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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Used to death, July 20, 2007
I loved this little device! I'm a baseball fan and used this on nearly a daily basis, since April, carrying it from room to room in the evenings. I'd wind up my radio, pull up a chair and let the scene unfold before me as told though the poetic musings of Vin Scully and his beloved Dodgers, each broadcast the elocutionary equivalent of a Norman Rockwell masterpiece.
Last night, after 4 months of solid use, the plastic handle of the charging crank snapped right off. I wasn't turning the crank particularly hard. I don't suppose this device was engineered for as regular use as I put it through. It's probably perfect as a storeaway for emergenices type use. In any case It's cheap enough that I won't hesitate in buying another.
One other small reservation, and again it would only seem to be an issue in the case of heavy use: The plastic body casing seemed to regularly buckle ever so slightly during cranking, so much so that I figured the case might eventually crack open due to wear before anything else would go wrong. Also when gripping the unit for cranking it's difficult not to mash (and turn) the control dials during the act of cranking. On my unit the light switch seems to be spring loaded and switches and locks itself into the on and off positions. It was very common for the light to activate due to incidental squeeze pressure during cranking, then the switch failing to 'catch' when pressing the button to turn off, leaving the light stuck on 'on', only turning off finally after multiple forceful presses.
Again I never expected to enjoy this little gadget as much as I did. As a kid, another L.A. radio icon, Dr. Demento would open each show with his signature schtick: "Wind up your radios boys and girls...!". I never had a wind up radio until now.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly surprised., July 24, 2007
I ordered one of these out of a bit of need and curiosity. It's currently being used in an inspection environment and to supplant the Maglites I have my people using now. I've converted the Maglites to triple LED bulbs (kits are $4.92 at Walmart) which gives a very bright bluish/white light instead of the normal yellowish light.
I didn't order it at all for the radio and cell phone recharging capabilities which are nice, I suppose. Kaito makes another, cheaper 5 LED crank light I wasn't aware of at the time. Anyway, it is bright and gives off a very white light that makes the inspection process much better and easier. I was told these crank light weren't as bright as their regular battery counterparts but I've not found that to be so. Maybe the last generation lights exhibited this, I don't know.
I have another 3 LED crank light that was fine, of course, until I found this 5 LED which I probably won't like as much as a 7 LED if I had one of those. This is just the nature of things.
Well made with a flat base so it can be stood up vertically and help to light an area without holding it or propping it against another object. It's easy to wind since the mechanism for that is in the base and you can easily grasp the body while cranking. Yes, it may change the radio channel and volume knobs while cranking but so what? That will happen in the drawer you keep it in anyway. I do wish the lens bezel was surrounded with rubber instead of hard plastic and maybe a couple of rubber inserts to help with grip a bit but this is a competitive field, I know.
One more thing, I like the small, red LED charging indicator light. It's amazing how slowly you can crank this and still get a proper charging cycle going. The cranking movement is very quiet, too. Not loud as other units I've used. This may be an indicator of better engineering and, thus, value for the money.
Well, enjoy. I have and it gets regular business-environment useage.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It works! That is what counts, January 29, 2007
Ok, I was reading reviews of other products from Kaito. I had my misgivings, but for the price I figured oh what the heck. Let's get it and try it. Well it works great! Light is really nice and the radio works great. Can't go wrong for the price. Funny thing is it arrived the day that we had a black out and had to use it right away. Perfect timing!
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