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The Degen DE1106! There had been rumors about this radio for a long time and now it is here. The dimensions are the same as for the Eton E5 and the electronics are the same, too, except that the DE 1106 has some new features. The most important addition for the shortwave listener is without doubt the synchronous detector. Because the De1106 can also receive FM, a "RDS" function is included as well as air band reception. The radio has also a "Line in" jack to connect it to an iPod which makes it possible to us the Degen 1106 as an amplifier. All other features are the same as for the E5. The radio looks noble and well-manufactured but it does not a have a rubber surface as the E5. The radio's interesting features are the synchronous detector and the "RDS" (Radio Data System) which works in the FM function. If the synchronous detector is switched on, the sidebands are freely selectable and so you can eliminate noise and disturbances from neighboring channels. This function works very well. Even when listening to weak stations, the synchronous detector locks in place and remains locked in most cases. The "RDS" function shows the following information: station, title/artist, date, scroll text. But, of course, the station has to transmit this information. Receiving range: 150 KHz - 30 MHz; 76 - 108 MHz; 118 - 137 MHz. Modes: AM, synchronous AM with selectable side bands, USB, LSB, WFM (UKW) Two selectable band widths 700 alpha-numeric non -volatile memories etc. How is reception ? The first thing to notice the almost non-audible noise on free frequencies. You might think that the radio is defective or insensitive. But this is not so! I have never seen or listened to a radio which has so little internal noise. I contacted the dealer and he assured me that the radio was working fine. When I wrote this report, I briefly compared the DE1106 with the Sangean ATS-909. Of course, the ATZS-909 is in a different league which should not be forgotten. Because the Degen radios have a good reputation, a comparison seemed natural. Well, let's compare reception! Basically, the DE1106 receives signals just as well as the ATS-909. The are differences in the upper frequency range, though. From ca. 17 MHz and up, the ATS-909 is more sensitive. Below 17 MHz, both receivers have the same sensitivity. Reception on long wave is not very good and the DE1106 is almost deaf. Also, medium wave reception is not really adequate . But the built-in ferrite antenna has a good directional effect. The band width filters of the DE1106 are more effective than the ones of the AT-909. In the narrow position, the sound is still pleasant and not muffled. What is really good about the DE1106, is its synchronous detector. It locks into place in case of relatively weak stations and remains locked. Very well done!! SSB works just as well as with the ATS-909. Tuning is easy and the intelligibility is good. As is the case with these radios, large signal immunity is not very good and 900 KHz above and below the selected frequency, there are image frequencies but admittedly , the transmitter has to be fairly strong to cause this effect. Outdoor antennas can only be used with a preselector. The ATS-909 has a better large signal immunity. FM works pretty well. The RDS sensitivity is the same as the one of the ATS-909. The airbands work fairly well near an airport. However, there is no scanning function for the airbands… By and large a nice and interesting receiver with a synchronous detector that make makes up for the radio's small weaknesses. The DE1106 is identical in construction to the Eton/Grundig G3 Soon, I will make comparison tests with several portable receivers. This test can be found here.
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