Category Archives: Portable Radio

1976 Japanese TV commercial for the National Cougar 2200

4 Replies

1976 Japanese TV commercial for the National Cougar 2200 (aka Panasonic RF-2200 aka National Panasonic DR-22)

by 13dka

(The commercial starts at the 1:00 mark. It’s part of longer video with Japanese commercials from that year, there is a whole collection on YouTube if you like those!)

Doing some research on other old technical gems from Japan I stumbled upon this 1976 National/Panasonic TV commercial running on the domestic TV networks back then. While watching, I smiled and thought “only in Japan…” …it would’ve been perfectly normal to advertise something like a shortwave receiver in this fun (and funny) way. Anyway, I think RF/DR/Cougar 2200 owners and collectors (also the resident one on this blog , the blog owner) may want to have this link in their bookmarks!

Spread the radio love

Aaron Explores: Why a Dedicated Radio Enhances the Live Baseball Experience

14 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn, who shares the following guest post:

Live Baseball on the Radio: Radio Selection Considerations

The authors own Sangean Portable + AirPod Pros + a Bluetooth Transmitter rubber banded to the radio back, Coca Cola Park – Allentown, PA

In recent years, I’ve enjoyed attending minor league baseball games in my region. One of my favorite aspects of live baseball is bringing a radio to listen to play-by-play commentary. Experiencing the game in person while hearing the commentary in my ear offers the best of both worlds.

Over the years, I’ve brought various portable and ultra-portable radios to games, and I’ve realized that certain criteria make for a good “Live Baseball Radio.” Whether it’s form factor, size, or features, a live sporting event presents specific considerations and trade-offs for the radio you choose to bring.

“I’ll just stream the game on my phone”

While there are many options for internet streaming on a smartphone, like the free game audio feeds from MiLB.com, streaming game audio on a smartphone is not ideal for live baseball due to one major issue: latency.

Ideally, you want the action you see to match as closely as possible with the play-by-play you hear. With internet streaming, you’re subject to internet latency and buffering, leading to audio delays that you cannot fix. This makes streaming better for listening to games from afar, but not for live baseball.

Selecting the Ideal Radio

Picking a radio to bring to a game involves considerations that become obvious only after you’ve tried it a few times. Hopefully you can learn from my past mistakes and be more informed.

AM, FM, or AM/FM?

There are no fixed rules about the frequency’s baseball teams use for broadcasting. Some teams are on AM radio, some on FM, and some simulcast on both. Some teams don’t broadcast on free-to-air radio at all, opting for streaming-only solutions. Choosing a radio that receives both AM and FM is your best bet to ensure you can use it at different stadiums.

Many ultra-portable “pocket” radios support only FM, which might leave you without audio if your local team is on AM. Conversely, vintage pocket transistor radios might leave you stuck with AM-only signal receiving capability, missing the FM signal.

Amazon Product Listing Photo for “ZHIWHIS” Ultra-Portable

Vintage RCA Transistor Radio, Photo by Joe Haupt – https://www.flickr.com/photos/51764518@N02/49435844673/

HD Radio

The Author’s recent ill-fated radio choice for a live game

While HD Radio seems like a great idea for live baseball, the HD signal suffers from similar issues as streaming a game: latency

I recently picked up an ultra-portable FM HD Radio for a great deal secondhand, only to take it to the ballpark and realize the HD Signal was delayed by nearly 20 seconds. Worse yet – the radio offered no way to turn off the HD signal and revert to analog! The radio was unusable for watching the game as play-by-play in my ear was nearly four pitches behind what I was seeing live.

If you choose a radio with HD Radio features for the ballpark, check the broadcast delay on the HD signal before the game, and ensure you can turn off the HD Radio features if necessary.

Radio Size and Antenna Considerations

Any radio can be portable if you try hard enough, but space is often limited at live sporting events. Stadium seating varies at some ballparks, you can spread out a blanket on a hillside, sit at a picnic table, or even watch the game from a pool (better check that IPX rating!). However, you’ll likely be using your radio while seated in your ticketed seat. Some stadiums offer spacious, modern seating, while older stadiums may have small, cramped seating.

Antennas on radios are another consideration. In cramped stadium seating, you may not have the luxury to fully extend the antenna for the best signal without poking the person in front of you or next to you. You might want to consider a radio without an external antenna, such as one like the Retekess V112, which uses the headphone cable as the antenna. You may also need to stand up and sit down repeatedly to let people through the aisle rows to their own seats, which is where going “antenna-less” can be useful.

Retekess Product Image for V112 Model

While a headphone-wire antenna setup may be a perceived undesirable feature for dedicated radio hobbyists, pocketability and ease of use in a crowd can be beneficial at a crowded game. Many stadiums are moving towards bag restrictions or not allowing bags at all, making the proposition of transporting even a modest-sized portable radio to a game a chore. A pocket-sized radio you can stick on a lanyard, wear into the park, or stick in a pocket may be the difference between being annoyed all game carrying around a radio, or just enjoying it.

