Kaito KA210 Portable AM/FM and NOAA Weather Radio for Emergency Preparedness

R. Hardy: I got this radio a decade ago. Kept me informed through two hurricanes and two blizzards.

To speak to the detractors... it's $15... Not awesome sound quality? Yes - it's $15. Not the best reception? Yes - it's $15.

Does it WORK ? Do you get NOAA, AM, and FM to varying degrees of quality so you have ANY information in an emergency? Yes... quite well... twice on Sunday, thank you very much.

It does torque me that people pay $15 and then moan about how it isn't the most awesome thing they ever bought.

Keep this radio and a couple of batteries separately in a Ziplock bag and keep in your prep bag.

It works, it's tiny, it's light, and it's.... wait for it... 15 whole dollars.

5 Stars. Two thumbs up.

United States on Sep 08, 2023

keetaboy: Size and weight are perfect for walking. The radio is not digital, so tuning can be difficult. The on/off switch is also the volume control. Found the lowest setting to be to loud, such that could not use earphones. If looking to use during walk, would not recommend. Dials to sensitive, and so easy to lose station or volume

Canada on Apr 02, 2019

Asano: Bought this unit specifically to replace a worn out, 1989 model from Radio-Shack (yes we had them in Canada a while back). I listened to the AM/FM band and it worked surprisingly well, but I was really impressed by switching to the NOAA band and got excellent reception right at the first channel position.

And this was inside a building with the antenna still not pulled to full length... Well built, solid and lightweight unit. Runs on 2 AA batteries, has a handy lanyard and increased reception outdoors and with antenna at full length. As good as my Jeep Wrangler's radio. Also has a headphone jack, although the small speaker does a very decent job even on radio bands.

Great value for the price!

Canada on Mar 19, 2019

Fatos Adami: This is a fantastic little radio. I am very impressed with its performance. I own approximately 50 radios of all kinds, tube, old transistor, shortwave, modern/digital, you name it. So, I know what I am talking about. This one does the job. It receives firmly with high sensitivity and locks in the stations on all bands.
In the FM band, it receives all strong stations in the urban area that other, much more sophisticated radios do with its own small whip antenna about 8 inches long. I did not try the difficult to get stations, since I don't listen to them. There is no hiss, no static, no weakening of the reception when you move around.
In the AM band, I tested it in the evening, and the dial was full of all kind of stations, local and long range. It can be difficult to understand where the radio it is tuned to in the tiny dial until the radio stations announce themselves. For instance, the WSM, Nashville, TN 450 miles away was heard like it was next door. Other stations from New York, Boston, Chicago, around 700+ miles away were heard loud and clear, much better than in other much more expensive receivers. I am not sure how it can perform so well with it supposedly tiny...

United States on Mar 16, 2018

Ramesh: Great Radio, sound is good, tuning is very nice & range is excellent

Canada on Oct 11, 2017

Eal12333: Everything functions exactly as advertised.
Seems to have pretty good reception, can easily pick up any local FM channels with the antenna down, even in my basement. I can also pick up the local weather radio just fine as long as the antenna is up. AM radio also works of course, but I don't think there are any local channels (I can only pick up weird faint sounds with it).
the strap is removable, and big enough to be useful for me.
Build quality is decent; nothing is moving around that shouldn't be.
Sound quality is also decent, seems more than good enough for radio. The speaker doesn't get extremely loud, but it is more than enough for my needs. The headphone jack works as you'd expect it to, but I actually wish I could make it quieter. But that of course means that it will have no problem getting your headphones as loud as you want them.

Overall, its great for the price.

Canada on Jul 15, 2017

Surajrv6: after 6 months, the radio stopped working... I contacted the seller but no reply from them

India on Jan 13, 2017

Russell Lawson: I was so excited just for this product, finally some music while I work without lugging anything large around. Haven't had the opportunity to enjoy this yet because the one I got is not functioning in any manor. I bought AA Panasonic rechargeable to go with it because a question posed on amazon said they would work. They don't, or it's defective. Either way I have to go buy standard AA's now or go through the hassle and another WAIT to return this china made item.

EDIT: Ok I got it to work, my radio requires a squeeze of the boy to get it to operate. but as soon as I change the volume or station or set it down, it stops again. DEFECTIVE so they are going from 2 star to 1 until they send me a new one that actually works, then we'll see...

United States on Dec 03, 2015

OutsiderZero: Great little bare bones radio. I use it deep in the mountains and always get good AM reception. The FM dial is good to, if you are near a signal, which I usually am not.
The NOAA always picks up. It is loud enough to hear from your pocket while you are trekking. I can leave this thing on for about 2 1/2 days on a set of re-chargable batteries. Not bad at all. I leave it on the talk radio at night. This helps keep the bears and other critters away. So the low power consumption is a great boon to me.
The one point against it is how quick the dial face and needle will warp if you let the sun have it's way at all. The radio still works fine. I just have to guess where my stations are, which is easy if you grew up with these kind of radios.
Did I mention it was really small and light? Perfect for a backpacker, or hiker.

United States on Oct 06, 2015

Technot: I'm glad I bought this radio. Haven't had one like this since I was a kid. I remember listening to the Detroit Tigers baseball and to to CKLW and WKNR am radio back in the day when "Rock" was born. I can't believe how radios improved. I used to put a transistor under my pillow at night and by morning the 9 volt batttery was dead. This new Kaito KA210 uses 2 AA's and I put in the cheapest I had, you know, the 8 for a dollar pack at the local dollar store. Two weeks and it is still going strong.

The sensitivity of this radio is great, it pulls in from the Detroit area where I still live - CKLW, Windsor,ON. - WKNR, now across lake Erie in Cleveland - 660 am in Sandusky, MI. a good daytime catch - low watt and 60 miles north in farm country - 840 am, Lexington, KY and 700 am Cincinnati, OH at night. The selectivity is the best I've seen on what appears to be a DSP radio, though not advertized as such. A red LED lights with a station signal and it is the most functional I have seen. It goes off between the closest of stations and if it lights, there is a station there!

Before I forget the FM is very good also. None of the bleed over all up and down the dial from local...

United States on Mar 20, 2014