Confederate Sharpshooter

Yesterday I introduced you to the big radio, the GE Super Radio. Today, it’s the other end of the spectrum in just about every way- this time we meet the tiny, complex, and feature laden Kaito KA1121. Fair warning: if you aren’t the person relatives call when they can’t figure out how to program the VCR, then this radio probably isn’t for you. It is most definitely a geek’s radio, but if you are the type of person who finds joy in reading technical manuals and figuring out how things work, the little Kaito will repay you with a wealth of features, most of which are quite useful, and a few of which are just weird. Yeah, I love this little radio, but CT girl will give them away to my geek relatives rather than go to the trouble of learning how to get one working. My personal take on how this radio got designed goes something like this: all the engineers were sitting around one day, and somebody asked how many circuits they could get into a DVD cover. Never ask an engineer a question like that, unless you really want to know the answer. In point of fact, the 1121 face is somewhat smaller than a DVD box, and the unit is about twice as thick. In that tiny housing they found room for a host of features, such as AM, FM, SW1 and SW2, full NOAA weather band coverage, a decent MP3 recorder/player, memories for 400 channels, 3 alarms that will not only turn on the radio, but automatically record shows off the air, and set the volume control for each in turn. The MP3 player even has the capability to display lyrics in time with the song being played, if you are patient enough to type them in and download them to the unit. (That’s one of the features I classify as ‘strange.’) The MP3 is detachable of course, and a supplied USB patch cord lets you upload your recordings to your PC, or download to the unit. This is also how you program functions and upgrade software in the radio. Unfortunately programming the presets and channels is a bit primitive, you use a text editor like notepad to edit a supplied sample text, download it to the MP3, and then import it to the radio itself. You need to be a bit anal on your typing, too- a misspelled frequency or syntax error will cause an error, and it will not load into the radio. Once you get it right, though, it’s a handy way of setting up a huge number of radio stations. (If you listen to much SW, this is a wonderful thing- most SW stations operate on multiple frequencies, and change to take advantage of atmospheric conditions. One I listen to frequently operates on no less than 4 transmitters, and nearly a dozen frequencies.) As I mentioned yesterday, all the bells and whistles mean nothing if they don’t work. I have heard of a few people who have had issues with quality control, but all three of my Kaito radios work perfectly. The biggest issue will be the owners manual: the translation from the Chinese must have been done by someone learning English as they worked, and it shows. Even so, with a little effort you can figure out what to do. Better yet, check out the yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KA1121_DE1121/ and look in the files- one of the members did a wonderful job of rewriting the manual for ordinary folks. (if you want to check specs on the radio, or read the original manual, it’s here: http://www.kaitousa.com/KA1121.htm ) About the only consistent complaint I’ve heard on the radio (besides learning all the features) is battery life. It comes supplied with rechargeable batteries, but they don’t seem to last long. One tech checked it out, and the problem seems to be the charging: the way you charge the batteries is to select which to charge, either the MP3 or the radio, and the unit times the charge needed. Apparently a full charge only brings the batteries up to about 70% of capacity. If you want a full charge, you’ll need to take them out and use a smart charger. Another bug is the power supply is a bit noisy on AM- not noticeable on strong stations, but very weak stations it can show up on recordings. I have considered building a battery pack to power the radio while recording such things, but instead just use a signal booster to bring the signal above the noise level of the power supply. On FM or SW no problems. The big reason to want this radio is the MP3 recording. Bad news, it’s only good for 256 meg, although I’ve heard a replacement 512 meg unit is in the works. Before you start rolling your eyes and quoting how many gigs your Ipod holds, consider this- even at 256 meg, it’s good for 15 hours of voice-quality radio (think talk shows.) The unit can be set for three levels of audio quality, from voice to CD quality, with shorter recording times for the better sounding recordings. I am currently using two of these units to record various radio programs unattended, and it works great. Upload to windows, play back in media player, and skip the stuff I don’t like. Some programming I wish to keep is easily filed, the rest deleted. Although I am not fond of using an MP3 player (of any brand) while working, I have been known to use the detachable unit to listen to programs while hunting or simply waiting for a doctors’ appointment, for example. It works great. (One thing I would change if I could- the MP3 player uses an odd battery- a short, square NiMh F6. You can use the MP3 in the radio without any battery, but if the F6 dies, you are SOL on using the player alone until you order one from Kaito or a radio supply house. Forget about picking one up at Wally World.) Obviously, I like the radio, or I wouldn’t have bought more than one. But it’s not for everybody, or even most people. But if you want all these features, and enjoy a complex, quality radio in a small package, it’s a worth the money. Speaking of which, you can find them everywhere for $149, but being the tightwad that I am, I kept searching until I found a closeout deal for $79 each and ordered a pair. I have not seen them that cheap since, but some searching and patience could save you some serious money if you like bargains. There is a lot more I could say, but rather than try to cover everything here I will instead reply to any comments posted to answer any questions.