Category Archives: New Products

The Eco USBcell: a LiPo AA USB rechargeable cell

EcoUSBCell

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Steven Crawford, who writes:

Avid follower of your SWL Blog and site. I saw these and thought your followers may find these AA and AAA lithium ion USB rechargeable cells may be of interest as they are limited to 1.5 volts. I’m interested for my C. Crane Pocket SW and Sony ICF-SW7600GR as well as for various Mag Instrument flashlights.

An excerpt from PCWorld:

Card-carrying members of the Radio Shack Battery of the Month Club, get ready to salivate: The Eco USBcell is the most exciting development we’ve seen in rechargeable batteries in a long time.

Unlike most rechargeable AA and AAA cells that use nickel metal hydride chemistry, the USBcell’s are based on the same advanced lithium polymer technology that’s used in many smartphones.

That may not sound like a big deal, but one limiting factor in using LiPo in a AA or AAA battery is voltage. LiPo and Lithium Ion’s typical minimum voltage is 3.7 volts and would fry a standard device looking for 1.5 volts.

The Eco USBcell features a power control chip to match the voltage to the standard disposable alkalines we’re used to.

[…]And that’s not even the slick part of the USBcell. Once the battery is dead, you simply pull the top off to reveal a standard USB Type A port. That means there’s no need to carry a charger anymore. Plug it into a 1 amp wall-wart charger and it’ll be topped off in about two hours, even flashing an embedded green LED to let you know. The company says it can technically be charged on a computer’s USB port, but it’ll be a lot slower.

Click here to read the article in PCWorld.

ECOusb-aa Thanks, Steven! This is a very cool product, indeed! I noticed that, on BestBuy, there are currently six reviews–dating back to October ’15–with a full 5 star rating. Not bad.

With USB ports and chargers being ubiquitous in our world, I can see where charging these would be very convenient.

My only hesitation is that I have a healthy fear of LiPo batteries after having a GoalZero LiPo pack melt down and burn on my bed while charging once. That was three years ago, however, and charging circuits have become much more reliable since then.

I’ll put these on my wish list and purchase them later in the year if the reviews remain positive. I just purchased a 12 pack of Panasonic Enloop cells, so I’m in no hurry.

Thanks again for the tip, Steven!

By the way, if you’re confused by various battery chemistries, check out our recent rechargeable battery primer by clicking here.

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The Kaito KA108: a shortwave portable with built-in record function

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Kaito-KA108

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ante, who writes:

Looks like Kaito has a new radio in the works. Portable shortwave receiver with record function. It looks very much like some of the Eton portables.

Here’s Universal Radio’s description:

The Kaito KA108 is a great AM, FM shortwave receiver with a very special feature. It has a record function that allows you to record off the air automatically! It can save the audio to a Micro SD Card or USB Thumb Drive (not included) inserted via the top panel. It also features a large backlit display with battery indicator, signal meter and conventional alarm function with two programmable wake up times.

There is a Line Input Jack and stereo earphone output jack. Power input is via a USB port. The KA108 comes with: Li-ion battery and USB charging cable. One year limited mfg. warranty.

Thank you for the tip, Ante! Universal has pricing and availability listed as TBA at time of posting.

I noticed that Amazon has the same radio via Kaito for $67.20 (shipped). Interestingly, the Amazon description reads:

“Kaito KA108 Super Sound quality AM FM Shortwave Radio with MP3 Player and Radio Recorder, Radio Time Schedule Recorder,Alarm Clock+ More”

I hope the “Super Sound” part means that the internal speaker is like that of the Melson S8, with an acoustic chamber. Those speakers have amazing fidelity for such a compact size. Checking this morning, the Amazon listing only has one review–a 5 star–but it wasn’t a verified purchase, had few details on performance and, frankly, smacked of shill a little too much for my taste.

I certainly hope this isn’t simply a Melson S8 with a re-designed body. As I mention in this review, the S8 suffered from terrible internal noise, rendering it useless on shortwave.

Kaito-Ka108-side

The Line In, Phone and DC IN 5V jacks are in the same placement and order as the S8–but the S8 also has the power button and MicroSD card on the side panel, the KA108 has the MicroSD card slot on top, along with a USB thumb drive slot.

Kaito-KA108-Top

I have hope that this is not a re-badged Meson S8 because the KA108 has features the Melson S8 did not, including the ability to record and even schedule recordings!

There are so few portables on the market that can record on the shortwave bands. There are no portables currently on the market that have a sensitive/selective receiver and do a good job of recording. Even if the KA108’s receiver is only average, if it has a clean recording function, it will be a keeper for me.

My fingers are crossed!

Of course, I will certainly review the Kaito KA108 here on the SWLing Post. I will most likely wait until Universal Radio has the units in stock, which I imagine will be soon.

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A high-gain ferrite bar antenna for the PL-360/PL-365 and CountyComm GP5 series

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Ferrite-Bar-Antenna-PL-365-GP5SSB

If you own a Tecsun PL-360, PL-365 or a CountyComm GP5/DSP or GP5/SSB, you might take note of this large ferrite bar antenna offered by a Greece-based seller on eBay.

Ferrite-Bar-PL-365

As you can see in the image above, this antenna is substantially larger than the stock MW antenna supplied by the manufacturer. According to the seller, this ferrite bar antenna has a 10 – 25 db gain over the stock external antenna. I imagine its ability to null unwanted signals is also much better.

