Kaito Voyager V2 AM FM Shortwave NOAA Portable Radio Review

The Green Jewel, V2 Voyager by Kaito, has to be one of the best values for a portable emergency radio you can find anywhere.
▶ The Voyager V2 Green at Amazon: amzn.to/2CjYaBe
▶ The Voyager V2 Yellow! at Amazon: amzn.to/2FO05RW
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Features I like best about this radio:
Build Quality is fantastic.
FM-AM reception is equal to some of the best performing portables I own.
The NOAA WB reception on this radio exceeds all of my other radios. Very impressive.
Flashlight.
Easy to use Dynamo crank.
Solar power.
Optional AAA batteries can be used..this is a very important feature all weather radios should include.
Audio quality rivals some of my portables and can be used as an everyday radio...its that good.
Headphone jack is awesome, low noise floor when quiet and great bass on FM.
Replaceable rechargeable battery pack.
Features that could be improved:
A second SW band would have been welcome..3.2MHz-6.95Mhz.
More color choices; though I think with time we will see them become available.
Longer antenna, or include a clip on wire to extend the Shortwave capability.
This radio gets a solid buy from me. The performance is everything you would want in a small form factor emergency receiver. I'm really enjoying this radio, and may use it on a normal basis vs waiting for an emergency.
Thank you for reading this and watching the video.
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[@todderbert]

▶ The Voyager V2 Green at Amazon: amzn.to/2CjYaBe ▶ The Voyager V2 Yellow! at Amazon: amzn.to/2FO05RW (paid links) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you.

[@thetinysideoftiny7625]

I just received this radio. In Phoenix AZ the reception on all bands is simply incredible. It outperforms radios costing 4 times as much. Build quality is top notch too.

[@dwaynerobertson383]

Man...I just ordered one of these from Amazon, after reading a bunch of reviews. I followed you here. Thanks for the heads up. Great video. I'm disappointed that you did not allow ERUPTION to conclude (R.I.P. Edward Van Halen), but this is an exceptional video otherwise. I got the yellow version - everything I own for camping is green, so a stark contrasting colour is great. Won't misplace it. It's like Dewalt tools on a bench; you can't not see them. Looking forward to receiving this, and appreciate the time you spent showing any and all details. It's more than double $20.00 in Ontario, Canada...but I still think it'll be worth it. PEACE!

[@trigas55]

I found my emergency radio had a set of burst batteries so tossed it and did a quick search and landed here. Saw your vid and ordered this radio from amazon using your link and couldn't be happier. Thanks for doing all the great product researches and reviews

[@chrisc3118]

Just bought one of these from your review. FM & NOAA work fine. Very few AM channels come in and so far no SW broadcasts, even when using my Tecsun 380 antenna extender wire clip on. Tried multiple times and no luck yet. I do like its small size, use of NiMH batteries from a safety point of view and 4 power sources. Good for a compact emergency radio. Price is pretty good too.

[@Ayrton4everrr]

This is my prefered choice. 4 charging options and small. Can't understand why it never made it to your best survival list. And for the money you cannot beat it. Great review

[@roekozlov2176]

Saw a photo of the new digital version somewhere. Same shell design. Green One

[@lino317]

Just bought one from eBay because of your video review. Was just looking for a simple radio and this sounds like it gives a lot of value for the money. I've been watching a lot of your videos and I'm hooked.I was going to give it as a gift but I might be tempted to keep it because it sounds so practical. I already own the ka-200 so I already like the Kaito brand.

[@todderbert]

For the price, this radio is the best! I love the Kaito brand also. Thank you for watching!

[@lino317]

todderbert, I also was really thinking hard about the ka-29, until I saw your review of the v2. I really like it's compactness and overall looks. Could you do a video on it if possible? I've really only found 1 review on it. Thanks.

