(paid links below) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you. ▶ Kaito Voyager XL KA700 at Amazon USA: amzn.to/2F6W5vw ▶ Kaito Voyager XL KA700 at Amazon CA: amzn.to/3a21dSm
I bought this radio awhile back and read the instructions, but still didn’t get all the information I wanted, but your video here really helped a lot. Thank you.
I just found you by googling the radio I just bought at auction brand new still in bubble wrap. I love the AM radio at night, especially in Baseball season. My grandfather was an engineer for Powell Crosley from 1926 to the late 1950s. My mom had a Crosley tv in 1939 as a second grader because Crosley sent tvs home with engineers to test them in the evening when the signal was stronger.
Thanks, its fun trying to remember it all on one go. I don't normally like to clip out mistakes, I either reshoot the entire vid or add some title text...like tuning the volume knob..that actually made me smile so I left it.
About the NOAA alert. You state that you would like to set it and have the radio continue to be active. But consider this, when the radio is active and you select NOAA, you can immediately listen to the weather reports or change the NOAA station to a stronger one. The NOAA alert feature I believe is to be set and active when the radio is off, and selecting it ensures that the radio is in standby mode, which may use some additional power when set. But This way when NOAA sends an alert signal, the radio wakes up and plays the NOAA weather broadcast. So I believe this is the best use of this feature.
Thanks thumbs up on all your videos. I recently purchased the Kaito Voyager Pro KA600 for $79.99. To tell you the truth I wasn't very satisfied and returned it. My review of this radio is out there. But you really have to do your research these days and your videos are very helpful. Thanks very much you do a very good job.
you do one of the best and thorough reviews of any item ( any item) I have viewed on youtube. I have viewed almost every radio possible on your casts. Now to amazon to purchase the kaito Voyager kl Ka700 Thanks
todderbert I purchased this based on your recommendation. I like it. btw, you can stop the crank handle from coming out all the time by just adjusting the crank handle when the crank is in the bay. so to speak.
SEEKINGTRUTH2U so happy you pointed that out. Just bought one and knew that would annoy the hell out of me. Glad I didn’t have to use tape or whatever else
Great review, as always! I think this is going to be my new go to radio, because of the SD card function! It works great on here. I still think my Sangean MMR-88 is my most efficient emergency radio, as the reception, crank-to-playtime, and overall rapid charging time are all amazing! But I am loving this mp3 function! You had a great idea with your old time radio shows on the SD card! I never would have thought about doing that. I had to research it a bit, but I have been putting tons of Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, and Abbott and Costello shows on there. May put some Sherlock Holmes on as well. Trying to decide what would be the best scary show to add! Again, great suggestion, Todd! If the power goes out, these shows will be much better entertainment than just listening to music!
Inner Sanctum Mysteries and Suspense are a few that come to mind :) You can always sample them over at my Patreon page where I have many different genres of old time radio shows remastered for the public. www.patreon.com/todderbert
I wanted to treat myself to a ccrane radio, not convinced they are a good value though, $$$. Where I live the power can go off for days. In the recent storms I found i had one audio book on an old tablet - it was gold. Having a radio/mp3 player seems brilliant. Wish it had conventional battery backup or the alert could run in the background etc. Seems there is no perfect radio and I have had a few good ones; Sony, Sangean, Panasonic even Radio Shack. I don't get any SW where I am, not sure if there is much out there AM is down to C2C, sports, religious stuff, which leaves talk radio, KCBS is a friend in a storm. FM still has some good content. My go to radio has a short in the battery circut, so I am doing my homework. Thanks for the reviews.
Ok i got the radio now, i've got the mp3 player on it working, thanks so much for your patience! I was wondering, would a USB Powerbank charge this radio and 2nd what port would it need to be in to charge it The radio has USB a and micro usb b , powerbanks don't specify if they would work with a radio!
