| KC7JBB |
Rating:      |
2005-05-24 | |
| Little radio BIG performance |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I was debating about whether to give this little gem a 4 or a 5. I think I would have liked to give it a 4.8.
First the hits:
Sensativity was very good. I sat it up next to my YB-400 and Sangean 909. I would say it was slightly more sensative for week signal reception (west coast U.S.) then the YB-400 and about equal to the 909.
Noise level was about equal on all three to my ear. I found this a little difficult to evaluate because the audio quality and tone from the three sets are differant. This sometimes plays havoc with my untrained ear and what noise is getting through, so they sound about the same to me both on narrow and wide filtering.
Both the Degan and Sangean blow the YB-400 out of the water for features like s-meter,batt indicator, memory pages, lighted buttons, rechargable batts and built in charger etc.
The Degan is certainly the smallest of the three but is very much the equal to, if not superior in some ways to the other two.
The Cons:
I only have one and it is one you will often hear about this radio. The Volume control. The volume is a shared finction knob with the tuneing knob. In other words one knob two functions. This requires pushing a button and turning for volume before it autonaticly switches back to a tuner. Kind of reminds me of like a Jeckel and Hide movie. The problem for me is that, although this is a little unusual to get used to, I find I need enough force on the volume button in order to change the function, that it slids the radio on its stand. Not a great thing. That being said it's not a big deal to me either. A volume control knob would would have elevated this little reciever to a state of electronic nirvana. Ahh well they have'nt yet called me for my design opinions.:)
The Winner:
Dagen 1103 best features, best price, great performance.
Sangean 909 Great all around reciever. Useless RDS, High priced.
Yacht Boy 400 Best tone(almost tube like), sparse on features.
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| SID |
Rating:      |
2005-04-17 | |
| Some extra thoughts |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Well having used the reviews here and from other websites, I dived in buying trouble-free from Hong Kong through eBay. Thx to all of those reviewers.
I can't add to the superlatives already here, this is an excellent radio and very good value for money. The "change" knob operation takes a couple of minutes to work out but I really like it.
Just a couple of extra thoughts:-
I wanted to use a different compact switch mode power supply as I'm all over the place traveling and didn't want to have to worry about what I'm supposed to be plugging in where. Despite what the manual etc says and as mentioned in a prior review, the power supply is in fact 8V and during either charging or operation the radio draws about 100mA with the light off and around 125mA with the backlight on. To achieve proper charging @ 100mA you'll need a power supply in the 7.5-8V range. 6V will allow around a 25mA charge but you'll be charging for days.
The headphones supplied are really quite good and appear to be unmarked versions of the well regarded Sennheiser MX400 earbud. |
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| K3MOV |
Rating:     |
2005-02-25 | |
| Great, but....... |
Time Owned: N.A. |
I echo all of the previous favorable comments. Unfortunately, both of mine had troubles. My first one wouldn't tune any FM. When I tried to tune to FM, the 1103 brought up one of the SW bands. Tried to get a replacement, but the Chinese seller stiffed me even though I paid through PAYPAL.
I liked the first one so much, and it was so relatively cheap, I bought another new one from another ebay Chinese site. This one receives FM, but it only tunes even frequencies on all bands: 3790, 3792, 3794, etc. On the odd frequencies, the receiver goes deaf. I overcome this problem by tuning as close to a signal as possible with the main tuning knob and then use the fine tune in order to zero in on the station. In spite of the problems, this is one of the best deals going.
If anyone has any suggestions on a fix(es), I'd love to hear from you (tomk3mov@yahoo.com). |
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| FABFR90A |
Rating:      |
2004-12-16 | |
| Fantastic Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I already own several SW radios like a Sony ICF-2010, a Grundig YB-400, a Zenith Royal 7000 and some other ones that I use mainly for listening to the main foreign broadcasting stations. The Sony is my flagship radio; I use Zenith for its incomparable sound quality for listening to the powerhouses like BBC etc, and the YB-400 has been my preferred travel radio.
