Tag Archives: Dave Zantow (N9EWO)

Swiss Army Knife radios: Dave plugs the discontinued Kaito KA1121

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On the topic of “Swiss Army Knife” shortwave portables, many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who adds:

Since the KA1121 was referenced in a comment on your blog today, [my review is] now located at: http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/de1121.html

Sadly the set is no longer manufactured either as the Kaito KA1121 or the Degen DE1121 (the actual manufacture version) and has not been in sometime.

Near impossible to find one on the used market properly working now. But I must say it’s STILL as close as one can come to from a Swiss army knife portable SW radio even today, so be it a bit weird to operate and understand.

Makes decent off air 128 kbps recordings and in actual MP3 format. Dual conversion, excellent selectivity, 2 bandwidth filters and fairly decent SSB. Dynamic range not too shabby either. Alpha tags on memories that are PC programmable via a formatted text file.

Caveats are a very poor reliability record (2 of my test samples over the years have gone to radio heaven / parts), the strange MP3 unit battery (this likes to totally fail, especially if abused) and oh we can’t forget the sticky cabinet syndrome and that has hit all of them by now.

In our case we carefully removed this goo with 91% isopropyl alcohol and little elbow grease. We still have 2 in active use at our QTH and “still” love them bugs and all.

73 and many thanks
Dave Zantow N9EWO

Thank you, Dave!  Yes, the ‘1121 is also a choice radio for many Shortwave Archive contributors. Indeed, one of our contributors has snagged fantastic DX off of her DE1121. Click here to browse her recordings.

I created an eBay search for the DE1121/KA1121 some time ago, thinking I would snag one if it popped up. Turns out, you’re right about scarcity, Dave–at the moment, there are only two units, both of which are missing the MP3 bit. Of course, as with anything else on eBay, new units could pop up at any time.

Click here to search eBay for the Kaito KA1121 and Degen DE1121.

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Video: Icom IC-R8600 sync detector in action

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares the following:

For your listening pleasure. Here is the best video yet showing the Icom IC-R8600’s Sync Detector in use.

Sounds like Icom “finally” got the Sync Detector performance right with the R8600. Appears to greatly reduce fading distortion, where as with the expensive IC-R9500 it does not help much with fading distortion (if at all).

Click here to view on YouTube.

Good news indeed !!

I agree, Dave. This is most promising indeed!

I look forward to checking out the IC-R8600 at the Dayton Hamvention this year.

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More RadioShack store closing details including dates

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes:

Here is a very interesting PDF legal document (via Prime Clerk) that not only has the “COMPLETE” RadioShack store list that are closing by early April (Tranche One and Two) but with important dates given.

Click here to download Docket 98-2 (PDF).

(more info: https://cases.primeclerk.com/generalwireless/Home-DocketInfo)

Yes, sadly the store I worked in for over 8 years is closing by (before) April 6th when this store will become Sprint only. Being in a Mall , its funny it was not closed in the first bankruptcy ?? It’s been in that spot since late 1981.

Many thanks, Dave. As I mentioned in this previous post, poor RadioShack is all but dead for us hobbyists and Makers–one last chance to grab some closeout deals before the retail outlets become Sprint stores.

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RadioShack files for bankruptcy

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares the following news from Reuters:

RadioShack chain operator files for bankruptcy protection

(Reuters) – U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.

The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.

General Wireless, an affiliate of hedge fund Standard General LP that acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization and listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.

RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.[…]

Click here to read full article.

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CKZU unlikely to return to shortwave

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who writes:

From DXLD today in case you missed it . Well at least CKZN St. Johns [also on 6160 @ 1kw] is still on (last I checked) , the one I can hear at my QTH.

***************************************************
Bad news re: CKZU 6160 Khz

Volodya S

Fellas, from an insider at the CBC. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good for CKZU ever returning to the air. 🙁 Thanks to Colin Newell for digging into this further.

