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#1
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"N8KDV" wrote...
Sanjaya wrote: "Diverd4777" wrote... Hi Sanjaya: - It would be interesting if you could do a " Head To Head" comparison of these two radios ( Degen 1101 and 1102 ) on the same faint station; - Such as 12.095 ( BBC from Ascension Island) which is ( for me) a difficult catch I suppose off the whip and then with an external antenna to make it more interesting; & BYW , thanks for all these posts. Dan Yes, southeast USA. I am situated pretty well for getting lots of broadcasts here. And you're welcome. I know others will have different opinions of the 1102. And of course the big rigs with wires can get all kinds of stuff I'll never hear. Everything we post is subjective I guess. But I can only go with what I know and like. For the $68.50 I spent on this radio I think it's a great value. |
#2
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"Tom Welch" wrote..
Sanjaya: How is this radio on FM? And have you encountered any of the bugs others have reported? How long does this radio go on a charge of batteries? Finally, do you think a program listener would be better off buying the 1101 instead or is the 1102 a better performer? Tom Welch Hi Tom. FM reception is good, There is a bass boost for headphone listening, and stereo through the headphones too. MW is good also, by the standard I use... WOAI 1200 kHz in San Antonio, Texas. It's about 960 miles from me and everytime I get a new radio I try that on MW. I haven't encountered any bugs. Unless you count having to read the manual to learn how certain features work : ) The speaker sounds very good for a small radio, but I don't use it for music other than the music I hear on shortwave. There is a "news/music" switch to change the tone. I'm testing the batteries now. First charge of the included NiMH batteries... only about 8 hours of use so far, so I don't know how long they'll last yet. However, they can be charged right in the radio, which to me is a big plus. I'll post again if you want and let you know about battery life. Reading the radiointel reviews of the 1102 and 1101 I see that the 1101 leaves a bit to be desired in the area of selectivity. The 1102 is dual conversion and has good selectivity. Also, according to the review the 1101 is only 9 kHz steps on MW. My DE1102 can be set for 9 or 10 kHz steps on MW. I don't know if current models of the radios are the same as the ones reviewed. http://www.radiointel.com/reviews.htm My answer to your question, not having tested an 1101, is that the DE1102 is a better performer. The only thing I'd change on the 1102 is that the "on" button doesn't turn the radio on permanently. Default is a 99 minute timer. But you can turn that off and have the radio on permanently by holding down the "exit" button for 2 seconds, then in sequence pressing the "enter" button and the "exit" button again. I have forgotten to do that a couple of times and the radio shut off after 99 minutes. The page system is ok, but SSB is only available in page 9. So that could be a drawback for some. I don't like having to refer to the manual. I've had to get it out a couple of times to remind myself how stuff works. I can live with that though because of the quality of the radio versus the cost. $70 *delivered* for a dual conversion, PLL synthesized SSB capable shortwave radio!!! Right now I'd say it's the best value in a shortwave radio I've ever seen. |
#3
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Dan: Check Michaels posting of a month or two back. He has both
radios and found that the 1101 was more selective on SW. The RadioIntel review mentioned problems with a MW local 5kw station bleeding over. Russ made no mention of selectivity problems on SW. The program listener would probably get along fine on the 1101 although, personally, I like the ability to be able to off tune a KHz or two as necessary. The 1101 tunes in 5 KHz steps only. Regards Bob Sanjaya" wrote in message hlink.net... "Tom Welch" wrote.. Sanjaya: How is this radio on FM? And have you encountered any of the bugs others have reported? How long does this radio go on a charge of batteries? Finally, do you think a program listener would be better off buying the 1101 instead or is the 1102 a better performer? Tom Welch Hi Tom. FM reception is good, There is a bass boost for headphone listening, and stereo through the headphones too. MW is good also, by the standard I use... WOAI 1200 kHz in San Antonio, Texas. It's about 960 miles from me and everytime I get a new radio I try that on MW. I haven't encountered any bugs. Unless you count having to read the manual to learn how certain features work : ) The speaker sounds very good for a small radio, but I don't use it for music other than the music I hear on shortwave. There is a "news/music" switch to change the tone. I'm testing the batteries now. First charge of the included NiMH batteries... only about 8 hours of use so far, so I don't know how long they'll last yet. However, they can be charged right in the radio, which to me is a big plus. I'll post again if you want and let you know about battery life. Reading the radiointel reviews of the 1102 and 1101 I see that the 1101 leaves a bit to be desired in the area of selectivity. The 1102 is dual conversion and has good selectivity. Also, according to the review the 1101 is only 9 kHz steps on MW. My DE1102 can be set for 9 or 10 kHz steps on MW. I don't know if current models of the radios are the same as the ones reviewed. http://www.radiointel.com/reviews.htm My answer to your question, not having tested an 1101, is that the DE1102 is a better performer. The only thing I'd change on the 1102 is that the "on" button doesn't turn the radio on permanently. Default is a 99 minute timer. But you can turn that off and have the radio on permanently by holding down the "exit" button for 2 seconds, then in sequence pressing the "enter" button and the "exit" button again. I have forgotten to do that a couple of times and the radio shut off after 99 minutes. The page system is ok, but SSB is only available in page 9. So that could be a drawback for some. I don't like having to refer to the manual. I've had to get it out a couple of times to remind myself how stuff works. I can live with that though because of the quality of the radio versus the cost. $70 *delivered* for a dual conversion, PLL synthesized SSB capable shortwave radio!!! Right now I'd say it's the best value in a shortwave radio I've ever seen. |
#4
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Sanjaya:
I ordered the Kaito 1102 from Grove Enterprises this morning and should have the radio by Monday afternoon. I really like the pictures I have seen of this radio...the backlighting and such. I am hoping this is a step up from the Sangean ATS 606 I now have. BTW, I ordered a black radio, not a silver one. Let us know of your experiences with your 1102. Does the longwire make a difference? Tom Welch |
#5
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"Tom Welch" wrote...