On the flip side, if you plan on pairing your radio with a Bluetooth transmitter to use Bluetooth earbuds or headphones, you may want to select a radio with an antenna. The short cable run on many Bluetooth transmitters may not provide adequate reception for units that use connected headphones as the antenna.

Speaker or No Speaker

If you’re not using the radio for tailgating, consider whether you need a speaker on the radio. Many pocket radios omit a speaker to reduce weight and cost. If you need to unplug your headphones during the game, it might be better to avoid a speaker that could blast game audio accidentally and disrupt your neighbors. Ditching the speaker is also likely to save weight and battery life.

Cost Considerations and Final Thoughts

Choosing the right radio for live baseball involves considering factors like frequency options, latency issues, size, portability, and whether you need a speaker.

Everyone’s finances and purchasing abilities differ, but there are many adequate radio options available for under $20 USD that check a lot of these boxes, making it possible to have a dedicated radio for live sports without spending a lot of money. As radio hobbyists, we sometimes want the best for our listening experiences, but taking an expensive radio to a live sporting event can be risky due to cramped quarters, constant movement, and the potential for spills or accidents.

In my opinion, it’s better to enjoy the game with a “lesser radio” than to spend the entire game worry about damaging an expensive radio. After all, cleaning mustard out of your expensive radio’s speaker grill is not fun post-game entertainment. Focus on enjoying the day and the live sporting experience while enhancing it with the wonder of live ballpark radio – no matter what you bring along.

Spread the radio love
XHDATA D-220 Portable

The XHDATA D-220 Discount Code is Here!

29 Replies

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

Spread the radio love

Dan Robinson Reviews the New Tecsun S-2200X Portable Receiver

27 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Dan Robinson, who shares the following review:

Tecsun Delivers The S-2200X – New Life For A 16-Year-Old Cabinet Design

by Dan Robinson

Note: Please see an addendum of updates at the end of this post.

Some months ago, I learned from Anon-co that Tecsun planned to release an update to the S-2000 receiver, which for the past 16 years also sold under other names such as the Grundig Satellit 750 and later the Eton Satellit 750 and Eton Elite 750.

To say that this radio was long in the tooth is an understatement.

I remember seeing one when they first came out back in 2008 and I was never very impressed.  To me, the radio looked like a toy, and the performance did not impress.  The standout feature was the top-mounted rotatable antenna for MW/LW reception.  That was popular with those of us who own the Panasonic RF-2200 and it’s a great tool for MW.

Grundig Satellit 750

While popular with a certain segment of the listening hobby – beginners liked the 750 and even some veteran SWLs appreciated the retro design — the receiver was plagued by annoying issues, such as the famous wobbly tuning knob.  It also had limited selectivity, no synchronous mode, and mediocre SSB.

In 2013, The Monitoring Times (Larry Van Horn) took another look at the radio with the following memorable comments:

[MONITORING TIMES 2013]

“Needless to say some folks were not happy with our review of the 750 including Etón. In retrospect, over four years later, I would not change one single word I wrote in that review.  I believe we honestly gave a fair assessment of the unit that was shipped to us for review. If you read my previous review closely, you would see that most of my concerns back then had to do with quality control issues and most in our industry fully acknowledge that we were seeing some nasty stuff coming out of China back in 2008.”

So, measuring from 2008 when the first Eton 750 came out we’re now in 2024 and Tecsun has decided to preserve the cabinet design of the original radio while substantially upgrading the internals.

Enter the S-2200x

Photo by Anon-Co

Reviewers have obtained units from the first production run.  Tecsun has provided long-needed upgrades that put this radio on the same playing field as the very popular H-501 and PL-990 portables.

The 2200x adds a dedicated SYNC mode with its own front panel button.  AIR band is retained, though sadly coverage doesn’t extend up to give us the NOAA WEATHER frequencies.

My initial testing of the S-2200x shows that performance is excellent on SW, AM, and FM.  In contrast with portables from other manufacturers, SSB performance is excellent – in USB and LSB, tuning is smooth with no “warbling” and using the fine tuning control is a pleasure. Continue reading →

Spread the radio love
XHDATA D-220 available in three colors

XHDATA D-220 – A Throwback to a Simpler Time

47 Replies

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

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

Cons

  1. Very tight tuning dial with little space between stations (see Pros)
  2. 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

Spread the radio love

The Tecsun PL-990/PL-990x as an MP3 Player, Bluetooth Receiver, and PC Speaker

8 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post:

The Tecsun PL-990/PL-990x as an MP3 Player, Bluetooth Receiver, and PC Speaker

By Bob Colegrove

Source: PL-990x Operation Manual

Sometimes after a medium wave or shortwave DX session I just like to kick back and listen to good music.  Perhaps this is an age-related malady.  I recently did a scan of the FM band and came up with 60 listenable stations in my area.  By listenable, I only mean they can be received clearly.  In practice, I only listen to a couple stations.  Although, my tastes in music are quite varied, apparently, they do not coincide very well with local FM broadcast station formats.  No matter, I can still indulge myself listening to diverse favored artists.

