For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

The first thing I had to try was the SSB function. It works just fine to
hear ham and utility. I listened to a volmet weather broadcast, some ham
and was actually able to use it with my PC to decode some morse code on the
ham bands when I connected it to my sound card through the KA1102's
headphone jack. The range on the fine tuning dial is not too tight so it's
easy enough to deal with.

The big let down. It's USELESS for ECSS. You cant select USB or LSB.
It's just SSB. If you turn on the SSB function while listening to AM
broadcast, it's way too fluttery to be able to listen to practically
speaking. You also need to have the KA1102 set on a specific memory bank in
it's "page" system to be able to activate the SSB.

Also on the down side... It's got a problem with selectivity. I was
listening to the BBC on 5975, and I was hearing intermod from the CBC on
5960. I had to remove the external antenna and switch the DX/LOCAL switch
to LOCAL in order to limit the intermod. Though, it does have a problem
here, it's not a big deal unless what your listening to is right next to a
very strong signal.

I also have the KA1101.... It's the smaller less expensive "sister" radio
of the KA1102. The KA1101 doesn't have SSB. Although less expensive, the
KA1101 doesn't have the same problem with overloading. I thought that was
ironic considering the KA1102 is more expensive. If I had a choice, I think
I'd rather have the KA1101 just for the selectivity. My main interest in
the KA1102 was it's price considering it has a SSB feature.

Audio quality isn't half bad, but as you would expect with such a small
radio, it's not extremely well defined. Still.. It's more then adequate.
I've been listening to it for a few hours and it's audio doesn't wear you
out.

So far, I think the best part is the radio's sensitivity. I used my R-75 to
find a few weak signals to test the KA1102 on. Considering my R-75 is
connected to an elaborate outdoor antenna, the little KA1102 did very well
so far. Still... I don't find it to be any more sensitive then the KA1101.

Some other interesting things are the blue colored back light and the FM
bass boost. When you use this radio in FM stereo with the ear buds, it
sounds amazing. Not to mention it comes with rechargeable batteries that
can be recharged in the radio itself. That alone is a great value added
option.

All in all, it's probably the best brand new out of the box radio for the
money. The whole reason to buy this radio I think, is price. It's just
under $100.00 and it has SSB and all the other features. I think though,
if you could spend another $50.00 for a radio, you'd be better off with a
Sony 7600gr or YB-400. That's where the question lies with the KA1102. It
lies between a dirt cheep portable that hardly works as a shortwave radio
and a more expensive portable like the 7600gr that outperforms it.

Do you save $50.00 by buying the KA1102 over the 7600gr or are you spending
$100.00 of your money unwisely by not spending a $50.00 more to get better
radio ???

Respectfully,

Michael

"Michael" wrote...
For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

[snip]

Thanks Michael. Very informative.
Much appreciated.

For the sort of "radio tricks" you were attempting, the Sangean ATS-909
would be an excellent choice. Yes, it's a little more expensive than the
Sony you mention, but that Sony doesn't come with an A/C adapter -- add
that, and you're really close. But the 909 has tons more features (3 times
more memories, RTS, a signal strength meter, REAL KNOBS, etc.)

The two issues I always hear mentioned about the ATS-909 versus the Sony
7600GR is that the 909's weaker on the whip, and the Sony has a sync
detector (and the 909 doesn't).

First off, the sync detector on a Sony 7600GR basically just picks USB or
LSB on a given AM signal for you when you're trying to bring in a station.
I do the exact same thing with the 909 manually, and am able to tweak the
frequency as well. It's probably not as quick, but it is definitely
effective.

As for being weaker on the whip than the Sony, that's true. However, it's
easy to make a 75-foot long-wire with $8.00 worth of parts from Radio Shack.
Or, just use the smaller reel one that comes with the unit.

So consider the Sangean ATS-909 when you return that Kaito.

-- Stinger

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

"Michael" wrote...
For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of
each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here
a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

[snip]

Thanks Michael. Very informative.
Much appreciated.

The construction and workmanship on the KA1102 that I have seems to be
adequate. It's not a "tank", but it seems to be OK. I haven't seen it
selling for under the $99.95. Given that it comes with the adaptor,
batteries, external antenna and ear buds, it's not a bad deal. They should
be marketing it as a "shortwave system" rather then just a radio. So far,
I'm happy with it.

