[IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. The deep purple model arrived after about a week, and right out of the box, had AM sensitivity and selectivity fairly comparable to the best analog ultralight, the SRF-39FP. The big surprise was the nulling ability-- clearly a step above either the SRF-39FP or its SRF-59 sibling, allowing on-frequency nulling of even booming semi-local stations (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, KKMO-1360, etc.). Image frequency rejection was also good, with only a tiny whisper of local pest KSUH-1450 showing up on 540. Suddenly intrigued by this tiny analog wonder, I did a full alignment on the loopstick and 1400 kHz trimmer, bringing the sensitivity up to a level slightly exceeding that of the SRF-39FP (on most frequencies). Kevin has also had similar success with his WRX911. The radio's analog tuning is much more comfortable than that of either the SRF-39FP or SRF-59, with a much wider tuning window. As if this were not enough, the model offers multiband Shortwave and FM coverage. The great news is that the WRX911 is seriously overpriced at Amazon, and the equivalent Chinese model Tecsun R911 can be purchased from the EBay vendor dpmega for $12.90, plus $7.00 airmail shipping (or even cheaper at $9.90, if you wish to take your chance at an auction). For those looking for the best Ultralight DXing bargain on the planet, the Tecsun R911 would probably be my strong recommendation. Full details of this superb model (and four other Ultralight radios) will be contained in the upcoming 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout. 73, Gary DeBock **Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood0002) ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
Hi Gary; Thanks for the review of the Kaito and its sister Tecsun. Just to see what this wonder looked like, I searched for products listed by ebay seller dpmega. I see that he is offering Tecsun R909 models but could not find any R911 models. Are the 909/911's similar in any way? I see that the pricing, at least is identical, $9.90 auction price or $12.90 BIN price. He has lots of products / gadgets, including a Kaide BC-R25, http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Pocket-Size-AM-FM-2-Band-Radio-BC-R25_W0QQ itemZ370173551176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item37017355 1176_trksid=p3911.c0.m14_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A 1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 which, to me epitomizes what a shirt pocket radio is. I'm sure that it is a ULR turkey but I grew up listening to radio's just like that, including many AM only sets. Never bought from them but I wish dealextreme.com would carry ULR sets. They have many unique items and seem to have good prices - love to browse there. 73, Dave in Indy -- Message: 10 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:35:22 EDT From: d1028g...@aol.com To: ultraligh...@yahoogroups.com, irca@hard-core-dx.com, a...@nrcdxas.org, o...@yahoogroups.com Subject: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder Message-ID: c70.41e30d20.36efd...@aol.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. The deep purple model arrived after about a week, and right out of the box, had AM sensitivity and selectivity fairly comparable to the best analog ultralight, the SRF-39FP. The big surprise was the nulling ability-- clearly a step above either the SRF-39FP or its SRF-59 sibling, allowing on-frequency nulling of even booming semi-local stations (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, KKMO-1360, etc.). Image frequency rejection was also good, with only a tiny whisper of local pest KSUH-1450 showing up on 540. Suddenly intrigued by this tiny analog wonder, I did a full alignment on the loopstick and 1400 kHz trimmer, bringing the sensitivity up to a level slightly exceeding that of the SRF-39FP (on most frequencies). Kevin has also had similar success with his WRX911. The radio's analog tuning is much more comfortable than that of either the SRF-39FP or SRF-59, with a much wider tuning window. As if this were not enough, the model offers multiband Shortwave and FM coverage. The great news is that the WRX911 is seriously overpriced at Amazon, and the equivalent Chinese model Tecsun R911 can be purchased from the EBay vendor dpmega for $12.90, plus $7.00 airmail shipping (or even cheaper at $9.90, if you wish to take your chance at an auction). For those looking for the best Ultralight DXing bargain on the planet, the Tecsun R911 would probably be my strong recommendation. Full details of this superb model (and four other Ultralight radios) will be contained in the upcoming 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout. 73, Gary DeBock **Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood0002) -- ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com End of IRCA Digest, Vol 59, Issue 35 ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
I ordered my blue one ( it is supposed to be blue not burkle... but anyway) from Universal Radio today. Powell POP email is powell at backroads DOT net --- On Mon, 3/16/09, d1028g...@aol.com d1028g...@aol.com wrote: Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 12:35 PM Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