The price is about $40 US shipped internationally.

Have any SWLing Post readers ordered this antenna? If so, please share your comments/reviews.

Click here to view the antenna on eBay.

SWLing Post reader, David Korchin, also shares the following demo video on YouTube:

Many thanks to SWLing Post readers, Francis Frankenne and David Korchin for the tip!

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Sangean DT-500W: a new AM / FM / Weather Alert Pocket Radio

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Sangean-DT-500W-Front

Many thanks to my pal, Jeff McMahon from The Herculodge, who has just apprised me of a new Sangean AM/FM/WX portable: the DT-500W. Jeff learned about the new pocket radio via a comment on his blog.

DT-500W-Side It appears the DT-500W is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion Polymer 3.7V (1850mAh) battery. I would expect good longevity from a full charge.

Based on the specifications, the receiver covers all NOAA weather radio frequencies, the FM broadcast band (87.5 – 108 MHz) and the full AM broadcast band (520 – 1710 kHz). I also noted on the spec sheet, however, that the AM broadcast (mediumwave) band is limited to 10 kHz tuning steps. Not a great contender for the ultralight DXer or someone who travels outside North America if so!

Click here to view the Sangean DT-500W on Sangean’s website.

As of posting, I can’t find the DT-500W listed with any online retailers.

Thanks again for the tip, Jeff!

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The Amateur Astronomer: Tune in to Troy’s Christmas gift

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SWLing Post reader, Troy Riedel, received a gift like no other from his son this Christmas. No, it wasn’t the fabulous Celestron telescope in the above photo. On Christmas Eve (December 24) Troy sent the following message:

Merry Christmas, Thomas.

I have to tell you what my son gave me for Christmas a few hours ago.

He purchased 1-hour of radio time for me on WBCQ (5110) for Wednesday, 30 December at 8 P.M. EST.

I will have to pre-record approximately 50-55 minutes over the coming days (not much time to prepare).

After telling my son this is cool – I also added this is the most stressful gift I’ve ever received.

My son suggested I may want to talk about astronomy.

A cool gift, indeed. Evidently––and even more cool–– Troy is something of a hardcore amateur astronomer. I also encouraged him to do a show on this topic; I can’t think of the last time I heard a show about astronomy on shortwave!

Troy Riedel, host of The Amateur Astronomer

So, despite the challenge of putting a show together in less than a week, Troy confirmed yesterday that he has already completed the show and WBCQ will air it at the following time/frequency:

5,110 kHz on Dec 30, 2015 at 8:00 PM EST (1:00 UTC December 31, 2015)

Troy is looking forward to reception reports and will announce the address during the broadcast.

Oh––and being the good man he is, Troy is also including a PSA for Ears To Our World. Thanks, Troy!

Looking forward to the show!

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WRTH 2016: I’m glad I stopped by the post office

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WRTH-2016

I just brought home my copy of WRTH 2016 from the post office. I didn’t expect it to arrive so soon from the UK, so I’m very much looking forward to reading through it over the next few days. It’s a special volume, too: WRTH’s 70th anniversary edition!

I’m also honored to have a feature article and two reviews in this particular edition.

You can order your copy from Amazon or Universal Radio here in the US, from Radio HF in Canada. Otherwise, consider ordering directly from WRTH online.

I’ll post an overview of WRTH 2016 in the coming days.

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Avo’s review of the Digitech AR1946 shortwave portable

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The Digitech AR1946

Digitech has released their latest shortwave portable: the Digitech AR1946.

If you live in Australia or New Zealand, you’re probably familiar with the Digitech brand which is sold at JayCar Electronics. If you live in other parts of the world, you may never run across a Digitech (branded) portable.

Digitech-AR1946-box

SWLing Post reader, Avo, purchased the new AR1946. He commented with the following brief review (I inserted a few product photos from JayCar):

[The] AR1946 is now out. Had one for a day but ended returning it as shortwave was full of garbage. Fully DSP based according to the box.

I do have to say that FM performance is superb. Sensitivity and selectivity is better than any previous radio I have used and RDS is very usable even on weak signals. 10 kHz steps with a very smooth non muting dial make it a pure DX machine in my books for FM.

Digital [DAB+] is ok but kept cutting out even with good signal strengths. AM modes have 7 bandwidths that work very well. MW is a bit dull but no images.

If only SW was good I would recommend it as a good all rounder but at $219 for just a great FM tuner I think it’s expensive.

Saying all this, the unit feels good quality wise and in my opinion is a better attempt than the [Digitech] AR1945.

I think a revision can sort out SW and if so, I am definitely repurchasing….

Many thanks for your assessment, Avo!

It sounds like your unit suffers from the same problems many recent DSP portables have experienced: a high noise floor. This was the issue affecting the recently released Degen DE1103 DSP. I’m not sure why this is happening more in some of the most recently released receivers, but I assume it has to do with poor engineering and internal shielding.

I bet that the noise level may vary unit to unit. Avo, you might ask for another to test before getting the full refund (if Jaycar’s return policy allows).

Have any other readers put the Digitech AR1946 on the air? Please comment! Click here to view the AR1946 at JayCar Electronics.

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