Sanjaya: I ordered the Kaito 1102 from Grove Enterprises this morning and should have the radio by Monday afternoon. I really like the pictures I have seen of this radio...the backlighting and such. I am hoping this is a step up from the Sangean ATS 606 I now have. BTW, I ordered a black radio, not a silver one. Let us know of your experiences with your 1102. Does the longwire make a difference? Tom Welch Hi Tom. The wire that comes with the DE1102 is only about 12 feet. Get a Sangean Ant-60, I think universal-radio.com has them for $13 US. It's 23 feet, and can be clipped to a window frame. That's all I use other than the whip on each radio. It makes a difference with weaker stations for me. The ATS-606 is a good radio. I love mine (aka RS DX-399) You'll like having the SSB function of the 1102 available. And the size is comparable, making it excellent for travel. I'm thinking of boxing up some of the other radios lying around here. The 1102 is really excellent in my opinion. But it is a bit more complicated to use than other portables. So read the manual. After following the procedures it outlines for charging the batteries, turning off the 99 minute default sleep timer and a few other things a couple of times you'll forget about the learning curve. When I compare the price of the Sangean to the Degen/Kaito and what you get for the money (including 3 rechargeable batteries that charge in the radio, SSB, 190 presets etc.) I'd recommend the 1102 hands down. |
#6
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Sanjaya:
I actually have the DX-399, but I wanted another radio to play with and the 1102 running off rechargeable batteries seemed like the right radio for me. I hope I get a good one!!! Tom Welch |
#7
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This is interesting, now. Nobody is seriously developing a really good shortwave portable radio that will satisfy high standards both for program listeners and DX-ers. Instead, one or three Chinese companies are busily cranking out millions of units of the same three or four models, each under half a dozen brand names with similar model designations, and selling them at prices who's relationship to production cost is more logarythmic than mere doubling or multiples of three or four. I am using old computer gear here, doing email on an old DOSosaurus era setup, so going on EBay is sort of out of the question for this little workstation. However, with a little help from a friend, I did check EBay for some shortwave radios. Under Tecsun BCL-2000, we found one seller in Shanghai, China, who was selling the black model BCL-2000 for $42 dollars, "Buy it Now". Shipping to the United States was listed at $38 and you could pay through PayPal. There's a seller in Michigan, near the Detroit area, who offers the red TecSun BCL-2000 for $69.99 as the "Buy it Now" price. Shipping in the United States and Canada is $14.99, and he ships only to the US and Canada. He says it is the "newer, improved model, made after April, 2003." It is also said to be the same as the Grundig S-350 with the same frequency coverage, including the expanded medium-wave spectrum, and comes with the same accessories as the S-350. Also included is the 240-V to 120-V step-down converter. The description from the seller in Shanghai mentioned nothing about the inclusion of a step-down converter. So, we have a seller in the country of origin who can buy this radio and sell it at enough of a proffit to consider the effort worthwhile and charge $42 dollars per unit and you pay shipping. The seller in Michigan, who usually says he has nine, or maybe six, units available sells it at a "buy it now" price for one cent less than $70 dollars and you pay shipping. Radio dealers who sell the rebadged Grundig iteration of this radio claim it to sell at full retail for $149.99 and your price today is $99.99, plus something for shipping. All these little coat-pocket- and shirt-pocket-sized things that are selling for as little as $10 plus shipping in the USA must cost almost nothing to make, maybe something like two or three dollars. In the meantime, Every single shortwave-capable radio sold on the market now has thin, unbalanced and weak audio quality. The big, expensive "Grundig Satellit" 800 really doesn't sound any better than the S-350/BCL-2000, and can actually be more tiring to listen to for a long period of time through its own speaker. I thought the shipping for a BCL-2000 from Michigan was rather high, but I bought from him anyway, figuring I would get it faster from Michigan than from China, and I knew the step-down voltage converter would be included, something that was omitted from the description posted by the Chinese seller. The PayPal transaction was completed on a Saturday night, so he couldn't have shipped it out before last Monday. I received it via UPS early on Wednesday afternoon last week, shipping from the Detroit, Michigan area to me in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Had he shipped it by UPS ground, I might be getting it today, the following Monday, and my shipping cost might have been closer to six or seven dollars instead of one cent shy of fifteen dollars. I've been rather busy, so I have not had the time yet to take out both the S-350 and the BCL-2000 and compare them side by side. The only immediately apparent physical differences seem to