--
Respectfully,

Michael

Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/
Northern NJ
R75 w/DSP, Kiwa agc/sync & audio mods
G5RV & 200ft longwire w/ICE-180
MFJ-1048 preselector
SoundBlstr Live PC card w/five piece Cambridge
speakers & full software mixer/eq.

"swl crazi" wrote in message
...

"Michael" wrote in message
et...
For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

Everyone I see is selling it for $99.98
Is there a better price for it out there?
I can't bring myself to paying a total
with shipping of close to $115.00 for
a Chinese-made portable. (I've seen the
insides of many a "made in China" consumer
product(s), and I have NOT been the least bit
impressed in the workmanship)

"Michael" wrote in message . net...

Good post Michael. Passport seemed to think that ECSS on the 1102 was
pretty good, that though the flutter was there it was hard to detect.
Is the flutter present on yours off the whip alone? I don't know why
this would make a difference, but just a thought. How is the build
quality of both the 1101 and the 1102? It sure looks like the the
damned Pink Chinese are on the ascendant.

Regards,

Grumpus


For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

The first thing I had to try was the SSB function. It works just fine to
hear ham and utility. I listened to a volmet weather broadcast, some ham
and was actually able to use it with my PC to decode some morse code on the
ham bands when I connected it to my sound card through the KA1102's
headphone jack. The range on the fine tuning dial is not too tight so it's
easy enough to deal with.

The big let down. It's USELESS for ECSS. You cant select USB or LSB.
It's just SSB. If you turn on the SSB function while listening to AM
broadcast, it's way too fluttery to be able to listen to practically
speaking. You also need to have the KA1102 set on a specific memory bank in
it's "page" system to be able to activate the SSB.

Also on the down side... It's got a problem with selectivity. I was
listening to the BBC on 5975, and I was hearing intermod from the CBC on
5960. I had to remove the external antenna and switch the DX/LOCAL switch
to LOCAL in order to limit the intermod. Though, it does have a problem
here, it's not a big deal unless what your listening to is right next to a
very strong signal.

I also have the KA1101.... It's the smaller less expensive "sister" radio
of the KA1102. The KA1101 doesn't have SSB. Although less expensive, the
KA1101 doesn't have the same problem with overloading. I thought that was
ironic considering the KA1102 is more expensive. If I had a choice, I think
I'd rather have the KA1101 just for the selectivity. My main interest in
the KA1102 was it's price considering it has a SSB feature.

Audio quality isn't half bad, but as you would expect with such a small
radio, it's not extremely well defined. Still.. It's more then adequate.
I've been listening to it for a few hours and it's audio doesn't wear you
out.

So far, I think the best part is the radio's sensitivity. I used my R-75 to
find a few weak signals to test the KA1102 on. Considering my R-75 is
connected to an elaborate outdoor antenna, the little KA1102 did very well
so far. Still... I don't find it to be any more sensitive then the KA1101.

Some other interesting things are the blue colored back light and the FM
bass boost. When you use this radio in FM stereo with the ear buds, it
sounds amazing. Not to mention it comes with rechargeable batteries that
can be recharged in the radio itself. That alone is a great value added
option.

All in all, it's probably the best brand new out of the box radio for the
money. The whole reason to buy this radio I think, is price. It's just
under $100.00 and it has SSB and all the other features. I think though,
if you could spend another $50.00 for a radio, you'd be better off with a
Sony 7600gr or YB-400. That's where the question lies with the KA1102. It
lies between a dirt cheep portable that hardly works as a shortwave radio
and a more expensive portable like the 7600gr that outperforms it.

Do you save $50.00 by buying the KA1102 over the 7600gr or are you spending
$100.00 of your money unwisely by not spending a $50.00 more to get better
radio ???

Respectfully,

Michael

Michael: Thank you for your very interesting review. You must be the
first one to play with the new Kaito 1102. As you become more
familiar with the operating system and have the chance to use it under
a variety of reception conditions I hope you will give us some further
reports.
Also , I was wondering, when you were operating on the whip
antenna alone and on the narrow bandwith, were you still getting slop
on 5975 from 5960?
Best regards
Bob

Hiya... I haven't read the passport review yet. There is no question that
there is too much flutter to make ecss practical for my taste. I get the
flutter off the whip antenna and with the external wire. If you get the
fine tuning dial set perfectly, flutter is at a minimum, but still, too
noticeable. Also, even though you can get the fine tuning dial close to
being good enough to use ecss, it deteriorates and you have to re-adjust it.
So, in that sense, it's not stable enough to be set and stay set for ecss.