The Tecsun PL-990/990x offers a ready solution having both an MP3 player and Bluetooth connectivity.  Actually, there are several compatible audio formats available on the player, but for simplicity I will merely refer to them as MP3.  I really didn’t buy this radio purposely for these additional features.  I bought it as a follow-on to the PL-880, which I still like very much for all its well-known features as a multiband radio.

I spent some time on the Internet reading all the reviews and watching many YouTube videos.  Among useful things, I learned how to take the radio out of its box.  The aggregate of all this information was thorough coverage of all the salient features of the 990 – all except the treatment of the MP3 player and Bluetooth connectivity.  These generally appeared at the end of each review in a by-the-way fashion with little detail.

I bought a PL-990x with expectations that it would be a good radio performer, and that has proven to be the case.  During its setup and checkout, I realized the potential for its MP3 and Bluetooth capabilities.  A few years ago, I digitized all our vinyl recordings and cassette tapes, so I had many hours of material readily available for inclusion on a micro-SD card, which can be inserted on the bottom of the cabinet.

Source: PL-990x Operation Manual

The radio, MP3 player, and Bluetooth modes are available by toggling a single switch.

Source: PL-990x Operation Manual

As an MP3 Player

Unfortunately, the display does not have a multi-segment set of characters for text.  This is the way random RDS information is displayed on radios such as the XHDATA D-808 and Eton Elite Executive.  So, selecting albums and tracks on the 990 is limited to numeric representation, which doesn’t provide much of a clue identifying the musical selection.  The user must either remember where favorite files are stored by number or keep some sort of number-title log.

Files are stored on a micro-SD card having up to 128 GB in capacity.  That’s a lot of content.  The radio comes with a 16-GB card, which will probably be large enough for many users.  There are some details to consider when setting up the card.  This information is lacking in the manual, but I have tried to fill in the blanks below.

Some rules:

1. There is no purpose in trying to alphabetize or otherwise edit album or track titles to locate them in a specific sequence.  The 990 doesn’t understand this.

2. Generally, albums and tracks will be assigned numbers by the 990 in the order in which they are saved to the SD card by the computer.

3. Albums equal folders.  Tracks equal (MP3) files within each folder.  You can mix and match the content in albums and tracks any way you want to.  It does not have to conform to the publisher’s album content.

Source: PL-990x Operation Manual

4. An album/folder can contain both its own tracks/files and nested folders containing other albums.  A nested album/folder will be numbered in sequence after the containing folder.  Any previously saved album/folders will be renumbered higher in sequence.

Rule 4 offers some flexibility.  You can come back later and prioritize any album/folder by simply nesting it with another album/folder.

The table below is an example of five different musical genres compiled into separate albums.  On the computer, the polka album was transferred to the SD card first, then classic country.  At that point, the polka album was A01 and country A02 on the 990 display.  Later, Dixieland and waltz albums were added to the tracks in the polka folder.  They then became A02 and A03 respectively, and the country album advanced to A04.  Finally, the chorus album was added in the root directory and became A05.

  • The 990 recognizes the SD card quickly after it is inserted into its slot.
  • The number of tracks and albums (files and folders) is only limited by the SD-card format, which for all practical purposes, won’t be a limitation.  By way of example, I used the default exFAT format and loaded an album with 657 tracks; I don’t recommend that many.
  • A single track can be repeated by long-pressing the PLAY/PAUSE button.
  • The tracks in an album will be repeated continuously.
  • There does not appear to be a way to shuffle tracks.

I did encounter some difficulty with micro-SD card compatibility, which was independent of brand.  A couple micro-SD cards were prepared on a computer using an adapter card and a micro-SD card reader and operated correctly in the computer, but the content was not recognized by the 990.  I suspect this might be due to the early manufacture of the cards, but I’m not sure.

The 990 manual picks up the explanation from there describing operation of the control keys.  I found it most convenient just to scroll through the albums with the FINE TUNING knob and through the tracks with the main TUNING knob.  The number pad buttons will also work for direct album or track selection.  Their application depends on the last tuning knob turned.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a hidden feature of the 990.  Activation is partially covered on the hidden feature sheet.

