{"id":20283,"date":"2016-08-04T17:51:04","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T21:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=20283"},"modified":"2016-08-04T17:50:07","modified_gmt":"2016-08-04T21:50:07","slug":"pauls-review-of-the-kaito-ka108","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/pauls-review-of-the-kaito-ka108\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul’s review of the Kaito KA108"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Paul Dobosz (K8PD)<\/strong> who shares his review of the Kaito KA108. Paul originally wrote this for the\u00a0Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts and has kindly allowed us to post it here:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Kaito KA-108 Review<\/h1>\n

\"Kaito-KA108-AM\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by\u00a0Paul Dobosz (K8PD)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kaito just introduced a pocket sized DSP based MW\/SW\/FM receiver with some interesting features missing in other SW receivers its size. I just got my hands on one for the first time a couple of months ago and am getting familiar with its features, performance, and quirks. I first saw the KA-108 at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January when I visited the Kaito booth and spoke with Walter about their newest radios. There are no schematics included with the KA-108 and I haven\u2019t cracked open the case but based on the functionality, size, and price point it appears that the KA-108 utilizes the now common DSP based receiver architecture found in most of the new portable radios.<\/p>\n

First of all, a brief run down on the features and functions of this compact little radio.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Compact Size – \u00a05.5\u201d x 3.25\u201d x 1.1\u201d Weight 9 oz<\/li>\n
  2. Frequency Coverage – MW: 520 \u2013 1710 KHz, FM: 64 \u2013 108 Mhz, SW: 2300 \u2013 23000 KHz<\/li>\n
  3. Memories – 400 (100 MW, 100 FM, 200 SW)<\/li>\n
  4. Power – BC-5 Rechargeable LiPo 3.7V battery<\/li>\n
  5. Other Features\n
      \n
    • Timer\/Clock radio dual alarm function<\/li>\n
    • MP3 Timer record & playback to\/from a Micro SD card<\/li>\n
    • Standard USB port that accepts a thumb drive.<\/li>\n
    • Exceptional Bass Response for travel sized radio<\/li>\n
    • \u201cAuto Store\u201d feature will scan and store frequencies<\/li>\n
    • Battery charging via micro USB (no wall wart to carry)<\/li>\n
    • Audio \u201cline In\u201d can be used as computer or MP3 speaker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Most radios have their good and not so good points and the Kaito KA-108 is no exception. Here is a rundown on the LA-108\u2019s \u201cHITS & MISSES\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The HITS<\/b><\/p>\n

      This radio is small and lightweight which makes it an ideal travel radio. \u00a0The control layout features a full keyboard for frequency entry as well as up and down keys that will search for signals when held down. \u00a0The fit and finish are excellent and the keys have good positive tactile feel. \u00a0There are two rocker switches, one for volume up\/down and the other for band\/mode selection. \u00a0The radio comes with a decent user manual and quick start guide. \u00a0The manual\u2019s English is a little awkward in places but is fully understandable.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The backlit LCD display is brightly lit with large white numbers on a blue background. \u00a0It is easy for older eyes to read, even without glasses. \u00a0The signal strength meter is actually fairly useful which is rare for radios at this price point. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The standard frequency step is matched to channel spacing for the band in use with exception of the FM band which tunes in 100 KHz increments instead of the US standard 200KHz steps when the frequency range is set to the North American band. \u00a0The FM band can be set up to tune all the way down to 64 MHz if desired but since TV has migrated from analog to digital the usefulness of that coverage is minimal for North American users. \u00a0AM is 9 or 10 KHz step capable with a frequency range to match all parts of the world. \u00a0In addition to the standard frequency steps, the thumbwheel encoder can be used to fine adjust the frequency between the standard increments in 1 KHz steps.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The MP3 playback is very pleasant to listen to. \u00a0I tested it with several different genres of music with consistently good sound quality. \u00a0I haven\u2019t tried the recording function yet but it is definitely a nice feature, especially in such a compact package. \u00a0The KA-108 has a standard USB input (not mini or micro) behind a sliding door on top of the radio for external memory devices like thumb drives. \u00a0MP3s can be played and audio recorded to\/from this port as well as the Micro SD card slot aside of it. \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m also hopeful that the USB port may be capable of upgrading the radio firmware in the field. \u00a0\u00a0If not, that\u2019s another feature that Kaito should definitely consider for future versions of the KA-108. \u00a0(More on that later)<\/span><\/p>\n

