Category Archives: Shortwave Radio Reviews

Paul explores the incredibly affordable XHDATA D-219

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who shares the following article that was originally published in the Radio Club du Perche Newsletter.

Note that Paul also includes information about the new XHDATA D-109 and an XHDATA sale in the addendum of his article!

Let’s discover the XHDATA D-219

by Paul JAMET

A truly incredible performance/price ratio

A year ago, many people wondered if it was wise to resume short wave broadcasts to Russia and Ukraine (CIRAF Zone 29). Although a century old, this technology is still widely used around the world. Moreover, the world market for Short Wave receivers is apparently doing well because new models are regularly arriving on the market, in particular ultra-portable DSP receivers with surprising performance. As proof, the latest XHDATA model: the D-219, marketed since November 2022. This is a very easy-to-use receiver, with a vintage look and a needle dial, which is available in gray or silver, for less than $7 (excluding shipping and batteries) on the XHDATA company website.

The D-219 is a “Full DSP” receiver which allows it to be very sensitive and power efficient. It is powered by two AA/R6 rechargeable batteries or by the mains (batteries and 220/5.0 volt adapter not supplied). A small multilingual manual – including French – is provided.

From my point of view, the most important innovation – on a DSP receiver of this price – is the possibility of precise tuning when searching for stations with a pointer dial; there is absolutely no play, which allows perfect and stable tuning to the desired frequency. This receiver has a 3.5 mm jack, a rear stand and a hand strap. The 7-core telescopic antenna is about 55 cm long and provides good reception of FM and SW stations. The sound quality is very good for this 150g receiver (without batteries)! It has two FM bands (87-108 and 64-87 MHz), the AM band (Medium Waves) from 522 to 1620 kHz and nine SW bands from 4750 to 22000 kHz. See photo above.

For a SWL, it’s a real pleasure to explore the 9 Short Wave bands. For instance, I have already easily tuned to international stations several thousand kilometers away only with the telescopic antenna, such as RFA – Radio Free Asia – broadcasting from Agignan Point and Tinian Island in the Pacific Ocean.

Audio samples:

VoA in Dari from Udon Thani on 12075 kHz (250 kW; 9900 km):

Audio Player

RSI in English from Kall Krekell on 6005 kHz (1 kW; 350 km)

Audio Player

Note: A 23-foot wire antenna was clipped onto the whip antenna
recordings made by placing my smartphone near the speaker of the receiver.

QSLs

I received two QSLs (Year of the Rabbit) sent by RFA. See attached images below. These QSL confirm my reception reports (recordings made with the XHDATA D-219 and sent to RFA)

Summary

In conclusion, the XHDATA D-219 is really very easy to use. I can only recommend it to anyone who wants to start exploring the wide world of shortwave with a receiver that offers a truly amazing performance/price ratio!

Paul JAMET

NB: DSP technology –  Digital Signal Processing – allows, among other things, to reduce noise and limit distortion; it is perfectly adapted to the processing of radio signals.

Addendum: XHDATA sale and new D-109

1.) The RADIWOW web site is no longer updated and will be closed soon
30% discount on D-808 (65$) and R-108 (37.80$) for instance, till Feb, 16th.

Have a glance to this website : https://xhdata.com.cn/

NB : I have no affiliation with XHDATA!

2.)  The new XHDATA D-109 is a new radio that will release in 2023:

Let say in one or two weeks … It could be only an upgrade of the R-108 with news features (Bluetooth and micro SD card)
Wait and see …

Video: Nick explores the benchmark Icom IC-R9500

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Booras, who writes:

Hello Thomas

I recently got a new Icom 9500 and have made several in depth videos on it for my YouTube channel including multiple direct comparisons to other premium receivers.

Here is the main overview video:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you for sharing this, Nick. The IC-R9500 is an impressive receiver indeed! 

Making a good thing better: The C.Crane CC Skywave SSB 2

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Last month, C.Crane sent me (and the infamous Jock Elliott–read his review here) a pre-production CC Skywave SSB 2 portable shortwave radio.

In full disclosure and to be clear: these pre-production units were sent to us free of charge by C.Crane who is a long-time sponsor of the SWLing Post.

Back in October, I was very pleased to see that C.Crane had updated the CC Skywave SSB to version 2 in their latest product catalog.

If you’ve read the SWLing Post for long, you’ll know that the CC Skywave SSB is my choice travel and EDC radio. I prefer it over any other portable I own (and I do have quite a lot) because it’s so insanely useful, efficient, lightweight, compact, and durable.