[@todderbert]

did you watch the KA680? It is more of a proper emergency radio minus the SW. The reason I mention this is the KA-29 looks like a similar chipset, and might suffer from the digital tones on the AM and SW bands. The KA680 is decent enough as long as your not distant seeking radio stations. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bICYZZSeZpplmJY Same form factor of the V2 also: amzn.to/2oS73Ov

[@lino317]

Ha! Never clicked on that before. I've started drooling over your ka600 and ka200 videos. Thanks for the heads up! I'll take a look asap.

[@lino317]

Thanks for the heads up. I've noticed during some of your band scan demos you don't really get a good signal. Is it an indication of the equipment themselves or maybe your location?

[@totallyfrozen]

OK. After playing with it for a couple hours, I think I have my first gripe about this radio. I wish the tuning needle was narrower. Perhaps, a clear plastic indicator with a narrow orange stripe down the center. The reason is because I was fighting with this radio and comparing it to my Sony P26 and I thought the Sony was better. Well, what I finally figured out is that this radio is insanely sensitive on AM considering the size of the radio and that fact that it much has a tiny ferrite antenna inside. What I mean is that this Kaito radio revealed to me that my AM band is much more crowded than I had realized. I found stations so close together on the dial that I was having a nightmare grabbing the one that I wanted because the needle is wider than the frequency separation.

[@JoseGonzalez-lo3im]

Bought 2 from Amazon. Thanks for your hard work on reviews 😀

[@tomjones239]

This is worth it simply because you have a flashlight that needs no batteries and it receives the weather band. In tornado weather when the lights go out it would be a blessing to have. Most people aren`t prepared. In areas with strong local AM/FM stations it would do fine but I`m in the sticks in a near dead zone for reception.

[@AirsoftPanamaOficial]

Thank you for such in depth review. I must say it’s one of the best reviews out there. Ive definitely decided for this radio model! Thanks!

[@todderbert]

Awesome, I didn't know they still made this model. They are coming out with new ones which I will be reviewing soon.

[@andyanderson8586]

I got this radio from Amazon on your recommendation in the reviews. I can't say that I'm disappointed. I bought the yellow, just because I could LOL. It does leave somewhat to be desired in the a.m. range however I took mine outside camping and it's performance increase by 100%. After all it is an emergency radio and being outside and being able to charge it is the practical application not sitting in your chair at home. I can understand weakness inside for such a small radio. Outside it performs adequately. I won't say it's the best radio on the market or even the best one I've ever tried, but I will say I love this radio. For what it's meant to be it's a great Buy. Thanks for your reviews and your KZbin channel. This one's a keeper, and it's in yellow 2... Woohoo LOL

[@todderbert]

Your Welcome Andy, dang, I still need to get the yellow one :)

[@Stoobing66]

Great review. Looks like a nice, inexpensive emergency radio! Hoping one day you might also do reviews on the VMEI, YEZRO, and Raynic solar / crank emergency radios as these are also highly rated on Amazon. Thanks!

[@Bryt25]

Is the also the Degen branded 13? they look very similar.

[@pb3225]

Nice review. I agree that FM and weather band reception on the V2 are excellent. However, I was unable to receive any AM station in my area that was listenable. My test was done around noon on a beautiful, clear day. Just for grins, I turned on my NIA RD-206SP and pulled in all my local AMs sitting in the exact same spot on my outside deck. Maybe my V2 just has a bad AM tuner, IDK. The NIA is an incredible radio; it's unfortunate that it's getting much harder to find on ebay. I couldn't pick up any SW stations on the V2 but didn't spend a lot of time trying. Thanks again for all of your reviews.

[@todderbert]

Thank you Pete. Your V2 may have a bad tuner, mine seems to do very well, even during the day. My NIA is great all the time...it's a shame that the "magic" batch may be gone forever. The new ones marked OR-206 are complete garbage.

