The Degen DE1121 is a AM/FM/SW radio with a docking mp3 recorder. The mp3 recorder can be removed, and both the radio and the mp3 recorder can be used independently. The mp3 recorder can used to record radio programs and to play mp3 music recordings and podcasts. The radio features a daily alarm that can be used to trigger the mp3 recorder to "time shift" radio programs, much like a VCR.
The radio performance is quite good (though not quite up to the standards of the best radios in the same price class like the Redsun RP2100 or Degen DE1103), with excellent reception on all bands. It commonly sells for around $100 shipped to the US from China from ebay sellers like tquchina.
Yes, the DE1121 Owners Manual is available from the files section of the Yahoo Group KA1121_DE1121. In addition, Walter Zhao, owner of Kaito USA and deisgner of many radios, has offered to email the 2 page pdf "quick guide to the KA1121" to anyone interested in purchasing the Kaito version of the radio if they promise not to publish it on the internet.
No, though there is some speculation that it is based on the DE1102. The IFs stated in the Thieking & Koch manual (10.7 MHz + 450 kHz for SW) coincide with the DE1102. (Thanks to Stephan Grossklass)
Note that you can set the duration to be unlimited by pressing delete (left arrow under 7) when the duration is highlighted for unlimited recording time. This is signified by two semicolons. (Thanks to Duncan Ross)
The radio takes a standard cable with a type "A" connector on one end and a type "Mini B" on the other. This is the same cable that works with my Canon camera and Creative Labs Zen mp3 player, so it is not unusual. Wikipedia has a good page on connectors here
Some mp3 recorders (e.g. iRiver T10) can make timer recordings of FM broadcasts. The only one I'm aware of that can record AM and FM is the Pogo Radio Yourway. It is specifically designed to make unattended radio program recordings. It has more flexible weekly timer settings than the DE1121, so you can program it to record only on specific days of the week. In my experience it's FM reception is poor, even with the included FM antenna attachment. In theory, it should make better recordings of music broadcasts than the DE1121, since it can record with a higher bitrate, but this is offset by the poor quality of FM reception. (The DE1121's bitrate is 32Kbs for timer recordings.) The Radio Yourway is about the size of an iPod, which makes it a bit small and awkward for tabletop use. It uses removable SD cards of up to 1Gb in size in addition to 128Mb or 512Mb of internal memory. It sells for around $200.
Many shelf sized stereo systems include an alarm that can trigger a cassette recorder for capturing radio broadcasts. Panasonic makes an interesting shelf system, the SC-PM71SD, that can make digital recordings of AM/FM broadcasts. It includes an SD slot that can hold up to 1Gb. The user manual indicates that it has very flexible weekly recording options much like the radio yourway. It records only in AAC format, not the more standard mp3, and it encodes recordings with DRM copy protection, which some users complain makes transferring the recordings to other devices difficult. While it lists for $400, these are often discounted to $200 or less, quite a deal since it also includes a portable mp3 player and a 1Gb SD card. The Japanese market only model SC-PM730SD includes a minidisc recorder.
New in 2008 is the Grundig G4 which is also sold as the Degen DE1122. The unit plays and records MP3 music on up to a 2GB SD card that plugs into its socket. It offers AM, FM and Shortwave (3000-29999 KHz) and supports both MP3 and WMA files. Unlike the DE1121, it doesn't offer SSB mode for shortwave. It sells for around $200.
Method 1: The DE1121 appears to use the 'intelligent' charging method employed on
the DE1105; with the power off and the AC adapter connected, briefly press
the garbage can button (last one bottom right). The charge
indicator on the top left of the "Sub LCD" will start blinking for a few seconds (see picture below).
During this period you can enter a
single digit on the keypad for the number of hours charging (eg 5 for
5 hours). If you don't enter anything the radio takes a guess at
charge duration. . Apparently, you can't charge both
the radio batteries and the mp3 recorder at the same time. A long press of the "exit" key (the one
right under the 7 key) will stop the charging of either batteries.
(Thanks to Duncan Ross)
Method 2: With the radio on and the AC adapter connected, Choose "Setting", "Charge" and "radio" using the menu and select buttons. Again, it doesn't appear that you can charge both batteries simultaneously.
Method 1: With the power off and the AC adapter connected, press and hold the garbage can button (last one bottom right) until the mp3 battery charge indicator starts to flash on the top right of the "Sub LCD".
Method 2: With the radio on and the AC adapter connected, Choose "Setting", "Charge" and "mp3 recorder" using the menu and select buttons.
