Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black

Very good super-portable stater level am/fm/sw radio from Kaito, Kaito/Degen has done it again! I needed a small AM/FM/SW radio for travel and have compared several including the Kaito KA1105, the Kaito KA11, the Kaito 1102, the Grundig G6, the Grundig YB-550PE, the CCRANE SWP (Redsun RP300), the Tecsun PL-450, etc. I am still not done with all my evaluations, but I definitely think that the Ka1101 is a great small and very inexpensive ($~55-60 depending on the vendor) and a very excellent receiver! The identical radio is available in both silver and very dark gray/black. I am extremely impressed right out of the box how well it performs even for quite weak signals and with the antenna on SW not even extended.

PROS:

1) Comes with rechargeable batteries, velcro-sealed slip case, earbuds, long antenna wire, adapter/charger and very readable manual (which fits nicely inside of the supplied slip case!). Batteries are designed to be easily recharged inside the radio.

2) Excellent weak signal reception on ALL bands including Low frequency FM or FML (starting at 70 MHz). It really performs very well!

3) Excellent bandwidth choice for the Wide/narrow switch on the keyboard on AM (MW) and SW and a separate FM, FML tone switch (labeled as Music/news on the right hand side of the radio), a Mono/Stereo switch on the keyboard as well as a Local/DX switch on the left hand side of the radio.

4) Lock switch and external antenna jack.

5) Back light controlled by available ambient lighting with an on-board light sensor system.

6) Numerous tuning methods available.

7) Very high quality and very readable display with numerous icons for charging, battery life, Mono/stereo settings, wide/narrow filter setting, etc.

8) Very long battery life.

9) Simple direct system for changing the 5 individual bands in direct order only (no reversing of the band change direction is possible).

10) Finally, it has a nice and very easy to use reset button on the front panel just in case the system acts irregularly (which I have not observed at all).
Kaito Quality Control, After reviewing many radios, I decided because of its price to go with the Kaito. When I received the radio I tried to charge the batteries- one battery refused to charge in a powerex charger. I tried a refresh with no luck. I replaced this battery with a Panasonic that was fully charged. As I opened the battery compartment lid, it fell off. I used tape to hold it on. I could not stand the moth ball smell of the nicely designed case so I threw it away.
Performance is poor. I live in a fringe area and did not expect miracles, but this radio does not come close to pulling in stations that were a breeze with the CC Radio. The DX switch is a joke-it is there for cosmetics. It did nothing! Shortwave is a silkscreen label-not a fact.Kaito KA1101 AM/FM Shortwave Radio, Black
Ergonomics: The buttons are poorly designed. The on-off switch is flush
with the case and almost impossible to activate by touch.

Compact design, ideal for travelling

Built-in automatic battery charger, alarm clock and sleep timer

1-year USA limited warranty

Four tuning methods: direct, manual, scan and preset

Dual conversion technology + wide/narrow AM filter + 50 memories

Compact design, ideal for travelling.Built-in automatic battery charger, alarm clock and sleep timer.1-year USA limited warranty.Four tuning methods: direct, manual, scan and preset.Dual conversion technology + wide/narrow AM filter + 50 memories. The Kaito KA1101 is a portable AM/FM and shortwave radio with dual conversion technology and built-in battery charger. It has a broad FM coverage from 70-108 MHz with excellent sensitivity and selectivity. The KA1101 can be powered by 3 AA batteries or an AC adapter (included), also included are three rechargeable AA NiMH batteries. The KA1101 offers you four tuning modes including direct digit entry, manual tuning, auto scan and access through memories. Accessories also include a carrying pouch, earphones, user manual and shortwave antenna.