▶ Kaito Emergency Radios at Amazon USA: amzn.to/42VZoAA (paid link) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you.
Mr. Todderbert, you are the man! Thank you for going above and beyond, for this head-to-head feature review. I look forward to your performance and reception tests.
I just finished up the KA700 review, should be up tomorrow night, I will also do an extensive band scan video at a later date..it acts similar to the KA680 if your curious. Also if you buy one of these bad boys, use my link :) I think I get .50cents or something. Anything helps! thanks for watching.
@@jaredr2518 Live Alerts, easy to setup alarms, always-active display with crucial info, and a better battery life - stuff like that KA700 is a great radio and would recommend it to families, but I don't personally need the text file reader for stories or anything like that so the 600 is the better call for me. More features that I need, less that I don't.
I've been liking at both of these and gone back and forth a number of times. This video is the clearest and best summary I've found and i thank you for it. Having said that, I'm still not sure i can choose between them!!! I wish the 700 had the same display features as the 600L.
It is tough...the biggest thing is do you need a radio/alarm clock/flashlight? or do you want a multimedia center/flashight? Personally the best radio for me is the 700. I live in a stormy midwest where we mainly worry about tornadoes. All I need is the Weather Band, and the ability to check the time. FM is a bonus, and the local AM bands are great for information. Personally I don't think I need Shortwave/Longwave in my area. Having the multimedia function of the 700 is wonderful. As I've mentioned the ability to listen to just about anything is great. Maybe even some audio books would be good to put on there. Also the text browser is handy for short lists you may need in an emergency. The audio is slightly better too.
Hey Zalster! Nice seeing you on here. Thanks for looking up my channel. How are things in your area? We are on lockdown till the end of May in Illinois.
@@todderbert It's going good. Busy with work. People here are going stir crazy so they look for any reason to get out of the house. But Summer is here, temps up in the 80-90s, humid and Sunny. Just the kind of things this virus hates. They are slowly letting people get out. We need to get back to normal, this is starting to hurt a lot of people.
@@zalster3819 Yes it is, just found out our Governor is mandating the use of face masks when in public. My wife has been working at home and has to go into the office once a week.
Great review. I have an Eton emergency radio that has the little clip on it to attach to a backpack but it has been on my to do list for a long time to get a second emergency radio. I ordered the 600 l. The 700 looks better for something between a regular radio and an emergency radio whereas the 600l seems more for emergency. However I didn't know that until after watching your video. We are now living in a crazy time and I'm stocking up on Emergency Equipment.
Well done review. Thank you for going over the features of these radios and thank you for your opinion on how well these radios perform relative to each other that is helpful. With your experience testing all these different radios you should not hold back on your feel for how the various radios perform relative to each other.
Thanks for this comparison! I was on the fence, but going with the KA700 (will use as an everyday radio). I'm spending my company's "atta-boy!" reward points for it and for some reason yellow isn't available, also yellow isn't available on Amazon either. Red will have to do!
I bought the Kaito Voyager Pro KA600, and my only mixed comment would be the battery life is pretty short even for store-bought batteries. The rechargeable battery life is even shorter. But the Kaito KA700 only has a rechargeable battery. This is not a good idea for an emergency radio, because the store-bought batteries shelf life is 10 years and store-bought batteries are always available. You don't want to store any battery in the radio trying to anticipate an emergency. So I store the batteries in a separate location next to the radio, because it's unlikely to be used until an emergency. For this reason I favor KAITO KA600.
Looks like the KA700 uses the same guts as my tiny TVIDIO, menus look identical & are not user-friendly. The TVIDIO also records onto a microSD, not sure if this in does. Great review, the 600 looks cooler but I also want to watch your in-depth review as well as your Best emergency radios under $50. Thanks for reviewing these 🙂
Choosing between the two is tough. The 700 has a lot of neat additional features, a better keypad setup and better ergonomic design but the 600 seems better to me largely because of the SW capability. It is a radio first and foremost and SW can be invaluable in an emergency. Both Kaito and Tecsun seem to remove a feature or two when they add a feature or two so you can't have it all. I can't help but wonder if it is a technique to stimulate sales. After all, once you sell someone the perfect radio, why would they buy another radio?
These two radios fit different crowds. Certain users like myself will love the idea of an emergency multimedia device, while others want all the radio bands and superior alarm/clock function. Personally I would buy the 600L for my Mother who doesn't really care about extras, and just wants a radio to tell her whats going on...and a clock that is always on.