Hey todderbert, you are a legend for making this video, thanks so much, very useful, ill be getting this radio soon! Question for this radio, do I have to convert my mp3 audio files from 320kbps to 128kbps for each one or do I just put an mp3 that is 320kbps onto the micro sd card and it plays at 128kbps, cus all mine are 320kbps so I had to ask :)
@@todderbert 1 more question my friend, does this also mean i need to make sure the sample rate is 32khz as well for each file? or is 128kbps enough and then they automatically play at 32khz as well, or do i need to manually make sure i fulfill both criterias? Sorry, i'm new to this! thanks for your help so far!
Kudos for a great channel sir. I have just watched both this and your new review for the KA 900 and you have helped educate me on purchasing this one. I went to use your link on this page so that you can get the commission but the link is dead. Can you please update and include an Amazon.ca link (I live in Canada). I am willing to wait a few days until you can do that until I purchase; your professionalism deserves the reward. May I also ask you, since they already know and respect you at Kaito to make two suggestions to them: 1) that they help us protect the solar panel from damages by including a cover? It could maybe fold down from the bottom of the panel over the battery compartment when in use, or better yet have two panels that fold together when not in use and open when charging, and 2) if they could somehow add a small "storage" compartment where we could store an antenna extension wire and a second/spare battery - and then we would always have a charged one available for use in the radio. Imagine (even better) that we could recharge the second one via solar while you are using the existing one during an emergency.
Thanks for the great detailed reviews. Does this one have a rubberized coating or just plastic? I ask because two other Kaito emergency radios were reported in feedback reviews that they have it & get sticky. I have two Grundig radios (G5, G3) that have it and used rubbing alcohol to scrape it to the plastic. I don't want another radio with the coating. I thought an emergency radio that has lots of functions would be the best value, but I may try a CCrane EP Pro.
Any radio is a good thing to have. An EP Pro will most likely become an everyday use radio, like it has for me :) the KA700 has normal plastics, with no coating.
@@todderbert thanks for the answer. I use my radios daily AND nightly, I have a Grundig G5 that I have on 24/7 and it has done almost continual duty for years. It's aging but still does duty. That's the kind of radio I need. I don't live where I can string an outdoor wire so SSB and SW are no longer a possibility. AM-FM and recorded audio are all I do now, so the EP Pro would probably do fine here in the city. I'm glad you like it because it must be good. I just returned a DOA radio (different brand) and am looking at options. The EP and a Kaito seem to be the best choice currently. I was going to get a Sangean, ended up with something cheaper and it was no good. I was the lucky lotto loser & got the bad one. One you didn't review that starts with a C. Thank you for helping us virtually test drive the units. You do such good high info reviews.
Great work on demonstrating the features. I bought one @18 months ago and it has been terrific. Until now. The language setting went from English to something else (Mandarin?) and I cannot get it back to English. Any suggestions?
11:05 132 channels seems like plenty for AM. With 10kHz stepping, there are only (1710-520)÷10+1 = 120 possible frequencies. At 9kHz, (1710-522)÷9+1 = 133 possible channels. With FM, there are only (107.9-87.1)÷0.2+1= 105 possible channels.
Hey Todderbert, I have this radio but for some reason the battery cover doesn’t stay locked in and keeps opening up. Would you know how to rectify this? Thanks man…
When you test the Kaito KA600L, can you compare the audio quality and maximum volume between the Kaito KA600L and KA700? Would either of them suffice for everyday music listening, especially in a larger room (such as a family room or a garage)? Thanks.
I actually think the 700 may be better for that. Though I can't crank up the volume due to hearing issues. The speaker on the 600L just seems to be weaker, though its looks to be a clear membrane cone style with a metallic chrome center. Nothing like my GE SR's that fills a room or three.
Good evening, I understand that the Tecsun Q3 has the capability of automatically saving a recorded file in one hour segments. Do you know of other recorders that also have that feature? I own the Sangean DAR-101 and the PR-D8, both can save one hour files. Is there anything in Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Retekess or others that can do this? I like to record one to three hour talk shows that I would like to save in one hour files. If the recorder had an AM and or FM radio, that would be even better. Line in is a must have. Thanks! Darwin :)
Thanks for your reply. Do you know if the Tecsun ICR-110 can save in one hour file segments? Have you had any experience with the Kaito ka-28 or ka-29? They are fairly old models but, are still available. Do you know of any professional mp3 players that can save recorded files in one hour segments? Thanks again! Darwin :)
Would this model be emp proof? I'd think that the older ka500 would be but with the ka700 being what it is with it's features I was just curious if it was or not.
