Redsun RP-2100
 

Well.........................


DAMN IT JIM WE WANT ANSWERS !!!
This ain't Radio Shack

ARE you hearing images on this radio?

Only when it's turned on. Actually, It has many images just like the S-350,
BUT if you turn down th RF gain, they will go away. Don't forget I live less
than a mile from a 50 Kw blowtorch...


How does the tuning knob "feel?" (The one on the Grundig S350 is
hopeless.) Any "backlash?"

It is tighter then I like and if you spin it too fast, it stutters. (It is
easy to turn it too fast) Maybe it will loosen up with usage. No backlash.
When turning the knob, the radio makes the same "chirping" noise that the
1103 makes. Do you have an 1103?


What kind of external antenna connector is on the radio?

Well, it has a high impedience connector and a ground like on the S-350 and
a PAL connector also like the S-350. The PAL connector says it's for FM and
S.W. I find that the other connector, which says M.W. ant, works better
than the PAL for S.W. Go figure...


Finally, did you buy yours from Lipyn's eBay shop? If not, how much did
you pay, if you don't mind my asking?

No, I didn't buy it from Lipyn. It was a "gift" from another seller. I
only paid shipping. $40. Only $40?


I presume this set has no synchronous detection circuit. Am I correct?

You would be correct. But it DOES have a HANDLE and a ferrite antenna ;)


that, with its large speaker, it has quite good audio quality on FM as well
as MW. Correct? (Can you compare its FM audio quality to the GE Superadio,
S350 or Satellit 800?)

Yes. Audio quality is good. Better than S-350, not as good as SRI, II, or
III, Sat-800, Panasonic RF-5000, Zenith R7000, Sony ICF-5100.
So, what IS it better than? Better than any 500 portable radio (that I
own). Amplifier runs out of steam early and speaker crackled when any
volume above low is selected. To be fair, the batteries I am using or close
to being junk but they work fine in my RF-5000....

Sorry for all the questions, but I do appreciate your replies. The radio
looks interesting.


Best,


Joe

Redsun RP-2100
 

A few more things I can mention a
The radio is VERY sensitive off the whip.
It is a bout a half inch larger than the S350 in every direction.
It has L/R line level outputs
Plugging 3 different sets of stereo headphones into the 1/8" headphone jack
netted the same results. Sound out of one ear only unless plug was pulled
out part way. (this does NOT give stereo) Oddly enough, plugging in my mono
headphones gave me NO SOUND at all unless plug was pulled out part way.
HMMM Defective? (According to the manual I was given this jack is
supposed to be stereo)
Radio runs off of 4 "D" cells or 4 "AA" cells and has a switch on the side
to set it accordingly.
There is a switch that is SUPPOSE to make the light stay on for 8 seconds
when the light switch is pressed. In ACTUALITY, what it does is, if the
switch is ON, the buttons on the front come on with the display. If it's
off, ONLY the display lights up. Either way, 8 seconds is what you get...
There is a local/distance switch in addition to the RF gain knob.
There is also a switch that is SUPPOSE to disconnect the ferrite antenna so
you can use the external connector. Selecting EXTERNAL does NOT make the
M.W. signal any different. Maybe all it really does is enable the use of
the external connector.
Radio has 2 different alarms utilizing the radio or the Humane Wake System
which gradually increases the volume of the beeping till you turn it off.
Seems to have 2 very well selected filters (compared to the S-350). By
tuning off frequency till signal goes away, I would say they are around 3.5
and 7 for narrow and wide.
Has nice sturdy LONG antenna.
50 memories. 10 for each band.
Fast/slow/off tuning knob selector. Fast increments 5 khz, slow, moves it 1
khz. Ironically, the up/down BUTTONS are NOT affected by the fast/slow
switch. They ALWAYS increment radio by 5 khz regardless of setting.
No SSB.
Local/World clocks.
I keep trying to think of where this radio fits in to the scheme of things.
I guess I would have to say that my preliminary thoughts are that if you
like the S-350 but think it's lacking in several respects, this is the radio
for you. It is EVERYTHING the S-35o should/could have been.
I will spend a little more time on the M.W. band tonight and see how it does
there.

Hope this answers some questions for those of you that re interested. If
you're not, oh well...

Redsun RP-2100
 

Dear Jim,

No, I don't own a Degen DE-1103. Currently the only active portable
shortwave radios I am using are my Sony ICF-SW7600GRs and my Sony
ICF-SW35s. (I don't count the Satellit 800 as a portable.) (My old
Hitachi KH-1108S is used almost exclusively for MW.) The rest of them
are packed away in my crawl-space!

Even though the '7600 has no tuning knob, when you hold down the inner
buttons [labeled + - or - -] at the lower right, the radio tunes
quite fast and with no chugging (just make sure you have the sync
turned off when you do this!).

Thanks for all your input about the Redsun radio. Frankly, from your
description, I have lost interest somewhat. It sounds like quality
control is somewhat lacking with this radio, at least in
early-production units. I'll wait and see if they improve.

