Review on 📻 Black Kaito KA321 Pocket-Sized 10-Band AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP (Digital Signal Processing) by Drew Diaz

I was a little hesitant to buy a shortwave radio that costs $20. Will it be dollar store junk? I know Kaito is a famous brand and I've always been happy with their products, so I was curious to see how it works. If you are familiar with the Degen brand, the Kaito KA321 is the same radio as the Degen DE321. KA321 is a small radio. It is 4-3/4" long, 2-3/4" tall, and 5/8" thick. It weighs 3.7 ounces with batteries installed. Inside the box is the radio itself, instructions, a Product registration sheet and a wrist strap. The KA321 is fairly well built for a radio at this price point. Sure, it's hard plastic, but it feels sturdy. The radio requires two AA batteries to operate; batteries are not included. Another reviewer mentioned, that the KA321 came with rechargeable lithium batteries but this was not stated in the product description and they were not included. With fresh Rayovac alkaline batteries I got close to 170 hours of use. It is very good. 1-3/ diameter speakers 4". Sounds great for speakers of this size and price! Also on the front panel is a frequency display. It's not an LCD and it's not a backlight. The top of the display shows which ban is on d you are hired. There are FM1 (87MHz - 108MHz), FM2 (64MHz - 87MHz), AM (522kHz - 1710kHz) and eight shortwave bands (SW1, SW2, etc.) ranging from 5700kHz to 21950kHz. The bar appears as a simple red dot drawn on the slide and visible through the square on the display. Simple but effective. The frequency display itself is the most important; black and gray background with numbers on it. The numbers are easy to read, but the plastic screen is very glaring. As you tune, the metal bar will move up or down to indicate the frequency you are currently working on. There are four items on the left side of the KA321: a wrist strap, an AC adapter jack, a power button, and a headphone jack. The wrist attachment is just what you need; Slot for attaching a wrist strap. The strap is unattached and is made of gray nylon and is approximately 8 inches long. The power supply jack is a 5V DC input (150mA, center positive). External power supply or cable not included. Underneath is an on/off switch. a switch that is clearly labeled and is just a slide switch. It's rigid enough not to move accidentally. Below that is a headphone jack. It works as advertised and is in stereo. Length 17-3/4" when fully extended. It folds into the top of the radio and is slightly recessed to avoid snagging and rotates 360 degrees. It's surprisingly well made and sturdy. Also on top is the Range selector which is a ribbed slide switch It has a faint 'click' as it enters each lane This is the same detail as the little red dot representing range On the back of the radio is the antenna (see above), stand and battery compartment. The stand is just a piece of plastic that rotates allowing the radio to be tilted rather than flat for viewing. It also lists the ranges available. The battery compartment is at the bottom rear. The Battery cover is a detachable piece of molded plastic that is easily removed.The radio requires two AA batteries which are listed in the battery compartment.A piece of nylon will aid in removal of the batteries. There are two small protrusions on the bottom of the radio that help it stand up if you want it, but there's nothing else underneath. On the right side of the KA321 are the settings and volume controls. These are just ribbed dials but they do the job. This radio can get very loud, which is surprising for something so cheap. I did notice distortion when it got really loud, but honestly, you're not going to use it that loud anyway. The tuning knob is a little tight, but I found it helped not to lose a channel after it was "locked" by the DSP. The two FM bands sound very clear. The AM band is questionable and often doesn't work on the same frequencies as other similarly sized radios within inches of it. Shortwave bands all work. I live in Ohio and the frequencies I like are on the other side of the world. That means if it's day and I'm not sleeping there's nothing to hear because it's night there. It's not the radio's fault; If no one is broadcasting, there is only interference. I managed to pick up some stations that I couldn't even find in my shortwave radio shop, but a few local shortwave stations were better on the radio shop unit. Overall, I'm very happy with the KA321. It's small enough to fit in the back pocket of your pants and offers good reception. My only reservation about getting it is if you want it for AM stations. Show me the best radio that accepts AM, FM and shortwave for $20.