I've just bought a slightly used 1103 (looks like unused), and can't
figure out which one I've got. The guys said it's a 2006 version, but
he didn't have anything with date of purchase - any receipt, or
anything. I've read a lot before choosing 1103 over Sony 7600 (costing
twice as much and not any better).

My 1103 does have "shuffling" when rotating the tuning jog-dial - light
"blip-blip" in quiet sections of MW and SW. It is barely audible, and
in noisy sections of SW I don't hear it at all. I've read that this
defect has been eliminated after March 2005.

Q1: Anybody has this "blip-blip" on his 2006 model? Is there anything
else that makes the latest 2006 models different from earlier ones?

Other than that, I'm satisfied. Functions are almost intuitive. Some
buttons are too close to each other, and I would like them to be larger
too. My apartment i is a RF nightmare - downtown Vancouver (Canada),
wooden building, but few hundred yards from railway depot and some
industries, and mountains all around. So I'm not surprised to hear so
little on SW. Just a few stations with a so-so quality here and there,
in 41, 49, and 31 m bands. MW is astonishing - not only I hear a bunch
of them in neigboring Seattle 200 miles away, but also as far as Texas
and San Francisco, - more than a thousand miles away. Wire antenna
doesn't change much, even when hanging out on the balcony.

Time and the last listened station are lost if you un-plug it or remove
the batteries - it returns to the deafault loud 40 level volume and to
FM band. But pre-set stations remain in memory.

Q2: I am confused about its "100-300000 khz continus coverage". Bands
on pseudo-analog dispaly are not overlapping. For ex. low AM ends at
520 KHZ. If I dial 519 and go down, it apperas to tune to 519, 518 etc.
But if I dial, say, 140, it displays 140, but tunes to 1040 AM (MW).
Anybody noticed this?

In article . com,
wrote:
I've just bought a slightly used 1103 (looks like unused), and can't
figure out which one I've got. The guys said it's a 2006 version, but
he didn't have anything with date of purchase - any receipt, or
anything. I've read a lot before choosing 1103 over Sony 7600 (costing
twice as much and not any better).

Other than that, I'm satisfied. Functions are almost intuitive. Some
buttons are too close to each other, and I would like them to be larger
too. My apartment i is a RF nightmare - downtown Vancouver (Canada),
wooden building, but few hundred yards from railway depot and some
industries, and mountains all around. So I'm not surprised to hear so
little on SW. Just a few stations with a so-so quality here and there,
in 41, 49, and 31 m bands. MW is astonishing - not only I hear a bunch
of them in neigboring Seattle 200 miles away, but also as far as Texas
and San Francisco, - more than a thousand miles away. Wire antenna
doesn't change much, even when hanging out on the balcony.

------------------
Wind a longer wire 15 times around the whip and then up
and towards the south or west window.

Railway Depot? Waterfront or the False Creek Pacific National?
There is no depot downtown anymore. And how much RF do
frain produce? These aren't electrical trains.
And what is the RF you are talking about? Mostly damp street lights
and hundreds of cars starting up all the time.

And what were you expecting in sw reception? Do you dismiss
anything that is not in English?
Which day was that? There have been huge fadeouts because
of solar activity which preclude high-latitude sources.

See the odxa.on.ca pages and their World English Survey for
some hints.

Most stations aren't broadcasting 24 hours a day, you have to be
up, awake and at the radio at 2 or 7 in the morning for some
stations.
Try for RNZI, RNW, DW, RTI, RA,CRI, RCI, RJ, RKI, VoR, VoA backend
(i.e. the Ascension or Delano signals going the other direction)
Get an Azimuth map from the web and use that to think about
where stations might be. Eg http://rivat.chez-alice.fr/software.htm
Get the WRTH and Passport (from library, or buy) and list all
the powerful (50 kw ) and where they are.

For MW, scan the lists of
http://members.shaw.ca/nwbroadcasters/recentnews.htm
and see what you have got so far.

The world is out there if you have the time and the ears.

Google the nearby Grayland DX expeditions that pick up
MW from Asia and other places. You might be amazed.

wrote:
I've just bought a slightly used 1103 (looks like unused), and can't
figure out which one I've got. The guys said it's a 2006 version, but
he didn't have anything with date of purchase - any receipt, or
anything. I've read a lot before choosing 1103 over Sony 7600 (costing
twice as much and not any better).


What do you mean which one? Are there two different designs? Maybe
you are implying/suggesting that the manufacturer went through some
type of a major engineering change somewhere during the development
cycle which produced a significantly different radio.

I have heard that there was something different with the antenna
circuits when plugging in an external antenna that changed along the
way. I think my radio acted differently from the schematic that was
posted to Degen group.

