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Reviews For: Kaito KA1103

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Kaito KA1103
Reviews: 59MSRP: 109.99
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. The special designed circuit is a high sensitivity one, but no noise. FMSTEREO/FML/MW/SW1/SW2/Single Side Band (SSB)

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.kaitousa.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00594.4
HFHAM2 Rating: 2012-08-06
New Found Respect Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I didn't like this little radio when I first got it, mainly because of the cheap, loose-fitting switches and therefore I didn't rate it very highly nor use it much. This all changed recently when I put it up against a brand new Sony ICF-SW7600GR. I have always had a soft spot for the ICF-SW7600 series and have owned a 7600 and 7600G in the past. I was amazed that in virtually every respect, the KA-1103 was so much better than the ICF-SW7600G. It always sounded much better (in any mode) and was every bit as sensitive off the built-in whip as the Sony. Don't know how it would fair with an external antenna, but let's face it, it's a portable AM/FM/SW/SSB radio, not a communications receiver. For the broadcast listener, this is a great choice in a small portable shortwave radio.
SCANNUT99 Rating: 2012-06-19
wow best radio in it's class Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Great am. Great sw. Not big on fm so will not comment. The volume issue is a non issue. Got used to it right away. What a powerful radio and sound to boot. Great sensitivity and selectivity. In the small portable class, nothing comes close at all. (I consider the Tecsun 660 in a different bigger portable class of radios as I do the Sangean 909x.

But if you want a small portable, nothing comes close.

Daniel
W9CPI Rating: 2011-06-15
Fine Radio, Great Value Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Compared to my Sangean and earlier Sony, the 1103 is more sensitive and more stable. CW and SSB are much easier to tune in and are more pleasant to listen to. The 1103 is smaller to boot, and comes with nicads and a charger. It is a keeper, and you won't be disappointed in it!
SAILCAT Rating: 2011-03-19
Good Radio, Questionable QC Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I recently purchased a Kaito KA1103 from Amazon. It works well with good sensitivity and range on all bands, decent audio quality, and good looks. The radio is small and easily portable, too, making it an ideal radio to take along when traveling. Among the supplied accessories is a built-in battery charging feature that is very welcome, although I might suggest purchasing a set of Sony brand rechargeable batteries as the included batteries are of relatively poor quality: a small quibble, in my opinion. Some of the controls and displays are a bit complicated and require careful reading of the instructions to master, but once you get the hang of it they are manageable. Compared to my Sony ICF-SW7600GR it is nearly a match in most performance respects and the Kaito also has better audio, to boot. The Kaito is also a better radio in terms of sensitivity (especially in side band reception) as compared to my Grundig YB 400PE.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this little powerhouse with one caveat: the fit and finish of the Kaito leaves a bit to be desired as compared to Sony and Grundig. My KA1103 arrived very well packaged but when it was opened the radio had three dents on the grill. The plastic sleeve in which it arrived showed the same damage so I assume it was dropped when it was being packaged. Fortunately, it appears to work fine and because the return process is over-long and complicated I opted to keep it, but it is disappointing to receive such a nice radio from the manufacturer with cosmetic damage.

The bottom line is the Kaito KA1103 is a very nice radio and it comes at a good price. It is rather too bad that the QC at Kaito wasn't a bit better, however.
K7FD Rating: 2010-10-10
You'll smile BIG when you hear this radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have owned this SW portable for over a year now; use it every night, as it sits on my night stand. Super sensitive; I listen to SSB/CW on 80 and 40m with just the telescoping whip!

Like any radio, once you get used to its unique controls, it's a piece of cake to operate. I find everything I need to tune in and enjoy listening to stations, both weak and strong.

I bought mine from Amazon. It came VERY NICELY packaged with lots of accessories. The radio itself has some decent heft to it...doesn't feel like an inexpensive radio!

A friend a work expressed an interest in shortwave radio and I recommended this one. They got the radio and headed home with a few brief listening tips from the Old Man. The next day, they were excited to tell me what all they had heard!

It's a great little radio...

John K7FD

KA1SA Rating: 2010-06-17
Good but Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Performance is fine. However, for a portable short wave radio, it is odd that it comes with a wall wart having an unusual output (8v) and only 120 vac input. Has anyone tried this with another wall wart? Is there an international wall wart replacement?
KE4WKP Rating: 2010-04-10
Nice Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought this radio because my radio shack dx-390 was a piece of junk. The slightest bit of static blew the front end. It never was a good radio to begin with. So I got the kaito 1103. This radio is very sensitive even with the whip antenna. I cut a random wire about 40' soldered to a connector and was a bit disappointed until I grounded the shield on the connector. Wow this radio is amazing! I have had this radio about 2 years and it is still going strong. It is a real pleasure to use and blows away the old dx-390. My only complaint is the volume control. You have to push a button then use the knob to control the volume. I have gotten used to it but I would really like a knob dedicated to volume. I highly recommend this radio.
WA1UFO Rating: 2010-03-06
Neanderthal! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Mine has distorted audio on MW and SW. It is sensitive but this is not uncommon with modern circuitry. It reads 1 Khz off on SW and Mw and the bogus analog dial is a gross waste of space! A direct entry keyboaed would have been the ticket. The only reason I bought it was the cheap price at a flea market. Compared to my other portables, this radio is a dog! Poor ergonomics to boot.
WB9NFD Rating: 2010-01-11
Great Radio Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Can’t say much bad about the KA1103 except the clock has to be set every few weeks.
The radio hears almost as much with the whip antenna as my commutations radio I use on the HF bands. The size makes it very portable. I bought some 2500mh batteries and can go all week using radio 3 hours a day before charging.
I have had the Sony 2010, RS DX-394, Sangean 909, Sangean ATS 818, Sony SW55 but none work as well.
The price is right and easy to use. I had no problem getting used to the volume control.

Richard WB9NFD
K0KZO Rating: 2010-01-02
Not too good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use this as a bedside radio and I'm a fool for using it that way. The audio is distorted and the ergonomics dumb. It's a sensitive little bugger and better on SSB than my YB400. I use an in-line volume control so I don't have to mess with the stupid volume control. I would not recommend it unless you want to DX with it.

Doug NG0K

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Earlier 4-star review posted by K0KZO on 2006-02-10

Overall I like this radio. Easy to use and good reception on the SW bands and AM. I'm a little disappointed with reception on FM and the audio output is slightly distorted, even with headphones. But still a keeper.

Radioshack has little in-line volume controls for headphones that work well as an alternative to the weird volume control.

Doug NG0K.