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Reviews For: Degen DE1103

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Degen DE1103
Reviews: 74MSRP: 54.90
Description:
A world band radio: 100-29000 KHz AM + SSB + stereo FM. Two IF bandwidths.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00744.5
W9EY Rating: 2007-07-16
Excellent Portable Shortwave Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Needed a replacement for my 20+ year old Sony ICF 7600D (not repairable)for SWLing and HF monitoring while traveling.
First, the playing field has changed since the last time I shopped for a SW portable -- new Chinese entries in the running now. At first I was skeptical of the Degen/Kaito 1103 - read many reviews here and elsewhere (Monitoring Times etc)then purchased on ebay through vendor liypn (who I recommend).

Overall take
Pros:
*Like the combo digital and faux analog dial
*Excellent HF reception for a portable
*Stable for SSB. Can copy CW FB.
*Size is small and compact.
*Design is neat and clean.
*Direct frequency entry excellent.
*Uses only 4 AA batteries for portable.
*Radio comes with rechargables, a small case, antenna and earbuds and wall wart. Overall excellent value.
*Backlit analog dial is very cool. Great for night listening. Excellent visual reference for which band you are on. (80/75, 40 and 20 Meters ham bands are covered as part of SW bands - easy to jump from band to band).
*Sensitivity and selectivity are very good to excellent(subjective, non technical assessment) but seems just as good or better in many ways than my old ICF 7600D.
*Excellent 1 kc tuning on SW bands and MW.
*No "chuffing" like my old Sony. Very tunable. Reminds me of the tuning around on an old analog RX.
*Kiwa mods available for the Degen/Kaito 1103.

Cons:
*Physical build level solid, but not as solid as my 20 year-old Sony was. Type of antenna used dosen't seem as solid.
*No sync detector like newest Sony offering, (to me this feature not worth paying for though). Sync detector "nice to have" but not a "need to have".

Other:
*Ergonomics, Volume Control and Tuning. Some have said this is a "counterintuitive radio" because of some of the unorthodox controls. No problem here. I have found it very comfortable to tune and adjust volume especially when holding in two hands. Enjoyable to tune and adjust volume.
*Shipping from China is no big deal. 8 days total to the midwest (Chicago).

Overall I am very impressed with this SW Portable and recommend.
VK2DNL Rating: 2006-12-10
Great Performer Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Got the radio from TQchina arived in ten days.
Ergonomics ifound to be good,heard vk1s,2s, 4s, 7s,
zls on telescopic antenna. Hooked up suplied wire antenna to a tree and signals boomed in.
also radio staions from europe asia and USA.
Medium wave and FM reception is also outstanding.
out performs all others I have tried
vk2dnl
KG5PT Rating: 2006-09-10
QC, interface bugs keep a 'good' radio from being 'great' Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The SSB detector died 2 weeks after the radio arrived - Warranty doesn't cover shipping costs to PRC factory and back again, so it's not worth fixing...

The built-in battery charger is primative (works on timer, rather than actual state of charge) - Battery life is short enough to be objectionable with primary cells, but less of a concern with the included rechargeables.

The user interface is beyond "strange", bordering on "retarded"...Hexadecimal memory channel display???!!! WTF????!!! This is a shame, because all the hardware is in place to make a very user-friendly radio.

Sound quality is nice on the FM band, but slightly distorted on BC and SW bands (in both bandwidth positions). The AM ferrite bar antenna does a very good job of nulling out impluse-type electrical noise. The SW bands have good sensitivity, selectivity and stability for a radio in this price class.

The orange LED backlighting is handy, although some of the buttons aren't illuminated enough to distinguish their functions in the dark. The "slide rule" band display is more of a gimmick than a useful feature, IMO - Occupies a lot of space that could have been used for things like alpha-numeric station tags, separate battery state-of-charge display, dual GMT and local time displays - heck, maybe even a spectrum "band activity" scope!