@@todderbert I was hoping the ka500 would be good, I know where one is in the camo and I was considering getting it. But I'll look into the crystal ones
NOAA Weather Radio (NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards) is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. The routine programming cycle includes local or regional weather forecasts, synopsis, climate summaries, synopsis or zone/lake/coastal waters forecasts (when applicable). During severe conditions the cycle is shortened into: hazardous weather outlooks, short-term forecasts, special weather statements or tropical weather summaries (the first two aren't normally broadcast in most offices). It occasionally broadcasts other non-weather related events such as national security statements, natural disaster information, environmental and public safety statements (such as an AMBER Alert) sourced from the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System. NOAA Weather Radio uses automated broadcast technology (since 2016: Broadcast Message Handler) that allows (and frees NWS staff as well) for the recycling of segments featured in one broadcast cycle seamlessly into another and more regular updating of segments to each of the transmitters. It also speeds up the warning transmitting process. I once again listened to what you are saying and noticed this symbol on the radio. It's an amazing thing. Warning about weather. With us only fishermen on the Baltic have something like that and every few hours on the sea band. So an ordinary citizen will not hear that he is going to scrap if he does not hear it at an FM or LW station (the first program from Warsaw).
You can check out the ones I've remastered. They are all free and open to the public. www.patreon.com/todderbert/posts?tag=Classics Use right click/save as/then rename them. If that is a hassle you can try Archive.org and search OTR.
I love the review but I hit go back to factory setting and I can not pull up the screen to change it. It’s all Chinese characters. Would really appreciate a reply. Thanks
I sold this radio awhile back. what you need to do is find the instructions, and you may be able to access the menu, and choose what position the change language feature is on.
FM can be limited because of it is Line of Sight. Hills/Mountains/Buildings will block the signals. You can try an extra length of wire about 6' attached to the antenna to see if there is an improvement. Your best bet will be AM listening.
It will only make contact with a button top. And I second todderbert's recommendation to only use protected cells in this radio. I'm using a protected, button top 3400 mAh Panasonic NCR in my 600L and it works great.
todderbert Yeah, I already knew that, but thanks for the info. Also, you know another radio that doesn’t have RDS compatibility, but I think it was initially supposed to? The Eton Solarlink FR370. If you can get your hands on it, you should do a review video of it, and see what I mean.
@@todderbert That is good news. All my rubberized radios turned sticky and nasty. Had to scrub with denatured alchohol. Is the AM reception on this radio worse than other radios like the Kaito 500 or 550? Is it good enough for all local stations to come in clear?
(paid links below) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you.
▶ Kaito Voyager XL KA700 at Amazon USA: amzn.to/2F6W5vw
▶ Kaito Voyager XL KA700 at Amazon CA: amzn.to/3a21dSm
I bought this radio awhile back and read the instructions, but still didn’t get all the information I wanted, but your video here really helped a lot. Thank you.
I just found you by googling the radio I just bought at auction brand new still in bubble wrap. I love the AM radio at night, especially in Baseball season. My grandfather was an engineer for Powell Crosley from 1926 to the late 1950s. My mom had a Crosley tv in 1939 as a second grader because Crosley sent tvs home with engineers to test them in the evening when the signal was stronger.
That radio is packed full of options. You did a very nice job covering all the bases. The timed recorder function is very cool. Oh and it's Yellow! 😎
Thanks, its fun trying to remember it all on one go. I don't normally like to clip out mistakes, I either reshoot the entire vid or add some title text...like tuning the volume knob..that actually made me smile so I left it.
About the NOAA alert. You state that you would like to set it and have the radio continue to be active. But consider this, when the radio is active and you select NOAA, you can immediately listen to the weather reports or change the NOAA station to a stronger one. The NOAA alert feature I believe is to be set and active when the radio is off, and selecting it ensures that the radio is in standby mode, which may use some additional power when set. But This way when NOAA sends an alert signal, the radio wakes up and plays the NOAA weather broadcast. So I believe this is the best use of this feature.