Walt Salmaniw, Victoiria, BC

Got the answer.. not gonna like it.
Basically, it broke and they don’t have parts to fix it because it’s too old and no parts available. The money required to purchase a new transmitter doesn’t make sense because of the low numbers of people who use it (changing world, everything’s online, blah blah). Before you say it, yes I know, I know.

Anyway, there is no other way to voice your displeasure than the 1-866-306-4636 audience relations number. If enough people call, they might notice, but I doubt it.

Sorry to be the bad news messenger. I kinda figured that was the deal of why it was off the air.

This is sad news indeed for those who enjoyed CKZU. What amazes me, is how a 500 watt shortwave relay covered such a large broadcast footprint in British Columbia and western North America.

On that note, I just discovered this post by Colin Newell (referenced above) on his blog, the Coffee Crew Blog. Colin mentions when he started listening to CKZU and what it meant to him. Check out his post.

CKZU was a reasonably tough catch here on the east coast of the US–especially due to CKZN who shared the frequency–though I’ve heard them numerous times. Indeed, this will prompt me to go back a few years in my SDR spectrum archive recordings and tune them in once again–sort of a postmortem DX–? I’m sure I’ve captured them.

As Dave mentions above, CKZN St. Johns is still on the air and, perhaps, listeners on the west coast will have a better chance snagging their 1 kW signal now. According to an article about CKZN in the latest WRTH, the station should be around for many years to come.

Thanks again, Dave, for the tip and many thanks to Colin for the research.

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Dave notes unfavorable reviews of the Tecsun PL-310ET

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[Update: Most comments point to these negative reviews as outliers–possibly a bad batch from the factory. All-in-all, the PL-310ET is favorably reviewed.]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who writes:

I see the Tecsun PL-310(ET) has been receiving some very negative reviews over on eHam in the last days. Too bad:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10283

Thanks for the heads-up, Dave!

Perhaps these reviewers simply received faulty/lemon units? Internal soldering and construction can vary. On the other hand, both reviews were submitted on Feb 1, 2017 implying their units probably came from the same production batch. There are a couple of recent negative reviews on Amazon.com as well (though not detailed).

Of course, it does make one wonder if Tecsun made any internal design changes to the PL-310ET. But again, perhaps these two reviewers simply received units from a faulty batch.

For sure, these reviews are not consistent with the excellent performance of the PL-310ET I know–which is, by any standard, an amazing little radio!

I don’t want to imply there’s something wrong with the current PL-310ET production run, but I am curious if anyone else has been disappointed with their recently-purchased PL-310ET. Comments?

[UPDATE: based on the many comments–thank you!–it appears at least PL-310ETs that were purchased up to the end of December 2016 are functioning perfectly. Again, perhaps these two reviewers received faulty units.]

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Dave’s Yaesu VX-3R notes

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who shares the following in reply to my recent post about the Yaesu VX-3R:

The VX-3R has a tiny internal ferrite bar for AM/mediumwave broadcast listening.

Yes, it’s indeed true the VX-3R is discontinued and is already pretty much sold out.

Rumors of a VX-4R has been around for years and let’s hope that happens–?? Have a sneaky feeling that IF it come to pass it will include C4FM digital (Yaesu Fusion) ?? I actually preferred the older VX-2R over the 3, but that was me (have reviews on both models on my web page). But my two VX-3R test samples were very early production (lots of QC bugs).

http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/vx2r.html
http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/vx3r.html

As I cover on my news page Yaesu is coming out with a number of new HT’s soon.

Sorry no word of a tiny VX-3R replacement yet. Will of course cover that IF and when it happens on the web page.

http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/news.html

Thank you, Dave!  I’ll certainly consider purchasing the VX-4R (if it comes to fruition) if for no other reason than to compare it with the VX-3R.

Again, I love this little all-in-one micro-sized HT as an Everyday Carry radio. If you’re interested in the VX-3R, your best bet will be to check with radio retailers like Universal Radio and Ham Radio Outlet for used/demo units. Of course, as I’ve mentioned before, you might also follow a VX-3R search on eBay where I recently purchased an open box unit for $119 shipped.

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