For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

The first thing I had to try was the SSB function. It works just fine to
hear ham and utility. I listened to a volmet weather broadcast, some ham
and was actually able to use it with my PC to decode some morse code on the
ham bands when I connected it to my sound card through the KA1102's
headphone jack. The range on the fine tuning dial is not too tight so it's
easy enough to deal with.

The big let down. It's USELESS for ECSS. You cant select USB or LSB.
It's just SSB. If you turn on the SSB function while listening to AM
broadcast, it's way too fluttery to be able to listen to practically
speaking. You also need to have the KA1102 set on a specific memory bank in
it's "page" system to be able to activate the SSB.

Also on the down side... It's got a problem with selectivity. I was
listening to the BBC on 5975, and I was hearing intermod from the CBC on
5960. I had to remove the external antenna and switch the DX/LOCAL switch
to LOCAL in order to limit the intermod. Though, it does have a problem
here, it's not a big deal unless what your listening to is right next to a
very strong signal.

I also have the KA1101.... It's the smaller less expensive "sister" radio
of the KA1102. The KA1101 doesn't have SSB. Although less expensive, the
KA1101 doesn't have the same problem with overloading. I thought that was
ironic considering the KA1102 is more expensive. If I had a choice, I think
I'd rather have the KA1101 just for the selectivity. My main interest in
the KA1102 was it's price considering it has a SSB feature.

Audio quality isn't half bad, but as you would expect with such a small
radio, it's not extremely well defined. Still.. It's more then adequate.
I've been listening to it for a few hours and it's audio doesn't wear you
out.

So far, I think the best part is the radio's sensitivity. I used my R-75 to
find a few weak signals to test the KA1102 on. Considering my R-75 is
connected to an elaborate outdoor antenna, the little KA1102 did very well
so far. Still... I don't find it to be any more sensitive then the KA1101.

Some other interesting things are the blue colored back light and the FM
bass boost. When you use this radio in FM stereo with the ear buds, it
sounds amazing. Not to mention it comes with rechargeable batteries that
can be recharged in the radio itself. That alone is a great value added
option.

All in all, it's probably the best brand new out of the box radio for the
money. The whole reason to buy this radio I think, is price. It's just
under $100.00 and it has SSB and all the other features. I think though,
if you could spend another $50.00 for a radio, you'd be better off with a
Sony 7600gr or YB-400. That's where the question lies with the KA1102. It
lies between a dirt cheep portable that hardly works as a shortwave radio
and a more expensive portable like the 7600gr that outperforms it.

Do you save $50.00 by buying the KA1102 over the 7600gr or are you spending
$100.00 of your money unwisely by not spending a $50.00 more to get better
radio ???

Respectfully,

Michael