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| Reviews Summary for Kaito KA1102 |
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Reviews: 24
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $99.00
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Description: This high quality world receiver is made in the best radio factory in Asia and it receives all the stations in shortwave spectrums , plus side bands, SSB.
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More info: http://www.kaitousa.com/KA1102.htm
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CATONI52
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Rating: 5/5
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May 5, 2009 20:37
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Great Little Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have a collection of radios, including the Sony ICF 7600D, the great Panasonic RF2200, and others, like my Eton E5, E100, and Grundig G6 Aviator. I'm happy with them all. My Kaito KA1102 is a favorite. One problem these days is spotty Quality control, and rushed people on the assembly line not having enough time to properly fine tune the radios. I go into the store and ask to try three of the same radio with fresh batteries and compare them, and then buy the best one. The salesman will even go outside with me to try them side by side away from the store. He doesn't mind as long as he makes a sale. One is almost always a bit better then the others. And one might be bad.
This is what I do before making a purchase.. I always get a good one that way. My KA1102 is a great little radio.
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KATZRADIO
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Rating: 2/5
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Apr 22, 2009 18:48
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Disappointing
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Well, where do I start...maybe I got a bad one...
The radio has a bit of "drift" on AM & SW. SSB never has worked properly, I could never receive anything more than noise on that. Way too complicated with the bank/memory system. Digital volume control is not good at all.
The radio had an issue with the MW button, where it stayed depressed after pushing it. I contacted Kaito, went through a less than favorable customer service situation, & in the end did not get the radio repaired.
Would definantly not buy this one again. I am saving up for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR. Had a chance to try one of those out, & was definantly impressed!
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KC2IGY
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 30, 2008 20:48
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A mini-portable that actually works well
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Since the features of the radio have been covered already by the other reviews, I'll just review the performance real quick. I've owned countless SW radio over the years, and never had a mini-portable that worked well. Until now. The KA1102 simply works very well. Will it replace my Sony 2010? No, of course not. But I will be taking my KA1102 with me when I need a small portable. SW reception is surprisingly very good. The narrow filter is better than on radios I own costing 3 times as much. Even when the bands are crowded, the narrow filter allows me to listen to stations 5kHz apart. Amazing on a radio costing $75. The only slight negatives are: MW performance is average, and the radio's functions take a little time to get used to. ..This radio will be one of my "keepers"
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KU2US
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 10, 2008 13:19
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FANTASTIC LITTLE PACKAGE
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I needed a small portable for when I travel for work. I read the reviews on Eham of the Kaito 1102 and the 1103. I decided to go with the 1102 because of the digital frequency read-out. I set it up at home and used a 40' long wire strung up outside in my trees. WOW!! Granted, its not an Icom or a Kenwood, but this little baby can sure pull in the stations. I logged Radio Kwait, Germany, Cuba and Rawanda shortwave. All this at 3PM eastern on the East coast. Tried FM-Fantastic sound. MW AM this radio is rock solid and picked up many AM stations DX to me. To use this radio to its fullest, AN EXTERNAL OUTSIDE WIRE ANTENNA AND A PAIR OF EARPHONES-A MUST. The best $79.99 I ever spent on a radio from Radios4you on Ebay. Its small, powerfull, sensitive and selective-Buy one, you wont regret it!
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KB2NAT
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 1, 2008 17:16
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Update On My Last Review
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After spending some time on the AM band, I noticed a phenomenom called "motorboating"--a burring sound that initially started when the tuning light turned off on the higher freqs. I went to 540kc where there was no noise and then went back up to the high end of the band where I first heard the noise. This time it was back, but only when the light WAS on; it shut off when the light did. Everytime I tuned to 1630 the process would start again. I reset it with no change. I bought this from Universal Radio just in case there was a problem and I recommend them highly for their support. They replaced the unit within 7 working days from my call. Interestingly, my new unit actually performs significantly better on FM. Thanks, Universal.
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WS2I
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 30, 2007 10:45
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Outstanding value
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I don't need to restate the praise in the other reviews, I just want to provide one more well-deserved vote. Outstanding value. $70 on Amazon.