I purchased the DE-1103 because of the very positive reviews that I had read allover the Internet and I thought that the YB-400 could not handle very well my rare travels. I got the DE-1103 on E-bay for $ 63.99 delivered to the door insured. The seller threw in an 110/220V step up transformer for free to be used with its 220AC/6VDC original power adapter in US.
In the shiny and colorful box I found the radio itself well packed in a polyethylene bag, the 220VAC/6VDC power supply, a pair of earphones, a long wire antenna with a 3.5mm jack and clip on the other side, four Chinese 1300mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries, a velvet case and the user manual and the warranty form (I think) in Chinese.
After taking a look to the English manual that I had downloaded from the Internet, I was able to setup the radio in five minutes. The radio worked perfectly with four AA alkaline batteries. It is very stylish and easy to use. I like the analogue feeling of it. It is smaller and lighter than the YB-400. It also looks sturdier and better made than it. You get used pretty fast to the lack of the separate volume adjuster knob. The sensitivity, selectivity and sound quality were impressive for a radio of this and any size.
I worked for about two hours in a side-by-side comparison of the DE-1103, Sony 2010 and YB-400. The test was performed in one evening between 8:00 and 10:00 PM EST in my home at the suburban Philadelphia area. I tested the all radios with fresh sets of batteries and their whip antennas. Also, I laid out the supplied Sony’s wire antenna between the curtain holders for some more detailed testing. Here are my observations.
In shortwave: The saying that “DE-1103 blows away the Grundig-s and Sony-s” that I have read allover the places does not seem to be true in my case. All three radios did very well in 49m and 19 m bands that I mostly tested and I did not find a station that was readable in one and was not in the others. DE-1103 had a sharper and more understandable tone that I preferred to somewhat muted one of the YB-400. DE-had a little more noise compared to the other two radios. I can’t say per sure that DE-1103 has the edge in sensitivity over the YB-400 (as other people pretend), but I can’t say it the other way either. I was surprised to find out that for one station at 7400Mhz, which seemed to be Radio Bulgaria in French, both the DE-1103 and YB-400 outperformed the Sony, with the DE-1103 having a sharper and more readable (but slightly noisier) tone and YB-400 a cleaner and somewhat muted one.
With the wire antenna, the Sony outperformed the other radios in all SW bands. The wire antenna seemed to have less effect in the DE-1103.
In FM, I think that the DE-1103 and the YB-400 had a better selectivity than the Sony with the YB-400 having the edge. With the Sony I got some strange stations that were not present in the other ones, but I had no time to analyze what they were.
I did not spend much time in AM (MW), but even here it seems that you can listen with the DE-1103 all there is to be listened.
I did not test the SSB mode; I listen to it very rarely.
These observations are valid for my radios only. It is known that the quality and performance are individual and can significantly vary from sample to sample. Other people can get other test results with their own radios.
I quickly checked the performance with the power supply and step up transformer. It works adequately, but it introduces some unwanted noise in some places and bands. I bought four new 2300mAh NiMH batteries, which came uncharged. I was able to fully charge them with the internal charger. I find this to be a huge advantage of the DE-1103. Although the label of the power supply says “6V DC output” it actually delivers 8V. Measuring the voltage with a 100mA current output, I saw that the voltage drop does not exceed 0.05V. I was thinking of buying a 110V AC/6V DC/300mA power supply from Radioshack, which are known to be of excellent quality and noiseless, but I am not sure what their real output is. If it is close to 6V, it might not be able to charge the NiMH batteries. (Some sellers that sell the Kaito-1103 version of this radio pretend so).
Bottom line, the DE-1103 is and exceptional value and equals in performance other modern shortwave radios that are priced $50-100 higher. It will be my preferred travel radio and for all around listening.