I’ve taken the CC Skywave SSB and the original CC Skywave on more travels that I could possibly remember.

What’s so great about the Skywave series?

I’m a one-bag traveler.

Me, at Charlotte-Douglas International waiting for a flight to the Winter SWL Fest in 2019.

When I fly, I take only one carry on bag that’s so compact it can fit under the seat in front of me in any type of commercial aircraft.

I firmly believe there is no freedom like one-bag travel. While others are stressing over where to stow luggage, how to carry it all, or why their checked-in luggage didn’t arrive at the destination, I’m cruising through the airport and to my destination unhindered.

The key to successful one-bag travel is only carrying what you need, and focusing on items that are multi-function.

Me? I need a good multi-band radio.

The CC Skywave SSB is the most comprehensive compact portable I own. It’s truly a “Swiss Army Knife” of a receiver. Here are the bands/features I appreciate:

  • AM/Mediumwave (9/10 kHz steps selectable)
  • FM broadcast (with expanded FM range when in 9 kHz step mode)
  • Shortwave
  • AIR band (to listen to Air Traffic Control and Air comms)
  • Weather Radio with alert (this functions brilliantly in the US and Canada)
  • A proper clock and alarm (that can display in 24 hour time!)
  • It uses two common AA batteries that can even be internally-recharged if NiMH
  • It even has a squelch feature for scanning, say, the AIR band

All of this and it’s also one of the best-performing compact radios on the market. It’s a capable radio for portable DXing right out of the box (or you can hot-rod it like Gary DeBock does!).

Side note: the CC Skywave’s weather radio reception is better that any other radio I’ve tested including dedicated weather radios. Continue reading →

Frank reports on the Deshibo RD1860BT portable shortwave receiver

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank, in Germany, who shares the following guest post and review of the Deshibo RD1860BT:

Deshibo RD1860BT report

Hello Thomas,

Today I would like to report on a new portable world receiver. Unfortunately, new devices have not been found on the shelves of electronics retailers for a long time, but now in the depths of the world wide web. And that’s how I came across the Deshibo RD1860BT.

Deshibo is certainly known to many from their GA450 loop antenna. But Deshibo has also produced several radios, including the RD1780L, which is probably a little better known. New to the segment is the RD1860BT, which initially seemed like an old friend to me. An Eton Elite Executive? Yes, there are external similarities, but also differences.

Many months ago I had an Eton Elite Executive for a short time. I had heard of its excellent reception properties, which I can confirm, but the design is reminiscent of older receivers from the 80s, is relatively heavy, operation is sometimes a bit cumbersome, the protective cover does not protect properly. I find the device to be portable overall difficult. We didn’t become friends, so I sold it on to a Swede, who in turn became a friend.

I still missed the Eton. RDS on VHF is not found in any Tecsun , nor are there memory banks that can be written on.

Then I discovered the RD1860BT and couldn’t resist. First of all: the Deshibo is only labeled in Chinese for important function keys. But the friendly dealer on eBay provided me with an English manual before I bought it. That was the deciding factor, because I was sure that after a little use , the Deshibo could be operated blindly.

However, some questions have arisen in the user manual. Some things didn’t seem quite right, others were completely missing from the description. That’s why I decided to write my own manual on a journey of discovery of the new Deshibo. And so that it might also help others who might be interested in radio, I wrote it in English and attach it here.

Click here to download Frank’s version of the RD1860BT manual (PDF).

The Eton’s somewhat unsorted manual was very helpful, but I also added my own drawings. For example, I added an English-labeled keyboard as a back cover, so that the keys can be assigned without a long search.

Here you can already find the first differences to the Eton: the keyboard layout is a bit more orderly. Also, the Deshibo doesn’t have a metallic speaker grille (which frankly I don’t like about the Eton). The display, not the writing, is backlit in orange on the Deshibo . Most importantly, the Deshibo is a lot lighter than the Eton ( around 500g if I researched correctly). And that means: the structure of the Deshibo must be different. Continue reading →

A review of the Tecsun H-501x portable shortwave radio receiver

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I was recently searching for my review of the Tecsun H-501x on the SWLing Post to send to a reader when I realized I had not yet published it here! Let’s fix that…

The following review of the Tecsun H-501x was originally published in the November 2021 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Enjoy:

A review of the Tecsun H-501x

by Thomas (K4SWL)

Last year [2020], we were treated to a group of new shortwave portables from Tecsun:  the PL-990, PL-330, and the H-501.

Although all of these models garnered attention from shortwave listeners, one model in particular seemed to draw the most interest, the Tecsun H-501.