be the color, the logo on the front, and the presence of a power supply inside the BCL-2000 that makes it a little bit heavier. The Tecsun has a rubber plug to cover the RCA external speaker jacks when they are not being used; the Grundig S-350 does not. If the BCL-2000 is facing with the front panel facing you, there is an AC power jack in the top left corner of the back of the radio. It accepts the exact same type of plug as some of the older European portables of the late 1980's, such as the Grundig Satellit 400, or the Philips D-2999. The power cord supplied with the BCL-2000 is a standard North American-style non-polarized plug, and you then plug that into the stepdown converter, giving you, Yuckie!, a wall wart. On the S-350, the cut-out for the power plug and the vented area just under it is covered over by a glued-on thin piece of what feels like thin flexible plastic, or plastic-coated cardboard. Behind it, and I peeled back one corner, is that hole where the power plug should be and a sizeable empty space where the BCL-2000 has its power supply. There didn't appear to be any screw holes in the S-350's cabinet where that plug would have been held in place, although it could probably just be snapped in place. The extra power supply makes the BCL-2000 feel slightly heavier than the S-350. Except for the logo, the placement and shapes of all the knobs and switches appear to be the same on both radios. I guess I'll just have to take them both out and see if the BCL-2000 really is any better than the S-350. THe jack, which must be for the 12-volt power source, like a lighter adapter plug for use in a car, is also present on the BCL-2000 as it is in the S-350, and it is in the same place on both radios. I remember reading that the BCL-2000 has a true on/off switch instead of the nondefeatable 90-minute sleep timer. That does not appear to be the case with this one I bought. The power switch looks exactly the same on both radios. MOre later, after I have a chance to put both units through the test from hell in the reception location from Hell. Later: It is a bit over a day later, and I spent about five hours between 11:00 PM North American Eastern Standard Time and 4:00 AM in the morning playing with both radios. I ran each on batteries, with both radios having batteries taken from the same 8-pack of D-cells. In addition to the features I've already mentioned, I noticed that the soft vinyl wrap for the folds of the shoulder strap which makes a carry handle, is about two inches longer on my BCL-2000 than on the S-350, so it's "handle" is longer, but thinner than the Grundig's. All jacks, except for that already mentioned AC power plug on the BCL-2000, and all buttons, knobs, and switches are exactly the same on both radios. The EBay seller says that the BCL-2000 is the same as the Grundig S-350 and claims that frequency coverage is the same. He specifically lists medium wave coverage as being from 530-1700 KHz. This is NOT! so. The S-350's dial goes past 1700 quite a bit, and I listened a few minutes to, "Real Oldies," on 1690 KHz from Chicago. There was a faint signal on 1700 KHz that I did not try to hear long enough to ID. On the BCL-2000, the last clear station at the top of the MW dial was a "sports news" station on 1640 and the dial went on up just a tiny bit above that. It might be able to hear a station broadcasting on 1650 KHz, and that just barely with it coming in at the very top of the dial's tuning range. Both radios seemed to tune down to the same low frequency on the MW band. FM and SW coverage were exactly the same on both radios. My S-350 was bought used from a fellow who bought it new from a Ham Radio Outlet some time last summer, so I think it is most likely one of what the BCL-2000 seller calls the "new and improved model made after April, 2003", (or was it February, 2003 he claimed?) The difference in performance between these two samples was noticeable in some respects, but so slight as to fall within the realm of quibbling or knit-picking. The antenna hinge screw was a little tighter on the newer BCL-2000. The whips were the same size, with the same number of segments on both radios. Note that my comparison is only among these two samples and in my location. Both radios appear to be equally well built and well finished. Except for the mistake in MW frequency coverage claimed for the Tecsun, everything on both radios is as advertised. The S-350 seems to have a very slightly stronger amplifier, putting out a higher volume at maximum power on batteries than the BCL-2000, but that would not sway me in favor of one radio over the other if that were the only difference between them. Both radios heard the same FM stations with the same clarity and selectivity under the same listening conditions with the antennas used the same way on both radios. Between 530 and 1640 KHz, both radios received the same signals with the same strength, clarity, and separation among signals. The wide and narrow bandwidth filters, the tone controls, and the gain control worked exactly the same on both radios. The biggest difference in reception performance with these two radios came in the lower of the two shortwave bands, beginning around 2300 KHz. The Tecsun was a little quieter in the interstation areas than the S-350. The Grundig was slightly bothered by some stray external RF interference, and