Author Archives: Robert Gulley

Discount Update XHDATA D-220

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

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The XHDATA D-220 Discount Code is Here!

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Hi Folks!

The promised exclusive XHDATA 40% off code is here!

The Radio is available to pre-order at Amazon today, and is supposed to be in stock at Amazon.com on the 1st of August.

The discount code is : 40D220NEW

While the detail page shows a 15% coupon, ignore that and place the desired radio from the links below in the cart and during checkout type in the discount code and apply. The results should look like what is listed below. You can review the price with discount before placing the order.

XHDATA D-220 (Orange)

XHDATA D-220 (Green)

XHDATA D-220 (Black)

I have checked and the Code does indeed work:

Order Summary

Items:	$15.98
Shipping & handling:	$0.00
40D220NEW:	-$6.39

Total before tax:	$9.59
Estimated tax to be collected:	$0.58

Order total:	$10.17

A big “thank you” to the folks at XHDATA for giving us a special discount price! (I went wild and ordered the Orange one!)

Cheers! Robert K4PKM

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XHDATA D-220 – A Throwback to a Simpler Time

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By Robert Gulley

XHDATA recently contacted me about a new portable radio, saying “XHDATA is planning to launch a new portable radio, the D-220, which has good reception and excellent sound quality. Not only can it receive FM/MW/SW bands, but the price will be surprisingly good value.”

Okay, well that sounded somewhat interesting (especially the bit about being “a surprisingly good value”). So within a few days I had a pre-release copy of the radio after choosing the color I preferred (black – what can I say, I am a traditionalist!).

The radio is small, 5” tall, 2-1/2 inches wide, and about 1 inch thick, very reminiscent of my first transistor radio in the (ahem) 60s. It has an analog tuning dial, volume control, and slider switch to go between FM1/2, MW, and SW. It also has a headphone jack. It takes 2 AA batteries (very old school!), and, unlike my transistor radio of old, a swing-out stand. That’s it. And, interestingly enough, that’s all it needs.

As my wife and I like to say about life sometimes, “It is what it is.” And, unlike life so often, in this case that’s a good thing. The radio is simple to operate – no menus, no bells and whistles, just the basics. You, an antenna, and a tuning dial.

For some, the tuning dial will be an aggravation, because just like my transistor radio of old, the tuning dial covers a lot of ground in a relatively short rotation. This means you will want to turn the dial slowly, very slowly. While this does not bother me, I realize this may not be everybody’s cup of tea. To get the best reception out of this radio, you need to turn the dial in millimeters, not even fractions of an inch.

Fortunately, the tuning dial is very firm and yet responds well to a light touch. I had no problem tuning between stations, even on a very crowded FM band or on a tight SW band covering 5.6 to 22MHz.

As for reception – well, I was rather surprised by this little radio. AM and FM delivered many, many stations in the rural area which I call home, and the biggest surprise was the shortwave reception. I waited until I had a storm-free evening (not always easy this summer here in the Midwest), and fired up the radio expecting to hear some of the more powerful stations, but not expecting to hear a large number of stations 10MHz and below on such a small (10-1/2”) antenna.

Speaking of the antenna, it is solid and one of the better antennas I have found on this size of radio. Yes, you can break it I am sure, but flimsy it is not. The same goes for the battery door, it closes with a resounding “click,” and I do not believe one could open it unintentionally.

As for the sound, it is surprisingly clear, and loud. One of the advantages of modern radios is smaller components, which in turn allows for bigger speakers. This speaker punches above its weight class for both talk radio and music. Both sound good with a reasonable signal.

As the radio has not been released to the general public yet, the XHDATA website does not have a listing for the radio, and therefore no price information. However, and this is a bonus for those of you who have read this far, Thomas’ readers will be eligible for a 40% discount when the radio becomes available for sale from XHDATA, the current projection being sometime in August. They will send out a shopping link and discount code when available.

Pros

Great sound
Solid antenna
Impressive reception on all bands
Analog dial tuning, solid and easily turned slowly (see Cons)

Cons

Very tight tuning dial with little space between stations (see Pros)
Not available quite yet

Conclusion

This is a solid little radio you can carry in a shirt pocket or jacket pocket easily, and since it runs on AA batteries with no significant draw of power, should provide hours and hours of enjoyment. The addition of the shortwave band, along with its decent reception, is a nice bonus, especially since I prefer SW to most anything I hear on MW and FM (wait, did I say that out loud? Oops!).

I suspect this will be a good radio to put on your to-buy list, especially with a 40% discount!

73, Robert K4PKM

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Raddy 919 Firmware Issue

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For current owners (or future owners) of the RF-919, Raddy has discovered an issue with upgrading the firmware from the original firmware shipped with the radio (version 1.689). There have been some instances where the radio becomes inoperable after trying to upload the new firmware (version1.706).

