KAITO KA105 Comparisons ??
 

Hi All:

This ' Little" SWR still has me looking at it;
Already have a Jwnin JX-m14 of about the same dimensions..
- Which fades, overloads & is Not really up to the spec I'd like
( Althought the price sure is good..! )

- So:
has anyone done any Side - By - Side comparisons of the
KAITO KA105 and any other mid range SWR..

We'd all apprecate any effort in this direction

Thanks

Dan

"Diverd4777" wrote.
Hi All:

This ' Little" SWR still has me looking at it;
Already have a Jwnin JX-m14 of about the same dimensions..
- Which fades, overloads & is Not really up to the spec I'd like
( Althought the price sure is good..! )

- So:
has anyone done any Side - By - Side comparisons of the
KAITO KA105 and any other mid range SWR..

We'd all apprecate any effort in this direction

Thanks

Dan


Hi Dan.
This was my reply to another Kaito KA105 thread. No side by side comparisons with JWin,
but this afternoon I picked up Africa Number One off the whip of the KA105 (9580kHz about
2200 UTC)
Here's what I said about it on January 15, 2004
-------
wrote wrote...
Anyone have a Kaito KA105? I was just surfing around Universal Radio's web
site and found a neat little radio. You can see a picture at:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/3633.html

David
KF6DGN


Hi David. That is the link for another radio. This is the
KA105 link...
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/0105.html
I have one.
I like it.. Lot's of features and great battery life.
(53 hours and counting on the first set of AA alkalines)
It is not dual conversion, and regardless of claims that it
"works like dual conversion", I don't think it does.
Yet, I've had only minor imaging and interference. So that
isn't a problem.
It's sensitive and pulls in shortwave stations well. For it's size,
it's got excellent sound from the speaker, and
good stereo FM through the earbuds. When I first started
playing with it I was sort of surprised by the sound from
the speaker.
It has digital tuning with direct entry keypad, 30 presets
divided into 10 each for FM, MW, and SW.
The biggest drawback is the limited coverage in SW.
5.95 MHz to 15.60 MHz. But that's good enough if you
have a full coverage radio also.
You'll want a stand to set the radio on when using it. The
carry strap/tab that acts as a "flip stand", though innovative,
is not practical unless you won't be picking up the radio after
you set it down to listen. The tab drops out and you have to
reposition it if you pick up the radio to adjust the antenna, change
frequencies etc. Universal sells a small stand, and has a picture
of the KA105 resting on it.
I got the KA105 because I wanted small SW radio with digital tuning,
to take to work. I can carry it in my shirt pocket.
It has met or exceeded all my expectations as far as sound and
sensitivity... and the digital tuning is a major plus. That's why
I bought it.
------
P.S. The battery icon came on at 66 hours of speaker at low to mid
volume use. I replaced the batteries at 68 hours.

Thanks Sanjaya;

Shirt pocket is about the right size..

Dan

In article . net, "Sanjaya"
writes:



"Diverd4777" wrote.
Hi All:

This ' Little" SWR still has me looking at it;
Already have a Jwnin JX-m14 of about the same dimensions..
- Which fades, overloads & is Not really up to the spec I'd like
( Althought the price sure is good..! )

- So:
has anyone done any Side - By - Side comparisons of the
KAITO KA105 and any other mid range SWR..

We'd all apprecate any effort in this direction

Thanks

Dan


Hi Dan.
This was my reply to another Kaito KA105 thread. No side by side comparisons
with JWin,
but this afternoon I picked up Africa Number One off the whip of the KA105
(9580kHz about
2200 UTC)
Here's what I said about it on January 15, 2004
-------
wrote wrote...
Anyone have a Kaito KA105? I was just surfing around Universal Radio's web
site and found a neat little radio. You can see a picture at:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/3633.html