It would be nice to have a list of engineering changes that took place
along the way, but not likely with a radio made in China.

73
NEO

Try having a set of recharged batteries on hand. Replace them immediately
after removing the spent batteries and you won't have this problem.




wrote in message
ups.com...

Time and the last listened station are lost if you un-plug it or remove
the batteries - it returns to the deafault loud 40 level volume and to
FM band. But pre-set stations remain in memory.

N9NEO wrote:
wrote:
I've just bought a slightly used 1103 (looks like unused), and can't
figure out which one I've got. The guys said it's a 2006 version, but
he didn't have anything with date of purchase - any receipt, or
anything. I've read a lot before choosing 1103 over Sony 7600 (costing
twice as much and not any better).


What do you mean which one? Are there two different designs? Maybe
you are implying/suggesting that the manufacturer went through some
type of a major engineering change somewhere during the development
cycle which produced a significantly different radio.

I have heard that there was something different with the antenna
circuits when plugging in an external antenna that changed along the
way. I think my radio acted differently from the schematic that was
posted to Degen group.

It would be nice to have a list of engineering changes that took place
along the way, but not likely with a radio made in China.

73
NEO

The most comprehensive description of the KA1103/DE1103 appears to be
on the Russian Radioscanner forum. There is a compilation of material
on modifications by someone by the name of IRIS, a crude, computer
translation of which is available on the main English language forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/de1103/ in the Files area. It reports a
difference in the antenna input and one or two internal changes that
are obvious when opened up. However, this was a revision in effect
after October, 2004. Whether there has been any subsequent revision has
not been reported or, at least, is unknown to me.

The antenna input change may be detected by an external test. Tune to a
weak VHF-FM signal. insert a bare 3.5mm plug into the antenna jack. If
the signal decreases, you have a post Oct/2004 model, otherwise an
original one. The newer one disconnects the telescoping antenna when an
external antenna is plugged in; the older model left the telescoping
antenna always connected.

Tom

Tom wrote:
N9NEO wrote:
wrote:
I've just bought a slightly used 1103 (looks like unused), and can't
figure out which one I've got. The guys said it's a 2006 version, but
he didn't have anything with date of purchase - any receipt, or
anything. I've read a lot before choosing 1103 over Sony 7600 (costing
twice as much and not any better).


What do you mean which one? Are there two different designs? Maybe
you are implying/suggesting that the manufacturer went through some
type of a major engineering change somewhere during the development
cycle which produced a significantly different radio.

I have heard that there was something different with the antenna
circuits when plugging in an external antenna that changed along the
way. I think my radio acted differently from the schematic that was
posted to Degen group.

It would be nice to have a list of engineering changes that took place
along the way, but not likely with a radio made in China.

73
NEO

The most comprehensive description of the KA1103/DE1103 appears to be
on the Russian Radioscanner forum. There is a compilation of material
on modifications by someone by the name of IRIS, a crude, computer
translation of which is available on the main English language forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/de1103/ in the Files area. It reports a
difference in the antenna input and one or two internal changes that
are obvious when opened up. However, this was a revision in effect
after October, 2004. Whether there has been any subsequent revision has
not been reported or, at least, is unknown to me.

The antenna input change may be detected by an external test. Tune to a
weak VHF-FM signal. insert a bare 3.5mm plug into the antenna jack. If
the signal decreases, you have a post Oct/2004 model, otherwise an
original one. The newer one disconnects the telescoping antenna when an
external antenna is plugged in; the older model left the telescoping
antenna always connected.

Tom

Yes, the Russians - iris have done a very nice job of supplying info
for radio.
thanks
NEO

What do you mean which one? Are there two different designs? Maybe
you are implying/suggesting that the manufacturer went through some
type of a major engineering change somewhere during the development
cycle which produced a significantly different radio.

Yes, that's what I've heard. Russians on their forum (as much as I
could understand) are talking about 2 versions of circuits in Degen
1103. But may be it was only change in external antenna commutation
somewhere in 2004.

The most comprehensive description of the KA1103/DE1103 appears to be
on the Russian Radioscanner forum. There is a compilation of material
on modifications by someone by the name of IRIS, a crude, computer
translation of which is available on the main English language forum at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/de1103/in the Files area.

Yes, thanks - and here is "normal" English translation, edited by some
american user:
http://www.radioscanner.ru/receivers...n1103_eng.html . IRIS
has done a great job - very detailed review, not just a compilation.
There are, as I understand, other his publications on modifications
made by IRIS and other users (not by the factory) in Degen 1003, but
this requires knowledge of Russian.