  1. With the radio off, press and hold the PLAY/MP3 button.  If OFF (for Bluetooth) appears in the display, press and hold the button again until ON appears in the display.
  2. Turn on the radio.
  3. Toggle the PLAY/MP3 button until “BT” appears in the display.  The display will have a horizontal, animated dashed line for a few seconds, then it will change to an animated rectangle indicating that the Bluetooth feature is on.
  4. Follow the procedure for your tablet, computer or phone to pair the device with the 990.  “Tecsun PL-990” should appear on the device as a choice for pairing.  The 990 only pairs with one device at a time.  If you have trouble, ensure that the 990 has not inadvertently paired with another device.

Bluetooth, of course, opens Internet streaming from a phone, tablet or computer.  These ‘remotes’ have the convenience of full text capability and offer easier selection of content.  I paired my PL-990x with a Kindle tablet; it has a range of at least 25 feet.  The same micro-SD card could in theory be transferred from the radio to the tablet and function the same way.  A smart phone would add cellular connectivity.

Control:

Three of the four player control buttons above the display are active in Bluetooth.  The stop button has no effect.  As with the MP3 player, the main TUNING and FINE TUNING knobs will also advance or reverse the track selection.  Interestingly, this works with audio player apps as well as services such as YouTube, where it advances or reverses videos on the tablet, computer or phone.  In addition to the RADIO/MP3 button, pressing any of the band buttons will immediately exit Bluetooth and tune to the selected radio band.

Source: PL-990x Operation Manual

In MP3 or Bluetooth mode, there is no noise from a USB wall wart.  It might be a good time to charge the battery.

As a Computer Speaker

Finally, there is what the 990 manual calls the computer speaker mode.  Sounds inconsequential.  Why would anyone want to use a monaural radio on a computer that’s likely outfitted with stereo speakers?  Actually, it’s more than that.  By plugging your 990 into a USB port on your computer you have the normal charging feature, but you will also have complete USB connectivity with your PC.

Turn on the 990.  You may have to press RADIO/MP3 button until “PC” appears in the PL-990 display.

  • You will not be able to use the radio.
  • The content of the micro-SD card in the 990 should appear as a USB drive in the computer’s file directory.  You can transfer files on or off the 990, but the process will be very slow.  Transfers from the computer to the 990-installed SD card follow the same rules listed above for the MP3 player.
  • The computer will provide the MP3 play function through its own app.  You can select files from either the 990 SD card or those on the PC and play them through the 990 speaker.
  • You can switch speakers between the 990 or those on the computer by selecting the speaker icon on the computer task bar, then selecting the available speakers.

  • The pause/play button on the player controls will work, but the reverse, stop, and advance buttons will not.

Final Thoughts

Some disappointment was registered in the reviews that the 990 does not have a recorder.  Yes, this would have been nice.  One thing it does have is a line out jack which has adjustable gain.  This makes my outboard recorder much happier than when it is used with some other radios.

Since we are talking about audio, I have noted that some reviewers still prefer the sound of the PL-880.  To my ears, the 990 sounds every bit as good.  Remember, these are mid-size portable radios.

The inclusion of MP3 player and Bluetooth capabilities on the 990 adds very useful functionality to this radio.  After nearly four years of consumer availability, I must wonder why they haven’t received more attention.

Spread the radio love

“Music On The Move” explores portable audio technology developments over the decades

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:

Last night on my bedside radio I heard on BBC World’s ‘The Forum’ a wonderful 49-minute piece about portable audio. Much of it covers the earliest portable electron tube radios and transistor radios, and their influences on society in different countries. Mediumwave, Shortwave and FM radios and stations are discussed, as well as evolving technologies. The societal impact of the Compact Cassette and digital audio players and recorders is also discussed. Probably all SWLing Post readers will find this worth listening to!

Cheers,

-Ed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5n09

The Forum: Music On The Move

Released On: 22 Jun 2024

Many of us remember the first portable music device we owned: a transistor radio, a boombox, a Walkman or perhaps an iPod. We might even recall the songs we played on it. But we might be less aware of how profoundly audio technology developments from the 1950s to 2000s changed the ways in which we consume music and other audio outside of the home or concert venue. Transistor radios allowed outdoor sounds and noises to mix and compete with those coming over the airwaves, creating new auditory experiences; the cassette player gave the listener a cheap way of making and re-making their own playlists; and the advent of digital music players encouraged us to ‘own’ music recordings without possessing a physical copy of the audio.

Iszi Lawrence discusses the history of portable music with Dr. Annie Jamieson, Curator of Sound Technologies at Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum; American drummer and writer Damon Krukowski; Dr. Jahnavi Phalkey, science historian and Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, India; Karin Bijsterveld, Professor of Science, Technology and Modern Culture at Maastricht University; and World Service listeners.

Spread the radio love