Hi Folks,
Just an update on the 40% discount event for the XHDATA D-220. That promotion is over (many thanks to XHDATA for offering us this exclusive discount!), however, Amazon has a 15% discount for the radio, and the Black version is a couple dollars less than the Orange, which brings it back down close to the 40% discount we had.
Personally, even at full price, I think the radio is a steal, but that’s just me.
Looking forward to the contest this weekend (thanks Jock!) – should be a lot of fun!
Cheers! Robert K4PKM
Nice to see a resurgence of smaller portable radios that were so popular in the 50’s and 60’s. It’s deja vu in the radio world.
In horseracing they call it handicapping. Hams call it QRP. There is a hardcore group of enthusiasts who still build crystal sets. The D-220 is not an ICOM IC-7300. Cataloging its shortcomings is perhaps missing the point.
Interesting responses here. I had no expectations for this little radio other than having some fun trying to see what I could squeeze out of it. I definitely understood that it wouldn’t be a go-to radio other than a curiosity piece.
I have the black model and have found it performing better on SW than others at this price point (price, that is, with a discount). Plus, the noise levels are much better than the small Retekess V115 or generic K-106. New batteries are a must to get good reception. MW seems respectable and FM is fine except for tinny audio.
We’ll see how it does in the mini contest this weekend.
Ugh! This is the sort of radio that ends up on the junk pile within a few weeks. Why not spend a little more and get a radio that you can actually use daily and you will be proud to own for years? While there are many available from the usual sources, the XHDATA D109 comes to mind. It has so many features and great sound, a bargain for its price class.
I have to say I don’t see the excitement that others are showing for this radio. I have the green version, not that it should make any difference. Maybe I have a defective model or simply a bag egg. I wanted to feel that excitement that others showed. I did have that excitement with the Tecsun R-9700 analog radio. It’s not as cheap but brought back memories when I first started almost 40yrs ago.
This radio is junk. With respect, almost all of the glowing reviews are from Amazon Vine customers, which means they received the product for absolutely free. I *never* trust reviews from those who receive compensation (either money or a free product) because evidence shows those reviews will be heavily biased in favor of the product. Incentivized reviewers know how the game is played — if they want to stay on the gravy train of freebies, it better be 5-star rave reviews all the way. It’s why Amazon reviews are so hard to trust these days.
This is a low-low end Chinese transistor radio. MW reception is terrible, SW reception is limited basically to domestic U.S. shortwave stations if you are lucky. The FM band suffers from its sensitivity. We are within three miles of the transmitter site of most FM and TV stations in town and this overloads the radio to the point where stations pop up in multiple places and are distorted. Not that it matters much because the speaker is horribly distorted the louder you make it. This portable reminds me of the $7 portable radios Temu sells from companies like Yuanfang. The radio’s reception quality will also be dependent on the freshness of your batteries, with performance deteriorating starting at around 50% remaining battery. I am honestly perplexed who this radio is for, exactly. If you want a cheap travel radio, buy one of the $12 Temu radios that include digital tuning and display. Here is one example: https://www.temu.com/portable-digital-am-fm-stereo-radio-fm-am-sw-lw-tv-sound-digital-tuning-full-band-radio-receiver-with-alarm-clock-radio-am-fm-portable-radio-sw-petite-with-mute-state-frequency-lock-step-value-10k-g-601099527704240.html
I submitted a “real” Review today to Amazon. We’ll see if my unfavorable 1-Star Review gets okayed and posted by Amazon’s “Review Police”. You’re correct, those Vine Reviews are a joke!
Hmph.
When this model was first previewed here I questioned why one would choose it over the D-219 which has the same overall dimensions, more precise SW tuning, and stood to have at least comparable, if not better performance.
I just received the orange one today. I ordered it on July 30 and it shipped on Aug 3. Then it took a tour of Amazon facilities and USPS. Etna,OH – Concord, NC – Charlotte, NC – Gastonia NC – Philadelphia, PA – South Jersey Distribution Center, NJ – Egg Harbor Township, NJ – Absecon, NJ – Delivered!
It took long enough that Amazon offered to refund my money. It only cost me $10.23 so I just kept it.
Since it was so cheap, I had originally bought it just to play with for a while and then give it away.
First impressions: It seems very sensitive to both AM and FM. Like Michael, I found the SW very difficult to use. The muting really makes it difficult to tune. I found that if I very slowly tuned, then I could receive a few stations. WRMI on 15770 came in very nicely along with several Spanish speaking stations.
This weekend, I think I’ll see how many stations I can get on AM.
One think I found out real quick was that you need fresh batteries in it for it to really work well. I had put two AA batteries in it which I had laying around and it seemed to work okay. But within a few minutes, I noticed that the volume was down and the stations were not locking very well. I tested the batteries and one was at 1.1 volts. So I replaced both batteries and the radio seems to like that.
One thing about the bright orange is that I won’t have any trouble locating it, which is a good feature.
73
Bill WD9EQD
Smithville, NJ
I bought the yellow model and returned it.
It could not pick up any MW stations in my apartment whereas, other radios can.
I also have a small Prunus J982 and it manages to pick up MW stations in my Apartment.
The D220 worked OK outside but not any better than my Grundig FR200 on MW or SW
I just bought the green version. Overall I liked the sensitivity. Was able to receive a favorite low powered dx oldies station on AM, and a few Hams on 40M cw. I could copy their callsigns, and it is fun to have that capability. Once the circuitry locks onto a signal, it holds it quite well. FM reception was also great, with signals heard all across the band. The main problem is false tuning “peaks.” One signal can have three of these peaks, making tuning quite difficult to enjoy. This along with the muting makes for a painful experience. The main advantage is having the small radio if you’re traveling or somewhere where a smaller radio is more desirable. The other negative is the second FM band. That’s a waste of bandwidth that could have been used for another band. Perhaps a Japanese version might have been a better idea. I measured 28.4 mA current drain on all bands except FM, where it was 30.4 mA. Ouch, that’s the digital circuitry. I liked it and found it fun to use, but if XHDATA could engineer a better tuning experience it would be a big improvement. The audio was fine, no complaints in that department. Just tune in very small steps.
It’s very interesting that the “Green” version gets decent reviews while the “Orange” and “Black” versions seem to be absolute junk. I’m tempted to order a “Green” version just to see if there is a difference. I’m amazed that you could pick up 40M CW signals. My “Black” version was a complete junker. I wonder if your QTH is in the city, or out in the countryside? I am in a major metropolitan city with FM and TV Broadcast Towers 3.5 miles to my west on a set of hills. The local FM Broadcasters play havoc with most of the low cost Chinese radios. Overload is a significant problem at my QTH. Better sets like the Tecsun PL-330 and PL-368 get along fine. Thanks for your Review. 73.
I just purchased the Black Version. I wound up returning it the next day! I’m a 71 year old, retired Electronics Engineer and Amateur Radio Operator. I own many radios as I’ve been an SWL since age 9. I also own a XHDATA D219, to which I added an external antenna jack. It works marvelously!
The D220 was fine on the AM and FM Bands and I was expecting good performance on the Shortwave Radio Band. The performance was horrendous. The radio went into “muting” as I tuned across the Shortwave Band. To make matters worse, the ONLY station I received, at multiple spots across the Dial, was a local TV Station’s audio! The station operates in the UHF Band and is digital, so chances are it’s newsfeed was being broadcast by a local FM Station. So my Black Colored XHDATA D220 wound up being a real disappointment. I returned it and it’s unlikely that I will purchase another because the lower priced D219 is so much better. KG7M