Kaito Electronics Inc. KA1102BLK Digital AM/FM/SW World Receiver with SSB by Kaito Electronics Inc.
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Digital camera reviews of Kaito Electronics Inc. KA1102BLK Digital AM/FM/SW World Receiver with SSB
Digital camera Review: Excellent radio for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
As you can see, most SWLers rate this radio pretty high!
It's a good radio at a great price.
I think so mush of this radio, I bought two(2), silver and black.
There are better radios, but not for the price.
I like its size, sound, sensitivity, and selectivity.
It works well and its rechargable batteries charge inside the radio. (on or off)
The radio is ssb capable but a little hard to tune in.
If you want small, look at the G6. If you want more bands and perhaps a better radio design, checkout the G3 at about twice the cost and no batteries.
The KA1102 is and excellent radio for the money!
Digital camera Review: Extremely fine portable AM (MW)/FM/SW radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second Kaito portable radio and it is indeed an excellent product as all the other reviewers have pointed out before me. It seems extremely well made and should last a long time if treated with care. The radio is both very small and readily transportable yet the reception is still excellent on all available bands.
I especially like being able to change the AM(MW)/SW narrow/wide (bandwidth) filter setting, the DX/local RF gain switch as well as the news/music (narrow/wide) filter switch in order to improve reception of any desired signal. Using the SSB BFO fine tuner on page 9 is also very easy and straight forward as well. The ability to step tune with very small increments on pages 7-9 is also excellent in my opinion once a signal of interest has been located.
I also really like the highly useful system of storing presets with the ATS system on page 0 and then being able to use the copy command to transfer them to other pages after they have been thoroughly edited into a useful list.
I didn't think that I would like the digital volume controls before I got the KA1102 based on other digital volume controls that I have tried previously, but I have totally changed my mind on this very nice feature. The steps between each setting are sufficiently small that very precise control of the volume levels can be attained, especially when using earphones which is my most common mode of operating this radio. In addition however, since the volume controls are totally digital, the common problem of accidentally turning an analog volume control knob and thus changing the volume level significantly from the last use of the radio is no longer a problem at all. Too many times my ears have suffered from not properly checking an inadvertent change of the analog volume control knob setting on other radios that I have used!
In addition, several people have complained about the poor English Kaito/Degen manual, but if you can't figure something out, just download the Grundig/Eton G5/E5 manual (based on the recent reworking by Grundig of the poor ergonomics of the Kaito KA1103 radio) where all other relevant details are readily explained. Grundig/Eton has recently significantly changed the fine manual that was available online until February 2008, but the new manual is still better than the Kaito manual for providing many explanations for poorly explained features.
The unavailability of the LW bands on this unit is something that should be rectified by Kaitousa (pun intended) at some future date (although I have read that the Kaito KA1103 was introduced to make that specific adjustment/correction among others).
Also a screen version of the signal strength meter (now done using 4 red LEDS, except in FM stereo mode where only three LEDS are used for an indication of the signal strength- see also below) should also be added as well as an indication of the DX/local switch setting as also pointed out by another reviewer.
One additional idea: Kaito should make future editions of this radio so that the internal AM/MW ferrite antenna could be disconnected from the system and replaced through the external antenna jack by either an indoor or an outdoor antenna for even better AM listening (UPDATE- 5/06/2008: This am antenna decoupling has now been done for the Grundig G5 made for Grundig by Degen, the Chinese parent company for all Kaitousa products. The G5 is the updated and more expensive version of the KA1103 with all its odd ergonomic problems corrected including the famous volume control problem). Kaito still offers an antenna that inductively couples to the internal ferrite AM antenna along the top edge of the radio, but that is a clumsy way to get even better AM reception in my opinion since there is no easy way to attach the coupler directly to the radio.
Finally, the choice of listening in the stereo FM mode seems to be presented redundantly (twice) on the KA1102 by the presence of both the 4th small red LED below the LCD screen and by an indication on the LCD screen itself (through the symbol, ST)?
I look forward very much to having the fun of using this radio for the very high quality sounds of music, news and just general shortwave listening from all over the globe for a very long time.
Digital camera Review: Feature rich and outstanding value
Summary: 5 Stars
The feature set is unbelievable. I especially like the coverage, sensitivity, PLL tuning, and ability to receive CW and SSB. I use it to check the ham bands before going to my shack, and as a sniffer for RF noise in my house and the neighborhood. As others have said, READ the manual!Digital camera Review: Fell in love with this little radio within 5 minutes of using it
Summary: 5 Stars
The Kaito KA1102 (Degen DE1102 in Asia) is absolutely fantastic! It certainly lives up to all the positive things reviewers have said about it.