Thanks again.

Best,

Joe

Jim Hackett wrote:

.... When turning the knob, the radio makes the same "chirping" noise
that the
1103 makes. Do you have an 1103? ...

Redsun RP-2100
 

Jim Hackett wrote:
Well.........................


DAMN IT JIM WE WANT ANSWERS !!!
This ain't Radio Shack

ARE you hearing images on this radio?

Only when it's turned on. Actually, It has many images just like the S-350,
BUT if you turn down th RF gain, they will go away. Don't forget I live less
than a mile from a 50 Kw blowtorch...


How does the tuning knob "feel?" (The one on the Grundig S350 is
hopeless.) Any "backlash?"

It is tighter then I like and if you spin it too fast, it stutters. (It is
easy to turn it too fast) Maybe it will loosen up with usage. No backlash.
When turning the knob, the radio makes the same "chirping" noise that the
1103 makes. Do you have an 1103?


What kind of external antenna connector is on the radio?

Well, it has a high impedience connector and a ground like on the S-350 and
a PAL connector also like the S-350. The PAL connector says it's for FM and
S.W. I find that the other connector, which says M.W. ant, works better
than the PAL for S.W. Go figure...


Finally, did you buy yours from Lipyn's eBay shop? If not, how much did
you pay, if you don't mind my asking?

No, I didn't buy it from Lipyn. It was a "gift" from another seller. I
only paid shipping. $40. Only $40?


I presume this set has no synchronous detection circuit. Am I correct?

You would be correct. But it DOES have a HANDLE and a ferrite antenna ;)


that, with its large speaker, it has quite good audio quality on FM as well
as MW. Correct? (Can you compare its FM audio quality to the GE Superadio,
S350 or Satellit 800?)

Yes. Audio quality is good. Better than S-350, not as good as SRI, II, or
III, Sat-800, Panasonic RF-5000, Zenith R7000, Sony ICF-5100.
So, what IS it better than? Better than any 500 portable radio (that I
own). Amplifier runs out of steam early and speaker crackled when any
volume above low is selected. To be fair, the batteries I am using or close
to being junk but they work fine in my RF-5000....

Sorry for all the questions, but I do appreciate your replies. The radio
looks interesting.


Best,


Joe

In other words, it smacks of the cheap **** S350 ! Don't you all ever
learn ?

Redsun RP-2100
 

Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Dear Jim,

No, I don't own a Degen DE-1103. Currently the only active portable
shortwave radios I am using are my Sony ICF-SW7600GRs and my Sony
ICF-SW35s. (I don't count the Satellit 800 as a portable.) (My old
Hitachi KH-1108S is used almost exclusively for MW.) The rest of them
are packed away in my crawl-space!

Even though the '7600 has no tuning knob, when you hold down the inner
buttons [labeled + - or - -] at the lower right, the radio tunes
quite fast and with no chugging (just make sure you have the sync
turned off when you do this!).

Thanks for all your input about the Redsun radio. Frankly, from your
description, I have lost interest somewhat. It sounds like quality
control is somewhat lacking with this radio, at least in
early-production units. I'll wait and see if they improve.

Thanks again.

Best,

Joe

Jim Hackett wrote:

... When turning the knob, the radio makes the same "chirping" noise
that the
1103 makes. Do you have an 1103? ...

Well, here's one smart cookie, who knows better ! Of course it has
quality control issues, as smack'in of the S350 !

Redsun RP-2100
 

Tale of 2 Receivers (DE1103'S)

Reading all the good and some bad blurps on the WEB concerning and
comparing the DE1103 I could not resist and so I ordered 2 direct from
China. I decided my toys including an FRG7 was crowding my bedroom SWL
area and wanted a smaller solution without giving up all the
performance that I had grown accustomed to with the frog.

Received both units after 10-12 days. Fired up the first unit and was
pleasantly surprised that the DE1103 kicked ass. Expecting the same ,
from receiver 2, I fired it up and immediately realized that I was
getting 2 vastly different driving experiences.

The first receiver provided a pleasant highly admirable accounting;
clean crisp tuning, good rejection, excellent sensitivity...this was a
great receiver.

The second receiver was crap-o-la.

I thought that I had read referrences to chugging, PLL drop out and
resultant agc surging while tuning, while I was researching the WEB.
Guess what it exists in some of the units...I got one.

This is to post notice that if you are experiencing this characteristic
while tuning any of the AM bands its not what the DE1103 can and should
deliver. Something is screwed up on my receiver #2...
alignment???....PCB trace/pad issues???I don't know yet but wouldlove
tofind out if anyone else has explored root cause on this issue. If I
had just ordered the one unit and received the good receiver, receiver
#1, I would have declared, as many have, the excelence of the
DE1103...if I had received receiver #2 I would calledit a below average
implementation of dual-conversion receiver design.