Amazing channel! Found it through Amazon review and glad I did. Keep up the great work!
Just bought my 700 from Canadian Prepper and it's coming to me out of Saskatoon. Arrives tomorrow. Nice tutorial. Thank you.
Thanks thumbs up on all your videos. I recently purchased the Kaito Voyager Pro KA600 for $79.99. To tell you the truth I wasn't very satisfied and returned it. My review of this radio is out there. But you really have to do your research these days and your videos are very helpful. Thanks very much you do a very good job.
you do one of the best and thorough reviews of any item ( any item) I have viewed on youtube. I have viewed almost every radio possible on your casts. Now to amazon to purchase the kaito Voyager kl Ka700 Thanks
I have the 500 and the weather alert worked just fine during the storms last night.
Nice, i had my Midland WR300 going...it never stopped throwing Warnings..freaky weather.
todderbert I purchased this based on your recommendation. I like it. btw, you can stop the crank handle from coming out all the time by just adjusting the crank handle when the crank is in the bay. so to speak.
Excellent! I can take the tape out :) Thanks for pointing this out.
SEEKINGTRUTH2U so happy you pointed that out. Just bought one and knew that would annoy the hell out of me. Glad I didn’t have to use tape or whatever else
i love your videos on radios
Great review, as always! I think this is going to be my new go to radio, because of the SD card function! It works great on here. I still think my Sangean MMR-88 is my most efficient emergency radio, as the reception, crank-to-playtime, and overall rapid charging time are all amazing! But I am loving this mp3 function! You had a great idea with your old time radio shows on the SD card! I never would have thought about doing that. I had to research it a bit, but I have been putting tons of Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, and Abbott and Costello shows on there. May put some Sherlock Holmes on as well. Trying to decide what would be the best scary show to add! Again, great suggestion, Todd! If the power goes out, these shows will be much better entertainment than just listening to music!
Inner Sanctum Mysteries and Suspense are a few that come to mind :) You can always sample them over at my Patreon page where I have many different genres of old time radio shows remastered for the public. www.patreon.com/todderbert
@@todderbert Thank you! Will check them out!
Thank you for the review. I bought this radio as per your review. Thanks. Ron Z. WA3090SWL.
I wanted to treat myself to a ccrane radio, not convinced they are a good value though, $$$. Where I live the power can go off for days. In the recent storms I found i had one audio book on an old tablet - it was gold. Having a radio/mp3 player seems brilliant. Wish it had conventional battery backup or the alert could run in the background etc. Seems there is no perfect radio and I have had a few good ones; Sony, Sangean, Panasonic even Radio Shack. I don't get any SW where I am, not sure if there is much out there AM is down to C2C, sports, religious stuff, which leaves talk radio, KCBS is a friend in a storm. FM still has some good content. My go to radio has a short in the battery circut, so I am doing my homework. Thanks for the reviews.
Ok i got the radio now, i've got the mp3 player on it working, thanks so much for your patience!
I was wondering, would a USB Powerbank charge this radio and 2nd what port would it need to be in to charge it
The radio has USB a and micro usb b , powerbanks don't specify if they would work with a radio!
Try the micro usb, should do the trick.
Hey todderbert, you are a legend for making this video, thanks so much, very useful, ill be getting this radio soon!
Question for this radio, do I have to convert my mp3 audio files from 320kbps to 128kbps for each one
or do I just put an mp3 that is 320kbps onto the micro sd card and it plays at 128kbps, cus all mine are 320kbps so I had to ask :)
I gave this radio away, and can't test that feature. If it only supports 128kbs, then you need to convert. It doesn't down scale them.
@@todderbert 1 more question my friend, does this also mean i need to make sure the sample rate is 32khz as well for each file?
or is 128kbps enough and then they automatically play at 32khz as well, or do i need to manually make sure i fulfill both criterias?
Sorry, i'm new to this! thanks for your help so far!