It is as good as my 14 year old Panasonic RF-B45. The Kaito outshines the Panasonic with its 'wide' and 'narrow' bandwidth. The shortwave frequencies match the Panasonic for selectivity, although, perhaps, it's reception is a bit clearer. MW is a bit better overall. In Malaysia however the selection of MW stations is not as numerable as in the US; nevertheless, I was able to pull in a station in Vietnam that I could not get on my Panasonic, plus several Thai, Indonesian and Chinese stations. FM is more selective than the Panasonic as well. Bass and stereo reception may be heard with the earphones on FM.
Some reviewers fault the ergonomics (i.e. paging system), but I find it no more confusing than some 3G cell phones. As for the push button volume control, well, again, it's like so many cell phones; you get used to it. I only find that it's not as loud as the Panasonic, but I suppose after-market speakers could remedy this. The blue backlight and rechargeable batteries are an asset too.
The deciding factor for me over the Kaito KA1103 Worldband Radio/Degen DE1103 was its continuous tuning (3.10-30.00 MHz). The KA1103/DE1103 tunes only international shortwave bands, i.e. 75 meters, 60 meters, 49 meters, 42 meters, 31 meters, 25 meters, 21 meters, 19 meters, 16 meters, 13 meters. With continuous tuning, the KA1102/DE1102 catches stations outside these meter bands.
As for cons, it overloads when an external wire antenna is hooked to the whip aerial, but this may be because it is amplified. When using an internal wire antenna of similar length plugged into the antenna jack there is no overload. With the Panasonic, it does not matter whether it is hooked to the whip or jack.
The radio is about the size of a postcard. Reminds me of the old pocket transitor radios back in the 1960s. It will definitely be a keeper whenever I travel overseas.
As for the price, it's definitely worth it. You get a lot of radio for the buck. I bought mine (Degen DE1102) from China and it was a lot cheaper than what you'll find elsewhere on the web. If you opt for this and you live in the US, you might consider getting a 110 volt power adaptor.
My only hope now is that it gives me as many years of listening pleasure as the Panasonic RF-B45.
POST-SCRIPT (30 March 2007)
Six months on and this little dynamo is still functioning...and I have been pretty aggressive with it. From Malaysia, I have logged shortwave stations from Austria, Canada (CBC), Czech Republic (Radio Prague), Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey (Voice of Turkey), the Netherlands (Radio Nederland), South Africa (SABC) Sweden (Radio Sweden), North Korea (Radio Pyongyang) and South Korea (KBS), New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International), Iraq (Kurdish speaking station), Voice of Africa (Libya), Iran and Taiwan -- all rather difficult to receive at times. Of course, BBC, Voice of Russia, China Radio International, NHK, Deutsche Welle, Radio Australia, Radio Thailand, Radio Indonesia, Voice of Vietnam, Radio Singapore, All India Radio are flame throwers in this part of the world. The single greatest asset of this radio remains its wide/narrow filter; it does a superb job of reducing powerful stations next to weaker ones. This portable SW PPL radio is still No. 1 in my book!!!
POST-SCRIPT (20 March 2008)
This little dynamo is still active and pulling in stations all over the world. Still the best buy around!
POST-SCRIPT (11 APRIL 2009)
The radio is still functioning and pulling in amazing signals. Just a few weeks ago I logged Spanish National Radio, Madrid, Spain. Still one of the best portable shortwave radios in its class.
POST-SCRIPT (19 FEBRUARY 2010)
The radio is still working and pulling in some rather exotic stations in this part of the world (Malaysia). In the past few weeks I have logged the Voice of Mongolia, Radio Bulgaria, Radio Tirana (Albania), Radio DMR Pridnestrovye (Moldova), Radio Romania International and Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Everything is functioning, even the batteries still hold a good charge for hours. It remains an excellent buy for anyone interested in the hobby of short-wave listening.
Digital camera Review: Good but not perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a nice little world radio, but it is not perfect. Sound quality on AM/SW is pretty poor. Sound quality on FM is fine. I get a motorboating sound on 800 khz when the backlight comes on and on 790 khz when it is off. This is very annoying. I have only used it on AM and it seems pretty sensitive, but not very selective close to local channels. Battery life is only about 4 hours, but I guess that is acceptable. Despite its problems, I really like this little receiver and think it is worth the price.