Yeah - each of these models has very desirable features the other doesn't have. I'm big on recording, RDS, and shortwave, so I wish they'd combine everything into one radio. Difficult decision. Thanks very much Todderbert for this video. By the way, I'm kind of thinking the flip-out reading lamp is actually intended to double as a stand? -Chuck
Your Welcome, Chuck. I love both radios. The 600L is for the radio purist, and the 700 is for the entertainment purist. If they made the AM on the 700 equal the 600L's, and added Line-In recording I would be in heaven.
Really appreciated your comparisons, Since I am most interested in an emergency radio the 600L is probably the best for me. However, I have read some reviews saying that the 600L will sometimes just quit. Any comments on that? Also, didn't catch what batteries it uses to get extras or what the "wire" is called instead of an antenna to get better reception. Obviously I am not knowledgeable about this subject so I would especially appreciate your reply.
The 600L uses an 18650 Lithium Ion battery. Not a standard household battery yet. You can get extras from Kaito. There is a regular 600 that takes AA batteries and has a smaller rechargeable battery. This is a good choice unless you need to charge your phone. I gave away that radio a long time ago. I like a more simple radio like the C.Crane Solar Observer. Here is a video I made about that wire and the extra reception it can provide: ua-cam.com/video/u3PI-2jK7h0/v-deo.html Also my Top Five Emergency Radios under $50 video: ua-cam.com/video/x_Q5Jzturs4/v-deo.html
TY, you helped which radio fits me, the features on the 2 models that I prefer. ... Possibly the input port on the 600 L might be used with a back up generator? If so I hope it stays.
Your Welcome C Stedtler. As long as your back up generator has USB power ports, or you utilize an AC USB power block attached to the generator. I would use a surge suppressor to protect the electronics, maybe even a nice line conditioner if your using a standard gasoline generator used to power lights, well/sump pumps, and refrigerators in a power out scenario.
How is the AM reception of the Kaito KA340 compared to the radios in this videos? Also is the Kaito KA340 speaker sound quality for voice comparable to these radios? If the Kaito KA340 had as good a reception and sound on AM as these radios I would save my money and get the Kaito KA340. Thank you.
@Todd Erbert, thank you for doing this awesome comparison. It has helped a ton in my search for a rugged camping and emergency radio!. It looks like for me the best rugged radio is the Kaito 600L. Unless you know of a better rugged AM/FM/Weather/ and SW radio on the market? I have a tendency to drop things and need a rugged radio. One other question, in the 80's Panasonic had a technology in its boom box radio which helped get excellent AM reception. If you know why isn't this tech in all radios now?
Older tech is getting replaced with cheap, DSP ICs that are an entire radio on a chip versus tuned RF system. I would add some type of silicone bumpers on the radio if you plan to drop it a lot. It is a good radio, but rugged, not so sure :)
@@@todderbert Thanks for the reply and info. One would think with the price of silicone chips being so cheap A good company could make a quality radio with all the good tech for $150-$200 that was rugged and still have a 100% markup and sell a ton of them!
Beloved Mr. Todderbert, i want to buy a radio for my beloved father as a gift. it has to be flagship Emergency radio and a radio for everyday use with Charging power bank, Solar&Handcrank charger and LED light, reading lamp. like a swiss army knife radio. which one would you recommend me to get for the oldman?
▶ Kaito Emergency Radios at Amazon USA: amzn.to/42VZoAA
(paid link) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you.
Whoever gave this kind gentleman who did such an excellent job with this review a thumbs down deserves to be chastised. Solid review!
Thanks King Trance, I appreciate the feedback.
There's always someone who will give a thumbs down. Not me !
Thanks. Appreciate the support.
There's actually a team right now working on it.
Mr. Todderbert, you are the man! Thank you for going above and beyond, for this head-to-head feature review. I look forward to your performance and reception tests.
I just finished up the KA700 review, should be up tomorrow night, I will also do an extensive band scan video at a later date..it acts similar to the KA680 if your curious. Also if you buy one of these bad boys, use my link :) I think I get .50cents or something. Anything helps! thanks for watching.
This video helped me confirm that I'd rather have the 600 for my bug-out bag - really great review of both items!
@@jaredr2518 Live Alerts, easy to setup alarms, always-active display with crucial info, and a better battery life - stuff like that
KA700 is a great radio and would recommend it to families, but I don't personally need the text file reader for stories or anything like that so the 600 is the better call for me. More features that I need, less that I don't.
I've been liking at both of these and gone back and forth a number of times. This video is the clearest and best summary I've found and i thank you for it. Having said that, I'm still not sure i can choose between them!!! I wish the 700 had the same display features as the 600L.
