| ADAMOFWARMFIELD |
Rating:      |
2006-06-06 | |
| Best FM reception of any radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I was looking for the portable radio with the best FM reception available, and after doing some Googling and research and reading some of the rave reviews of this radio (along with its twin, the Kaito KA1103), I was expecting something pretty good. However, even after all of that I was unprepared for just how truly outstanding this radio is on FM. I am a full-time ebay trader, one of whose product lines is used communications receivers and scanners. Every time I get a radio I have not had before, I test it on FM and SW against my old and trusty National Panasonic DR28, which has one of the best FM reception capabilities available, and is very good on SW. I have tested some pretty fancy pieces of kit costing several hundred Dollars, and some of these radios come close on FM and match the National Panasonic on SW, but nothing has beaten it until I received my Degen DE1103. It is nothing short of the best portable available today, best for AM, SW and streets ahead on FM. By that, I don't mean the best for the money, I mean the best PERIOD. If you're looking for the best FM performer, you've found it. |
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| BR549-02 |
Rating:      |
2006-03-09 | |
| best portable out right now! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I had to give it a 5, but if I could, I would have given it a 4.8 or 4.9, but there is no true 5 radio out there.
here's the deal: I searched and researched and researched again when I replaced my old radio shack (sangean.) Because of the bells and whistles, I decided against the de1103 in favor of the Sangean ATS-909.
After being sorely underwhelmed with the 909, I went ahead and bought the de1103. It blew the 909 away, no contest. Long story short, I had no need for the 909, sold it and put my $200 back in the bank.
IF you are in the market for a portable, don't go through what I did, just learn the lesson I learned and buy the 1103 and be happy you bought the best portable currently in production. NOT the best for the money, just simply the best. |
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| W3KBS |
Rating:      |
2006-01-06 | |
| Nice radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just got my Degen 1103. I bought off ebay for 64.00 dollars after hearing several hams in the Philadelphia area talking about it. I was in the market for a small radio that I could take on jobs with me when I work inside or out of homes.
I put the four batteries in it and turned it on. To say the least it is a very sensitive radio with really "GREAT" audio. In the Phila area I can hear am broadcast stations almost 200 miles away during the day. My wife and I listen to it in the evening and enjoy hearing am stations in Canada and upstate New York. It's a fun set and for the price does alot more than I expected.
Thanks for reading my review and 73's from Wayne, Pa. |
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| K9JCS |
Rating:      |
2005-12-13 | |
| Lots of Bang for Little Bucks |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Nice little radio. Hampered by lack of instructions. Afterr googling around for a while I found a link for the manual at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OCEFY/104-3677045-4564745?v=glance&n=172282.
I've only used the FM so far but I think the sound is pretty good from the radio speaker. I look forward to trying HF BC.
/s/
Jim
K9JCS |
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| KD5RDY |
Rating:     |
2005-11-30 | |
| de1103 vs sw7600gr |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have both the DE1103 and the 7600gr. For the past week I have
compared them against my tabletop unit, a Kenwood R-1000. The antenna
selection included a 50 foot outdoor random wire, a sony windup 10
footer, and the degen DE-31 active loop. Listening times varied from
morning, midday and night.
Let me say first that I am pretty suprised with the de1103. For a radio
costing $50, it really is a bargin. The radio feels solid and compact.
Also, I love the anolog look of the LCD. I read the reviews from
Passport, and they panned the de1103's layout. But of late, I've lost
respect for that publication. I have NEVER found their "whats on
tonite" section to have accuate freqs! And their review are somewhat
bias.
Things I like about DE1103
1. small size
2. good speaker sound
3. tuning wheel
4.backlight on controls
5.sensitive
6.SSB
7.recharger batts included
8. good ear buds included
Things I dont like about DE1103
1. no volume wheel
2. SSB modes not changeable
3.SSB fine tuner is too wide and really touchy, hard to tune
4.SSB not very selective
5. batt springs mushy
Things I like about ICF-SW7600GR
1.small size
2.good speaker sound
3.very good selectivity (except for FM)
4.very good SSB reception (for portable)
5.very good MW reception (for portable)
6 ajustable attenuator ( good for long wire use)
Things I dont like about ICF-SW7600GR
1. no tuning wheel
2. odd scanning functions
3. no built-in batt recharger
4. no tone control wheel
5. local time 24:00 only
6.LCD too small
I like both radios. The sony is a little better overall and a lot
better on SSB. The Degen is smaller and more fun to tune-around with.
The Degen wins the "bang for the buck" award. The sony does a better
job of pulling in weak signals.
PS.. the degen DE-31 active loop is complete crap! The whip alone is MUCH better!
All the Best John in San Antonio Tx..
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|
| SLIDERULEX |
Rating:     |
2005-11-04 | |
| Beats the Sony SW7600GR in sensitivity! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I decided to compare the Degen DE1103 to the Sony SW7600GR. I just bought the Sony SW7600GR and I do enjoy it, especially its fantastic synchronous detector which finds and locks onto AM and SW stations pretty well. I decided to conduct sensitivity tests comparing it to the Degen DE1103 that I have. I would have to say that the DE1103 is slightly more sensitive on SW. Tuning both radios side by side to the same frequency, the DE1103 is slightly more sensitive. The Sony isn't bad, though, and would be my 2nd choice in SW radios. I am glad I bought the Sony, as it has some features the Degen does not have, but for ultimate sensitivity, I would say the Degen is slightly (though it's close) more sensitive than the Sony. Both are good radios.
