I just got the Degen 1103 from China. It took about 10 days for delivery.
First off,
the package had over 10 China stamps on it for my son's stamp collection, so
that was a bonus. My first day impressions are this is a GREAT radio! It
definitely outperforms
past portables I owned including the Grundig YB 400, Radio Shack DX-440, and
Sony SW 100. It's top strength is excellent sensitivity on all bands.
Actually superior sensitivity. I checked for fringe stations for my area and
it digged them out with the whip not used. On FM bands it is superb. I also
got two TV channels on it on the lower FM band. One TV station is 90 miles
away and it gets it. Only my GE SuperRadio III could get that TV channel,
and the Degen does it slightly better. AM band is also just as good. I am
just starting to check the shortwave bands. So this is a great radio thus
far. Though under $100, a radio like this would easily be above $200 five
years ago.

"David" wrote in message news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...
I just got the Degen 1103 from China. It took about 10 days for delivery.
First off,
the package had over 10 China stamps on it for my son's stamp collection, so
that was a bonus. My first day impressions are this is a GREAT radio! It
definitely outperforms
past portables I owned including the Grundig YB 400, Radio Shack DX-440, and
Sony SW 100. It's top strength is excellent sensitivity on all bands.
Actually superior sensitivity. I checked for fringe stations for my area and
it digged them out with the whip not used. On FM bands it is superb. I also
got two TV channels on it on the lower FM band. One TV station is 90 miles
away and it gets it. Only my GE SuperRadio III could get that TV channel,
and the Degen does it slightly better. AM band is also just as good. I am
just starting to check the shortwave bands. So this is a great radio thus
far. Though under $100, a radio like this would easily be above $200 five
years ago.



Ten days from China sounds like you got it from Liypn. So it's been tested by
him and it's from the post-Sept. 28, 2004 manuafacturing run, when they fixed
the tuning knob glitch.

I love it too. I don't use my YB-400 or 7600GR as much now that I've got
the 1103.

Give us your feedback on the ergonomics. I found no problem getting used to
the volume control and number buttons layout. If I had disliked them very much
I think the SW reception of the radio would make up for it ten fold.

Be ready for a few posters here to tell you it's Chinese crap and insuate you are
a communist or (God knows why) were actually born in China. What counts for
me is the performance. And at about $65 US delivered, it's the best value in a
portable I have ever seen.

Sanjaya wrote:
"David" wrote in message news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...


snip
I've heard other positive comments of various radios on this NG
but based on this thread, I just asked my wife for an 1103 for Christmas.
Just a question of wheather to deal with broccoli or liypn.

"pickle" wrote in message ...
Sanjaya wrote:
"David" wrote in message news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...


snip
I've heard other positive comments of various radios on this NG
but based on this thread, I just asked my wife for an 1103 for Christmas.
Just a question of wheather to deal with broccoli or liypn.

I suggest Liypn because he tests his radios before shipping and is sending
only the post-Sept. 28 model, when Degen fixed the sporadic tuning
knob problem some users had. The longest it's taken for me to get a radio
from him is 7 days. The only drawback is that items are shipped certified
mail and you have to sign for them. That entails an additional day and a trip
to the post office if no one is home when it comes.

Brochhi ships from the US, so the radio would arrive more quickly, and I didn't
have to sign for the shipment I received from him. I think it was via FedEx and my
signature is on file there so they left it on the doorstep.
Might have been US Postal Service, can't remember.
However, Brochhi doesn't state that he is sending the "fixed" ones.
He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.

"Sanjaya" wrote in message
ink.net...

"pickle" wrote in message
...
Sanjaya wrote:
"David" wrote in message
news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...


snip
I've heard other positive comments of various radios on this NG
but based on this thread, I just asked my wife for an 1103 for Christmas.
Just a question of wheather to deal with broccoli or liypn.