Hi Dave, Thanks for your response. The eBay seller dpmega had at least one Tecsun R911 model available before I posted my message about the Kaito WRX911 to all the groups, but I'm not surprised that somebody snatched it up right away :) Anyway, the newer equivalent Tecsun R9012 model (with an extra Shortwave band) is available from dpmega at the same price (under $20 including shipping), and also from the seller tquchina, at just a little higher cost. These should satisfy any budget-minded analog DXer looking for superb Ultralight DX. 73, Gary In a message dated 3/16/2009 10:58:04 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, david.hasc...@dfas.mil writes: Hi Gary; Thanks for the review of the Kaito and its sister Tecsun. Just to see what this wonder looked like, I searched for products listed by ebay seller dpmega. I see that he is offering Tecsun R909 models but could not find any R911 models. Are the 909/911's similar in any way? I see that the pricing, at least is identical, $9.90 auction price or $12.90 BIN price. He has lots of products / gadgets, including a Kaide BC-R25, http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Pocket-Size-AM-FM-2-Band-Radio-BC-R25_W0QQ itemZ370173551176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item37017355 1176_trksid=p3911.c0.m14_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A 1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 which, to me epitomizes what a shirt pocket radio is. I'm sure that it is a ULR turkey but I grew up listening to radio's just like that, including many AM only sets. Never bought from them but I wish dealextreme.com would carry ULR sets. They have many unique items and seem to have good prices - love to browse there. 73, Dave in Indy -- Message: 10 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:35:22 EDT From: d1028g...@aol.com To: ultraligh...@yahoogroups.com, irca@hard-core-dx.com, a...@nrcdxas.org,o...@yahoogroups.com Subject: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder Message-ID: c70.41e30d20.36efd...@aol.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. The deep purple model arrived after about a week, and right out of the box, had AM sensitivity and selectivity fairly comparable to the best analog ultralight, the SRF-39FP. The big surprise was the nulling ability-- clearly a step above either the SRF-39FP or its SRF-59 sibling, allowing on-frequency nulling of even booming semi-local stations (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, KKMO-1360, etc.). Image frequency rejection was also good, with only a tiny whisper of local pest KSUH-1450 showing up on 540. Suddenly intrigued by this tiny analog wonder, I did a full alignment on the loopstick and 1400 kHz trimmer, bringing the sensitivity up to a level slightly exceeding that of the SRF-39FP (on most frequencies). Kevin has also had similar success with his WRX911. The radio's analog tuning is much more comfortable than that of either the SRF-39FP or SRF-59, with a much wider tuning window. As if this were not enough, the model offers multiband Shortwave and FM coverage. The great news is that the WRX911 is seriously overpriced at Amazon, and the equivalent Chinese model Tecsun R911 can be purchased from the EBay vendor dpmega for $12.90, plus $7.00 airmail shipping (or even cheaper at $9.90, if you wish to take your chance at an auction). For those looking for the best Ultralight DXing bargain on the planet, the Tecsun R911 would probably be my strong recommendation. Full details of this superb model (and four other Ultralight radios) will be contained in the upcoming 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout. 73, Gary DeBock **Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood0002) -- ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com End of IRCA Digest, Vol 59, Issue 35 **Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid
Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
Gary, Have you also tested the Tecsun R9012? Is it identical to the R911 in performance? 73 Paul --- On Mon, 3/16/09, d1028g...@aol.com d1028g...@aol.com wrote: From: d1028g...@aol.com d1028g...@aol.com Subject: Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder To: david.hasc...@dfas.mil, irca@hard-core-dx.com Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 5:03 PM Hi Dave, Thanks for your response. The eBay seller dpmega had at least one Tecsun R911 model available before I posted my message about the Kaito WRX911 to all the groups, but I'm not surprised that somebody snatched it up right away :) Anyway, the newer equivalent Tecsun R9012 model (with an extra Shortwave band) is available from dpmega at the same price (under $20 including shipping), and also from the seller tquchina, at just a little higher cost. These should satisfy any budget-minded analog DXer looking for superb Ultralight DX. 73, Gary In a message dated 3/16/2009 10:58:04 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, david.hasc...@dfas.mil writes: Hi Gary; Thanks for the review of the Kaito and its sister Tecsun. Just to see what this wonder looked like, I searched for products listed by ebay seller dpmega. I see that he is offering Tecsun R909 models but could not find any R911 models. Are the 909/911's similar in any way? I see that the pricing, at least is identical, $9.90 auction price or $12.90 BIN price. He has lots of products / gadgets, including a Kaide BC-R25, http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Pocket-Size-AM-FM-2-Band-Radio-BC-R25_W0QQ itemZ370173551176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item37017355 1176_trksid=p3911.c0.m14_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A 1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 which, to me epitomizes what a shirt pocket radio is. I'm sure that it is a ULR turkey but I grew up listening to radio's just like that, including many AM only sets. Never bought from them but I wish dealextreme.com would carry ULR sets. They have many unique items and seem to have good prices - love to browse there. 73, Dave in Indy -- Message: 10 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:35:22 EDT From: d1028g...@aol.com To: ultraligh...@yahoogroups.com, irca@hard-core-dx.com, a...@nrcdxas.org,o...@yahoogroups.com Subject: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder Message-ID: c70.41e30d20.36efd...@aol.