For a very detailed technical and performance review of the DE-1103, for those who can read Russian, there is an excellent article at http://www.radioscaner.ru/receivers/review/review001.html.
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| WPE9JRL |
Rating:     |
2004-12-13 | |
| Fun Bandsurfer With SSB |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just received my Degen 1103 via an eBay seller for about $62.00 delivered to my door. I ran it briefly through its paces and can make the following observations:
The AM Medium Wave reception is excellent. The radio is able to pick up many more stations clearly than I thought possible for such a small radio with a built-in ferrite antenna. Selectivity and audio very good. More than satisfied on MW on initial try.
SSB reception adequate to very good. Pulls in stations this evening on 75M SSB with great performance on just the built in whip. I was really, really surprised by this. CW on 75M copied with ease due to ability to switch in the "Narrow" filter (yes, it has two filters!). SSB has nice fidelity in wide. One problem noted with SSB: louder stations "bust" the AGC and the first syllable of speech may be distorted due to the lack of good AGC attack response on SSB......but, hey, I owned a Collins KWM-2 that did the same thing. A bit annoying but not really that bad. The ability to put this radio on the kitchen counter and listen to 75M SSB roundtables is astounding.
SWL'ing: I'm a casual listener to SW and I have no doubt that this set will pick up most everything I need with just the whip. I entered "27.185" into the radio and heard truckers on the local highway about 5 miles away....sounds very sensitive up in the 30MHz region. Can't wait till 10M opens to try out on SSB and CW.
FM: I live 4 miles away from a 100-Kilowatt powerhouse on 98.5....it gives this radio problems on FM and the big-gun's signal appears on about five different spots on the FM band. A disappointment....but, I didn't buy this radio to listen to FM. I must say that it is extremely sensitive on FM, and if I fully retract the whip, the overload for the most part disappears and all my local stations come in well. One bonus: the radio's tuning coverage on FM goes down to 76MHz, I can tune in the audio of our local TV Channel 5 on 81.75MHz with ease.
Size, weight, ergonomics: Smaller in size than I thought it was. The tuning knob has a solid, non wobbly feel to it even though it is small. The whole radio has a solid "feel" to it. The reviews on RadioIntel describing the "goofy" ergonomics of the Volume Control button and the like scared me a bit.....but, really, it's not a big deal, operation is easy for me to get used to. I love the big "slide rule" LCD dial.
You may think I'm nuts department: Three years a go I sold off my Drake SW-8, a $700 radio. It worked extremely well and provided great reception on all bands with just its built-in whip. I sold it because it ate batteries and was heavy to tote around. The Degen 1103's performance closely rivals the SW-8 in the fact that it is sensitive and can receive very well in the built-in antenna's, it allows me to listen to ham SSB with good results and has a selection of filters for enhancing reception. Sure, the Degen ain't no 700 dollar radio, but it is (amazingly) close for my casual listening purposes.
Bottom Line: Excellent value for the casual listener, built-in antenna's won't let you down during normal band conditions. Hope you will be pleasently surprised by its performance like I am. |
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| KA3SEI |
Rating:      |
2004-11-09 | |
| Ditto's |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I can't beleive what this radio can bring in on just a telescopic whip! Next week, I'm moving to a house with a large attic where I will be hanging an Eavesdropper Dipole. I can't wait to see what it do with a "good" external antenna! |
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| TR11 |
Rating:    |
2004-11-09 | |
| Degen webpage |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Degen website:
http://www.degen.com.cn/
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| KF6YKM |
Rating:      |
2004-11-07 | |
| Incredible! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Bought for $61 includding shipping off Ebay.
Came with an AC adapter, earbuds, carrying sack, long wire antenna with connector and 4 1300Mah NiMHs.
Let me say that this little thing is amazing! I can hear almost ALL regular SSB regulars from my room in the San Fernando Valley, So Cal.
