Customer Reviews

Kaito Electronics Inc. KA1102BLK Digital AM/FM/SW World Receiver with SSB

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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...

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.

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 <= 10 microvolts
MW <= 1 mv/m
SW <= 20 microvolts

SW selection
wide band >= 20 dB
narrow band >= 80 dB

I have been trying to find a good pocket sized radio for a while and finally found a gem. I first tried a pocket sized Grundig Traveller VII, but it had poor sound quality and substandard AM reception. After much research, I discovered the Kaito KA1102. It has much better AM reception, and the audio quality is much better than my Grundig Traveller VII. The Kaito KA1102 also fits in all of my shirt pockets. Some of my smaller shirt pockets are a tight fit, but it does fit in them all, and that is what would have been a deal breaker. I also love how it can recharge the batteries without removing them. If you turn on the KA1102 backlight and then plug in the AC adapter, the blue backlight stays on. The buttons have backlighting too which is nice. The KA1102 also has a news/music switch that alters the sound quality to your liking. The KA1102 is a bit complicated to use, but the manual is pretty good at explaining it. I looked at the other Kaito radios and the KA1101 is slightly smaller, but it does not have as many features such as SSB, and does not have the sexy blue backlighting. The KA1103 is too big to fit in most shirt pockets, so the KA1102 is about as large and feature rich as it gets in the pocket category.

To put things in perspective, I also have a big fullrange Grundig S350 which is excellent in almost every aspect. The Kaito KA1102 is not a pocket sized Grundig S350. Of course, it would be ridiculous to expect the KA1102 to perform like a large 5 pounder. However, the Kaito KA1102 is a pocket sized feature rich radio that is much better than the other pocket sized radios that I have tried. It has very good reception, clear sounding audio, lots of great features, and is value priced. This balance is what makes it so great.

The Kaito/Degen 1102 is a fantastic bargain. I paid less than $50.00 for mine and I listen to it all the time. Its many features allow for a wide range of listening options, including all shortwave bands, AM/FM (with excellent performance on both the MW and FM bands) and it has an SSB function which is quite easy to tune and very stable. However, unlike the review above, please note that this radio does *NOT* have synchronous detection.

I have owned many shortwave portables and a couple of tabletop radios in my life, and I must admit that I've never gotten such an excellent radio for such a low price as the DE/KA-1102. Order one; you won't be sorry.

When this radio arrived in the mail my heart sank. I thought it couldn't possibly satisfy my desires for good quality radio reception. It was too too small.
But then I turned it on and ran it through its paces. I was astonished! How could such a small receiver do so much so well - and cost so little?
Okay, the speaker is too small to give really good FM sound quality even with amplified bass; but its not bad and the sound quality is really good with the provided earbud headphones - even better with my Koss PRO4AA Titanium headphones.
With the included external antenna I immediately pulled in Australia, Japan, China, and many Latin American stations. This was from my downstairs apartment in the Rogue Valley, Southern Oregon.
It takes a little study to learn all the functions, but it is well worth the effort.
This little radio is real high quality. Buy it and you will never want to part with it.

Well, I remember listening to shortwave radio while growing up in Eastern Europe in the early 80's and felt a little nostalgic about it, so I asked Santa to bring me one for Christmas...Well, apparently I've been a good boy as I did find Kaito Ka1102 under the Christmas tree. Initially, in my letter to Santa i mentioned that there were several good shortwave portables including Sony 7600GR, Grundig YB 400, and Kaito 1102/1103. I must admit that Santa made an excellent choice as this radio is great. At first I was amazed at the small size (a bit smaller than the post card), and was concerned about the sounds quality, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the local Fm stations sounded with bass enabled. Other things that I like about this radio:
-backlight, lights the LCD screen including all the buttons and controls. Very handy feature if you like to listen at night (Sony 7600GR has a backlight but only for the LCD screen0.
-good quality radio, at least feels very sturdy and well built. Buttons have a nice click to it, they feel comfortable, and are just the right size.
-great sound, even better with headphones.
-built in charger will re-charge your batteries while the radio is off, but plugged in to AC adapter.
-signal strength indicator
-frequency can be manually entered or scanned using two +/- scan buttons
-comes with 3 rechargable batteries, AC adapter, travel case, external antenna, earphones.
-pretty good shortwave reception (I live in the San Joaquin valley)I am able to pull in Family radio (FL), Radio Taiwan, Voice of Russia, and some other stations from China and Japan. Too bad Radio Free Europe is not broadcasting anymore ;-)

I noticed that one of the previous reviews stated that you had to read the manual...This seemed kinda silly as in order to fully understand how the radio works and to fully appreciate its functionality you should read the manual, at least once. Also, the "page" system that this radio uses works very well. You can scan AM/FM/SW on pages 1-6 and you can save any preset. Scanning works in 10mhz on pages 1-6, and it works in 1 mhz increments on pages 7,8, and 9. SSB can only be used while on page 9....That's pretty much it.

Im very happy with it and if you are looking for a nice portable shortwave radio I would personally recommend this one. A definite winner at less than $70.00!

This is it! Performance of this little gem is outstanding! No other radio that I know of at this price will receive single side band signals (most "hams" use this mode).
The 1102 has a wide/narrow bandwidth switch, with well chosen bandwidths, allows fine tuning of AM in 1Khz steps and FM in 10 Khz steps, provides an indication of signal strength, and outputs STEREO to earphones in FM.
Sound quality is decent (for its size) through the built in speaker, with a "music/news" switch provided to shape the audio response for best results. A "bass boost" function is also provided, but it only works on FM...odd.
Alarm and Sleep functions are provided, and the display has a pleasing blue backlight, that is not activated in a bright ambient (to save batteries).
Speaking of batteries, a set of three NiMH rechargeable cells is included!
On the downside, the 1102 is NOT an easy device to operate, and the instruction manual is NOT well written/translated. Some of the functions (such as SSB or fine tuning) are activated by selecting certain "pages" of station memory. If you are willing to spend a bit of extra time reading the manual while experimenting with the functions of the various controls, you will be happy with the results!