In article ,
T. Early wrote:

"Corbin Ray" wrote in message
...
Quick update on my 1102...

The SSB works very nicely. Of course I had to get out the manual to
figure
out how to work it, but it works well.

I'm blown away by how much I'm getting on shortwave. It's like I've
discovered a new band tonight.

The speaker is really nice to listen to. It's not nearly as tinny as
the
Sony 7600gr. But I thought I'd try a nice set of Koss headphones,
and wow!
It sounds incredible on all bands, and FM with the bass boost is
about as
good as it gets. In a comparison between my DX-398 with headphones
and the
Degen with headphones, the Degen's wins hands down.

At this present time, I would put my Degen 1102 into the exact same
level as
the Sangean 909, Grundig YB400, and Sony IC-SW7600GR. All have their
unique
strengths and weakneses. But I was able to get my 1102 delivered to
my door
for $68! So that puts the Degen in a class by itself.


As something of a DX-398 buff, I have to ask where you think the
compromises are in the Degan? Or is it that rare product that really
does transcend its cost? You make it sound very interesting and my
finger has been twitching towards eBay! At that price, its SAF
(spousal acceptance factor) is a non-issue too.


I live in northern NJ, close to a lot of MW transmitter sites. A few MW
stations bleed 100 or more KHz above their nominal frequencies. It looks
like the front end is getting overloaded in the same way that people have
described SW overload when using an external antenna. I have only two
other radios that exhibit this phenomenon so strongly: the Degen DE105,
and a Kaiwa KA-818 ... both "cheap" portables. Several other radios I own
- Grundig, Sangean, Sony, etc - do not have this problem around here.
On stations that do not suffer this kind of bleed-through, adjcent-channel
selectivity is excellent; thanks to decent bandpass filters and dual
conversion design (though I wonder if that applies to MW, despite the
blurb on the box).

I suspect one of the design compromises is in the usual trade-off with
portables: sensitivity vs. dynamic range. The DE-1102's sensitivity is
remarkable. Just tonight I happened to hit the power button while the
radio was sitting in the box, antenna completely collapsed and retracted.
It was tuned to 5975 KHz, and I was able to clearly copy BBC .. noisy, but
perfectly readable. The price is for this is increased susceptibility to
overload.

You don't get something for nothing! The 1102 is a remarkable performer
for the price; especially if you get a Degen version from China. (I think
I read in one review that the factory price comes to about US $34). But there
are some aspects of its performance, under difficult conditions, that a
"better" receiver may do better with. My two cents'worth.