Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Adequate, but not excellent, August 14, 2005
I received my Kaito KA007 radio this week. Generally it is a good radio for the purpose. The plastic case and dynamo crank do not seem to be very sturdy, but is probably sufficient if not abused. I chose it over the Grundig FR200 because it also covered weather and TV bands. After a few days of use, these are my conclusions. The TV band reception is reasonably good, and I was generally surprised at how much SW I could pick up with just the little telescopic antenna. The dynamo charging system seems to work well. I haven't tried charging the batteries with solar power yet. FM and AM reception seem pretty good. Other than the lack of sturdiness, I am disappointed with the weather radio reception and the size of the tuning dial. The small tuning dial (about the size of a nickel) makes fine tuning difficult and tuning of the NOAA weather stations almost impossible.
I'm still mixed as to whether I would have been better off with the FR200. If Grundig would add a couple more bands of coverage to their product and keep the price the same (around $40-$50), then they would clearly have a superior product. Their radio is not incredibly sturdy either, but it seems able to take a little more beating than this one. Nevertheless, this is a reasonably good radio. The price I paid ($49.95) is possibly a little more than this radio should sell for. Just don't select this radio for its weather band capability unless you have an exceptionally good signal in your area.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good idea, April 9, 2005
Somebody had a very good idea with this radio.It's not the best built thing in the world,in fact you may just want to get two just in case.
No to sound paranoid,but......In this day and age you just never know what will happen.In a worst case scenario this little radio would very usefull if not a necessity.It's betteridea to have more than just am and fm if you want to be informed.Not only will this radio work long after the batteries are dead,but it can recieve many bands.Not only can you hear am and fm ,but weather,shortwave,vhf tv,and what could just be the most important the 2M amateur band. Why is the 2M band so important? In an emergency situation amateur radio operators are vital at passing along information to emergency services,FEMA Red Cross,National Weather Service,ect.
Here's what you get:
A hand crank to power the radio when there is no power source and it's dark
A solar cell to get power from the sun
TV 1/FM- CH 2-6 and 88-108 MHz
TV 2- CH 7-13
AM(MW)530-1710 Khz
VHF Hi 143-174 MHz (2M amateur,public service (possably fire,law enforcement,ambulance),and National Weather Service
SW 4.5 - 22 MHz (worldwide broadcast/long distance Voice of America,BBC,ect.)
How does it work?
At it's price you can't expect the best radio in the world. Reception is not the best,but adequate for what it is.Lots of images on all bands,and the am is barn-door wide,but I have worse performing radios.The hand crank genorator is not the clockwork generator found in most Baygen/Freeplay radios,but it gets the job done.I say despite it's drawbacks,it is well worth the price.It just might save your life or be your only form of communication. Better safe than sorry.Not that I think it will fall apart,but I got two of them just in case something should happen to the first one....8)
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good deal for the money spent, September 30, 2005
I bought a KA007 and a Grundig FR200. I oughta return the FR200.
The Kaito 007 wins hands down. It actually DOES play on sunlight alone, and being in W. TX we have plenty of that.
The only thing the Kaito 007 could use some improvement is the tuner. The two-stage tuner on the FR200 is better/ more finely adjustable.
Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two since the Grundig isn't made with solar-power capability. For $10 more, it's nice to have solar charging.
Steve
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