Kudos for a great channel sir. I have just watched both this and your new review for the KA 900 and you have helped educate me on purchasing this one. I went to use your link on this page so that you can get the commission but the link is dead. Can you please update and include an Amazon.ca link (I live in Canada). I am willing to wait a few days until you can do that until I purchase; your professionalism deserves the reward. May I also ask you, since they already know and respect you at Kaito to make two suggestions to them: 1) that they help us protect the solar panel from damages by including a cover? It could maybe fold down from the bottom of the panel over the battery compartment when in use, or better yet have two panels that fold together when not in use and open when charging, and 2) if they could somehow add a small "storage" compartment where we could store an antenna extension wire and a second/spare battery - and then we would always have a charged one available for use in the radio. Imagine (even better) that we could recharge the second one via solar while you are using the existing one during an emergency.
Thanks for the great detailed reviews. Does this one have a rubberized coating or just plastic? I ask because two other Kaito emergency radios were reported in feedback reviews that they have it & get sticky. I have two Grundig radios (G5, G3) that have it and used rubbing alcohol to scrape it to the plastic. I don't want another radio with the coating.
I thought an emergency radio that has lots of functions would be the best value, but I may try a CCrane EP Pro.
Any radio is a good thing to have. An EP Pro will most likely become an everyday use radio, like it has for me :) the KA700 has normal plastics, with no coating.
@@todderbert thanks for the answer. I use my radios daily AND nightly, I have a Grundig G5 that I have on 24/7 and it has done almost continual duty for years. It's aging but still does duty. That's the kind of radio I need. I don't live where I can string an outdoor wire so SSB and SW are no longer a possibility. AM-FM and recorded audio are all I do now, so the EP Pro would probably do fine here in the city. I'm glad you like it because it must be good. I just returned a DOA radio (different brand) and am looking at options. The EP and a Kaito seem to be the best choice currently. I was going to get a Sangean, ended up with something cheaper and it was no good. I was the lucky lotto loser & got the bad one. One you didn't review that starts with a C.
Thank you for helping us virtually test drive the units. You do such good high info reviews.
Muy buenos videos y usted explica excelente gracias
Great work on demonstrating the features. I bought one @18 months ago and it has been terrific. Until now. The language setting went from English to something else (Mandarin?) and I cannot get it back to English. Any suggestions?
11:05 132 channels seems like plenty for AM. With 10kHz stepping, there are only (1710-520)÷10+1 = 120 possible frequencies. At 9kHz, (1710-522)÷9+1 = 133 possible channels. With FM, there are only (107.9-87.1)÷0.2+1= 105 possible channels.
Hey Todderbert, I have this radio but for some reason the battery cover doesn’t stay locked in and keeps opening up. Would you know how to rectify this? Thanks man…
When you test the Kaito KA600L, can you compare the audio quality and maximum volume between the Kaito KA600L and KA700? Would either of them suffice for everyday music listening, especially in a larger room (such as a family room or a garage)? Thanks.
I actually think the 700 may be better for that. Though I can't crank up the volume due to hearing issues. The speaker on the 600L just seems to be weaker, though its looks to be a clear membrane cone style with a metallic chrome center. Nothing like my GE SR's that fills a room or three.
Very cool!!! Brazil
Good evening, I understand that the Tecsun Q3 has the capability of automatically saving a recorded file in one hour segments. Do you know of other recorders that also have that feature? I own the Sangean DAR-101 and the PR-D8, both can save one hour files. Is there anything in Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Retekess or others that can do this? I like to record one to three hour talk shows that I would like to save in one hour files. If the recorder had an AM and or FM radio, that would be even better. Line in is a must have. Thanks!
Darwin :)
The Q3 is the only one I have in my arsenal that records one hour segments. It is very handy during the FM E-Skip Season.
Thanks for your reply. Do you know if the Tecsun ICR-110 can save in one hour file segments? Have you had any experience with the Kaito ka-28 or ka-29? They are fairly old models but, are still available. Do you know of any professional mp3 players that can save recorded files in one hour segments?
Thanks again!
Darwin :)
The 110 records in longer files. Not sure of other recorders out there.
