Wondering if a radio is "as good" as another radio, so many factors must be
taken into account. How much money the user has to spend on a radio or on
batteries, whether listening will be through the radio's speaker or through
headphones, how much desk space or suitcase space is available for the
radio, if the radio is used in daylight or dark.. the list goes on.

For someone who has less than $100 to spend, I think the 1102 would be the
only radio to consider.

I have many radios. But the only way I would say that my DX398 is a better
radio than my 1102 would be if I was trying to justify its cost. Right now,
my 1102 is my workhorse radio. My 398 is sitting under my computer. If the
batteries run down on my 1102 some night while I'm listening to Coast to
Coast, I'll pull out my 398 and finish the night on it, and recharge the
1102 the next morning.