      One feature I really like is the rotary tuning thumbwheel encoder on the side of the radio. \u00a0It has a light detent feel that allows you to manually tune the radio in 1 KHz steps to easily allow you to move to one side of a signal. \u00a0Frequency entry via the numeric keyboard is straight forward and intuitive with exception of the non-standard location of the zero key to the right of the bottom row of the numeric keys. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The FM reception is excellent with bass response that makes you wonder how such a mellow sound comes out of such a small box. \u00a0Despite the 1.5\u201d speaker, the audio has lots of bass and lacks the \u201ctinny \u201csound of most travel portables with small speakers. \u00a0It plays loudly without distortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

      MW reception was typical for a radio with limited space for a small ferrite antenna and I was able to hear the usual SWBC stations and time\/frequency UTE\u2019s on the HF bands. \u00a0SW reception using just the 20\u201d whip was just OK with easily listenable strong signals found on most of the active SW bands 2MHz and above. \u00a0The KA-108 is AM only on the HF bands (no SSB or CW). \u00a0There are some quirks with the MW and AM reception that I\u2019ll cover in the MISSES section of this review<\/span><\/p>\n

      The MISSES<\/b><\/p>\n

      I never thought I would complain about a portable receiver with a \u201ctoo tight\u201d a bandpass filter but the KA-108 is a first. \u00a0The bandpass filter for MW &SW are extremely narrow which when coupled with the KA108\u2019s exceptionally strong bass response, reduces the intelligibility of the received audio on the MW and Shortwave bands. \u00a0I have been able to mitigate the situation a little bit acoustically by covering a portion of the speaker grille with my hand or placing a small tube in front of it which seems to attenuate the bass and improve the overall audio response but the audio is still lacking in the higher frequencies that make things like music and the human voice more intelligible. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Tuning 1-2 KHz off of the carrier frequency with the thumbwheel helped improve things a little bit similar to the way you might use IF shift on a high end tabletop receiver. \u00a0I also noticed that stronger stations that have a signal that spills further down the filter\u2019s skirts had better audio response than those that lacked sufficient strength to spill over the filter response curve. I am hopeful that Kaito will offer a firmware upgrade to open up the bandwidth. \u00a0If the USB port used to play thumb drives has hooks into the radio\u2019s CPU then it might be possible to open up the bandwidth and improve the MW and SW audio without cracking open the radio case to re-flash the CPU or make a hardware change. \u00a0The bandwidth issue is the largest single miss for the KA-108 in my opinion<\/span><\/p>\n

      I found a few buzzes and whistles on the MW band and you can hear the CPU clock oscillator strongly at 12MHz. \u00a0I haven\u2019t looked inside of the radio yet but I would imagine that some of the MW noise can be tamed with a bit of internal shielding. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      I also found the AGC setting to be a bit too abrupt, jumping up and down in almost a step function with a signal whose level was fluctuating quite a bit. \u00a0That\u2019s another minor software adjustment to consider for the next edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Due to the KA-108\u2019s small size, the whip antenna is rather short (only about 20\u201d) which means the front end must have a lot of gain leaving it more vulnerable to overload. \u00a0I was able to receive a the stronger SWBC stations while sitting in the middle of my house but I also heard another faint signal under the SW stations. \u00a0The interfering signal turned out to be a local 1KW AM station on 145o KHz whose transmitter is about 4 miles from my home. \u00a0It was present in the background while listening to SWBC and was heard standalone on its 2<\/span>nd<\/span> and 3<\/span>rd<\/span> harmonics which were most likely generated internally due to the high gain front end. \u00a0The short SW antenna does create the need for higher front end gain but should be accompanied by a high pass filter behind the SW whip antenna or at least a 10dB attenuator. \u00a0Either or both of those features would reduce AM BCB intrusion while listening to SWBC. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      In the coming weeks I\u2019d like to do some parametric measurements on the KA-108 and will also see how it behaves with a longer antenna and antenna tuner with low pass filter ahead of it. \u00a0That should be a good test to see if a simple filter can eliminate the AM intrusion. \u00a0Improvements to widen the AM\/SW filter bandwidth and reduce the AM overload should be high priority improvements for the next version of the KA-108. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Summing It Up<\/b><\/p>\n

      I found the KA-108 easy to operate as I\u2019ve explored the AM\/SW\/FM and MP3 operating modes and it\u2019s a nice sized radio for casual listening when I\u2019m at home or to take with me as I travel for use as an alarm clock, music player, and radio in one compact package. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The KA-108 has potential with a few software and hardware tweaks. Fixing the MW\/SW bandwidth is #1. \u00a0A simple high pass filter that rolls off just above the AM broadcast band behind \u00a0the SW whip antenna is #2. \u00a0I can live with a few buzzes and tones but why not fix them with a little inexpensive shielding while adding the other fixes. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      The KA-108 will never match the performance of tabletop or lunchbox sized portables, but if you\u2019re looking for a nice little radio that will almost fit in your shirt pocket with nothing more than a micro USB cable to tote along for battery charging, and a radio that sounds twice its size, this radio fits the bill. \u00a0I hope that Kaito will address the issues I\u2019ve noted with future software\/hardware revisions to improve the performance of the KA-108 and maybe even offer a way for current owners to field upgrade their radios. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n

