Kaito Worldband AM/ FM/ SW/ SSB single side band radio,shortwave radio KA1103

Rating:
Summary: Best Performer on FM for Your Money
Review: I own the whole lineup of Kaitos and the 1103 beats the others for FM sensitivity. The 1101 takes second, the 1102 takes third, and the 105 takes fourth. AM is similar on all models. But the speaker is also superior on the 1103.

Here's what I like about the 1103:

1. Powerful, crystal clear FM reception that is superior to radios that cost twice as much.
2. Warm full speaker sound for a radio of this size.
3. The cool factor of a radio that has so many innovations and is changing the radio industry, causing Sangean, Grundig, and Sony to wake up and start making more competitive products at better prices.
4. PLL synthesized tuning with over 250 presets or memories.

Here's what I don't like:

1. You have to press buttons or digitally enter for volume control. There is no spin wheel for quick volume change.
2. The analog display takes up unnecessary space on the radio.
3. AM, like all PLL synthesized radios, needs improvement.

However, AM is adequate and as a whole the 1103 is my favorite PLL synthesized, dual conversion small radio. If I could only own two radios, a compact and an analog medium sized radio, I'd keep the Kaito 1103 and my Tecsun BLC 2000 (sold for considerably more as the Grundig S350), which gets great AM.

If you don't mind finding an English manual on the internet, you can spend half the money on the Kaito by buying its clone, the Degen 1103. Degen radios, the original Chinese versions, are Kaitos but only come with Chinese manuals and they need AC adaptor converters. The upside is that they are half the price of the American version Kaitos.

Rating:
Summary: You can use the dial wheel to control the volume
Review: Press the VOLUME button, you will see "Vol" on the right of the screen flashing three times. You can turn the dial wheel to control the volume, before flashing stops.
One thing we shall know is that the dial wheel is multifunctional, it takes different roles with defferent press button combinations. It is used in frequency tuning, time setup, memory scanning, volume controlling and more...