After 15 years my Sony SW7600 radio had given its all and it was time to buy a new one. I discovered this on my last bush trip when
the car radio provided better FM reception than
the Sony :( Components age and drift; we all wear out eventually.
Knowing a bit about electronics I was
well aware that if you want a _quality_ “Short Wave” radio you have to pay
the money so I was prepared to spend $300 to $500 on another Sony, Grundig or Roberts etc.
A few days after arriving
home I started
the task
of buying a new radio by having a look on E-bay to see if anyone was discounting
the above brands – not really, was
the answer however what I did find was
the Degen DE1103 at about A$90 including postage – “another rubbish Chinese copy I expect” was my response… ‘till I decided to take a look at eHam….
eHam (
http://www.eham.net/) is a website for Amateur Radio operators and has an equipment review section where ordinary users
of radio related products post their personal impressions
of various products. To my considerable surprise
the Degen DE1103 was listed there and received a rating
of 4.7 out
of 5 from 44 separate reviews!
For $90…? worth
the risk… it arrived today and out-performs my 30 year old National Panasonic RF1110LBE in both sensitivity and selectivity on FM, AM and SSB. It has 255 memories (listed in hex!!! on
the display :) and is simply an outstanding piece
of kit for $90.
If you are in
the market for a serious radio receiver which will enable you to listen to ABC et al (AM and FM), short wave and VKS737 (SSB) about as far bush as possible without going to a quality Amateur rig and serious antenna you cannot go past
the Degen DE1103. Search E-bay for “DE1103” and you’ll find plenty
of sellers.
Mike Harding
mike_harding@fastmail.fm