played a very low level of a sound similar to the buzz that might come from fluorescent lights with bad ballasts. I have no fluorescent lights in this apartment. It was late enough that most of my immediate neighbors would have long sense packed it in for the night. Since I am totally blind and don't need to look at the dials, I had no lights on in the apartment. Other items turned on included the stereo amplifier in the next room, the heater fan, the exhaust fan on low over the kitchen range, a desk-top computer, a laptop computer, all in the next room, and the fridge in the kitchen. The cable TV box was turned off, but it was plugged in. Radio testing was conducted on my bed, about 7 feet from the north-facing window. It might be noted that, the Grundig Satellit 210/6001, which was plugged in to AC power via a power bar sold for plugging in computer gear, exhibited more noise interference in the frequency spectrum from 1610-4,000 KHz than did the S-350 running on batteries. The Sat 210 also had some serious noise interference at the very bottom of the MW band. I like the Tecsun's extra power plug feature and the fact that it is slightly quieter at the bottom part of the lowest shortwave band. I do like the idea that the amplifier of the S-350 seems to be slightly stronger with stronger audio output on batteries, and I do like the extended mediumwave coverage. There actually is something to hear up there, at least at night in this location. I guess I could just about say that the two radios draw about even in a head-to-head comparison. I'll probably keep both, unless somebody wants to offer me something I might not be able to refuse for one of them. For somebody in the USA and Canada interested in serious medium wave (AM broadcast) listening, the nod has to go to the Grundig S-350, both for full broadcast band coverage and for a slightly stronger sounding amplifier which will cause you to perceive tht it may have slightly better bass frequency response than the Tecsun BCL-2000. If it's shortwave you're after mostly, and you live in range of tropical band signals, the slight nod has to go to the slightly quieter BCL-2000. Reply to: Brent Reynolds, Atlanta, GA USA |
#9
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In article . net, Sanjaya wrote: Still testing this radio.The page system with SSB only on page 9 leaves a little to be desired, but it has great speaker sound, it's sensitive and selective... dual conversion. Noticeable, but not terrible, hum when using the a/c adaptor and included 220/110 converter. It's plugged into the wall outlet, so I'll see if an RFI/EMI shielded surge suppressor helps. Setup of 10k steps for MW and 24 hour clock is done by taking out the batteries and reinserting them after the display goes blank. Then pressing buttons in sequence. Takes a little practice, but worked for me by following the instructions in the English manual. It looks very cool with the whole keypad lighted up in the dark. The radiointel review is located here http://www.radiointel.com/review-degende1102.htm The quality is very good. Nice looking, solid. Small, but well built, and has SSB. I would like to publically thank eBay seller Liypn for his great service and product. I can't vouch for other radios, but the DE1102 is an excellent value. The radio arrived from China 7 days after I got his notification of having sent it. Liypn's eBay store is at http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=68650377&ssPageName=L2 He has more Degen 1102s and some Tecsun PL-230s. Shipping is $19 US, but the radio's cost offsets that, and again... it arrived in seven days. It included a free power converter also. I will purchase from him again. Anyone who likes to play with new stuff and can afford the ~$69 (incl. shipping) should check out the DE1102 from Liypn. Echo your comments about this little jewel, and eBay seller Lipyn. The radio arrived from Hong Kong 8 days after his stated ship date, and in perfect shape. I was a little confused by his statement that an "english manual is available", but in fact this model was _designed_ for export. The manual is Chinese/English depending on which end you start reading from. I am constantly comparing this to the Sangean ATS-606 (RS DX-399) as the two radios are virtually identical in size, and both use three AA batteries. It is amazing, though, in the years between the design of this older radio and the newer Degen, how much technology has been packed into a box of the same size, and for less than half the price. I am reminded of my first sessions with the Icom IC-R70, which is the only radio I've used that rivals this one for its convoluted, non-intuitive user interface. The design is a marvel of stacking multiple functions on the same keys. I really need to make a quick-reference card, especially to have a handy list of the default step sizes on the different memory pages. All in all, it's money well spent. This is the best value in a portable I've seen on a _long_ time. |
#10
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"Mike S." wrote... [snip] All in all, it's money well spent. This is the best value in a portable I've seen on a _long_ time. That really says it all. I boxed up my YB400 and use the 1102 now. Plug it in every so often and recharge the batteries while I sleep. |
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