Pro: A very listenable pocket radio – DSP cleans things up, and there’s no heterodyne squealing. Price, about $20. Simple, intuitive controls. No frills. Price. Tiny, perfect for a grab-and-go bag. Did I mention price?
Con: SW tuning band only reaches down to 5.7 MHz. Stiff frequency control makes precise tuning difficult. Tiny loopstick AM antenna sometimes needs help.
Earlier this year I reviewed this radio’s analogue predecessor, the Katio WRX911 (
http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=32960.msg367584#msg367584). It had its pros and cons, but the one thing about it that drove me nuts was the squeal caused by its lack of selectivity. Adjacent stations weren’t well-resolved, never could quite tune’em out, and it always sounded like a headache. Well, those problems have been fixed by the DSP (digital signal processing) chip in this successor radio. Beyond that, the two units are very similar.
Some of the bands on this radio are a little odd for U.S. users. There are two FM bands, one familiar here in the States, and another reaching down to 64 Mhz. Not a lot available there locally, but I understand Katio’s rational for not making country-specific radios. More annoyingly, the SW bands stop on the low end at 5.7 MHz, which rules out a chunk of nighttime SW listening opportunities. In comparison, the WRX 911 extends down to 4.7 MHz, and many other SW radios continue right down to the top of the broadcast AM band. The top end is all you need at 22 MHz. Of course there are no SSB receive provisions, but at this price that’s more than can be expected. Other than these few dings and somewhat stiff tuning, SW performance is on par with my other “better” SW radios (Tecsun 380 & 660). A clipped-on longwire helps.
Listening to broadcast AM last evening (WSM 650, about 430 miles away), piped through the stereo, it sounded pretty good. The DSP chip auto-mutes the sound when the ionosphere ripples and signal-to-noise ratio gets too low. This bothers some people who are all into DX receiving, but if you’re more into listening I’d say it’s a net plus. Because of its size though, the little built-in loopstick antenna can only do so much and an external loop (like this:
http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=34568.0) is a big help on marginal signals.
FM performance is very good with the built-in whip antenna. Clipped onto an external dipole, it pulls in WWOZ out of New Orleans just fine, which is a sort of acid-test of a good FM receiver around here. It is hard to tune though, with a very small and stiff analog dial, and no keypad input.
Other stuff: comes with a minimal manual (very simple stuff), a lanyard, and that’s about it. Runs on 2 AA batteries. No frills, no clocks, no thermometer, none of that useless stuff. The tiny speaker is surprisingly un-shrill, it’s actually listenable. About fit and finish, it’s head and shoulders over the WRX911. Some of the reviews linked below indicated problems with the pop-out stand and the earbud output. No such problems on my unit. Good consumer-grad plastic all-around, it feels solid.
Bottom line is that I’ve got a new BOB radio. It’s a little tricky to tune, but it works and sounds great. Most importantly, it’s selective enough that adjacent channels don’t cause the thing to squeal.
For others’ reviews, here are a few links. Some are of the Degen version; same radio, different label.
http://cobaltpet.blogspot.com/2012/09/degen-de321-dsp-portable-receiver-review.htmlhttp://swling.com/blog/2011/11/a-review-of-the-degen-de321-dsp-shortwave-radio/http://www.amazon.com/Kaito-KA321-Pocket-size-Shortwave-Processing/dp/B008MPKAPK/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350697209&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=katio+321
