cobalt pet shortwave / mediumwave weblog

29 December 2006

kaito will resell the redsun rp2100

Intriguing news for those interested in China's newest radio manufacturer Redsun: the Kaito USA website lists a new product labeled KA2100. This appears to be the same product as the Redsun RP2100. The list price for the KA2100 is US$129.95, which is a hefty premium over the prices currently available on eBay, when ordering an RP2100 directly from China.

This gives Kaito a product to compete with the Grundig/Eton S350DL. The connections among Chinese radio manufacturers is somewhat puzzling:

* Tecsun manufactures Kaito's WRX911
* Tecsun's BCL-3000 is also sold as the Grundig/Eton S350DL (among other products)
* Kailong (aka Kaide/Kchibo) manufactures the YB400PE / G4000A for Grundig/Eton
* Degen radios (many, not all) are sold in North America under the Kaito name
* Kaito sold the KA1106 design to Grundig/Eton, which sells it as the E5 / G5
* Now, Redsun's RP2100 will be resold in North America as the Kaito KA2100

This looks like a positive development for Kaito, and a potential problem for Eton unless they can come up with a strong update to the S350DL.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

When you factor in the crazy shipping charges ($48!) that eBay vendors want for the Redsun RP2100 the price for the radio from Kaito is not so bad. When you factor in the free antenna they toss in on the deal for a pre-order it seems like a pretty decent bargan for a good radio. I just ordered one. I will be interested in seeing when it actually ships...

http://kaitousa.com/KA2100.htm

Anonymous said...

FWIW: I got an email from Kaito earlier today saying that they will be shipping hte KA2100 no later then 1-16-07. w00t.

Linuxsense said...

Hey...Cool...no more 'anon' for me. I guess my google account works here ;-)

weatherall said...

Ah, very nice. Universal has the KA2100 but radios4you doesn't have it listed yet. I am still holding out to see if radios4you has a worthwhile price.

Anonymous said...

I pre-ordered the KA2100 (which includes the KA33 SW/MW antenna) as well. I came across this blog when searching for the Redsun RP2100.

Cool blog.

weatherall said...

When your KA2100s arrive, I'd be curious to hear your feedback. For now I've decided to wait until the RP3000 is available. That's the one I really want.

Anonymous said...

I see that radios4you on eBay has the 2100 for $99.95 BIN plus $14.95 for shipping. FYI item is 250073140139