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. The deep purple model arrived after about a week, and right out of the box, had AM sensitivity and selectivity fairly comparable to the best analog ultralight, the SRF-39FP. The big surprise was the nulling ability-- clearly a step above either the SRF-39FP or its SRF-59 sibling, allowing on-frequency nulling of even booming semi-local stations (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, KKMO-1360, etc.). Image frequency rejection was also good, with only a tiny whisper of local pest KSUH-1450 showing up on 540. Suddenly intrigued by this tiny analog wonder, I did a full alignment on the loopstick and 1400 kHz trimmer, bringing the sensitivity up to a level slightly exceeding that of the SRF-39FP (on most frequencies). Kevin has also had similar success with his WRX911. The radio's analog tuning is much more comfortable than that of either the SRF-39FP or SRF-59, with a much wider tuning window. As if this were not enough, the model offers multiband Shortwave and FM coverage. The great news is that the WRX911 is seriously overpriced at Amazon, and the equivalent Chinese model Tecsun R911 can be purchased from the EBay vendor dpmega for $12.90, plus $7.00 airmail shipping (or even cheaper at $9.90, if you wish to take your chance at an auction). For those looking for the best Ultralight DXing bargain on the planet, the Tecsun R911 would probably be my strong recommendation. Full details of this superb model (and four other Ultralight radios) will be contained in the upcoming 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout. 73, Gary DeBock **Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood0002) -- ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily
Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder
Hi Paul, I have no fewer than four Tecsun R9012 models on the way from China-- two bright yellow ones from tquchina, and two black ones from dpmega, all of them purchased on eBay. One of the reasons for the delay of the 2009 Ultralight Shootout is to give all of these little analog wonders a thorough investigation, alignment, and performance check (as I did the Kaito WRX911), prior to the final Shootout judgement. In addition, I have a Tecsun R911 black model on the way from dpmega, which will get the same full investigation. Since I have personal experience in seeing one of my radio recommendations result in an astronomical price increase (as happened with the Sony SRF-T615 model after the 2008 Shootout), you may have noticed that I waited until after ordering all these multiple units, before announcing the great performance of the WRX911 :). 73, Gary In a message dated 3/16/2009 6:21:39 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, texn...@yahoo.com writes: Gary, Have you also tested the Tecsun R9012? Is it identical to the R911 in performance? 73 Paul --- On Mon, 3/16/09, d1028g...@aol.com d1028g...@aol.com wrote: From: d1028g...@aol.com d1028g...@aol.com Subject: Re: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder To: david.hasc...@dfas.mil, irca@hard-core-dx.com Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 5:03 PM Hi Dave, Thanks for your response. The eBay seller dpmega had at least one Tecsun R911 model available before I posted my message about the Kaito WRX911 to all the groups, but I'm not surprised that somebody snatched it up right away :) Anyway, the newer equivalent Tecsun R9012 model (with an extra Shortwave band) is available from dpmega at the same price (under $20 including shipping), and also from the seller tquchina, at just a little higher cost. These should satisfy any budget-minded analog DXer looking for superb Ultralight DX. 73, Gary In a message dated 3/16/2009 10:58:04 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, david.hasc...@dfas.mil writes: Hi Gary; Thanks for the review of the Kaito and its sister Tecsun. Just to see what this wonder looked like, I searched for products listed by ebay seller dpmega. I see that he is offering Tecsun R909 models but could not find any R911 models. Are the 909/911's similar in any way? I see that the pricing, at least is identical, $9.90 auction price or $12.90 BIN price. He has lots of products / gadgets, including a Kaide BC-R25, http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Pocket-Size-AM-FM-2-Band-Radio-BC-R25_W0QQ itemZ370173551176QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item37017355 1176_trksid=p3911.c0.m14_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A 1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 which, to me epitomizes what a shirt pocket radio is. I'm sure that it is a ULR turkey but I grew up listening to radio's just like that, including many AM only sets. Never bought from them but I wish dealextreme.com would carry ULR sets. They have many unique items and seem to have good prices - love to browse there. 73, Dave in Indy -- Message: 10 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:35:22 EDT From: d1028g...@aol.com To: ultraligh...@yahoogroups.com, irca@hard-core-dx.com, a...@nrcdxas.org, o...@yahoogroups.com Subject: [IRCA] Kaito WRX911 AM-FM-SW Ultralight-- A Real Tiny Wonder Message-ID: c70.41e30d20.36efd...@aol.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hello All, While fully aware that most of the Ultralight Radio enthusiast group has graduated from basic analog radios to more exotic digital models, a relatively unknown little jewel made by China's Tecsun company has motivated me to inform as many DXers as possible about its superlative performance (even prior to the 2009 Ultralight Radio Shootout completion). Following up on a tip from Kevin Schanilec, a Kaito WRX911 was purchased from Amazon.com for $39.95, shipping included. The deep purple model arrived after about a week, and right out of the box, had AM sensitivity and selectivity fairly comparable to the best analog ultralight, the SRF-39FP. The big surprise was the nulling ability-- clearly a step above either the SRF-39FP or its SRF-59 sibling, allowing on-frequency nulling of even booming semi-local stations (KIRO-710, KOMO-1000, KKMO-1360, etc.). Image frequency rejection was also good, with only a tiny whisper of local pest KSUH-1450 showing up on 540. Suddenly intrigued by this tiny analog wonder, I did a full alignment on the loopstick and 1400 kHz trimmer, bringing the sensitivity up to a level slightly exceeding that of the SRF-39FP (on most frequencies). Kevin has also had similar success with his WRX911. The radio's analog tuning is much more comfortable than that of either the SRF-39FP or SRF-59, with a much wider tuning window. As if this were not enough, the model offers
