- AM/FM/SW/Single Side Band Receiver
- Dual conversion technology, wide/narrow AM filter
- Four tuning methods: direct, manual, scan and preset
- Built-in alarm clock + Sleep timer
- 1 Year Warranty
Built in a factory in China famous for its radio electronics, the Kaito 1102 has become a beloved radio among techies and radiophiles alike for many reasons. Open it out of the box and you'll notice it's tiny, smaller than a thin-sliced sandwich. Its silver, modern exterior looks as updated as any new Sony or Sangean or Grundig. Then place it against its competition, the Sangean 505 (about 20 dollars more), the Sony ICF SW35 (about the same price) and you'll notice that the Kaito beats the other two for different reasons. First, the Kaito and the Sony 35 have similar, strong reception, on both AM and FM, but the Kaito wins because it has a vastly far superior speaker, crystal clear and capable of good sound for this type of radio. The Kaito and the Sangean 505 have similar good speakers but the Kaito has better reception, especially on AM. My only complaint about the Kaito is the owner's manual which has five different ways of showing you how to use the presets and the "pages," and only one of those instructions (I found out two hours and much trial and error later) is accurate. You must press the M/Lock key to activate your preset option and for some reason the manual only makes this vaguely clear in one of its instructions. But if you don't mind fiddling with the controls and scouring the manual with a patient eye, you'll find yourself in possession of a gem and discover why so many techies consider the Kaito 1102 a real buried treasure that stands up to the far more expensive Sony 7600 and Sangean 909.
Post Script: In the ensuing months I've bought the lesser priced Kaito 1101, almost identical to the Kaito 1102, and have found that the 1101 gets even better FM sensitivity. Many have expressed the same experience with the Kaito 1101. Thus I must conclude that for a PLL synthesized portable radio with presets, the Kaito 1101, which cost me thirty dollars less than the Kaito 1102, is the king of digital portable radios.
Update: In spite of its awkward ergonomics, which include two-step preset choice and strange push-button volume control, the Kaito 1103 amazingly gets even better reception than the 1101. The 1102 is last of the three but has the best ergonomics.
Buy Kaito KA1102 AM/FM Shortewave Radio with SSB, Color Silver Now
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.
Read Best Reviews of Kaito KA1102 AM/FM Shortewave Radio with SSB, Color Silver Here
Being a novice at shortwave listener, I really shopped around to find the biggest *bang* for my dollar. Having experienced shortwave first with an old Zenith Transoceanic (which still sits in my livingroom), and then with a mid-80's Unitech, this purchase went above and beyond my expectations...
Despite the cheapness the photo might imply, this is a solid piece of technology...it certainly looks sharper when it's in your hands... Though it's much smaller than I thought it would be, it definately lives up to the hype. Within minutes of installing the batteries, I was receiving Radio Beijing with astounding clarity.
I primarily purchased this radio to listen to at home, but because of it's portability, I take it to work every night...although I work in a pretty high radio interference call center, my AM reception is dimished, but I still get all the major local broadcasters...the FM is absolutely solid (when many of my co-workers can only receive one or two FM signals on their cheap AM/FM/CD players, I can recieve all the channels, and because this unit goes all the way down to 70.0 FM, I get a handful of TV channels also...)
At home, AM/FM reception is stellar...in the evening hours I switch to the shortwave and I can pull in MANY major broadcasters...I've been able to pull in stations as far away as Italy, and India...
Although sound through the speaker is weak, it is acceptible...through the headphones it ROCKS (though not as loud as I would like), and at home, I use the "line-out" jacks to connect to my amplifier..the tuner on this unit is precise...with it's ability to pull in weak channels make it more valuable than my Kenwood receiver...I have yet to find anything on SSB to listen too, but given the reception I've received thus far, I doubt I'll be disappointed...
I would certainly recommend this receiver to anyone who is curious about Shortwave radio, and would like something that's portable. **Also, the rechargeable batteries are a SUPERBIG plus...this radio will actually recharge the batteries! A really big incentive if portability is your thing....
The only detractor I can find is that the manual that came with the radio is a bit hard to understand, and not very clear...but I've had the radio for a week now, and many of the functions are intuative, and became clearer to me with regular use...At this point I don't refer to the manual at all...
Want Kaito KA1102 AM/FM Shortewave Radio with SSB, Color Silver Discount?
I like this radio. The sensitivity is terrific. I compared it with my Sangean ATS 909 and Icom R71A. It was much better than my Sangean and almost as good as the Icom in sensitivity. It's about half the size of the Sangean and with no protruding controls to break off. A really solid feel to the case. There are some operational features that are at first odd, one page only where you can activate SSB e.g., some pages that support auto scan and others that don't. But You quickly sort out the pages the way you want, store your frequencies how you want. The built in charger and the backlite are neat too. Really an outstanding radio.
Save 35% Off
The KA1102 is my first shortwave radio and I am definitely satisfied. I read several reviews before purchasing, so I became familiar with the user interface quirks (e.g. page 9 has to be used for single sideband).
Positives:
* Great feature set for the price
* Includes a wire antenna, which I hang outside to improve reception
* Easy tuning via scanning, stepping, or direct frequency entry
* Nice blue backlight (although it could have better coverage)
* Very brief muting when changing frequencies (other radios mute for up to a second)
Negatives:
* By default, pressing the on button will keep the radio on for 60 minutes (aka sleep mode). This definitely seems useful when operating on batteries, but I mostly use AC power.
* Frequencies can change when switching pages (e.g. from page 1 to 9), even though I just want to activate SSB on the current frequency
* I forget what position the dx/local switch is in, and may be scanning but not picking up signals because the switch was set to local. If dx/local was shown on the LCD, perhaps I wouldn't forget about the setting.
* The use of english in the user manual could be improved.
* Delicate plastic flip stand (I'm planning to get a slanted stand to put it on)
* Warbled sound when using SSB (my SW7600GR doesn't experience this)
Sync detect might make this a better radio, although that usually only appears on more expensive models. It would be nice if this radio included longwave (just to satisfy my curiosity). For anyone seeking a portable or entry-level shortwave radio, I would recommend the KA1102.
Update: Here are additional specs that appear in the manual:
Noise limit sensitivity
FM