BOTTOM LINE: Nice radio for the price, but only because the price is so nice.
KF6GOM Rating: 2006-08-13
Great Bang for the Buck Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
bought on EBay and been using it for 2 weeks, Its a neat radio for the backyard or Camping in the outdoors.Its receive is 5 Stars it blows my Yaesu 817
HF Radio on receive on 20M,40M and Shortwave.This is a keeper will order one more to have,Great for new listner to SWL or Hamradio.SSB on radio Works.It includes 4 AA rechargeables and external antenna wire with Headphones.was about$55.00 total price shipped fron China.
N2WJW Rating: 2006-08-13
Great radio for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got one of these when it first came out and I was impressed, never expected this kind of performance for the money, its everything the reviews claim, liked it so much I went and purchased a second one and both been working great since. Good AM reception and has two wide and narrow filters, also SSB with fine tuning, battery life on this radio is very good.
Overall a great little package for the money.
VA1PPG Rating: 2006-07-10
Move over Sony Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I wanted to purchase a compact SW and HF receiver for traveling and around the house. I have tried the various radio shack DX models which are OK but are lacking in some critical features, like SSB reception and more acute sensitivity. Though, not perfect this little gem comes so close one can't tell the difference.For a portable, it is unrivalled in sensitivity and selectivity. The control menu is simple and staright-forward and for a unit as small as this the audio is outstanding. As with all these PLL receivers there is some intermod and it is very sensitive to any sort of interference be it from lighting, computers or any of the common household gizmos we can probably do without.

The SSB feature is somewhat "chintzy" but after getting used to it works quite well. I am able to receive European HAM signals quite well with just the collapsible antenna. A regular dipole or long wire seems to overload the front-end.

All in all for $69 the Degen 103 compares favourably to any of the SONY portables i have owned. Why pay more. Give your YL one for her Birthday. The FM is great.
K1XT Rating: 2006-06-21
Best bang for the buck SW Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had my 1103 for about a year and it travels with me everywhere. For less than $100 it's very hard to beat what you get. It does a fine job on AM, FM, SW, and SSB. I really don't find it to be that finicky on SSB as others do. I can sit here and listen to 20 meters on the whip antenna at my QTH in St. Louis and hear Europeans coming through. Not only do you get a nice little radio, but it comes with four nicads, wall charger, 50 feet of antenna wire, ear buds, and a cloth case. Also because of the low price, I'm more willing to take it traveling not having to worry about leaving it somewhere or getting it stolen as I only paid $80 total with shipping.
WD4HLO Rating: 2006-06-21
Great Little Receiver/Excellent Value Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I got my Degen 1103 about three months ago. It was advertised on Ebay for $44.95 plus $14.95 for the active antenna. Too good a bargain to pass up. I have found it very good on CW, SSB is ok, but for this price the fact that I can copy it at all is a wonder. I have found the DE 31 active antenna to be very good. Its tuning is very sharp, but it makes a big difference in the received signal. With the active antenna engaged the 1103 is very close in received signals to my OHR 500, but not up to by Kenwood 520S. I have had a ball sitting on park benches copying CW while my wife shops. My only real reservation is with the background noise. Not quiet like the 520s or the tube receivers I usually use. Broadcast band and FM reception is outstanding. I play it through a set of JBL computer speakers and it sounds like a Big Time stereo rig. Wish I knew how to mute it so that I could try it out with a QRP transmitter.
Regards,
Sid/WD4HLO
K1RRR Rating: 2006-06-17
One of best portables built Time Owned: more than 12 months.
There are very few portables that come close to this radio's performance at any cost. I question the rating 1 out of 5 by the last reviewer and the quality of the review as no specific negatives were explained. Out of 28 very positive reviews this is the only 1 given. Maybe your radio is defective as my antenna and keyboard work fine. I have over 30 portables and with the stock antenna this radio will hold its own with the best. This radio was equal to my SONY SW-07 which I sold in favor of the 1103. The new Eton E5 is close BUT it costs 3 times what I paid for my 1103.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by K1RRR on 2004-08-28

This radio BY FAR out performs ANY portable I have ever used using the existing whip antenna. It is like there is a pre-amp built in. No Grundig, Sony, Sangean, Kaito comes even close to the receiver sensitivity and selectivity as compared to this radio. Tried a long wire BUT really did not improve reception at all. Dynamite radio for $65. Order from China via the internenet for $65. took 1 week to get delivered.

KITKAT Rating: 2006-06-15
Great Reception but a nightmare to use Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a very strong radio that does a fine job but it is anything but user friendly. The buttons have dual roles to play so get ready to learn the Degen way. It also like the other Degens sports a very lousy antenna that must be handled like a new born baby. You should read the Degen groups to get the complete picture about the radio because there have been problems with them. If Degen can correct there key pad and antennas then they will have a perfect radio.