Get a Kaito 2100 While You Can: Universal Radio Has Announced the End of Its Short But Glorious Life

Well, not so fast. The Kaito 2100 isn't really dead. It's just been replaced with a more expensive version, the C.Crane CSW. The CSW features a twin-coil ferrite antenna, but no one can claim that the CSW brings in superior AM to the original. What you will get with the CSW, according to one reader, is a readable owner's manual.

Comments

[Igor]

Yeah, I've just noticed that. A shame, as I was about to order that radio from Universal. Much of the appeal was the price, and I'm not sure I want to pay $40 more for the CCrane version.

Any idea why the KA2100 was discontinued? I thought it was popular.

Guess my options now are to:

1. Forget about it.

2. Order the Redsun-branded version direct from China off of eBay, which would come to about the same price as the Kaito but which I am loathe to do since returning it would be a major PITA.

3. There's a cut-down, $50 version of the 2100 called the Silicon Scientific, available from Heartland America.

Guess I'll have to think about it.

Any news on the successor to the 2100 that is supposed to have SSB, a keypad for direct frequency entry, etc? I'm starting to think that radio was just vaporware.

[herculodge]

I've seen refurbished Eton S350 on Amazon for 50-60 dollars. That would be a fine, less expensive substitute. Last I heard, the Redsun 3100 is most likely not going to make it for mass production. I'll post the Silicon Scientific if the radio looks good. Thanks. Jeff

[Mike W]

Jeff, Igor :

I was in a Yahoo group about Redsun radios last year and a lot of this got sorted out. I believe the CCrane version has the same MW antenna as the Redsun/Kaito original.

Heartland America does not seem to have that Silicon Scientific version posted now. It was indeed cut-down as Igor points out, missing the station memories if I recall, no small matter in a radio that lacks a numeric keypad for direct frequency entry.

It's a shame about the Redsun 3000/3100 series not coming out. One was rumored to have sync detection and the other not. One later rumor was that the project was canceled because the engineers couldn't get the sync circuit to work, which even if true would only explain dropping one of the two designs. Anyway, the Sangean PR-D5 came out soon after and my hunch is it's better on MW than even the 3100 would have been, and there's still the pending Satellit 750 if you need SW.

I bought one of those refurbished S350DL's for under $50 on eBay. I thought it was OK but nothing special, certainly weaker on MW than my PR-D5 and kind of drifty, as so many owners point out.

[Jeff McMahon]

Mike, did you get the Grundig or the Eton? The Grundig, which I used to own, drifts. The Eton does not. I'm surprised if your Eton is drifting. I'm still eager to know if the PR-D7 has the same AM antenna as the PR-D5. Jeff

[Mike W]

I had the Grundig S350DL till I got the PR-D5 then sold the Grundig on eBay for a small loss.

My guess - and it is no more than that - is that the PR-D7 will not have the 200 ferrite core antenna.

You made yourself the guinea pig on that one when you sold your PR-D5, Jeff, because there's no way you'll resist buying a PR-D7 ASAP. Your five-star review will be featured on Amazon as "most helpful" then two weeks later you will post your real opinion on this blog. Me, I think I'd miss the tuning knob on the 5 too much, even if the 7 looks much better and has a better speaker.

[Mike W]

Hmmm, wish I had edited that last post a little more carefully...I meant "200 MM ferrite core antenna", and the crack about your pending PR-D7 Amazon review was a bit snide...

[Jeff McMahon]

Knowing me, if the antenna in the PR-D7 is not 200 mm, I'll be in the unfortunate and embarrassing situation of having to buy a PR-D5 all over again. Talk about radio neurosis.

[Mike W]

If it's any consolation, Jeff, I have done the same thing with stocks a few times.

Suffice it to say your neurosis is less costly than mine.

[Mike W]

Just stumbled onto this under the FAQ's tab in CCRane's PR-D7 page :

"How good is the AM reception on the PR-D7?

The PR-D7 has good AM reception almost as good as the Sonido Radio. The PR-D7's internal ferrite antenna is 8mm in diameter, 4" long and does a good job pulling in stations."

Very disappointing. I was thinking of getting one myself.

[Ed S.]

If you guys ever come across an Eton E-1 for under $300, I suggest getting it and playing with it a bit. I had 2 and and thought it was a wonderful AM/FM portable with as good a SW receiver as you can find. The quirk was no ferrite bar built in, it used the whip for AM! Not good, no directionality. But the Sync Detector was the best of any SW radio I've tried.

[Jeff McMahon]

I always thought the Eton E1 was overpriced and the fact that you had to use an external AM antenna impeded my interest, to say the least.
Jeff

[Mike W]

Ed,

Grundig came out with the prototype of the Satellit 900 in 1995, and I HAD to have one, was fixated on it in a way far worse than Jeff ever gets. So I waited and waited and waited. 1995! You could watch new Seinfelds, listen to "Brain of Britain" on BBC SW, my commute into work passed under the WTC, and the internet was a quirky diversion that mostly just tied up your phone line.

So they finally brought it out as the E1XM but SW is a shadow of its former self and the world is much different. I am sometimes tempted to buy a lower-priced one almost out of nostalgia, but like Jeff, I can't accept the lack of a decent MW antenna, and the QC record is pretty shaky. Thanks for the thought, anyway. BTW, I also had a Lowe HF-150, nice little rig there.

[Jeff McMahon]

Ed, I imagine people are treating you like a celebrity in that Smart Car. Now that's a treat. As soon as you give me some impressions, I'll post them under your photos. Jeff

[Ed S.]

Did you see me drive past your gym yet, Jeff?
I wish I received a commission for every SnartCar I've helped Mercedes-Benz to sell. I must have answered dozens of questions for other drivers who pull up to me and want me to roll down the window to ask what it costs, how I like it, etc. I get dirty looks from people who just spent $25K on a minicooper, and Hummer drivers, of course.
I am afraid to leave it parked outside for too long--I'm afraid some guys will pick it up and carry it off! (It actually has motion-sensor alarms just for that reason.) I think you'll be seeing more Smarts on the road very soon. I'll give it a few more days before I review...haven't finished a tank of gas yet!

[Jeff McMahon]

Ed, what is the MPG, about 40?

I doubt I could get 20K for my 07 Maxima, considering the cost of gas and the amount of people who can't make their mortgage payments. If gas rises to 5 dollars, I'm going to feel very dumb.