An elegant radio for a more civilized age - Kaito KA500L
Weather is always a concern if you choose to live next to or on the water. If you also chose to live in the middle of nowhere, doubly so. Being aware of what’s coming is a skill fine tuned by years of experience, mistakes, and triumphs. Or you can invest in a NOAA weather radio.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, otherwise known as NOAA, uses some of your tax dollars to broadcast weather and alerts to special radios anywhere in the US. This very fancy system even has a feature that only wakes your radio up when there’s a severe weather alert.
These types of radios are very common in tornado prone areas but serve as a great way to plan your weekend when you plan to be on the water or heading out for some hiking. I highly recommend every lake house have one.
After using, breaking, or just throwing out ones that turned out to be junk, I’ve really come to like Kaito KA500L. The L is important here; the version without the L is not nearly as nice.
It is by far the best solar/crank powered radio I’ve used.
Are there better radios out there? Sure.
Are there better crank powered chargers out there? Absolutely!
But if you want all of that in the same package, the KA500L is what is going to serve you for years without issue (hopefully).
I’ve had the KA500, then the KA500L for the better part of 10 years and they have always been functional radios. The reception isn’t the best on AM/FM/shortwave, but it gets the job done.
Let’s dive into the features.
1. AM/FM/SW/WX
At the top of the list, a weather radio needs to receive the weather. And even without the
antenna up, the KA500L can usually deliver the report coming through with some mild static. With the antenna out or enhanced with a clip on wire antenna, the radio has never let me down; even when sitting damp on the table during a downpour.
It also does AM/FM for a more normal radio experience. Reception is on par with most of the other radios I’ve tested and the speaker is large enough to get some volume out without sounding too terrible but you certainly shouldn’t expect Bose quality sound.
The KA500L can also receive the shortwave bands but without the clip-on wire antenna addition, reception is relatively poor. If you are really into religious or international programming, shortwave may be an added benefit for you, but it’s not really a reason to buy the radio.
As with most modern weather radios, the KA500L can be set to “alert” mode through the use of the main power switch. The “alert” mode tells the radio to listen to the weather broadcast, but only play sound if there’s a severe weather alert. This is a great feature to have if you’re not paying much attention but don’t want the weather report droning on in the background. Just make sure to turn it off before you go to bed. Nothing like waking up at 2am for a thunderstorm warning and trying to find and turn off the radio in a panic.
Lots of color options, though I prefer the yellow so I have a chance to catch it in the dark.
3. Crank Power!
In addition to the solar panel, the KA500L has a crank for charging up that battery. It’s not fun to use and a bit on the flimsy side, but it gets the job done. I haven’t found it to be any worse than the Eton or Midland cranks. I’m not convinced there’s a good crank on the market at this point. You’ll be getting about twice as much radio use as you put in cranking time.
That fancy 18650 battery and the LED light bar. Plenty of light (and power) for whatever you’ve got going on.
6. USB Charging!
Arguably one of the best upgrades to the KA500L from the KA500 is the USB charging. A little switch under the water resistant rear cover turns on the USB output, letting you charge your phone from the little radio’s battery, solar panel, or crank. With the iPhone 15’s 3300mah battery, you should be able to charge up to 50% from dead without an issue. It doesn’t support any fancy USB charging standards so you’ll be stuck at 5 watts of power, but in a pinch it’s plenty. The KA500L also added USB charging for the radio. You can now plug in your battery of choice or wall charger and run the radio indefinitely off of that! I haven’t seen many radios that have both input and output charging and it is nice to have the options available. The people at Kaito are really making use of that new 18650 battery. I’ve used the input charging once but only because the solar panel does such a great job of keeping the radio at full charge.
7. Actual Knobs!
The KA500L has the added benefit of having actual functioning switches and knobs. No LCD screen to freeze or break, no touchscreen to accidentally tap, and no digital tuning buttons to lock up. This radio is full analog. Which is a good thing! The knobs are all good construction with good movement and solid clicking where the selection points are. The radio tuning knob isn’t very smooth but it moves through the AM/FM/SW bands without issue. While I like a good LCD for clarity of tuning and seeing which settings are on or off, not having to worry about letting the radio get damp or freeze is a piece of mind.
8. A bunch of other features.
Like most radios, the KA500L has a headphones jack for better sound, a nice nylon carry handle with a rubberized grip, a bright yellow (or dark black) body, and water resistant covers. The radio itself isn’t waterproof, but I’ve never had an issue with some light spray from leaving it too close to the window during a storm.
2. Solar Power!
There are many crank powered radios out there, but they are just that, crank powered. I have found very little joy in spending 5 minutes turning the tiny crank of some radios only to find the battery either didn’t hold a charge after braving the frozen winter at the house or only was ever good for a good 2 minutes. Solar gives you the option to charge the battery during fair weather so it’s always ready to go. I place mine on a window sill for easy charging and access. The KA500L has an upgraded solar panel from the KA500 and is now larger than almost every other solar powered emergency radio out there. This thing is built to actually provide some decent power versus other solar radios which are really there for a gimmick anyway.
DC, USB, solar, crank, battery. It’s up to you!
4. Battery Power!
Of course a radio needs a battery to function, that’s like science 101, why is it a feature of this radio? The KA500L radio doesn’t just have any battery, it has both a replaceable and a standard battery! In a significant upgrade over every other radio I’ve bought or thought about buying, the KA500L has the 18650 rechargeable battery right under the rear cover. The 18650 battery is a common standard for flashlights and other equipment but almost never found on the emergency radio side. You can replace it with a much fancier 3500mah 18650 from Fenix or leave the unbranded one in there. The 18650 battery in the KA500L is a significant upgrade over the KA500 and other radios because of its size (2600mah in the KA500L vs 330mah for the KA500) and its ability to weather cold temperatures better than the nickel-cadmium battery of yore. With seasonal homes and cabins, I always try to find things that will survive the winter unheated to reduce the number of things I have to remember each season.
5. LEDs!
With both a multi LED lamp that flips up to flood a table and a single LED flashlight, the KA500L has you covered for taking a quick walk to the car or playing a card game. The flashlight certainly isn’t the brightest LED or the most focused but it’ll get you where you need to go. Turning on the flashlight also turns on the display backlight for tuning the radio in the dark. It’s a neat little feature that I’m not sure I’ve ever used, but if you already know where your favorite stations are, it would be helpful. The floodlight is surprisingly functional and is more than enough to fill a decent area. I don’t think I would want to read a book with small print under the lights, though.
The upgraded USB charging options. Micro-USB for charging the radio, USB-A for charging your device.
After 10 years and at least 15 different radios, I can safely say the Kaito KA500L checks all the boxes from me and is a valuable tool at any seasonal home. As long as it’s kept safe and relatively dry, it will perform years of service for you and your outdoor activities. I haven’t babied these radios and even with years worth of dry wintering and humid summers, they still perform without issue.