[@pb3225]

I just ordered 2 super cheapies (each under $4) am/fm radios from a Chinese ebay seller. I'll be happy to let you know how those perform when I receive them if you are interested. You never know when you might run into the next NIA!! Thanks again...Pete

[@trolljones4386]

Its also on amazon.

[@ApocGuy]

@@pb3225 mine works good enough (AM, during day) SW no go before sunset.But after that...well I gladly take it with me when im off to wilderness for week or so :).

[@julioshotcarrots9991]

Great channel. Wondering what other radios of similar size, function, and pricepoint you might recommend as comparable or better alternatives to this one?

[@michaelmcgee6465]

Thank you Si, Ive been looking at portable emergency radios, one to carry in a backpack, trying to decide on one for a while. I believe that with your help here I just found it. Like you I prefer one that also uses aa or aaa batteries also. I have a Sangean CL100 that I love. If you haven't reviewed it already you might want to take a look at it. I keep mine in the house hooked to an outside antenna and use it often on FM.

[@pipboy3000PS3]

Just found your channel a few days ago,. And bought the green version of the V2 off Amazon thanks to your reviews. $23 is still a great deal. Thank you! I would also be interested in seeing a VS video of the Voyager V2 vs the KA500 as far as a signal/reception quality comparison. and would also like to see the KA700 vs the Tivdio HR-11S(w) as far as a digital display emergency radio with MP3 playback functionality. No pressure tho, just thought they would be good for head to head comparisons, as they offer similar features at different price points. Cheers! and Thanks again.

[@Dan-sq5cv]

Ordered one from Amazon today but they are just under $25 now, still a good buy. I have my old Grundig FR200 and it still works great but, not as compact and no weather band, or line out charger, or solar panel, many more features with this little radio. However, the FR200 has it beat for tuning, with both course and fine-tune. Wish they would at least use a larger tuning wheel.

[@medievalady2010]

Thank you for your videos, you really showcase the products through and through. I'm sold on Kaito now. 😅Here in Canada the cheapest one (green color) sells for 54$C + tx on amazon while the Voyager eco is 37$C without tx so not sure it's worth the extra bucks for a slightly better am reception and a short wave band that doesn't seem to pick up clear channels. What's your take on that? Also what is its internal battery's capacity? Thanks 😀

[@todderbert]

not sure. The Eco is the better deal.

[@DePalma.]

Will this be able to pick up weather band in Baja California, Mexico?

[@ArndroidInc]

I bought on from Amazon and got it today. I got the yellow one so as to be ready for June 01st. What a piece of crap on AM. I worked to get 3 stations in and easily got more than 10 with my Sony ICF-S10MK2. On FM it pulled in many stations and on Weather Band 1. I've already packaged it up for UPS to pick up tomorrow .

[@todderbert]

Strange Arnold, I wonder if quality control has changed, mine seemed to fair ok on AM.

[@blizzardgumtree5012]

todderbert, I bought the degen de13 about 6 weeks ago and found AM poor just like Arnold Alt and so many others. Have you opened one of these radios to see if you can find the ferrite rod with a magnifying glass? It must be sandwiched in there somewhere because AM works well with a coil. Just Wondering...maybe it will take a whole video just to find it. A good radio otherwise.

[@todderbert]

Odd, mine seems to work fairly well on the AM band, as seen in this video. The ferrite antenna may be on an angle. I've seen that before in emergency radios. So traditional orientations will not work.

[@blizzardgumtree5012]

Updating my review from a year ago: It took me 3 months to find out AM works off the antenna and clipping a wire on even better. Works very well on all 4 bands now. It also took me 3 months to find out all the 3 charge systems do not work, just the charge light looks like it's charging. When plugged in I found zero voltage going to the battery. So it ended up just another radio you put AAA batteries in and not quite the emergency radio I wanted.

[@totallyfrozen]

I like the rainbow on the box, but I need unicorns also. If my radio isn’t all rainbows AND unicorns, that’s a deal breaker. Thanks anyway.