I suggest Liypn because he tests his radios before shipping and is
sending
only the post-Sept. 28 model, when Degen fixed the sporadic tuning
knob problem some users had. The longest it's taken for me to get a radio
from him is 7 days. The only drawback is that items are shipped certified
mail and you have to sign for them. That entails an additional day and a
trip
to the post office if no one is home when it comes.

Brochhi ships from the US, so the radio would arrive more quickly, and I
didn't
have to sign for the shipment I received from him. I think it was via
FedEx and my
signature is on file there so they left it on the doorstep.
Might have been US Postal Service, can't remember.
However, Brochhi doesn't state that he is sending the "fixed" ones.
He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with
Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's
sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.



Brocchi is cheaper, and you get a real 110v adapter with it where the other
guy sends a fire hazard step down transformer. The fire hazard was mentioned
in Passport 2005. I bought mine 3 months ago and don't have one problem with
it. Plus I got the radio in 3 days.

Lucky

"Lucky" wrote in message ...

"Sanjaya" wrote in message
ink.net...

"pickle" wrote in message
...
Sanjaya wrote:
"David" wrote in message
news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...


snip
I've heard other positive comments of various radios on this NG
but based on this thread, I just asked my wife for an 1103 for Christmas.
Just a question of wheather to deal with broccoli or liypn.

I suggest Liypn because he tests his radios before shipping and is
sending
only the post-Sept. 28 model, when Degen fixed the sporadic tuning
knob problem some users had. The longest it's taken for me to get a radio
from him is 7 days. The only drawback is that items are shipped certified
mail and you have to sign for them. That entails an additional day and a
trip
to the post office if no one is home when it comes.

Brochhi ships from the US, so the radio would arrive more quickly, and I
didn't
have to sign for the shipment I received from him. I think it was via
FedEx and my
signature is on file there so they left it on the doorstep.
Might have been US Postal Service, can't remember.
However, Brochhi doesn't state that he is sending the "fixed" ones.
He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with
Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's
sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.



Brocchi is cheaper, and you get a real 110v adapter with it where the other
guy sends a fire hazard step down transformer. The fire hazard was mentioned
in Passport 2005. I bought mine 3 months ago and don't have one problem with
it. Plus I got the radio in 3 days.

Lucky



I believe Passport said "unconfirmed reports" that the transformer "appears" to
pose a problem in some cases. Liypn was not including the transformer as part of the
purchase when I got mine. I've bought 3 other radios from him, all came with the
step-up transformer, and not have caused any problem.
Besides, if a person has their own charger and another set of rechargeable batteries
the step-up transformer and mains power are not needed at all.
And you are correct... not all pre-Sept. 28 DE1103s have the tuning knob problem.
(If I read your post correctly.)
Anyway, it's each person's choice to order from the vendor that gives them the
service and products they desire. I choose Liypn if he offers the item I'm interested
in. But I've purchased from Brochhi and have had a satisfactory experience there too.
He just didn't answer my e-mails. The radios were fine.
All I'm saying here is Pickle should be sure he's getting a post-Sept. 28 model, lessening
the chances of having the tuning knob glitch.

Sanjaya wrote:
"pickle" wrote in message ...

Sanjaya wrote:

"David" wrote in message news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...


snip
I've heard other positive comments of various radios on this NG
but based on this thread, I just asked my wife for an 1103 for Christmas.
Just a question of wheather to deal with broccoli or liypn.


I suggest Liypn because he tests his radios before shipping and is sending
only the post-Sept. 28 model, when Degen fixed the sporadic tuning
knob problem some users had. The longest it's taken for me to get a radio
from him is 7 days.

Are you in the States?

The only drawback is that items are shipped certified
mail and you have to sign for them. That entails an additional day and a trip
to the post office if no one is home when it comes.

I'm not too concerned about that. My main concern would be customs
problems or unusually long shipping times. I gather that isn't really
a problem with Liypn.