It is tough...the biggest thing is do you need a radio/alarm clock/flashlight? or do you want a multimedia center/flashight? Personally the best radio for me is the 700. I live in a stormy midwest where we mainly worry about tornadoes. All I need is the Weather Band, and the ability to check the time. FM is a bonus, and the local AM bands are great for information. Personally I don't think I need Shortwave/Longwave in my area. Having the multimedia function of the 700 is wonderful. As I've mentioned the ability to listen to just about anything is great. Maybe even some audio books would be good to put on there. Also the text browser is handy for short lists you may need in an emergency. The audio is slightly better too.
Thanks Todderbert....I was trying to decide and you helped me narrow it down to the one I ended up getting.
Hey Zalster! Nice seeing you on here. Thanks for looking up my channel. How are things in your area? We are on lockdown till the end of May in Illinois.
@@todderbert It's going good. Busy with work. People here are going stir crazy so they look for any reason to get out of the house. But Summer is here, temps up in the 80-90s, humid and Sunny. Just the kind of things this virus hates. They are slowly letting people get out. We need to get back to normal, this is starting to hurt a lot of people.
@@zalster3819 Yes it is, just found out our Governor is mandating the use of face masks when in public. My wife has been working at home and has to go into the office once a week.
Very thorough review. Thanks for spending the time to learn all the intricacies!
Great review. I have an Eton emergency radio that has the little clip on it to attach to a backpack but it has been on my to do list for a long time to get a second emergency radio. I ordered the 600 l. The 700 looks better for something between a regular radio and an emergency radio whereas the 600l seems more for emergency. However I didn't know that until after watching your video. We are now living in a crazy time and I'm stocking up on Emergency Equipment.
Well done review. Thank you for going over the features of these radios and thank you for your opinion on how well these radios perform relative to each other that is helpful. With your experience testing all these different radios you should not hold back on your feel for how the various radios perform relative to each other.
Thank you. It was a great idea, I'm going to be putting up the single radio reviews this week.
todderbert Good I like those keep up the good work.
One other thing I see where C.Crane is coming out with CC- EP Pro it looks like it will have manual tuning and will be DSP based.
Excellent comparison
📻🙂
I think these radios are expensive but the review is solid.
Thanks for this comparison! I was on the fence, but going with the KA700 (will use as an everyday radio). I'm spending my company's "atta-boy!" reward points for it and for some reason yellow isn't available, also yellow isn't available on Amazon either. Red will have to do!
I bought the Kaito Voyager Pro KA600, and my only mixed comment would be the battery life is pretty short even for store-bought batteries. The rechargeable battery life is even shorter. But the Kaito KA700 only has a rechargeable battery. This is not a good idea for an emergency radio, because the store-bought batteries shelf life is 10 years and store-bought batteries are always available. You don't want to store any battery in the radio trying to anticipate an emergency. So I store the batteries in a separate location next to the radio, because it's unlikely to be used until an emergency. For this reason I favor KAITO KA600.
Looks like the KA700 uses the same guts as my tiny TVIDIO, menus look identical & are not user-friendly. The TVIDIO also records onto a microSD, not sure if this in does. Great review, the 600 looks cooler but I also want to watch your in-depth review as well as your Best emergency radios under $50. Thanks for reviewing these 🙂
Choosing between the two is tough. The 700 has a lot of neat additional features, a better keypad setup and better ergonomic design but the 600 seems better to me largely because of the SW capability. It is a radio first and foremost and SW can be invaluable in an emergency. Both Kaito and Tecsun seem to remove a feature or two when they add a feature or two so you can't have it all. I can't help but wonder if it is a technique to stimulate sales. After all, once you sell someone the perfect radio, why would they buy another radio?
These two radios fit different crowds. Certain users like myself will love the idea of an emergency multimedia device, while others want all the radio bands and superior alarm/clock function. Personally I would buy the 600L for my Mother who doesn't really care about extras, and just wants a radio to tell her whats going on...and a clock that is always on.
Yeah - each of these models has very desirable features the other doesn't have. I'm big on recording, RDS, and shortwave, so I wish they'd combine everything into one radio. Difficult decision. Thanks very much Todderbert for this video. By the way, I'm kind of thinking the flip-out reading lamp is actually intended to double as a stand? -Chuck
Your Welcome, Chuck. I love both radios. The 600L is for the radio purist, and the 700 is for the entertainment purist. If they made the AM on the 700 equal the 600L's, and added Line-In recording I would be in heaven.
sparkdetect
KA-900 Voyager Max‼️
📻🙂
Fantastic video, Thank You so much !
Your Welcome Eric.
