Hello,

I know most of the regulars in this are very partial to large rigs, but
also a lot of people bought small cheap portables off of E-Bay. Anyways,
the Degen DE-1103 is know for having some stability problems. I've found
out that the batteries supplied with it (at least with mine) are about 0.7
mm too short each. Since they are used in pairs, this is 1.4 mm per
battery chamber. The springs look kind of weak, so I wouldn't be surprised
if poor contact because of the shorter length leads to instability, lock-
ups, etc. So, try longer batteries, it worked for me.