Degen DE 1125 Shortwave Radio

A few days ago, I mentioned I had ordered a small, portable SW radio should I get caught in any natural disaster or military strife where access to information would be vital. 

After a few days of research, I chose the Degen DE1125  because it was lightweight and could do so much more than just shortwave radio. And as a minimalist one-bagger, I like things that do double duty. It wasn’t overpriced at $70.

The radio arrived the day after I ordered it. (Thank you Amazon.)

Inside was the radio, ear buds, a small carry bag for, instruction manual, mini-usb cable for charging and USB-capable plug.

The Degen De 1125 is an AM/FM/Shortwave radio with alarm clock, digital voice recorder, 2 GB mp3 player, is backlit, has a 90 minutes sleep timer,  is fluent in Esperanto and cooks a mean chili. (Ok, I made up the language fluency.)

The small front speaker is surprising clear, as long as you don’t expect stereophonic sound, but there’s also an earphone jack should you wish to listen in private. Mp3’s are transferred from computer to radio via the included mini-usb cable. The same cable charges the unit from either a computer or the included wall socket. (Note, the power from the wall socket is low and cannot also charge either an ipod touch or a blackberry.)

The unit itself is slightly bigger than an Ipod Touch and Blackberry and weighs 4 oz with battery. The instruction manual wasn’t very clear but after awhile it was easy to figure out. There is a small lag time between the different functions.

I was happy until I tried to receive shortwave. I pulled out the telescoping antenna, switched to one of the six SW bands and did my best to find the king of all shortwave stations—the BBC World Service. Oops, it seems they don’t broadcast on shortwave any longer. 

Okay, how about Voice of America? Nope. Radio Canada? Uh uh. Radio Australia? No. Well, only to the South Pacific. 

Doesn’t anyone broadcast in English anymore? I found Radio Havana although I don’t know how much good it would do in an emergency. I heard many stations in languages other than English. But nothing, in any language I understand.

So, shortwave seems to be a bust.

And then it got worse. The Degen 1126, the next model, is already out and available on Ebay from China. Completely new design, more memory, a text reader, and everything else from the 1125. It’s also still the same size and weight. The instruction manual on that model, at least for now, is only in Chinese. (My manual was in Chinese and English only whoever did the translation could use a few hours at Berlitz. ). 

So, what’s the verdict? Well, I’m going to keep it and take it with me when traveling. I can always use a good radio, it’s nice to have  a digital voice recorder to use instead of written journals, I can download a few audiobooks to the mp3 player as a backup to my Ipod Touch, and having an extra alarm clock never hurt when trying to make early flights. 

And it’s only 4 oz……

(Frank II)

Update on March 23, 2011 by Frank@OBOW

In my travels, I use a Chargepod multi-charger and Fueltank backup chargers for my smaller electronic devices. Both work with the Degen. 

Now if I could only convince radio stations to forget about this “internet” thing and go back to broadcasting on shortwave. 

Comments

[Paul]

Another radio you may want to look at it CountyComm's GP-4L.

http://www.countycomm.com/gp4light.htm

It doesn't have the techie gadgets of yours, just a radio with a built-in LED light, but it picks up AM, FM, and shortwave. I can pick up shortwave weather stations fine, otherwise the only usful station are on the AM and FM band. Like your it has a mono speaker, headphone jack, telescoping antenna, and they sell an antenna booster which is a coiled wire so you can increase the antenna's length, and thus its range.

The GP-4L is 3.4" X 2.55" X .83" and weights 4.5 oz with two AA batteries installed. While AA batteries aren't as convient to charge on the go for someone with other USB powered devices they work better in an emergency, where finding batteries is faster and easier than finding a working wall outlet and sitting still.

[Cindy H]

Or you could use wi-fi or just pay the international data roaming and install a radio app such as Tunemark on your smartphone. I was listening to the BBC world news last night on my walk - via my iPhone and Tunemark. (I was doing domestic data though).

BTW, the Dragon dictation app does voice translation to text. I use it instead of a bluetooth keyboard. Again, needs data.

That said, shortwave is the way to go for disasters. Most people don't realize that cell towers are among the first casulties for those sort of things.

[Jeff h]

Thanks to that earlier post, I checked out the Degen, but then opted for it's paperback sized cousin, Kaito's KA1103 which is regarded as the best 'cheap' portable FM/AM/LW/SW receiver. Yeah it's not as small or as light as the DE1125 (or 1126!), but very packable and would serve for home use as well- which is why I chose it. No USB charging or MP3 storage either, but it's a very good receiver on all bands and includes single side band. The biggest weakness is the clunky ergonomics.

For english SW broadcast timetables, try http://www.primetimeshortwave.com

[mick]

I need to convert my de1125 from Japanese to English.
the manual I have is in Japanese.