Then again, what's "good enough" to listen too is most certainly subjective.
For me, it had far too much flutter to use with ecss tuning and took too
much doing with the fine tuning dial.

The build of both radios seems to be good. All buttons and knobs have good
feel to them. The buttons on both radios have more of a crisp clicking
action to them rather then a soft one, but they are responsive none the
less.

One other thing about the KA1102 that is a bit imperfect is the way the
lighting works. The blue backlight in the display is just fine, but, not
all the buttons on the radio light up with equal illumination. It seems
that some of the buttons are too far away from the internal light source to
be light up very much, especially the ones directly under the display
itself. None the less, it's not a distraction at all. I like the blue
color light and I just consider it a bonus that most of the buttons light
up. Also.. As far as I know, there is no way to switch the backlight on
and keep it on. I'd prefer if I could do that.

--
Respectfully,

Michael

Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/
Northern NJ
R75 w/DSP, Kiwa agc/sync & audio mods
G5RV & 200ft longwire w/ICE-180
MFJ-1048 preselector
SoundBlstr Live PC card w/five piece Cambridge
speakers & full software mixer/eq.

"grumpus" wrote in message
om...
"Michael" wrote in message
. net...

Good post Michael. Passport seemed to think that ECSS on the 1102 was
pretty good, that though the flutter was there it was hard to detect.
Is the flutter present on yours off the whip alone? I don't know why
this would make a difference, but just a thought. How is the build
quality of both the 1101 and the 1102? It sure looks like the the
damned Pink Chinese are on the ascendant.

Regards,

Grumpus


For anyone that is interested...

I got my Kaito KA1102 today...

When I first read about this radio and it's smaller sister the KA1101, I
became very intrigued by what I had read, and I just HAD to get one of
each
to test out :-) I already have the KA1101 and had posted my review here
a
few weeks ago.

Now... On to the KA1102

The first thing I had to try was the SSB function. It works just fine
to
hear ham and utility. I listened to a volmet weather broadcast, some
ham
and was actually able to use it with my PC to decode some morse code on
the
ham bands when I connected it to my sound card through the KA1102's
headphone jack. The range on the fine tuning dial is not too tight so
it's
easy enough to deal with.

The big let down. It's USELESS for ECSS. You cant select USB or LSB.
It's just SSB. If you turn on the SSB function while listening to AM
broadcast, it's way too fluttery to be able to listen to practically
speaking. You also need to have the KA1102 set on a specific memory
bank in
it's "page" system to be able to activate the SSB.

Also on the down side... It's got a problem with selectivity. I was
listening to the BBC on 5975, and I was hearing intermod from the CBC on
5960. I had to remove the external antenna and switch the DX/LOCAL
switch
to LOCAL in order to limit the intermod. Though, it does have a problem
here, it's not a big deal unless what your listening to is right next to
a
very strong signal.

I also have the KA1101.... It's the smaller less expensive "sister"
radio
of the KA1102. The KA1101 doesn't have SSB. Although less expensive,
the
KA1101 doesn't have the same problem with overloading. I thought that
was
ironic considering the KA1102 is more expensive. If I had a choice, I
think
I'd rather have the KA1101 just for the selectivity. My main interest
in
the KA1102 was it's price considering it has a SSB feature.

Audio quality isn't half bad, but as you would expect with such a small
radio, it's not extremely well defined. Still.. It's more then
adequate.
I've been listening to it for a few hours and it's audio doesn't wear
you
out.

So far, I think the best part is the radio's sensitivity. I used my
R-75 to
find a few weak signals to test the KA1102 on. Considering my R-75 is
connected to an elaborate outdoor antenna, the little KA1102 did very
well
so far. Still... I don't find it to be any more sensitive then the
KA1101.

Some other interesting things are the blue colored back light and the FM
bass boost. When you use this radio in FM stereo with the ear buds, it
sounds amazing. Not to mention it comes with rechargeable batteries
that
can be recharged in the radio itself. That alone is a great value added
option.