Please do not upgrade the firmware from the original version until Raddy has this issue sorted out. I am in touch with their representatives and will post a notice here when all is clear to upgrade (the upgrade will add some nice features based on what it was intended to do).

If you have already experienced the problem, contact Raddy Support for more information, as they have an excellent warranty policy and responsive customer support team.

Here is a link to Dan Robinson’s excellent review of this radio for those who have not read it yet:

Dan’s in-depth review of the new Raddy RF-919 shortwave portable radio

Cheers! Robert Gulley, K4PKM

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XHDATA Weather Radio D-608WB

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Review By Robert Gulley, K4PKM

This is my first experience with an XHDATA radio, and my initial impressions are quite positive. This weather radio has an impressive set of features and appears to be built quite solidly. I say “appears” because I have not done (nor intend to intentionally do) a drop test! But my sense of the radio is that it can withstand some knocking about while still functioning (but please do not test this theory! YMMV!).

Standard torch but with 3 brightness levels

From the manufacturer’s site, here is a listing of features:

Features & Specifications:

FM: 64-108 MHz / 76-108 MHz (Stereo at Earphone Out)
87-108 MHz / 87.5-108 MHz
MW:522-1620khZ (9K Steps) / 520-1710 KHz (10K Steps)
SW: 1711-29999 KHz (5K Steps)
ATS Scanning with Auto Save
NOAA Weather Band with Scanning Alert Mode
VF/VM Tuning Modes
Bluetooth Playback & Calling
Memories: 100 AM – 100 FM – 300 SW (Add Automatically or Manually)
Clock with Alarm & Sleep Timer
TF Card Playback (Supports Up To 32 Gb Card)/Prev/Next Track/Loop & Fast Scan Modes
Flashlight with 3 Brightness levels
Flip Up Lighting Panel with 3 Brightness Levels
Earphone Jack 16 – 32 ohms (Stereo)
SOS Alarm Button
Enhanced Audio with Ported Enclosure
Lock Mode
Battery: Li-ion 18650 3000 mAh (Charges via USB C Port, Crank, Solar Panel)
Low Battery/Charge Indicators
USB Output for charging Cell Phones
Reset Button
Dimensions: (Approx) 6” W x 3” H x 1 ¾” D

Solar cells with a twist – the cells along with the LEDs can be rotated up and down

Three brightness levels for these LED lights – a nice touch!

Let me start with the items that impressed me.

Weight. This is not a typical light-weight radio. It feels solid, has some bulk to it, and I like the feel. It weighs in at 11.5 ounces, which is comparable to the two other solar powered weather radios I own, which come in at 12 and 12.25 ounces respectively.
This radio has both a torch and an LED panel, each with 3 levels of brightness. While you will not light up a room with either, they are both quite sufficient for their intended purposes. The LED is particularly useful to light up the immediate area around the radio, and on it’s brightest level puts out a good amount of light. Being LEDs, the power drain is very reasonable.
The radio is powered by multiple sources of course, as is typical with today’s weather radios, but a unique feature compared to my other radios is an articulating solar cell (and LED) panel. This allows you to follow the sun for quite a while as it rotates in the sky.
The antenna, while not very long, is very solid and should last a long time if not subject to abuse (and looks to be easily replaceable if something does happen).
The battery is easily accessible and replaceable with the now-common 18650 rechargeable battery. (As an aside, for those who, like me, prefer to charge batteries outside a radio when possible, there are charging units available from the usual sources if you want to minimize heat and charging wear-and-tear on your radios and flashlights.)
The ATS function works quite fast on FM, finding 21 stations in my very rural area just off the built-in whip antenna
Keypad layout is minimal and functional. For those wanting a direct-entry frequency keypad, this radio is not so equipped. However, running through the memory channels is easily done, without multiple menu hoops through which to jump.
Tuning is both a blessing and a curse (see cons below for the negatives) – the tuning can be accomplished at two different speeds, allowing for a slow tune and a bigger jump depending on how fast you turn the tuning dial. This can be particularly useful with SW, but also when manually scanning the MW band or when finding tracks on a memory card.
The crank can be extended as a stand at a few different angles. I am not sure if this was intended, but it works nicely!
When in SW mode, the band is displayed as you tune (i.e. 41mb, 25 mb, etc.)

