- Dual conversion technology + wide/narrow AM filter + 50 memories
- Four tuning methods: direct, manual, scan and preset
- Built-in automatic battery charger, alarm clock and sleep timer
- Compact design, ideal for travelling
- 1-year USA limited warranty
PROS:
1) Comes with rechargeable batteries, velcro-sealed slip case, earbuds, long antenna wire, adapter/charger and very readable manual (which fits nicely inside of the supplied slip case!). Batteries are designed to be easily recharged inside the radio.
2) Excellent weak signal reception on ALL bands including Low frequency FM or FML (starting at 70 MHz). It really performs very well!
3) Excellent bandwidth choice for the Wide/narrow switch on the keyboard on AM (MW) and SW and a separate FM, FML tone switch (labeled as Music/news on the right hand side of the radio), a Mono/Stereo switch on the keyboard as well as a Local/DX switch on the left hand side of the radio.
4) Lock switch and external antenna jack.
5) Back light controlled by available ambient lighting with an on-board light sensor system.
6) Numerous tuning methods available.
7) Very high quality and very readable display with numerous icons for charging, battery life, Mono/stereo settings, wide/narrow filter setting, etc.
8) Very long battery life.
9) Simple direct system for changing the 5 individual bands in direct order only (no reversing of the band change direction is possible).
10) Finally, it has a nice and very easy to use reset button on the front panel just in case the system acts irregularly (which I have not observed at all).
CONS: These are all very small and of no great significance whatsoever!
1) Tuning is limited to only the up/down slewing keys with only a 5 KHz frequency step which is relatively coarse, but usually sufficient given its bandwidth (Wide/Narrow) capabilities.
2) Only a total of 50 presets are available (10 on each of the 5 bands), however they are extremely easy and very intuitive to set and recall.
3) Smallish speaker (after all, I wanted the radio to be small and portable so this has to be the case!).
4) No signal strength meter available on-screen or otherwise.
5) It uses 3 AA batteries instead of a pair of batteries. Also, when rechargeable AA's are used, the full battery charge will not register on the screen (only 3 of 4 of the battery indicator icons are visible under these conditions).
Buy Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black Now
After reviewing many radios, I decided because of its price to go with the Kaito. When I received the radio I tried to charge the batteriesone battery refused to charge in a powerex charger. I tried a refresh with no luck. I replaced this battery with a Panasonic that was fully charged. As I opened the battery compartment lid, it fell off. I used tape to hold it on. I could not stand the moth ball smell of the nicely designed case so I threw it away.Performance is poor. I live in a fringe area and did not expect miracles, but this radio does not come close to pulling in stations that were a breeze with the CC Radio. The DX switch is a joke-it is there for cosmetics. It did nothing! Shortwave is a silkscreen label-not a fact.Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black
Ergonomics: The buttons are poorly designed. The on-off switch is flush
with the case and almost impossible to activate by touch.
The volume potentiometer is located on the side of the case where it can be moved accidentally.
It is low cost and that says it all. I will stick to Grundig and Sanjean.
Read Best Reviews of Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black Here
Pretty darned good radio for the size and price. I bought this one after much consideration for travel.It has everything I need and seems to pull in harder stations with ease. Turning off the sleep timer is a
bit of an annoyance and it would be nice to have the option to turn the backlite on.
Want Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black Discount?
I bought the Kaito KA1101 and it was stolen before I could review it. I had it just long enough to know that I had to repurchase it. I bought it from Electronnix through Amazon for $49.95 and free shipping.Our minivan was totaled while visiting relatives in Indianapolis and then eight days later, while completing our trip in a rental, our car was robbed in Columbus, OH and the radio lost along with my Kaito KA321 and Kaito Voyager V1 (also reviewed).
This is a good radio, excellent for the price! The AM has a "wide/narrow" filter that allows the user to separate one station from another near above or below. Example: 760 WJR Detroit from 780 WBBM Chicago can be listened to without interference using "narrow" setting from where we were staying in Indianapolis. This filter works on AM and SW stations.
This radio has been available from a long while and has always had great reviews for its sensitivity (good solid reception). It comes complete with NiMH batteries, built in charge, AC adapter, earphones that actually sound good (wish could buy them separately), case, long wire antenna and manual. The speaker sounds great for a portable.
SW is divided in two bands and I have no trouble receiving English broadcasts of CRI China for a different view of world news. Amazingly CRI broadcast US sports scores. May broadcasters still use shortwave and times and where to listen can be found on the internet.
FM stereo is excellent through the included headphones and better reception than my home AM/FM receiver.
This review is based on two KA1101's since I didn't have time to review before my first was stolen. I still have to replace my other radios. The Kaito KA 1101 is a very good radio and Electonnix via Amazon shipped quickly at an excellent price.
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Works very well. Sensitivity and selectivity above average. Good quality. AM and FM also seem to be above average for this price range of shortwave receiver.
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