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KB0HAE
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 21, 2007 17:18
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Great little radio for the price!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I can't add much to the great reviews others have given here. I really like this little radio! It outperforms the Grundig YB400PE
(not that the Grundig YB400PE is a bad radio at all...check out my review of it). I like the combination of the black radio and blue backlighting. I also like that the buttons are lit. I had read through parts of the manual before my radio arrived, so operating it was not a problem at all. I have to admit that I didn't realize that the sleep timer comes on when you turn the radio on until I re-read some of the reviews here. Guess I have yet to have the radio on continiously for more than 99 minutes
The Kaito KA 1102 is an EXCELLENT small portable receiver! As was pointed out by others, it will not perform like a more expensive tabletop radio. I feel that the Kaito KA 1102 is quite possibly the best buy in its price/size class! If you want a small portable radio that performs well, this one will not disapoint you!
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N5KNG
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Rating: 5/5
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May 20, 2007 09:05
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Another example of great things that come in small packages!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got the radio, used for $30. I did lots of research on all kinds of radios, wondering if I should get the Kaito 1103, or maybe even go for an Icom R-75 (since I own a non-pro Icom-756). I thought I'd miss the band-pass tuning, and filters, etc.
Well, in side by side tests, the 1102 is about as sensitive as the 756 without any preamps turned on - which is pretty good. Especially considering the 756 is hooked up to a decent vertical and ground, while the 1102 was only using an indoor wire antenna about 12 feet long. If I get out of my electrically noisy office environment, I can easily tune in various SSB nets, AM ragchews, and CW. It also receives regular broadcast AM and FM. I even found a DX pileup once, and it was amazing how I could actually hear quite a few of the separate calls to be recognized each time the operator asked for a new contact. So, for $30, or even $100, you just can't beat it.
So, what would I want to change? Well, it would be nice to have a bandpass control just to get a little clearer signal sometimes, since it does receive lots of stuff! Or maybe just a third, more narrow filter to home in on CW and SSB. I never tried it with a really good antenna, so I didn't get much DX, but there was plenty all over the US. And on Saturday/Sunday mornings, when the atmospheric noise was down, it was really quite a pleasure just to listen. I should mention that a cheap pair of 8 ohm headphones improves the audio fidelity quite a bit. Trying to listen to SSB conversations with the built in speaker is not much fun. On the FM band, headphone fidelity is amazing.
I felt myself getting somewhat disappointed with trying to listen to SSB a couple of evenings with lots of static crashes and fading. But then, lo and behold, the hams I was listening to were complaining about how bad conditions were - even with their fancy equipment. Often, I could hear both of them just fine, even though they were having trouble hearing each other! I think that says a lot.
I should also mention that if you read the manual, and understand a bit about the radio (e.g., that SSB works on memory page 9) before you use it, then actual use is pretty simple. I had no problems at all. I wondered whether I would miss the tuning knob control (that the Kaito 1103 has, for example), but found the scanning buttons work fine. Also, contrary to some others commenting here about the need for a volume control "knob" - that was simply not an issue. The up/down volume keys work just fine.
The radio itself is about the size of a medium-size paperback book, and it would be very easy to take on a trip. It really makes me start thinking about building a tiny AM or DSB transmitter to turn it into a QRP station. If I was into CW, I would definitely give that a try. A simple audio filter, comined with a QRP transmitter, could turn this into a really nifty CW QRP station! If anyone does this, email me - I'd really like to hear about it. Maybe eham.net could have a contest in this area ...
So, if you are thinking about getting one, just go ahead and do it. You won't regret it. And even if you do, you can probably sell it for pretty close to what you paid to someone like me!
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N4CQR
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 29, 2007 14:10
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Excellent Price Performance Ratio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have owned this little radio for several months and I have nothing but positive comments about it. Actually the radio IS NOT difficult to opperate, if you read the manual closely. Also drift on SSB is not that big of an issue. Especially considering some some of the junk that is on the air. No is it not a 2010, SW77 or one of the Panasonics. But it don't cost $500.00 - $700.00 on ebay either. Considering what you get with it, rechargable batterys, earphones, charger and nice little case, is it a steal.
Would I buy again? Absolutely....
Craig
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KT4WO
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 26, 2007 19:35
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Good Value
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Its not my Kenwood TS-450SAT... but for 80 bucks,,
it works very nice.. have it beside the bed for nighttime listening and works well.
Would buy it again!
KT4WO
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