easy to forget that you need to flip it.The Kaito Voyager Pro KA600 gets great reviews.
The Kaito KA600 is also getting great reviews over at Amazon. It is the best that is available in this price range for a decent hand crank emergency radio that includes the shortwave bands. You can read the reviews of the Voyage Pro HERE
My gripes about the KA600 voyager pro.
One thing I dont like about it so far is that it really needs an external antenna connector to hook up to my existing antenna system that I have. It is also prone to lots of radio hash from the various computers I use here in the office. I hook it up to my 40M EDZ with jumper clips, one from the lead of the coax to the telescoping antenna, the other to the ground terminal in the battery compartment. I am going to be adding and RCA plug somewhere on the case later on so that I can connect it easier without having to take the cover off the battery compartment.
One other gripe is the tuning. When searching for new stations to listen to using the dial on the side, the radio will kerchunk and the sound will drop out. Since it tunes 5khz at a time, you have to stop on each frequency to see if a station is coming in, and then move on to the next frequency.
As far as advertising, it does do exactly what it said it does. I can listen to FM radio and get the RDS data from the station as long as it is coming in strong and in stereo. It will also pick up the local radio station that I cant get on my other receiver.
When trying to figure out which is the best emergency radio for your personal needs, it is sometimes best to make a list of exactly what you need before you start shopping around. For me the Kaito does fill the bill on a lot of the items on my list, including the NOAA weather channels and shortwave.
Being prepared with a hand crank emergency radio
The KA600 solar panel trickle charges the radio when placed in a window.
One other feature that I like is the solar panel built into the radio. It is nice to be able to set the Kaito KA-600 in the window and let it charge the internal battery when not in use. it is only a trickle charger so don't expect 2 hour recharge times, but it does come in handy. Another nice thing that I hadnt counted on was the reading light under the solar panel. Somehow I had missed that in the advertising. When the solar panel is lifted up into the upright position you can turn on a reading light that is actually surprisingly bright. I found that it also lit up an area very nicely.Ok, this is my last gripe about the kaito KA 600 radio.I dont like that the built in flashlight can't be used to light up a room. If they had made the other side of the radio a little flatter the you could stand the kaito ka-600 on one end and it could be set down on a table or other solid spot and used to light up an area in a power outage.
Read more about Playing with the kaito ka600
A great shortwave radio at a decent price.
OK, by now I am sure that everyone knows just how much I enjoy the Kaito KA-600 Hand Crank Emergency Radio. It has already been a handy device during several power outages in the area. Knowing what is happening helps to be prepared, and the Am/FM radio helps to keep up entertained. It is nice to be able to receive RDS information from the local radio station. Overall this has been a good purchase as we become more self reliant and prepared.
I hope that you have enjoyed my Kaito Voyager Pro KA600 review, and purchase a hand crank emergency radio of some sort. Being prepared is the responsibility of each individual, and relying on the Government to bail us out of trouble has proven to not be an option when disaster strikes.
Get your hand crank emergency radio and be prepared.
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