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Typical Chinese Product
First of all, I loved this radio more than any other radio that I have owned. To avoid redundancy, read the five star reviews. Now the bad news. I lost all AM and Shortwave reception after 7 months. The reset button reset the clock and the default volume but did nothing to restore reception (so it's not an antenna overload problem). So end the end, I got ripped off by the Chinese once again while my 30 year old GE radio (which was made in America back then) keeps on playing like it was brand new. It would be interesting to see a survey of all these people who gave great reviews shortly after getting their Kaito and ask them if their radio is still working after one year. Given China's history of lack of quality, I suspect that you would see a lot more 1 star reviews. If you want to gamble, go ahead but I've got better things to do than spend $90 every 7 months on a Chinese piece of trash. Amazing Small Radio Small general coverage radios all have shortcomings. There are just so many things which can be squeezed into that small, easilly portable box. The KA1103 is however a surprising notch above the rest. AM and FM broadcast are a bit above typical for a small radio. Actually, FM is quite surprising, sound-wise. I live in a generally poor HF signal area, but I consistantly receive, with very useable copy, European amateurs when conditions are favorable with just the built-in telescoping rod antenna. Likewise international broadcast stations. Sideband requires a little bit of extra knob-twisting, but the result is good. The small control for the BFO is a bit hard to finely adjust for SSB, but not irritatingly so. One reviewer states that there's no audio (volume) knob and that volume has to be set by pushing the numerical buttons. That's not true. By pressing the "VOL" button first, the tuning knob becomes a rotary volume control. Three seconds after setting the desired volume, the knob reverts to the tuning function. It was annoying at first, but not a big thing to overcome. Sensitivity is great. I often receive distant SW broadcasts so strongly, even in my poor signal area, that I can set the DX/LOCAL switch to local, which also cuts down background noise. Sound quality is good, better than some, but still small-speakerish. I think Kaito put the best it could find in the available space. I seem to get about 12 hours use out of the included 1300 mA/hr batteries that were included with the radio, but I upgraded to 2500 mA/hr cells. I don't use the included battery charging system, but prefer to use an external "smart" charger. NiMH's are too fussy. Some folks complain about the big LCD display. I like it for one reason: I know where I am in the commonly used bands. The radio will tune ouside these bands by simply keying in an off the screen frequency and knob-tuning from there; the cursor line disappears. When you return to the limits of an 'on screen' band, the cursor line reappears. Lastly, I have to admit that my favorite feature of the KA1103 IS the continuous tuning knob. "Knobs rule". I ***canned one small SW rcvr 'cuz I got tired of punching buttons to tune. So. Would I tell someone else to go buy a KA1103? Absolutely. Great bang for the buck. I expect more of a product or to pay less I own a number of portable worldband radios some still working some not. After reading the reviews for this one I decided to give it a try. Reception ,discrimination and sound is good to very good; i.e. the electronics seem to work fine. Battery life, ergonomics, and "feel" for anything mechanical is mediocre to very poor. I found battery life (of the rechargeable batteries supplied with the radio) surprisingly short. The ergonomics remind me my early days in computers where one button would do everything provided you pressed another one before. The huge LCD that simulates the old style tuning is useless. Anything mechanical from the actual case, deploying the antenna, turning a knob, pushing a button or inserting a mini jack gives the impression that this will be the last time you do this and it would break or not work again. I'm sorry, but that's how I felt. My wife's verdict (she has used radios before both in the boat and out): unusable. My verdict: I would buy it if it was selling less than half the price. I did not return it because it uses 4 AA instead of the 6 AA that my other portables use (I can recharge 4 batteries at a time). Poor excuse but I'm lazy to return it. Stunning FM! I've been living with my Kaito 1103 for almost a year now. I work for an LPFM station, and reception is a problem in a lot of areas...for example, where I live. This 1103 beats every other portable I have (and I have dozens of them) by a wide margin. I only wish now that this same level of FM performance would be available in a smaller, AM/FM only pocket radio. I'd buy a bunch of them as gifts. Oh ya, the AM and SW work quite well also. David Super receiver in a small package. Wow...one of the best! I have been a amateur radio operator as well as a shortwave listener for well over twenty years now! During that long course of time I have owned and used many different types of portable as well as table top radios. I would rank the Kaito 1103 as one of the best that I have ever used! Great sensitivity and excellent selectivity as well! Keep in mind that a radio's "sensitivity" is the ability to hear the faintist of signals and a radio's "selectivity" is it's ability to focus in on the desired signal and to "block out" other signals that might be interfering with that particular signal you have tuned into. Unlike so many portable receivers out on the market now, this one feels solid! Great "metal" feel to the cabinet and a beautiful silver finish as well! This radio also comes with a whole bunch of "goodies" that add to the radio's value. Inside the box I found an additional "clip on" wire antenna. (This is an excellent way to even improve this radio's already outstanding reception capabilities!) The radio also came with an AC adaptor. Also included was a beautiful carrying case and four re-chargable batteries! Oh, and by the way...the radio has a built in charger so you can charge the batteries even while you listen to the radio! My only caution (and it is only a small caution at that) is to be aware that this particular radio has some ergonomics that some folks might find a bit less than "user friendly". For example there is no simple volume knob. You adjust the volume through a pressing of buttons or a turning of the "jog wheel" combined with pressing of the "volume" button. It really is simple once you learn how to do it so no one should really have a problem with this after they read the owner's manual. Did I mention that this little gem also has "single sideband" capability? Single Side band reception allows the listener to tune into the whole range of ham band activities as well as to monitor utility stations, some unclassified military radio activities, etc. Normally this feature is only found on much more expensive communication receivers! I highly recommend this little radio to anyone interested in listening to shortwave broadcasts or to anyone else who is interested in obtaing a well priced, feature laden, well constructed little wonder of a radio! Great radio...great price...great value for your money! I highly recommend this gem to anyone interested in a wonderful little radio!! Enjoy! | |