I am not sure if this was intended or not, but the crank can act as a stand

Less impressive (but see conclusions):

Tuning can be slightly erratic, making bigger jumps at times than intended. This can happen in slow mode (one click of the tuning wheel at a time), or it can happen when the tuner switches between slow and fast mode and you didn’t think you were turning it fast enough for the switch. On the plus side, there is one arrow displayed when tuning in slow mode, and two arrows when in fast mode, so it is easy to see when it has switched modes.
There are rubber strips glued into slots on the bottom of the radio to give it a little more resistance to sliding, but I feel it makes the radio slight more unstable – you may disagree since the effect is minimal.
Soft muting when tuning – I know this is a biggie for many folks, so I mention it (again, see conclusions)
No SSB (not that I expected it).
Three NOAA stations come in for me which is typical, but I do have weather radios which can receive 4 well enough to copy, so not quite as sensitive. However, two or more is adequate to catch weather forecasts for your area in case your closest station is down for some reason
ATS on SW and MW was not impressive – perhaps moving too quickly? Many stations come in with good audio, but the scan did not find them. Again, YMMV.

On the side are the input and output USB connections, along with the TF card slot.

Conclusions

I find this to be a good radio for its intended purpose – a Weather Alert radio with solar, lights, and multiple charging power options for operating, and an option for charging small devices if needed. This is not, nor should it be compared to, stand-alone shortwave radios. This is a bonus, and it works well for AM shortwave stations. That it does not have SSB is not an issue for me – I have plenty of radio options to enjoy during a power outage which are capable of SSB upper and lower sidebands.

The soft muting will no doubt bother some, but again, this is is primarily a weather and emergency radio, not a radio designed for pleasurable shortwave listening. As for the audio itself, the speaker produces a good clean sound, and there is even a type of bass boost which helps the audio even more. AM, FM, and SW stations sound good, and I find the audio to be quite strong out of this compact unit.

A replaceable/removable battery is a real plus for me both in terms of charging and for popping in a fresh battery while charging a drained battery. I like having backups for my backups, so this is right down my alley.

The unit is a good size, compact but solid, and has all the useful controls easily reached/manipulated. The antenna is solid, the LED lights are a nice touch, and it is a radio I believe could be counted on when needed. (Oh, and it is reasonably priced as well!)

As always, these are my personal, honest opinions. While the XHDATA folks approached me for the review and sent a unit to me free of charge, I always call it as I see it, good or bad. I happen to think this radio is a keeper!

Cheers! Robert Gulley (All photos by the Author)

Click here to check out the XHDATA D-608WB on Amazon.com
(note: this is an affiliate link that supports the SWLing Post at no cost to you. Thank you!)

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RF919 Bonus Antenna

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I received a message yesterday from Raddy Marketing that they are offering a bonus antenna for the RF919 radio which will be shipped with future orders.

Here is the note they sent:

“All previous RF919 orders from our website or Amazon are eligible to request the new antenna. Customers can contact our customer service at [email protected] and provide their order number to receive it.”

I do not have any details about the new antenna, but wanted to post the info so folks who have purchased the radio as indicated above can receive the offer from Raddy.

Robert K4PKM

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Raddy RE40 Emergency Radio

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By Robert Gulley (Guest Post)

The Raddy RE40 is another portable shortwave radio offering from Radioddity, but with a twist – it is intended to be an emergency radio first, and a listening-for-pleasure radio second. In this review I will cover the emergency options incorporated into the unit, as well as discuss operability and its overall functionality as a radio.

As always when I do a radio review, I will point out what I believe are the radio’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as where this might fit in your radio arsenal. The usual disclaimer applies for any product I review – I tell it like it is, good or bad. While the radio was provided to me without cost by Radioddity, that does not affect my opinions one iota. With that out of the way, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the rig!

As we have come to expect from other Raddy portables, this has a lot of features packed into a relatively small package. I say “relatively small” because it is thicker than many vertical portables, and heavier. This is a solid bit of kit, and the size and weight are the first clue that this radio is not just intended to sit on a coffee table. It is definitely designed to work outdoors, as well as finding a place in the car or boat for when you need to check on the weather, or be out in it.

Specifications

- Frequency Range: FM: 87-108MHz, AM: 520-1710KHz, SW: 5.7-17.9MHz, WB: 162.400-162.550MHz
- Bluetooth: Version 5.0
- Card Type: MP3/WAV/FLAC/APE
- White Noise: 7 different natural sounds
- Max. Capacity of Micro SD Card: 256GB (not included)
- Size: 81x52x132mm / 3.2x2x5.2in
- Weight: Approximately 350g / 0.77lb
- Operating Voltage: 2.7V-4.2V
- LED Light: 1W/120LM
- Max. Power: About 5W
- Speaker: 4? 5W
- LED Flashlight: 1W/120LM
- Battery Capacity: 4000mAh / 3.7V (non-replaceable)
- Operating Temperature Range: -10? to 60??14°F to 140°F?