Dan Say, - thanks for the link to Ontario Dx website. Now that I knew
where and when to look for, and got rid of AC adapter on SW - using
batteries instead, as my friends suggested, and stepped out to the
balcony - I think SW works fine for my particular location. Yesterday
late evening Radio Australia was more-less where it should.

I really have a terrible apartment - it was miracle to get any
reception at all in the room. The exterior walls, as it turned out, are
covered with metal sheets (wet weather protection), and the window and
balcony is facing North, towards Rocky Mountains some dozen miles away.
And between those mountains and me there is an electrical Skytrain
viaduct, railway terminal at Main Str (I'm at Main and 2nd), plus
freight rail-yard, railway engine depot or some engine repair
facilities few hundred meters away. Cars and trolley-buses are probably
generating more noise than rail yard, though.

Btw, I was wrong about Kaito 1103 tuning to AM 1040 when dialing 140 -
it is, as I understand, really 140, i.e. Long Wave channel of the same
station.

wrote:
Btw, I was wrong about Kaito 1103 tuning to AM 1040 when dialing 140 -
it is, as I understand, really 140, i.e. Long Wave channel of the same
station.

No, it's not the LW channel - there are no LW broadcasters in North
America. Rather it is an unwanted effect of the superheterodyne
receiver: a signal can be shifted into the intermediate frequency stage
at more than one setting of the tuning control. The DE1103 uses a 2nd
IF of 450kHz. When the radio is tuned to 1040 kHz, the local oscillator
is effectively operating at 1490 kHz to produce a mixer difference of
450 kHz. However, a LO frequency of 590 kHz also will produce the IF -
that corresponds to a tuning of 140 kHz, known as the image frequency
of 1040 kHz. Better superhet radios have sufficient selectivity ahead
of the mixer that the 1040 kHz energy and consequent image signal are
very weak and almost undetectable.

Tom

On Dec 21, 8:16 am, "Guerite" wrote:
Had you saved a few more pennies from your paper route you could have solved
all of the above issues by purchasing the superior Sony 7600GR.

I am not sure that should respond to something like this at all, but
just for the sake of fairness - 7600GR doesn't appear to be superior.
Reception and sound are not better than in De/Ka 1103, display is not
too good either, no battery charger (I hope there is no need to explain
about AC adaptor and SW), and also a bit larger and heavier than 1103
(this is important in my outdoor uses). Somehow Sony have managed to
come up with item inferior to 1103, - which is confirmed by slightly
lower ratings in all the rviews that I've seen. 7600GR is no longer
manufactured, if I'm correct, - and there is nothing newer or better
from Sony to replace it.

wrote:
On Dec 21, 8:16 am, "Guerite" wrote:
Had you saved a few more pennies from your paper route you could have solved
all of the above issues by purchasing the superior Sony 7600GR.

I am not sure that should respond to something like this at all, but
just for the sake of fairness - 7600GR doesn't appear to be superior.
Reception and sound are not better than in De/Ka 1103, display is not
too good either, no battery charger (I hope there is no need to explain
about AC adaptor and SW), and also a bit larger and heavier than 1103
(this is important in my outdoor uses). Somehow Sony have managed to
come up with item inferior to 1103, - which is confirmed by slightly
lower ratings in all the rviews that I've seen. 7600GR is no longer
manufactured, if I'm correct, - and there is nothing newer or better
from Sony to replace it.

I am always a little bit wary of reviews. Do you own both radios so
that the comparison that you are makeing is from your own experience or
from reading reviews that others have written?

I am curious as to your outdoor use. Do you walk around with the
radio? I like Degen for walking around because it is compact.

From what I hear the 7600GR sync detector actually works well. If this
is true then this may *in some cases* shoot down your argument that
radio is inferior. I think it might be better to just say that they
are different. I am listening to an AM broadcast now and it doesn't
sound very good on my Racal RA-17 or on my ICOM R75. The distortion is
actually quite annoying at times. Maybe it would sound better on a
7600GR with the sync detector. Would I then have to say the 7600GR was
a better radio than either of the above? Probably not, just different
and maybe better at certain things. I have the Degen and am hoping
that my clan might gift me the Sony ICF SW7600GR for Christmas. I will
probably buy the Red Sun RP2100 in a few days as well - I will use the
excuse that I need to have a radio with IF out in order to purchase. I
am sure that I will find one radio to be better than another at one
thing and so on.

We are fortunate to live in the times we do - electronics are
reasonably priced and most of us can probably afford to have more than
one radio, so we have a choice. Color TV cost near 500 dollars in
1965. For most in those times that was better than 2 weeks worth of
pay. Today we can find a nice color TV set for 100 dollars. That is
maybe a day or so worth of wages for most.

73
NEO