Unfortunately, you can't charge and use the mp3 recorder undocked without a functioning AC adapter. The Degen DE1121 shares the same adapter with many other Degen/Kaito models, so you may able to use one from another radio. In the US, Kaito supplies an adapter with input 120 volts, 75mA and output 6V DC 300mA tip negative. Radio Shack sells a 6VDC/300mA AC-to-DC Adapter Model: 273-1758 for $12.99. Many merchants on eBay sell a step up transformer that will let you use the AC adapter that came with the radio: tquchina sells a "step-up 110V to 220V AC voltage transformer" for $12.90 shipped to the US.
Note: The MP3 runs off the radio batteries when docked. Even without an AC adapter, you can still use the MP3 recorder as long as it is
docked to the radio.
Kaito USA sells
new mp3 units for $50.00 includes shipping (with battery)or just the
mp3 battery for $10.00 includes shipping.
To order by phone call 1-909-628-6088.
Even without a battery, the mp3 recorder will still function as long as it is docked to the radio.
(Thanks to James & Duncan Ross)
The mp3 recorder has a fixed memory size of 256Mb and it cannot be upgraded. At 32Kbs it can hold about 15 hrs of
recordings. There is a
new version of the DE1121 with a 512Mb mp3 recorder
that has yet to make its way to the market.
There are only 95 "spaces" for MP3 files, so if you record one song per space, you'll only get 95 songs,
regardless of how much memory is left. If you record several songs per space, just pressing
"pause" between them instead of moving to the next numbered space, you can use the full 15 hours of memory as
long as you haven't used up all 95 numbered spaces. (Thanks to Emily Keene)
I've found that I need to periodically format my mp3 recorder from the radios menu system to free up space
on the mp3 recorder. I usually
remove files by dragging them from the mp3 recorder to my computer, but apparently this can "confuse" the mp3 recorder over
time, necessitating the format.
You can use the narrow/wide
bandwidth switch on LW and MW, but you can only use SSB mode (and the BFO) on SW. The Thieking & Koch version
of the DE1121 does allow the use of ssb on LW & MW as well as SW (see below).
The different radios are meant for different markets, and the language of the menu system reflects that.
The Kaito and Theiking & Koch have extended frequency coverage compared to the Degen. The Theiking & Koch also meets the
tough European RohS environmental standards. Degen DE1121 Kaito KA1121 Thieking & Koch
DE1121
With the radio off, press the "Enter" key twice. After the first press, the sub-LCD will display "SET." After
the second press, the sub-LCD goes blank, and you can then punch in the new time, two digits for hour and two digits for minute. For pm,
use hours larger than 12 (e.g. 3:30pm would be 15:30). Press enter once more to exit the time setting mode.
Press the "Enter" key (the one under the 9), then press the band, enter the frequency, and press the "Enter"
key again.
Pretty much the method described above, with one bug. If you want to tune to 200Khz or above, just hit "Enter", "MW",
enter the frequency and hit enter again. However, this doesn't seem to work for frequencies below 200Khz. You'll need to
enter 200Khz, and then use the tuning knob or "Step Backward" key (below the 7) to tune down from 200Khz.
No, apparently not. While you can call up these presets, you won't receive the NOAA. However, you might
get some air traffic. Notice that the radio
frequency display ("Sub LCD") shows 129Mhz or 130Mhz which is airband,
not the 162Mhz that the NOAA broadcasts on. Here are the actual frequencies
(Thanks to Duncan Ross):
Download the podcast to your computer, and then transfer it to the mp3 player using the USB cable. The DE1121
can play .mp3 and .wav files, though it might not be able to play files that are protected with DRM ("digital rights
management").
Turn the radio on and immediately press the left-pointing
button under the 7 button on the keypad. You might notice the absence of the little "zz" icon with numbers under it.
(see the picture on the right.) This change will "stick" until you use the menu to turn the auto power setting on again. (see below)
Note: with Degen's 1.1 firmware, there is no "Never" choice for the radio auto power off, unlike the mp3 recorder.
There are one hundred memories. Each memory can be given an identifier of up to 8 characters,
and each memory can store up to 4 frequencies. So for example, I have one memory for the BBC World Service
with the identifier "BBCWorld" and frequencies 5875, 5975, 6130, and 9740.
Programming the memory presets requires using a computer to edit the FREQ.TXT file (described below).
The is done by editing the FREQ.TXT file with a computer (described below).
The is done by editing the FREQ.TXT file with a computer (described below). If the date is correctly set,
recordings will be "time stamped" with the correct date they were recorded. When you transfer the files to the
computer, you can determine the date they were recorded by right clicking on the file and choosing "Properties."
The "date modified" field shows the date the recording was made.