Sound quality is good, contruction feels solid and non flimsy, controls are easy to use, features include some advanced things such as NARROW-WIDE filter, built in timeable battery charger, battery checker, SSB fine tune ... etc.
Pro's:
- Reception is impressive in all modes. SSB is a simple button on the 1103. No requiring to go into any special mode, like on the 1102.
- Works nicely with the included batteries and they last decently.
- Not overly huge, so it will fit into a larger pocket such as on a flannel shirt.
- NO drift.
Con's/wish list:
AGC - Overmod from stong sig's can be a problem.
Attenuator - I use my external 40m dipole coax and place it near the top rear and adjust the distance manually to get the signal(s) 'perfect'.
Readout - Would have been GREAT to get .XX at the end of the frequency readout for SSB and CW.
AC adapter - Really tears up SSB/CW reception. Apparently it is not filtered too well.
Conclusion:
I really LOVE this radio. I have not tried the included antenna 'long wire'. When I touch my 40m dipole (ground or middle lead) to the external antenna it REALLY picks up way too much interference to be useful.
I literally can lay in bed and listen to my west coast fav's - 3840 and 3857 in the wee AM hours.
I can switch over to 640 KFI (Los Angeles) or 600 KOGO (San Diego) to listen to Coast To Coast, or simply listen to FM if chat is not what I am in the mood to listen to.
For $61 it is impossible to beat.
Now to get the $100 All mode, all band HT and we'll have it made!
73 - de kf6ykm - Ed |
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| K1KID |
Rating:      |
2004-10-15 | |
| Untouchable for the Price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this radio based on the previous reviews. Bought from "Liypn" on eBay. Arrived very quickly (1 week) from Hongcong a couple of days ago.
For $44.00 + shipping ($20.00), nothing comes close. Reception on this little radio holds its own against my Sangean 909 and is more portable too. Comes with NiMh rechargeable batteries to boot!
The controls, as described in the previous reviews, aren't exactly intuitive. After an hour or so of operating the radio though I find I like how they work. The radio is solid and well built. Fit and finish are as good as any Japanese product. Anyone wanting a portable SW radio would be very happy with this one.
73 de
Carl, K1KID
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| KB9YNJ |
Rating:      |
2004-10-02 | |
| Performace |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Received in 5 days from China having won a eBay auction using "buy it now". Cost was $44.90 plus $20.00 S&H. A couple of days later, received a nice email from seller with a link to a printable English manual using Adobe. The manual is clear and easy to use. Seller's name is Liypn, and he is nice to deal with and gives excellent service.
I currently own a RS DX398 and a DX-100 and have owned a Sangean ATS 505P, Sony ICF SW 7600GR, GE SRIII, Sangean CCradio,Grundig mini 100, Hallicrafters tube radio and a couple of other portables. After 4 days of use, I can now say that in every area, this neat little unit outperforms them all. I really have begun to like the way the various control switches and buttons work,[even their somewhat unconventional layout],after getting used to them over the last few days. I have several outside antennas, including a 110ft longwire with tuner. This radio using only the included whip, will do almost as well as when it is hooked up to the outside antennas. AM DX performance is incredible. Sensitivity and Selectivity is way beyond what I expected. With 268 memory storage locations, you can keep all of your favorites with room to spare! The included a/c adapter will not work without a 110v mains converter, but you can pick up a 300MA 6 volt a/c adapter from your local RS,or order a converter from eBay. I have a few sets of NIMH AA batteries[including the 4 that came with the radio] and a dedicated wall charger for them. Using 4 of them, I can take this little jewel of a radio anywhere in the house or outside on the deck, and still experience incredible reception on the HF/SSB Ham bands, FMbc,SWbc and AMbc bands. It even gets CB and Longwave if you so desire!! The battery strength indicator still shows a full charge after 4 days of use! The quality of Construction, appearance, performance and size, makes it a winner in my book. I am ordering another one soon, in case this one gets broken or stolen. |
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