Brochhi ships from the US, so the radio would arrive more quickly, and I didn't
have to sign for the shipment I received from him. I think it was via FedEx and my
signature is on file there so they left it on the doorstep.
Might have been US Postal Service, can't remember.

I guess you are in the US.

However, Brochhi doesn't state that he is sending the "fixed" ones.
He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.

I sent Brochhi an email to ask. No answer yet.
I sent Liypn one also. He has already responded. (I know it's in his
auction). I wanted to see what his response was.
I will probably deal with Liypn.

I'm interested in the 1103 for its sensitivity. I understand it has
some quirks, like the way you have to adjust the volume and the fact
that you can't manually tune out of a band. It sounds a little clunky
to use but with superior selectivity and sensitivity.
That get's my money over an easy to use radio that won't recieve
anything.


No response yet from Radio Havana Cuba yet on my inquiry to that
musical program. I'll keep you posted on that. At least the email
hasn't bounced. That's a good sign.

He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with
Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's
sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.

Hmmm, that's odd, Brochhi has answered EVERY email I have ever sent to him.

"tianli" wrote in message ...

He's never answered any e-mail inquiry I've sent him about *anything*.
I'd say, and this is only my opinion, that you'd be taking a chance with
Brochhi...
unless you can get him to answer correspondence and assure you he's
sending a
post-Sept. 28 model.

Hmmm, that's odd, Brochhi has answered EVERY email I have ever sent to him.



I wish he would have answered me too.
I was wanting a Tecsun BCL2000 with English lettering.
Liypn was only selling the Chinese labeled ones by then.
So I asked Brochhi if he was still shipping the English versions.
He never answered, even after 3 e-mails, but I took a chance
that he still had the English ones.
I was right, and got a great radio.
Not sure if it is the updated one or not, but it has very
little drift on MW which is what I use it for. It will drift 1 kHz
after I turn it on, and then none after it warms up. He also supplied
a terrific step-up transformer for 220v. It's not the same as the
ones Liypn sent me (which work fine for me), but the one Brochhi sent
barely gets to luke warm even if used for hours on end.

Agree totally. I tend to collect portables and have most of the major ones
available. Even though some reviewers have hated the volume arrangement (and
I find it a problem when using the radio on my nightstand, it doesn't take
away from the fact that this is by far the best performing, small portable I
have. It's sensitivity is just outstanding on all bands, the sound is
pleasant for the size of the radio and I find battery life to be reasonable.
(I don't mess around with rechargeables...I use so many radios that keeping
track of charging them would be impossible...modern alkalines seem to last a
long time for me). From what I've read, the charging circuit is "dumb"...you
have to manually set a charge time and guess how long is needed. Many users
report that an outboard charger, such as the new crop of fast chargers, do a
more thorough job, and take the guesswork out of it.

The real excitement of this radio is that Degen obviously knows how to make
a fantastic rf front end for very low cost...the rf performance of this
radio rivals the very best portables I have and beats my Sony SW77 on am by
far.


Jay
"David" wrote in message
news:Mprsd.218$pe.2@trndny04...
I just got the Degen 1103 from China. It took about 10 days for delivery.
First off,
the package had over 10 China stamps on it for my son's stamp collection,
so
that was a bonus. My first day impressions are this is a GREAT radio! It
definitely outperforms
past portables I owned including the Grundig YB 400, Radio Shack DX-440,
and
Sony SW 100. It's top strength is excellent sensitivity on all bands.
Actually superior sensitivity. I checked for fringe stations for my area
and
it digged them out with the whip not used. On FM bands it is superb. I
also
got two TV channels on it on the lower FM band. One TV station is 90 miles
away and it gets it. Only my GE SuperRadio III could get that TV channel,
and the Degen does it slightly better. AM band is also just as good. I am
just starting to check the shortwave bands. So this is a great radio thus
far. Though under $100, a radio like this would easily be above $200 five
years ago.