[@yilanzeper7267]

Hello! Great review, it's a nice radio, in my opinion especially to be equiped in your emergency backpack. I like the multiple options it offers to supply its energy. May I ask, maybe it's a really dumb question, but since i don't use the one i got that frequently, and I struggle a lot to take off the Ni-MH battery, what would be the better way to take it off without damage the cables? Or do you think it would be better to leave the battery connected even if I don't use the radio for a long period? Thanks

[@totallyfrozen]

OK. I just got my V2 today and I’m at my kitchen table with my Sony P26 doing a little nighttime DX’ing. The Sony seems to grab stations and play them with less noise and more clear volume; however, every time I think the Sony is better at DX’ing, the Kaito finds the same station but also finds weaker signals to the left and right. So....I can’t tell which radio is better for AM DX’ing. One moment the Sony seems better, the next moment the Kaito seems better. As far as audio quality goes, the Sony is much better. Todderbert, would you do an A/B shootout between the Sony P26 and this Kaito Voyager V2 on AM and FM so see which one has superior sensitivity and selectivity?

[@martz1191]

Great little radio, but my problem is the SW band coverage, it is not even close to complete.

[@todderbert]

Its an awesome little radio...I'm not missing the SW personally, but a 3-12MHz would have been better.

[@totallyfrozen]

I just ordered one of theses today based on your review! I got the yellow one but in hindsight, I wish I’d gotten the green one. I mean, that green is so hideously ugly! It reminds me of something you’d see in a 1960’s Japanese sci-fi B movie! I may keep the yellow and get a green one too. 👍🏻

[@beemo9]

In darkness, it's easier to see yellow. I couldn't care less how fashionable it is - it's for emergencies.

[@totallyfrozen]

bmo Meh, pretty much ANY portable AM/FM radio can be used in an emergency. It’s probably extremely unlikely that you’ll be trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building for days and need to use the siren, the beacon light, and the power crank. Even so, it doesn’t matter what color it is. If it’s not reflective, it’s not easier to see. Maybe you’re thinking of fluorescent yellow like the police raincoats. This isn’t fluorescent. If it’s placed under an ultraviolet light, it doesn’t glow.

[@strontiumstargazer3124]

Is this the same radio as the Degen D13? - it looks identical

[@todderbert]

Most likely a Degen with a Kaito stamp.

[@adid.5585]

Something confuses me. AM band doesn't require the telescopic antena because it makes use of the internal ferite rod to pick up stations. However, SW is still considered part of the AM spectrum, together with MW (AM) and LW. If that's the case, how come it's actually using the telescopic antenna instead of the ferite rod? This is not the only video in which I see this. I saw another footage of a radio having only MW and SW band without FM and still having a telescopic antenna. If someone could explain to me why the SW band uses the telescopic antenna, it would be really helpful. I couldn't find an explanation anywhere online.

[@fiendishthingy4172]

My understanding is that shortwave requires a high, long antenna to pick up signals. That's why you'll see shortwave radio users with a wire stretched out from upstairs or rooftop toward a tall pole or a tree in the yard. Sensitive to obstructions, and reception is usually better at night.

[@P_RO_]

Ferrite rod antennas lose efficiency at the top of the AM band. Old GE Super-radios had the telescoping antenna tied into AM and it noticeably helped reception above ~1000kHz but didn't help below that. By the time you reach 7MHz where this radio's SW begins the telescoping antenna (or better yet a wire antenna) vastly outperforms a ferrite rod.

[@PestoDiBasilico]

Can this radio (and the numerous other variations of this radio that Kaito offers) run exclusively off of solar power? By that I mean you can listen to it and have no batteries installed (neither rechargeable nor dry). So far, after looking through your videos and other sources, it seems you can charge the rechargeable batteries with solar power; whether you can operate the radio (and even the light, if that makes any sense) with solar power, I am not certain.