What’s in the box?

- 1 x RE40 Radio
- 1 x Type-C Cable
- 1 x Wrist1 x User Manual

Power Options

This radio can be powered by an internal battery charged by a USB-C port, solar powered to charge the battery, or by a hand crank. Here is the manual description of the emergency power options:

A. Solar Charging

Put the solar panel directly towards sunlight. When the green charging indicator lights on, it indicates that the solar panels charging the internal battery.
The charging efficiency depends on the solar exposure: the stronger the sunlight, the better the charging effect.

B. Hand Crank Charging

Turn the hand crank clockwise or anti-clockwise and the green charging indicator will light up to indicate that it is
Speaker has no sound: Hand crank at 130-150 rpm for 1 minute, the flashlight can be used for more than 30+ minutes or play the radio (medium volume) for 3

NOTES:

The hand crank can be turned for 3-5 minutes before using the product to activate the internal battery.
The hand crank is normally used in emergency situations when the power is out.

The radio has a compass built into the volume control knob on top, a flashlight, analog tuning dial, and switches for moving between playback modes (Radio, Bluetooth, and media) and desired operations (SOS, Standard battery or solar/crank charging modes, and USB charging). As an aside, the SOS feature is LOUD!

Almost the whole back of the radio is devoted to the solar cell. This is much larger than other solar cells on portable radios that I own, and presumably will recharge the internal battery faster. There is a rubber flap over the headphone, USB and memory card jacks/slots.

The unit has another interesting feature: you can charge your phone or other USB device from the standard USB slot under the flap. To use this feature the mode switch on the back of the radio has to be in the right-hand position under the charging symbol. When set to charge another device all other functions are disabled, so if you turn your radio on and can’t get anything to work, you might just have pushed the button over to the right accidentally, or intentionally the last time you used the radio.

Radio Performance

I’ll not spend a lot of time here, not because the radio performance is poor, but because as I have already noted, that is not the primary focus of this radio. There are plenty of portable radios by Radioddity and others which have better performance. However, I found the FM reception to be exceptional for a radio in this class, and AM radio reception to be reasonably acceptable for a radio with a lot going on inside. I did not test the AM radio reception with one of my loop enhancement units, mainly because I am not looking to use this as a regular radio receiver. This is going in my car for emergency/safety issues, and to grab when I am having a picnic lunch or the like.

Shortwave reception is on par with other radios of this size, and a pleasant feature is a sturdy telescoping antenna. Unlike several other small Raddy radios which have very fragile antennas, this one is much more solid.

Weather band reception is decent, but not quite as good as other radios I have tested. I can pick up one very strong signal, and a usable/readable second signal, but some other radios I have give me 4 or 5 stations. Of course, as long as you can get one strong signal, it is likely that is the one most important to you in your immediate location. With at least a second station you have the chance to pick up information should the one nearest you experience difficulties.

Sound and White Noise

As for the sound quality, it has a nice large speaker and delivers good sound, and I have found this typical of most all of the Raddy radios I have tested. In addition to the typical sleep timer radio option, this radio features a “white noise” option which allows the user to select between 7 different white noise options for those who prefer to go to sleep that way.

Compass and Flashlight

Pros

Feature-Packed in a small footprint
Loud SOS
Sturdy Antenna
Large Solar Charging Cell
Ability to charge phone
Multiple ways to power radio/flashlight
Strong FM, acceptable AM and Shortwave (no SSB)
Price ($49.99 from Radioddity, $44.99 plus 10% off coupon from Amazon at time of writing. There is also a bundle offer from Amazon which includes an SP4 4W Portable Solar Panel for $59 plus 10% off coupon) [Note that these are affiliate links that support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.]
18-month(!) warranty

Cons

Weather band not as impressive as some other radios, but hardly a deal-breaker
Analog tuning dial very sensitive (if you have shaky hands this is probably not for you, except perhaps for the emergency functions)
Multi-colored striped analog dial is sometimes hard to read (then again, I need my reading glasses for a lot of things!)

Wrap-up

This little radio packs a lot of punch for the money, adding features similar emergency radios do not have. If you are like me, emergency radios are a necessity given our unstable weather and power grids, and I like knowing I can use solar power to recharge a radio, or crank it when the sun is not available. Some folks expect more power from a hand-crank generator than these small radios produce, but my main goal is to be able to quickly check weather conditions, use the flashlight, or make use of the SOS function if needed. These do not require massive amount of time spent cranking the generator, and to me that is a plus.

I would recommend one for each car or boat, or to take with you on outdoor trips just in case of an emergency. Of course, you could always listen to the ballgame on your front porch, too!

Cheers, Robert K4PKM

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