In a world where technology is constantly advancing by leaps and bounds there comes a time when we head back to old technology.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The greatest thing about Sangean MMR-88 is its surprisingly excellent audio quality. It is known that the last thing that the manufacturers of crank radios think about is the audio quality. That’s normal as they are meant to receive weather stations for weather alerts only.
Sangean MMR-88 is an exception when it comes to audio quality. With its full and well-balanced bass, you would think that it is not a crank radio.
That says, Sangean MMR-88 is a great choice for not only emergency preparedness purposes but also for camping, traveling ,backpacking, hiking and other outdoor activities; especially that its reception quality is also good for AM and FM receptions.
For Kaito KA500, like almost all crank radios in the market, its audio quality is modest and there are even some users who complained about the audio quality to be disappointing.
It is right that you don’t want this emergency radio to listen to the latest hits but that doesn’t mean audio quality is something buyers would like to give up.
When the voices coming out of a certain radio don’t sound clear and smooth the radio experience at its whole becomes unacceptable; to note that, Kaito KA500 audio quality decreases when it is plugged in a wall plug.
CHARGING AND BATTERY:
Sangean MMR-88 is one of the most useful and reliable crank radios that you can ever use. It is amazing to discover that its battery boasts an excellent fast charging option.
When it runs out of juice, you can rely on different ways to recharge. There is the hand crank way which gives you around six minutes of battery life when you turn the crank for merely two minutes.
If you are not a fan of the hand crank, you would simply use the solar panel to recharge your radio which was considered by many users to be fast and efficient.
Above that all, you can easily recharge Sangean MMR-88 right from your laptop using a USB cable, your car charger or a wall plug when you are home.
To note that, when plugged into a wall plug it becomes fully charged in less than 3 hours, the thing which is not easy to find in crank radios.
Besides all these options of power sources, Sangean MMR-88 has a 90-minute automatic shut-off setting that which aims at preserving its battery life.
To compare it with Kaito KA500, this latter has itself a good range of alternative power sources which includes hand crank, solar, batteries, USB cable, a rechargeable battery pack as well as an AC DC adaptor.
In terms of the solar panel, it is too small for a radio with the dimensions of Kaito KA500, thus it is so slow to charge the battery. The hand crank is easy and effective when used.
However, its arm is not as strong and sturdy as you may think as it looks a little bit cheap and may snap at any time.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FEATURES:
In terms of emergency preparedness features, Sangean MMR-88 has a nice range of crucial emergency-preparedness features such as the water-resistant casing, its Morse code beacon as well as a siren. The MMR-88 has one of the most useful casings.
It’s also one of the few weather radios in the markets that come with IPX3 water-resistance features. This feature means that Sangean MMR-88 can amazingly resist water spraying from different directions.
Its port protectors were designed to limit the amount of water that can reach the internal components that may spoil with water. This quality is just fantastic as you might be using the radio in different weather situations and conditions.
Well, there is something else which you will fancy about Sangean MMR-88 preparedness features, it is the headphone jack and the siren. The latter is a handy survival that you can resort to in order to alert people to your current location.
Kaito KA500 is also a versatile crank radio that you can rely on to endure and get prepared for disasters. In addition to its power sources that promise you good battery life to get emergency signals, it has a telescopic antenna with 14.5 inches.
You can use it wherever and whenever you are off-grid to be able to receive a signal. This crank radio is able to generate a red SOS beacon to alert rescuers at night.
However, unlike Sangean MMR-88 it is not fully waterproof.
DURABILITY:
With all that has been said above about the two crank radios, one would but conclude that Sangean MMR-88 emergency radio is the one which is more durable.
Thanks to its compact design and rubberized edges you can rest assured that it won’t break easily. On top of that, the water-resistant feature; which is not found in all crank radios; protects the internal components form getting damaged when the radio comes in contact with water.
This means that you can expect this emergency sangean mmr-88 vs kaito ka500 to be your companion for many backcountry hiking adventures.
The Kaito KA500 is also good but not as excellent as Sangean MMR-88 when it comes to durability. That is due to some fragile features like the hand crank which is made of a cheap material; hence it is not as reliable as it is expected to be.
POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS : SANGEAN MMR-88 VS KAITO KA500
Kaito KA500 Cons:
The solar panel is so small, so if you rely on it expect your crank radio to be charging slowly
Its weight is 1.4 which is heavier for a small-sized crank radios
It comes with a cheap hand crank, its crank arm can break or disconnect from the motor easily
It is not fully waterproof
The audio quality could be improved
Sangean MMR-88 Cons:
It comes with merely 850mAh in its battery
It doesn’t feature an AC adapter to plug into a wall plug or car charger