David
KF6DGN


Hi David. That is the link for another radio. This is the
KA105 link...
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/0105.html
I have one.
I like it.. Lot's of features and great battery life.
(53 hours and counting on the first set of AA alkalines)
It is not dual conversion, and regardless of claims that it
"works like dual conversion", I don't think it does.
Yet, I've had only minor imaging and interference. So that
isn't a problem.
It's sensitive and pulls in shortwave stations well. For it's size,
it's got excellent sound from the speaker, and
good stereo FM through the earbuds. When I first started
playing with it I was sort of surprised by the sound from
the speaker.
It has digital tuning with direct entry keypad, 30 presets
divided into 10 each for FM, MW, and SW.
The biggest drawback is the limited coverage in SW.
5.95 MHz to 15.60 MHz. But that's good enough if you
have a full coverage radio also.
You'll want a stand to set the radio on when using it. The
carry strap/tab that acts as a "flip stand", though innovative,
is not practical unless you won't be picking up the radio after
you set it down to listen. The tab drops out and you have to
reposition it if you pick up the radio to adjust the antenna, change
frequencies etc. Universal sells a small stand, and has a picture
of the KA105 resting on it.
I got the KA105 because I wanted small SW radio with digital tuning,
to take to work. I can carry it in my shirt pocket.
It has met or exceeded all my expectations as far as sound and
sensitivity... and the digital tuning is a major plus. That's why
I bought it.
------
P.S. The battery icon came on at 66 hours of speaker at low to mid
volume use. I replaced the batteries at 68 hours.

"Diverd4777" wrote... Hi All:

This ' Little" SWR still has me looking at it;
Already have a Jwnin JX-m14 of about the same dimensions..
- Which fades, overloads & is Not really up to the spec I'd like
( Althought the price sure is good..! )

- So:
has anyone done any Side - By - Side comparisons of the
KAITO KA105 and any other mid range SWR..

We'd all apprecate any effort in this direction

Thanks

Dan


Hi Dan and all interested parties.
Russ of radiointel.com has reviewed the KA105
http://www.radiointel.com/review-kaitoka105.htm

Hi Sanjaya :
Thanks for the heads-up !

Dan ( & 13d degrees here in nyc.c.c.)


In article .net, "Sanjaya"
writes:


"Diverd4777" wrote... Hi All:

This ' Little" SWR still has me looking at it;
Already have a Jwnin JX-m14 of about the same dimensions..
- Which fades, overloads & is Not really up to the spec I'd like
( Althought the price sure is good..! )

- So:
has anyone done any Side - By - Side comparisons of the
KAITO KA105 and any other mid range SWR..

We'd all apprecate any effort in this direction

Thanks

Dan


Hi Dan and all interested parties.
Russ of radiointel.com has reviewed the KA105
http://www.radiointel.com/review-kaitoka105.htm

"Diverd4777" wrote...
Hi Sanjaya :
Thanks for the heads-up !

Dan ( & 13d degrees here in nyc.c.c.)

You're welcome.
19 degrees F and dropping here in Knoxville, TN

13 degrees-- 19 degrees..

The candidate who promises
a heated swimmin pool in each house gets my vote

Braving the cold a bit later on..

Stay warm !

Dan




In article .net, "Sanjaya"
writes:


"Diverd4777" wrote...
Hi Sanjaya :
Thanks for the heads-up !

Dan ( & 13d degrees here in nyc.c.c.)

You're welcome.
19 degrees F and dropping here in Knoxville, TN

I just received the Degen DE105 from an eBay dealer. I was prepared for
the Chinese manual; and actually figured out everything easily enough. I
was a bit put off by the labels, though; as the photo in the ad (as on the
front of the box) shows the controls with English labels, but the actual
radio is entirely labelled in Chinese.

The initial displeasure aside; this is a terrific bargain for the $25 -
$30 that these things usually go for on eBay. As I read the description of
the little plastic tag being used as an ersatz stand, I was instantly
reminded that Sony did the same thing on their (at the time) revolutionary
ICF-SW1 portable.

The more I use the 105, the more I am convinced they used the basic design
features of the IFC-SW1 and shoehorned the usual Chinese shortwave radio
technology (right down to the weird arrangement of numbers on the keypad
and the two-size numeric display). So there it is, folks. This is a
single-conversion, Chinese knock-off of 1980's Sony technology, at a tiny
fraction of the original price.

This is definitely going on my next trip ... time to buy another as a
spare :-)

review of the KA105 is now posted at http://www.radiointel.com/index.htm
along with good pictures

click on the "Kaito KA105 Review" on the home page.

73 Russ

Mike and all:

How's the KA105 on FM, using earphone vs.
background hiss?

Tom Welch