I just received one of the newer KA-1102 Chinese portables from
www.radios4you.com and I must admit that after playing with it for a
few hours it is the most impressive portable for the price ($90
shipped with guarantee) and size that I've used. The sensitivity on
its short whip and SSB reception are phenomenal to say the least. The
BFO "clarifier" is a true variable USB/LSB BFO oscillator and appears
to be rock stable. The AGC action on SSB was also the best I've seen
for a portable with no noticible distortion or "pumping" action. The
selectivity in the narrow position was about 5 kHz with fairly steep
skirts. This is an impressive little dual conversion radio for its
size and price. Highly recommended.

I too brought one of these receivers last week, the Degen 1102. I
think they are identical except for the name on the front. I had mine
shipped to the UK for US$73.00 all in. I am pleased with it. For
such a reasonable cost it is a real bargain. I happened to have my
Sangean ATS909 with me and have compared them. The 1102 is more
sensitive on all bands (FM/SW/MW) than the ATS when used with the whip
antenna. However, when connected to a Sony AN-LP1 antenna the ATS909
wins out as it seems as if the 1102 can't handle all the extra signal.
Still, it is very sensitive on the whip alone. Tonight I'll run a
little test between it and my Sony SW77 and see how they compare. My
only complaint is the volume control is two buttons (up/down), I
prefer a thumb wheel. Also, SSB is only available on one of the ten
pages of it's memory. However, I rarely use SSB so it's no great
problem. If it had a sync mode it would be almost perfect. Any one
else brought one yet?
Regards,
Alan
(Frank) wrote in message om...
I just received one of the newer KA-1102 Chinese portables from
www.radios4you.com and I must admit that after playing with it for a
few hours it is the most impressive portable for the price ($90
shipped with guarantee) and size that I've used. The sensitivity on
its short whip and SSB reception are phenomenal to say the least. The
BFO "clarifier" is a true variable USB/LSB BFO oscillator and appears
to be rock stable. The AGC action on SSB was also the best I've seen
for a portable with no noticible distortion or "pumping" action. The
selectivity in the narrow position was about 5 kHz with fairly steep
skirts. This is an impressive little dual conversion radio for its
size and price. Highly recommended.

"Frank" wrote...
I just received one of the newer KA-1102 Chinese portables from
www.radios4you.com and I must admit that after playing with it for a
few hours it is the most impressive portable for the price ($90
shipped with guarantee) and size that I've used. The sensitivity on
its short whip and SSB reception are phenomenal to say the least. The
BFO "clarifier" is a true variable USB/LSB BFO oscillator and appears
to be rock stable. The AGC action on SSB was also the best I've seen
for a portable with no noticible distortion or "pumping" action. The
selectivity in the narrow position was about 5 kHz with fairly steep
skirts. This is an impressive little dual conversion radio for its
size and price. Highly recommended.

Hi Frank.
In a previous post Michael said his 1102 gave him intermod
from 5960 kHz when he was listening to 5975.
Do you find this to be the case with your newer radio?
I know you said it's very selective, but I listen to 5975 every
night, so I won't get a KA1102 if it has interference on that
frequency.
Thanks.

To anyone using a *newer* KA1102... have you tried it on 5975 kHz
to see if it still has intermod from 5960? Michael and Frank had different results
and comments on performance.

"Sanjaya" wrote...
"Frank" wrote...
I just received one of the newer KA-1102 Chinese portables from
www.radios4you.com and I must admit that after playing with it for a
few hours it is the most impressive portable for the price ($90
shipped with guarantee) and size that I've used. The sensitivity on
its short whip and SSB reception are phenomenal to say the least. The
BFO "clarifier" is a true variable USB/LSB BFO oscillator and appears
to be rock stable. The AGC action on SSB was also the best I've seen
for a portable with no noticible distortion or "pumping" action. The
selectivity in the narrow position was about 5 kHz with fairly steep
skirts. This is an impressive little dual conversion radio for its
size and price. Highly recommended.

Hi Frank.
In a previous post Michael said his 1102 gave him intermod
from 5960 kHz when he was listening to 5975.
Do you find this to be the case with your newer radio?
I know you said it's very selective, but I listen to 5975 every
night, so I won't get a KA1102 if it has interference on that
frequency.
Thanks.