[@todderbert]

Solar is not a efficient source of power unless you have a large surface area. It is there as a minimal charging device, because the current that small cell provides if very small. There are solar panels that come in four sections and provide a 5V output. You would need strong sunlight. This would be what is needed to run the radio on solar alone.

[@gklinger]

I wouldn't be surprised if you could find one in safety yellow because it appears this radio is sold under different names and in different colors. I actually won one as a door prize only it's blue and badged as a "Kozo".

[@todderbert]

The "Kozo" looks interesting with its usable Shortwave bands, if they added the NOAA weather band it would be awesome. This Kaito would be great with that extra SW band.

[@lino317]

Hey, I just ordered a yellow version from Kaito's ebay site! Looks pretty cool to me-can't wait to get it!

[@rolandkee335]

Golan, is the WX on the Kozo useable? Is there a scale for the 7 channels?

[@terencejames909]

Great video thanks man

[@davidglazener7921]

Where can I get the clip-on antennae you used?

[@todderbert]

Kaito T-1 Reel Antenna, at Amazon: amzn.to/3u5SrO5

[@davidglazener7921]

@@todderbert Thanks.

[@PeterSchneemann]

Is it different from Degen De13?

[@todderbert]

Yes, this radio has the NOAA weather band. But its SW capability is limited.

[@PeterSchneemann]

Is it still working? I bought the same and it lasted a little over 10 minutes.

[@albertcarpentercats]

After the video test all the radios you get move a round the house to see what you get.I did when I bought them at garage sales.

[@31415epsilon]

They make this in Yellow now.

[@Flockingtheherd]

I’m really bummed it uses a mini usb. That’s a pretty uncommon cable -.- at least it could have been a microusb

[@todderbert]

Most radios are getting refreshes, hopefully we will see a Type C jack. C.Crane just upgraded their CC Skywave SSB to take Micro USB :)

[@mickeybrumfield764]

The packaging is interesting on these devises from China it looks like their marketing people are tuned into our market. Well I guess that only makes sense as that is where the money is.

[@juliancrippen]

Hi

[@user-mhmd-ibrhm]

NiMH are not good rechargeable batteries. They are an older technology from before the better Lithium Ion batteries. Expect the batteries to require premature ...... replacement. Ehim.

[@chrisc3118]

NiMH is less likely to explode and cause fires. Very safe chemistry. I was a rechargeable battery procurement mgr at a multi billion high tech company and always preferred NiMH whenever possible due to safety reasons. Visit a battery factory in Asia (non-Japan) and you'll understand why. Of course lithium polymer has more energy but if quality control is substandard, it can be dangerous.

[@user-mhmd-ibrhm]

@@chrisc3118 Wow, I totally agree with you. I wasn’t aware of this. In this case of course NiMH is the best choice. There is no compromise on Safety. Thanks Chris.

[@chrisc3118]

@@user-mhmd-ibrhm a couple other tips (shared by a fireman neighbor), disconnect all battery chargers while out of the house. This includes battery powered tooth brushes, tools, laptops, phones etc. Also if you accidently drop a lithium ion or lithium polymer battery device on a "hard" surface, consider replacing the battery. While on holiday or business trips, consider putting lithium ion and lithium polymer battery in fire protection bags. Don't park next to an electric vehicle whenever possible and definitely don't store things like EV bikes, EV skateboards and other low end lithium ion or lithium polymer powered products in your home or garage. There are about 3,000 battery manufacturers in the world and I'd probably only consider about 3 or 4 that meet quality standards when I've conducted battery audits. Yes, it's really that bad. Always be extra cautious especially with lithium polymer products.

[@chrisc3118]

I forgot to mention, do NOT allow any lithium ion or lithium polymer product to get submerged in water. If a hurricane or flood is coming, put above the flood waters. These can short and explode when under water.

[@user-mhmd-ibrhm]

@@chrisc3118 Thanks 👍 Appreciate this important information.