Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:
Did anyone ever notice this [in The Shape of Water]?
I have not seen the film yet, but how could we miss that classic Cold War rig?! Very cool–thanks for sharing, Dan!
I’ll add this post to our archive of radios in film.
I’m generally not a fan of slip-cover cases (or pouches) that are included with many portable radios. I like to have a little extra padding around radios, but I don’t like bulky cases either. My preference is to carry accessories separately and keep the case as small as possible while still offering some protection.
With that in mind, others may be interested in my choice of non-original cases for the Sangean ATS-909X and XHDATA D-808 receivers.
The Evecase brand of sleeve for the Apple iPad Mini 4 makes a close fitting case for the ATS-909X. After a day or two in this sleeve, the radio stretches the fabric a little and the result is a fit “like a glove”.
The Evecase sleeve leaves NO room for anything else, except perhaps a pair of earbuds loosely coiled on top of the radio before zipping the case shut. Protection of the ATS-909X is very good though, better than the stock Sangean slip case.
For the XHDATA D-808, I discovered that a model of the popular “Pelican” line of hard cases is an absolutely perfect fit. Model 1040 (Micro Case series) is the one to get, especially if you want the extreme protection this padded, hard-sided case provides. It’ll be right at home among your camping gear for instance, and if it happens to take a tumble from your backpack or car’s trunk, no problem!
It’s important to note that the solid color 1040 cases like mine have a sheet of thin protective foam in the lid, in addition to the molded padding in the bottom half. The clear lid versions of the 1040 case do not have this extra padding.
Let the description and photos of these two case solutions inspire you to consider other ideas for protecting your radio gear! A lot of possibilities exist, considering the wide array of protection available for tablets, laptops, GPS, hard drives, and so on. Many of these can be repurposed for portable receivers.
Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nad, who writes:
I bought an HRD-737 a few weeks ago off AliExpress. Was going to write a review but now feel there is no point because it has so many major and minor problems beyond those already reported.
Decided to take mine apart. The photo is attached.
Click to enlarge.
It appears to me that the HRD-737 could be the first attempt at an SDR-based pocket sized receiver. Wondering if you or someone the experts at SWLing Post can offer any insight in this regard. Identifying marks on the ICs have been removed. The metal can in the middle could be a wideband programable oscillator of some kind?
Thank you for sharing, Nad!
Readers: can you shed some light on the HDR-737 receiver design based on this internal photo? Please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Keith Stephens, who writes:
Regarding the Audiomax SRW-710S radio.
I was very pleasantly surprised at more than one aspect of this radio. First, it sounds like something with a much larger speaker. It has the base capability of at least a 6″ speaker. My favorite FM music station comes from a mountaintop repeater over 70 miles away. The 710S is one of two radios I have tried through the years that brings it in clear and clean. The other is a much bigger more expensive radio. And of course, the voice quality of the local AM talk shows is excellent. I lost my instruction booklet (as usual) but I do want to record the FM station for times when I am out of range.
It is a pity that I have to tell of a bad shortcoming on this wonderful radio. Alas, I couldn’t believe it the first time it died at the end of three hours. I thought I had a bad battery, but a fully charged new battery only lasts 3 hours! I would pay twice the price for the same radio if it had a better battery life. Please let me know if there is a better battery or the same radio with a larger battery.
Thanks for your mini review, Keith! Admittedly, I’ve never tested the battery performance of this set because I typically use it for short (1 hour) recording sessions.
Click here to read other reviews of the Audiomax SRW-710S/Tivdio V-115.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who writes:
After my wife complained about our Sangean radio button problems, I made this post:
Our Sangean radios are good performers for FM reception and speaker sound. They are reasonably priced. For user-friendly radios to use throughout the house, the kind that my wife and daughters enjoy using, Sangean is the best bet.
However, for me a general use Sangean is not my first choice. Because I am an FM reception fanatic, I prefer more of a high-performance radio, the kind that has an SW port, so I can connect a wire antenna to the radio, which usually results in improved FM reception. That’s why I have a Grundig G4000A next to my bedside table. But for the rest of my family, it’s a Sangean affair.
However, I should point out a consistent flaw, one that my wife complained about this morning: Three of four of our Sangeans have button problems.[…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jamie Anderson (KM4WYO), who writes:
I have been browsing around eBay too much and was trying to put together a do-it-all radio for camping/backpacking that is small.
It is hard to find SW/broadcast/weather/air band together (for good reason, of course). I did run across this radio that is interesting: the HRD-737 which retails around $40.
- Internal 700mah 3.7v lithium, with 5v usb charge
- Air 118-138 MHz
- FM 87.5 – 108 MHz
- AM 520-1720 kHz
- CB 25-28 MHz
- SW 2-30 MHz in 5 kHz steps
- VHF narrow/wide FM – 30-223 MHz (10,6,2,220)
I’m not sure if it would pick up NOAA stations as I think they have a slightly different FM bandwidth.
It seems interesting for a do it all point of view, you could possibly monitor ham repeaters on 2 meters, just a little too short of frequency coverage for 220.
Click here to view the HDR-737 on eBay.
Have you seen one of these or something similar in your reviews?
I have never used the HDR-737, but thanks for bringing it to our attention, Jamie!
I should think, assuming the stated VHF frequency coverage is correct, that you should be able to hear weather radio on this receiver. NOAA weather frequencies are on 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550 MHz.
The manufacturer isn’t clear about the frequency steps on VHF however–it’s possible tuning increments could be too coarse to get a good lock on the station. That specification is omitted altogether even though every other band has stated frequency steps.
I should mention that the original C. Crane CC Skywave meets all of your specifications save the ability to potentially tune in the 2M ham radio band.
Post readers: Is anyone familiar with the HanRongDa HRD-737? Please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who notes that Radiwow is offering free and half-price units to consumers willing to review their R-108 receiver. All of the details are on the Radiwow R-108 product page at AliExpress.
Here’s a copy of the statement:
Dear friends
Are you still struggling to find a cost-effective radio? Now the FREE opportunity is coming!
Recently ,our store have launched a RADIWOW® R-108 Radio which has great sound quality, selectivity and sensitivity .R-108 Radio is a good world receiver with great FM Stereo/LW/SW/MW /AIR/DSP. It will start selling on January 30, 2019.You deserve it!
We are looking for 20 people from Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, France to test and write an unbiased and honest review for our latest radio.
In addition, we need friends from Spain, Italy, France to help us translate R-108 English user manual into Spanish, Italian and French.
In all top three users who apply for the test will enjoy the radio for free, and the 3-20 will enjoy it at half price. Please indicate in the subject when contacting us: your country; product model; leave review or translate user manual.
Click here to read this statement on the Radiwow R-108 product page.
Please comment if you’ve successfully ordered a unit under this program. I’m currently evaluating the R-108 here at SWLing Post HQ.
Please consider supporting us via Patreon or our Coffee Fund!
Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!