Connect the mp3 recorder to a computer with a USB cable. Open the FREQ.txt file with a simple text editor like
Notepad. The very first line of the file looks like: Once the changes are made and saved, the new FREQ.txt needs to be "imported" into the radio. With
the updated FREQ.TXT file stored on the mp3 player, turn the radio on and press menu. Choose STATION
and then IMPORT. The frequencies and ids are then loaded into the radio.
The symptoms are; "MP3 Player" text appearing at switch-on followed by
a blank screen. The radio may also become muted. All buttons are
unresponsive. This is caused by the MP3 software crashing while
attempting to read the directory.
The reset sequence for the Degen MP3 player (V1.1 software) is;
The MP3 boot sequence should be bypassed and a PC connection should
establish.
It should now function normally. Hopefully you won't need this! (Thanks to Duncan Ross)
As an alternative to the reset sequence outlined by Duncan, I've had success just reformatting the mp3 player while it is
connected to the computer. Once, when I tried to copy some of the files from the mp3 recorder to my
computer, I got an error message that some of the files were corrupted
or unreadable. I copied the ones that I could, then I formatted the
mp3 recorder from the menu system on the radio. My computer still
didn't like the mp3 recorder when I connected it (it told me it was
unreadable and asked if I wanted to format it), so then I formatted the mp3 recorder while
it was connected to my computer using Windows in the FAT32 format.
When I reconnected the mp3 recorder to the radio I got a "Head error"
message, but otherwise everything seemed to work fine. The "Head error" indicated that the file was corrupted. After that
initial error message there was no more strange behavior, and everything is still working fine. Apparently, the
alarm/recording settings are on the radio, because reformatting the
mp3 recorder didn't effect them.
Eckhard Koch, one of the designers of the radio, gave these suggestions on how
to avoid problems with the mp3 player:
The language the radio displays is controlled by the firmware. Installing different firmware
will change the display language. Currently , there are English, Chinese and German versions
of the firmware that are available. (See below)
Note that installing the Theiking & Koch firmware on a Degen radio is not recommended.
Thanks to Duncan Ross and tquchina for making the English firmware available
I'm now using version 1.3 of the English firmware (available from the files section)
and I notice no difference in the operation of the radio. Changing the firmware in the
Theiking & Koch DE1121 from version 1.1 to 1.2 changes
timer controlled recording to 128BIT/s instead of 32 BIT/s, which increases fidelity but reduces the number
of programs that can be recorded. However, in the Degen version, timer recordings with the upgraded firmware
are still 32 BIT/s
which suits me just fine. I've heard it said that versions 1.2 and 1.3 get along better with Windows Vista
(I use XP) and fix some stability problems with the MP3 player, but again, I haven't noticed any difference.
Upgrading the firmware may be necessary if the radio display is in the wrong language, or the
radio is experiencing a serious problem.
Both the English and Chinese versions of various firmware versions
are available from the
files
section of the Yahoo KA1121_DE1121 group. The Kaito KA1121 firmware is apparently provided on a disc with the
packaging of the Kaito version of the radio.
The German Theiking & Koch firmware is available from the
the Theiking & Koch DE1121 ftp archive. While you can
install the firmware on a different version of the radio, it is not recommended, and may cause some strange
behavior in the radio.
Stephan Grossklass kindly translated the
German instructions from the Theiking & Koch website on how to upgrade the firmware:
Thanks to Duncan Ross, Stephan Grossklass and tquchina
Thanks to Eckhard Koch for information on the differences in the T&K version
Desig Memory Indicated
NOAA 1: 162.400: 129.92
NOAA 2: 162.425: 129.94
NOAA 3: 162.450: 129.96
NOAA 4: 162.475: 129.98
NOAA 5: 162.500: 130.00
NOAA 6: 162.525: 130.02
NOAA 7: 162.550: 130.04
MWstep year month day /10k/12h/07Y/1M/6d/;
You set the MWstep by typing 9k or 10k in the first field between the first set of forward slashes.
The second field is 12h or 24h for time display. The third, fourth and fifth fields set the
year, month and date. The next 100 lines are numbered (starting with 00) and represent the
100 memories. They look like:
20 BBCWorld 5875K 5975K 6130K 9740K;
The first number is the preset number, then comes the identifier (8 chars max). Then comes up to four different
frequencies that are assigned to that preset. K represents AM and M represents FM.
Each preset can mix and match AM and FM frequencies. The end of each line is marked with a semi-colon. A preset
will adjust to single sideband automatically if the 7th and 8th characters of the identifier are SB (For
example ABC--SSB). The last lines of the files have some comments and instructions. I've posted a copy of
my FREQ.TXT if anyone is interested.
You may need to restore the volume label if you had used a custom one
before.
Click "OK" to continue
Click the "UPGRADE" button.
-Art Simon
Please
email me with corrections, additions, questions or comments. Thanks!