Incoming Radio: Degen DE1131

For the time being, there are pre-tariff Chinese radios for sale in the US at reasonable prices, and I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to review. I came upon on this new-condition Degen DE1131 Touch Screen Controlled Portable AM/FM/SW Digital radio on eBay for $19.99 including shipping from Electronnix. I’ll link to the eBay listing since there are multiples for sale (and they are offered on Amazon for $19.98 from the same seller).

This is a radio I looked at some years ago, and rejected because of its original price ($79). It’s a an eleven and a half-year-old radio introduced in November 2013, and I guess they’re finally blowing them out now.

I’ve owned several small Degen radios over the years, and still have a DE15 that is a rather elegant shirt-pocked model. The DE1131 is advertised as “touch screen,” but actually it is not the screen that one touches but rather the highly visible button pads and slider. The screen reminds me very much of the Degen DE28 and the Kaito KA29.

One weakness of the DE28 is that electromagnetic noise from the display can compete with weak radio signals on some frequencies. I would expect the same issue with the DE1131.

Here is the feature list from the original 2013 product announcement (translated from the Chinese):

DE1131, the world’s first leading technology, leading the trend

Degen DE1131, based on the four tuning modes of manual / automatic / memory / auto search memory, has created a fifth touch-slide fast tuning. This new tuning mode is just like the touch-slide screen of a smartphone. You can tune and adjust the volume by touching and sliding your finger. The operation is intuitive, convenient, fast, and more playable, achieving another major breakthrough in high-end radio tuning technology. This is Degen’s globally original technology, leading the industry and leading the new trend of world radio development!

• Full touch buttons on the front, easy and comfortable operation
• Self-set button auto-lock time, and set independent unlock button to prevent accidental operation, human-machine friendly and warm
• 4G ​​memory, support 32G card expansion memory, massive songs to listen to
• Lyrics in Chinese display, song name in the catalog, song memorization and selection are easier
• Wide-band audio speakers and subwoofer vibration membrane are used, with beautiful sound and super strong sound quality. Small body, powerful sound effect, enjoy the portable audio
• Perfect integration of full-band digital radio, recording, and MP3 audio playback. With one device in hand, you can control the world’s radio music  

It’s supposed to arrive next week, but in the meantime, here’s the user manual. And right off the bat, I find:

Prior to fist use, fully drain and recharge the battery 3 times to give the battery a better performance.

I try to be gentle with radios and avoid violent contact altogether. There is one other problem with the manual: no way given to set the MW step. My guess is that the method given in the contemporary DE28 manual is wrong, either that or the design is nonsense, and that the method in the later KA29/DE29 manual is how to do it. It’s also possible that the manual that comes with the radio is newer than what I found online and explains the process.

The manual mentions firmware updates, as did the DE29 and DE29 manuals; however, when I contacted Kaito back in the day, they said there were none, and in any case, this latecomer unit should have the latest firmware if there were any changes.

The reader might notice that the display seems crooked. All photos I found of the unit look the same. I think the scale at the bottom intentionally tilts upward. One thing I invariably fail to do when buying a radio is to check the size. I want a little radio to be little, and I’ve had what I thought was a radio that fit in the palm of my hand, not fit. This one (that I forgot to check before buying) is 4.5 x 0.75 x 2.5 inches, exactly the same size as specified for the Degen DE28. It’s thicker than I would have liked.

Red Flags

This one was not beloved by Amazon purchasers:

More than anything else, dissatisfied customers either didn’t understand the buttons, or found them unresponsive. Battery charging and life was a second issue.