Would this model be emp proof? I'd think that the older ka500 would be but with the ka700 being what it is with it's features I was just curious if it was or not.
I imagine anything with a dedicated IC may have issues with an EMP. May have to go with a Crystal Radio and a long wire.
@@todderbert I was hoping the ka500 would be good, I know where one is in the camo and I was considering getting it. But I'll look into the crystal ones
Does the radio need the SAME code used for the Midland radios?
In the twenty-first minute, 162.5 MHz is displayed for 34 seconds. What is this band? In Poland, it is not known to me.
NOAA Weather Radio (NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards) is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. The routine programming cycle includes local or regional weather forecasts, synopsis, climate summaries, synopsis or zone/lake/coastal waters forecasts (when applicable). During severe conditions the cycle is shortened into: hazardous weather outlooks, short-term forecasts, special weather statements or tropical weather summaries (the first two aren't normally broadcast in most offices). It occasionally broadcasts other non-weather related events such as national security statements, natural disaster information, environmental and public safety statements (such as an AMBER Alert) sourced from the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System. NOAA Weather Radio uses automated broadcast technology (since 2016: Broadcast Message Handler) that allows (and frees NWS staff as well) for the recycling of segments featured in one broadcast cycle seamlessly into another and more regular updating of segments to each of the transmitters. It also speeds up the warning transmitting process.
I once again listened to what you are saying and noticed this symbol on the radio. It's an amazing thing. Warning about weather. With us only fishermen on the Baltic have something like that and every few hours on the sea band. So an ordinary citizen will not hear that he is going to scrap if he does not hear it at an FM or LW station (the first program from Warsaw).
It is one of the seven NOAA weather bands here in the United States where they broadcast weather reports and alerts 24/7.
Do you have a link to any of those old radio mp3s. I think it would be fun to have stored on the radio
You can check out the ones I've remastered. They are all free and open to the public. www.patreon.com/todderbert/posts?tag=Classics Use right click/save as/then rename them. If that is a hassle you can try Archive.org and search OTR.
I love the review but I hit go back to factory setting and I can not pull up the screen to change it. It’s all Chinese characters. Would really appreciate a reply. Thanks
I sold this radio awhile back. what you need to do is find the instructions, and you may be able to access the menu, and choose what position the change language feature is on.
The antenna is useless for FM out of the city - any options or suggestions for camping?
FM can be limited because of it is Line of Sight. Hills/Mountains/Buildings will block the signals. You can try an extra length of wire about 6' attached to the antenna to see if there is an improvement. Your best bet will be AM listening.
I just got mines today. I wonder why there's a popping sound when selecting something on the menu? Or is it normal?
Mine pops too. I chalked it up as normal.
Can this use both flat top and button top 18650’s, or just one or the other. If so, which type?
I believe it uses a button top battery. I would use protected cells only in this radio to be on the safe side.
It will only make contact with a button top. And I second todderbert's recommendation to only use protected cells in this radio. I'm using a protected, button top 3400 mAh Panasonic NCR in my 600L and it works great.
What would be a better radio this one or the max version?
I would pick this one.
I saw an Ebay listing of this, and it said that it has RDS compatibility. Is that wrong?
The KA700 does not have RDS, but the KA600 does.
todderbert Yeah, I already knew that, but thanks for the info. Also, you know another radio that doesn’t have RDS compatibility, but I think it was initially supposed to? The Eton Solarlink FR370. If you can get your hands on it, you should do a review video of it, and see what I mean.
Does this radio have the rubberized plastic or the regular hard plastic?
Regular hard plastic.
@@todderbert That is good news. All my rubberized radios turned sticky and nasty. Had to scrub with denatured alchohol. Is the AM reception on this radio worse than other radios like the Kaito 500 or 550? Is it good enough for all local stations to come in clear?
The 700 does fairly well on locals and semi locals. Has birdies, but does out perform the new KA900: ua-cam.com/video/dsRG9OAs7UY/v-deo.html
hey does this radio have aux in or out?
ua-cam.com/video/NtSPT9SqKjo/v-deo.html
Hi can you pick up aircraft