AWESOME review. Any way you know of to get rid of"scratchiness" when using the volume knob?. Also, a simple Slinky is an AWESOME sw antenna.
Still can't a find a decent case for my 600. My google-foo is weak. Great review, thanks!
Really appreciated your comparisons, Since I am most interested in an emergency radio the 600L is probably the best for me. However, I have read some reviews saying that the 600L will sometimes just quit. Any comments on that? Also, didn't catch what batteries it uses to get extras or what the "wire" is called instead of an antenna to get better reception. Obviously I am not knowledgeable about this subject so I would especially appreciate your reply.
The 600L uses an 18650 Lithium Ion battery. Not a standard household battery yet. You can get extras from Kaito. There is a regular 600 that takes AA batteries and has a smaller rechargeable battery. This is a good choice unless you need to charge your phone. I gave away that radio a long time ago. I like a more simple radio like the C.Crane Solar Observer. Here is a video I made about that wire and the extra reception it can provide: ua-cam.com/video/u3PI-2jK7h0/v-deo.html Also my Top Five Emergency Radios under $50 video: ua-cam.com/video/x_Q5Jzturs4/v-deo.html
I had hoped you listed the battery differences between the two. Rechargable, lithium, solar and crank. Otherwise good review.
Identical Batteries, Solar panels are similar. The dynamos are similar also.
Thank you for helping me do smarter shopping
TY, you helped which radio fits me, the features on the 2 models that I prefer. ... Possibly the input port on the 600 L might be used with a back up generator? If so I hope it stays.
Your Welcome.
Your Welcome C Stedtler. As long as your back up generator has USB power ports, or you utilize an AC USB power block attached to the generator. I would use a surge suppressor to protect the electronics, maybe even a nice line conditioner if your using a standard gasoline generator used to power lights, well/sump pumps, and refrigerators in a power out scenario.
How is the AM reception of the Kaito KA340 compared to the radios in this videos? Also is the Kaito KA340 speaker sound quality for voice comparable to these radios? If the Kaito KA340 had as good a reception and sound on AM as these radios I would save my money and get the Kaito KA340. Thank you.
What a lovely voice this gentleman has!
Can't find the 600L in 8/2020?? only 700 or regular 600 or 500
@Todd Erbert, thank you for doing this awesome comparison. It has helped a ton in my search for a rugged camping and emergency radio!. It looks like for me the best rugged radio is the Kaito 600L. Unless you know of a better rugged AM/FM/Weather/ and SW radio on the market? I have a tendency to drop things and need a rugged radio. One other question, in the 80's Panasonic had a technology in its boom box radio which helped get excellent AM reception. If you know why isn't this tech in all radios now?
Older tech is getting replaced with cheap, DSP ICs that are an entire radio on a chip versus tuned RF system. I would add some type of silicone bumpers on the radio if you plan to drop it a lot. It is a good radio, but rugged, not so sure :)
@@@todderbert Thanks for the reply and info. One would think with the price of silicone chips being so cheap A good company could make a quality radio with all the good tech for $150-$200 that was rugged and still have a 100% markup and sell a ton of them!
The two thumbs down are the people that don't know which way is up!
Beloved Mr. Todderbert, i want to buy a radio for my beloved father as a gift. it has to be flagship Emergency radio and a radio for everyday use with Charging power bank, Solar&Handcrank charger and LED light, reading lamp. like a swiss army knife radio. which one would you recommend me to get for the oldman?
Is the simplicity of the ka500 possibility give it some advantages for longer term emergency situations?
I would say it does. Also if your into 18650 rechargeables they make a 500L model that is on eBay.
Good review thanks
Why do some of the ka600 have a different battery compartment with both a built in rechargeable and also slots for 3 AA batteries
Thanksfor then depth review.
BATTERY TYPE? (Likely a damned NiMH)
single 18650. The "L" on the 600 designates Lithium model. The newer 700 doesn't have the NiMH option.
Nice tadio
I have a temp and humidity display and no other display. The power button does not seem to do anything
Check battery voltage, also you can perform a Reset.
Nice radio
How are you?
I'm from Israel Do you have any knowledge of what might be better in our area?
Are there any American made emergency radios?
None that I can think of. C.Crane is an American Company that has its design ideas made in China. That is as close as you are going to get.
I wish I had bought the 600 rather than the 500..... I also didn't get headphones with my 500.
Call Kaito and ask them to send you a pair if they were suppose to be in the box.
@@todderbert I will indeed. Thank you. Other than that the 500 is great.
📻🙂
Can you pick up aircraft
Not on these radios, possibly the Radiwow R-108, or CC Skywave.