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by SLIDERULEX on 2005-07-20
The DE1103 first came out a while ago and was a strong performer. The latest version (after March 2005) is even better and Degen fixed some things needing fixing like the tuning knob problems. Also, this latest version seems to me to perform a bit better (more sensitive on SW) than the earlier version I had. And it's SSB seems improved over the earlier version, too.
There isn't another world-band radio for the price, heck even TWICE the price per ebay, that can compete with the DE1103! Right now, nobody does it better (to copy a song).
I'd like to see if Degen is, in fact, the world's greatest SW portable. Put it up against say, the Sony 2010, or the Grundig Satellit 700, and using just their built in whip antennas. I'd put my money on the Degen. Degen may have right now, the world's greatest SW portable radio for the price, twice the price, thrice the price...infinity times the price! Degen dominates design...D^3. |
|
| W4PTO |
Rating:      |
2005-09-18 | |
| Great compact radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
You know when you got a great deal when you get an outstanding product at a steal! I bought my Degen 1103 for $20 under the current market price (heh heh). Since then, I've been using the radio for mundane tasks such as broadcast band listening to testing of some BA transmitter keying characteristics and tuning up and down the ham and shortwave bands.
Some may note the "flaws" of the Degen. While fully capable of SSB/CW reception, the tuning rate is too fast for that mode. Also, the volume control being "switch engaged" to raise or lower the audio output. Who cares when you get it cheap? It sensitive and adequate to the tasks it was meant to do: monitor the shortwave/broadcast/FM bands as inexpensively as possible with as many built in features available. With that, I sincerely doubt you'd find a more capable rx available (with SSB/CW modes) at this price. The receiver isn't meant to compete with the likes of the new Kenwood/Tentec/Yaesu/JRC units. But it can hold it's own against most considering the price. |
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| MACFAN |
Rating:      |
2005-09-11 | |
| Wow! What a nice radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I can't say enough good things about this radio. I'll try not to duplicate other reviews. Reception is super for a small unit. Others have complained about the volume control. I found it easy to master. You type in a volume level and hit the volume button. I really like the virtual analog display.
The case looks and feels like an expensive unit. I was surprised by the heft of the radio. It certainly weighs more than one would expect; however, it is not too heavy for traveling.
This radio would make a nice gift for a family member or business colleague even if he/she isn't into short wave. Hook this radio into a set of powered speakers. You won't believe the quality of FM sound. It sounds like you are in the station's studio.
I bought mine from Linpyn on eBay - arrived 13 days later. I assume it was delayed a few days by the Labor Day holiday weekend. No issues with the international shipping. |
|
| KB0XR |
Rating:     |
2005-08-11 | |
| Good Value |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I will echo most of the previous reviews of this little sw radio. I particularly like the size of it. Mine arrived from Hong Kong within a weeks time. I was surprised that it was merely stuffed into a heavy paper envelope rather than being in a box or at least cushioned by bubble wrap.
It was sent registered mail so maybe that helped it survive it's long journey without damage. Included, at extra cost, was a 110v/220v wall wart adaptor for the 220V wall wart. It sticks out of the wall outlet about 2 1/2 inches.
Performance is rather good for its size/price but as others have noted, the weird volume control is hard to get used to. And, the analog frequency display is just plain unnecessary. It hops in steps as successive segments of the lcd dial light up. Chuffs as you tune it also.
I bought an active antenna from the same dealer in Hong Kong for around $20 shipped. It's the DE 31 active antenna which consists of a loop antenna to hang in the window, combined with a small tunable amplifier powered by 2 aaa batteries. Using this, the radio really shines!
The antenna breaks down into a tangle of wires and I keep it in an old eyeglass case.
All in all, it's a nice little radio that I will pack in my suitcase for my next trip. |
|
| KD7RDZI2 |
Rating:      |
2005-06-19 | |
| .. 5 stars but.. |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I got the radio for 50 euro shipped home.. just the 4 1300mA rechargeble batteries, the programmable inside recharger, the power supply, a 10 meters antenna wire, the nice fake velvet bag, and the hearphones, would be already worth for the price.. The price is very low.. but also the McDonald BigMac (see the Economist website) costs 75% less in China.. this is simply due that China has pegged its currency to the dollar.. if there were floating exchange rate you would probably pay at least 4 times more..
By the way.. I compared the the radio with a Drake R8 (made in late 1994) and a Sangean 909 (the Siemens version made in 1995 or 1996) using two antennas: 20 meters long Folded Dipole clear on the Roof by Barker and Williamson and a DX1 by RF Systems close to the radio.
The antennae were connected to the external antenna input.. the impedance of the antenna input is not specified.. as it was probably designed for the non resonant wire antenna I think there might be some impedance mismatch..
differently from the Darke R8, the receiver OVERLOADS when connected to a big wideband external antenna.. however MUCH LESS than the Sangean 909.. using the 16db attenuator, the problem disappears.. if you use a good preselector or you make your own filters this problem vanishes..
with the whip Antenna (which is a built in active antenna), the receiver tends to overload more easily and signals are at least 16 db less than using the DX1 antenna.
The radio is very sensitive, has good IF filters, good FM overloading performance (better than the Sangean), good audio. Excellent is listening the SSB signals, better than the Sangean. My unit tunes down to 100Khz, was built in December 2004,
and I could not find some flaws mentioned by others.
I liked the digital volume which is very smooth and noiseless.
I think the unit does not have the useless ancillaries of other radios and very rationally designed.
The fake analog but digital display is simply amazing!
Summarizing, very nice radio, probably the cheapest SSB receiver, high performance although not the same of a good tabletop.
Bests,
KD7RDZ
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