      That’s a thoughtful and\u00a0fair assessment of the Kaito KA108, Paul. It’s a reminder that, with a few strategic tweaks, the KA108 could be a great little portable. Thank you for sharing your review with us!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Paul Dobosz (K8PD) who shares his review of the Kaito KA108. Paul originally wrote this for the\u00a0Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts and has kindly allowed us to post it here: Kaito KA-108 Review by\u00a0Paul Dobosz (K8PD) Kaito just introduced a pocket sized DSP based MW\/SW\/FM receiver with some interesting features missing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,3781,3194,3,26,129,43,154],"tags":[4625,1512,4624,4726,5318],"class_list":["post-20283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-fm","category-guest-posts","category-news","category-radios","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-ka108","tag-kaito","tag-kaito-ka108","tag-kaito-ka108-review","tag-paul-dobosz-k8pd"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5h9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17081,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/kaito-ka108-unboxing-kaitos-new-compact-portable-radio-and-mp3-playerrecorder\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":0},"title":"Kaito KA108: Unboxing Kaito’s new compact portable radio and MP3 player\/recorder","author":"Thomas","date":"January 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday afternoon, I ventured off of our snowy mountain for the first time since Thursday. I was very pleased to find the new Kaito KA108 waiting for me at the post office. Universal Radio kindly dispatched a unit to me for review from their very first shipment. Thanks, Universal! I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaito-KA-108","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA-108-1024x575.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA-108-1024x575.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA-108-1024x575.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17088,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/review-of-the-kaito-ka108\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":1},"title":"Review of the Kaito KA108","author":"Thomas","date":"January 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently,\u00a0I learned about a new portable by Kaito Electronics: the Kaito KA108. While there are a number of compact portables on the market, the KA108 really caught my attention because it features\u00a0a built-in digital recorder. Which is to say, you can listen to a station on shortwave, press a button,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaito-KA108-Front-2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA108-Front-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA108-Front-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA108-Front-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA108-Front-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16663,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/the-kaito-ka108-a-shortwave-portable-with-built-in-record-function\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":2},"title":"The Kaito KA108: a shortwave portable with built-in record function","author":"Thomas","date":"January 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader,\u00a0Ante, who writes: Looks like Kaito has a new radio in the works. Portable shortwave receiver with record function. It looks very much like some of the Eton portables. Here's Universal Radio's description: The Kaito KA108 is a great AM, FM shortwave receiver with a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaito-KA108","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kaito-KA108.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8996,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/mehmet-burk-reviews-the-kaito-ka500-self-powered-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":3},"title":"Mehmet Burk reviews the Kaito KA550 self-powered radio","author":"Thomas","date":"March 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Mehmet Burk of ReliefAnalysis.com\u00a0for sharing his most positive review of the Kaito KA550\u00a0self-powered shortwave radio. [Note: I've updated this post to link to the Kaito\u00a0KA550. I initially linked to the older KA500 by mistake. Apologies!] Click here to read his full review: http:\/\/www.reliefanalysis.com\/2014\/03\/review-katio-ka550-terrific.html The Kaito KA550 currently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"kaito-ka550","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/kaito-ka550-1024x884.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/kaito-ka550-1024x884.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/kaito-ka550-1024x884.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":810,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/review-of-the-kaito-ka-500-self-powered-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":4},"title":"Review of the Kaito KA 500 Self-Powered Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"December 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I tested the KA500 along with several other self-powered radios for a project I'm working on in Africa. I found that the KA500 is a very capable shortwave receiver it's just not nearly as rugged as its current competitors. Here are my thoughts: What I like about the KA500: Solar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/KA500.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1338,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/kaito-ka600-self-powered-emergency-shortwave-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":20283,"position":5},"title":"The Kaito KA600 Voyager Pro self-powered emergency radio","author":"Thomas","date":"July 17, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Universal Radio has started selling the new Kaito KA600\u00a0Voyager Pro self-powered shortwave radio. \u00a0Two features really set this radio apart in the self-powered market:\u00a0RDS and the ability to enter a frequency via direct keypad entry. I know of no other mass-produced unit that can do this. 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