My $12.00 Degen DE105 ( same as KAITO KA105 ) purchased on eBay does
not perform as well as my $1800.00 Drake R8B. The DE105 seems to be
inferior in every respect except two. The portability of the DE105 is
far superior to that of the Drake R8B and the price is better. My
advise is as follows:

If you are expecting Drake R8B performance in a $12.00
portable, you will be as disappointed as I was. I was hoping to not
have to carry my R8 in a laptop bag along with a 100 mile long
extension cord.

If you are looking for a small digital receiver under $20.00
that will pick up the major SW stations as well as AM and FM and still
fit in your shirt pocket, look no further. The audio quality is what
most rational people would expect from a very small speaker. I will
admit that I am still struggeling with the fact that a 1 inch speaker
does not sound as good as my four way dual 12 speakers at home.

$12.00 Degen DE105?

Degen DE105:
http://www.degen.com.cn/product/105.htm

KAITO KA105
http://www.radios4you.com/kaito-ka105-LG.html

- This is listing for

KAITO KA105 SHORTWAVE RADIO
$49.95 + $7.05 S/H/I in the USA

- Are you sure its $12:00 on Ebay?
If so, send me the link..

- $12:00 ??

That would cover the normal SH / Handling...
Or buy a Pot of Roadkill Chile..

Mighty toothsome in this cold weather..
:-)

Dan



In article , Fred
writes:

Subject: KAITO KA105 vs Drake R8B
From: Fred
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 15:06:59 GMT

My $12.00 Degen DE105 ( same as KAITO KA105 ) purchased on eBay does
not perform as well as my $1800.00 Drake R8B. The DE105 seems to be
inferior in every respect except two. The portability of the DE105 is
far superior to that of the Drake R8B and the price is better. My
advise is as follows:

If you are expecting Drake R8B performance in a $12.00
portable, you will be as disappointed as I was. I was hoping to not
have to carry my R8 in a laptop bag along with a 100 mile long
extension cord.

If you are looking for a small digital receiver under $20.00
that will pick up the major SW stations as well as AM and FM and still
fit in your shirt pocket, look no further. The audio quality is what
most rational people would expect from a very small speaker. I will
admit that I am still struggeling with the fact that a 1 inch speaker
does not sound as good as my four way dual 12 speakers at home.

Is the case REALLY an aluminum alloy as the ads state? I find that hard to
believe in a $12 radio...


"Fred" wrote in message
...
My $12.00 Degen DE105 ( same as KAITO KA105 ) purchased on eBay does
not perform as well as my $1800.00 Drake R8B. The DE105 seems to be
inferior in every respect except two. The portability of the DE105 is
far superior to that of the Drake R8B and the price is better. My
advise is as follows:

If you are expecting Drake R8B performance in a $12.00
portable, you will be as disappointed as I was. I was hoping to not
have to carry my R8 in a laptop bag along with a 100 mile long
extension cord.

If you are looking for a small digital receiver under $20.00
that will pick up the major SW stations as well as AM and FM and still
fit in your shirt pocket, look no further. The audio quality is what
most rational people would expect from a very small speaker. I will
admit that I am still struggeling with the fact that a 1 inch speaker
does not sound as good as my four way dual 12 speakers at home.

"Jim Hackett" wrote...
Is the case REALLY an aluminum alloy as the ads state? I find that hard to
believe in a $12 radio...

Only the front of the radio is aluminum. The rest of the
case is plastic.
I think the reference to $12 was meant to be funny.
I've never seen the Degen version that low, more like
$25 to $35. I *think* the Degen comes with a Chinese manual,
Chinese lettering on the case, and a 220v adaptor with no
converter.
The Kaito version is more expensive at places like
univeral-radio.com and radios4you.com, but it has an English
manual and lettering, plus the proper voltage adaptor.
I love mine.

"Diverd4777" wrote...
$25 to $ 35 + Sh / H without a manual or Wall wart
still works for me..
If it came down to $12,
- that'd be a winner

Dan ( Waitin' for the snow to start again . . )

The only Degen version I can find on eBay is here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tegory=15 051
(copy/paste the URL if it wrapped... the item number is 3074178537)
Buy it now price $34.99 + 9.99 shipping.
Not much more and you can get the Kaito version with English manual
and proper adapter at Universal or another online retailer. But not the
Kaito website... they raised the price.
Be aware that the SW coverage is 5.95 MHz to 15.60 MHz.
That is the only drawback I have found, but I knew it had limited
coverage before getting it.
You won't need the adapter at all if you use rechargeable batteries.
I got 66 hours with my first set of AA alkalines, before the low
battery icon appeared. 2 hours later it was still working and I put
in rechargeables. 68 hours + on one set... not bad : )