All in all, it's probably the best brand new out of the box radio for
the
money. The whole reason to buy this radio I think, is price. It's just
under $100.00 and it has SSB and all the other features. I think
though,
if you could spend another $50.00 for a radio, you'd be better off with
a
Sony 7600gr or YB-400. That's where the question lies with the KA1102.
It
lies between a dirt cheep portable that hardly works as a shortwave
radio
and a more expensive portable like the 7600gr that outperforms it.

Do you save $50.00 by buying the KA1102 over the 7600gr or are you
spending
$100.00 of your money unwisely by not spending a $50.00 more to get
better
radio ???

Respectfully,

Michael

Hiya, Bob...

When I getting spooked on 5975 from 5960, I had the radio set on it's narrow
filter setting, I had the DX/LOCAL switch set to DX and I had the external
wire antenna plugged in.

To limit the spook, I disconnected the wire antenna, set the DX/LOCAL switch
to LOCAL and still kept the wide filter setting. Even with that, I could
still hear the spook from 5960 at times. Not nearly as much as with the
previous settings, but I could hear it for sure. Then I tried the narrow
filter settings and that seemed to just about clean it up, though, I did
still hear the spook very slightly.

Given this, I was very surprised when I found that the radio didn't seem to
be overloading on the mw bands. I live in North NJ and we have several 50kW
transmitters within 20 miles. When I tried some mx dx'ing, the radio wasn't
overloading with spooks from the locals. I was able to listen to WBT 1110
in Charlotte NC with no problem and no spooks.

I've only had it for a day, and I need some more time to find out more about
it's selectivity.

Also.. I've had the KA1101 for several weeks and I've found it to be very
selective. It didn't have the same problem on 5975/5960 that the KA1102 had
even when I had the KA1101 on the external antenna with it set on DX.

--
Respectfully,

Michael

Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/
Northern NJ
R75 w/DSP, Kiwa agc/sync & audio mods
G5RV & 200ft longwire w/ICE-180
MFJ-1048 preselector
SoundBlstr Live PC card w/five piece Cambridge
speakers & full software mixer/eq.

"Bob" wrote in message
om...
Michael: Thank you for your very interesting review. You must be the
first one to play with the new Kaito 1102. As you become more
familiar with the operating system and have the chance to use it under
a variety of reception conditions I hope you will give us some further
reports.
Also , I was wondering, when you were operating on the whip
antenna alone and on the narrow bandwith, were you still getting slop
on 5975 from 5960?
Best regards
Bob

Hi Michael:
Another question came to mind on the Kaito KA 1102. Could you
comment on the degree of chuffing when you scan up the bands. I am
familiar with the "Thup-thup-thup-thup" on the YB 400. Sony has
managed to pretty well eliminate the chuffing on the 7600G when you
push the 1kHz button.
As the Kaito is the most recently designed radio I wonder if
they have managed to design the chuffing out of it. Also , is the
background noise as quiet as the advertising would have me believe?
Thanks again for your input.
Best regards,

Bob

To me, the chuffing isn't that bad. It does make a minor chuff when you
scan up or down. If you use the radio in "page 9" of it's page system, you
can get the radio to do it's "speed scanning". That means the speed of
it's scan will increase if it dosen't detect a strong signal. When it goes
from slow to fast or back again, It sounds like a choo choo train picking up
speed. So... it's got some chuffing. I don't mind it, but it's by no menas
like scanning with my R-75.

It's no lie about the way that the radio handles background noise. It's
fairly impressive in that respect. I noticed this most when I tried some md
DX'ing with it while it was on it's external wiere antenna. It did very
well.

--
Respectfully,

Michael

Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/
Northern NJ
R75 w/DSP, Kiwa agc/sync & audio mods
G5RV & 200ft longwire w/ICE-180
MFJ-1048 preselector
SoundBlstr Live PC card w/five piece Cambridge
speakers & full software mixer/eq.

"Bob" wrote in message
m...
Hi Michael:
Another question came to mind on the Kaito KA 1102. Could you
comment on the degree of chuffing when you scan up the bands. I am
familiar with the "Thup-thup-thup-thup" on the YB 400. Sony has
managed to pretty well eliminate the chuffing on the 7600G when you
push the 1kHz button.
As the Kaito is the most recently designed radio I wonder if
they have managed to design the chuffing out of it. Also , is the
background noise as quiet as the advertising would have me believe?
Thanks again for your input.
Best regards,

Bob