No doubt, much had to do with the H-501’s size––a large format portable––and especially the twin stereo speakers, that no doubt sparked the interest of those of us who owned (or wished we owned) the venerable Grundig Satellit 500 or 700 with its reputation for robust audio.

Tecsun was also very clear during their product announcement in 2019 that the H-501x is the flagship portable for the Tecsun line.

H-501 versus H-501x

Note that the product being evaluated in this review is the H-501x; the latest “export” version of the H-501.

The differences between these two models is fairly modest. The “x” model gives the user a slightly lower frequency floor in longwave and shortwave, and finer FM tuning (50 kHz as opposed to 100 kHz) when the AM tuning steps are set to 9 kHz as opposed to 10 kHz.

The differences are so modest between the H-501 and H-501x, I wouldn’t be worried if you already have the H-501. I would simply encourage you to only purchase from a reputable Tecsun distributor so you can be confident you’re not receiving one of the very early production runs of the H-501 that was only distributed domestically within China. Some of these early domestic models didn’t have all the refinements of the latest H-501 versions. I would encourage you to only purchase the H-501 or H-501x from a reputable distributors like Anon-Co, Waters and Stanton, Tecsun Radios Australia, and Bonito.

Unique features

Besides the large dual speakers of the H-501x, there are a number of other unique features and design choices that truly set the H-501 series apart from other Tecsun models.

 

Firstly, the H-501x uses two 18650 Lithium Ion batteries housed in two separate battery compartments. Both batteries can be internally charged, but here’s the interesting part: each battery seems to be somewhat independent of the other. When you engage battery charging, you must select, via a mechanical switch on the back of the radio, “Battery A” or “Battery B.” Only one battery can be charged at a time, and thus only one will power the radio at a time.

More than once, I’ve been listening to the H-501x and the battery indicator started flashing, signifying a low battery. I simply switched the battery switch to Battery B, and, voliá:  I have a full battery again! This reminds me of a college friend’s VW Beetle that had a spare fuel tank…with this unique feature, when you were running low on fuel, you’d kick in the spare fuel tank and then make plans to refuel the main tank soon. Of course, with the H-501x, both these “fuel tanks” are also generous ones, in that the batteries last for a good while.

I find that the play time of each battery impressive given the size and audio amplification used in the H-501x. I had worries that the unit’s need for two batteries could suggest a short battery life, but fortunately this hasn’t been the case, no matter what mode I’ve used (FM, AM, shortwave, or Bluetooth).

However I will note here that the supplied switching power supply will inject noise if you try listening to AM or shortwave while charging. This hasn’t affected FM reception, though.

The fold-out metal bail on the H-501x is very large. This shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. The H-501x is tall and wide, but not very deep––only marginally deeper than, say, the PL-880. The bail needed to be low-profile, but also support this mini “wall” of the radio while in use. The metal wire bail is handy and certainly does the trick, although there’s only one tilt position, and when it’s deployed, the radio effectively has a large footprint. This might limit where you can set it if the surface––say, a bedside table––is small. Not a problem for me, but worth noting. Continue reading →

13dka Reviews: The new 2022 “Belka” (generation 3) general coverage receiver

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The new 2022 “Belka” (generation 3) general coverage receiver

by 13dka

Since its introduction in 2019, the super-tiny Belka (back then called “Belka DSP”) shortwave receiver sure gained an enthusiastic followership among SWLs and hams. The main reason for this is certainly the way how the Belka is incredibly small yet playing in a different league than the various consumer grade, Chinese mass-production radios, particularly the DSP-based ultraportables: The Belka is an all-mode shortwave communications receiver with a completely different (direct conversion SDR) architecture, developed and produced by a radio enthusiast (Alex, EU1ME) in a small mom&pop shop in Belarus.

In case you’ve never heard about it amidst all the buzz about more popular brands, here’s the skinny:

The Belka offers true allmode (including NFM and CW) reception with a proper 400 Hz CW filter and individual settings for the low and high filter slopes for AM, FM and SSB. It has an AM sync detector and comes with a 0.5ppm TCXO-controlled local oscillator for absolutely spot-on, calibration-free frequency precision and stability, which makes SSB or ECSS reception of broadcast stations a pure joy. The second iteration “Belka DX” brought a slightly extended coverage down to 1.5 MHz and an I/Q output for panadapter display and/or processing via your favorite SDR software.

All Belkas are quiet and very sensitive radios with a surprisingly robust front end, the filters are better and its AGC works like you’d expect it from a communications receiver, without the artifacts and distortion the DSP radios are infamous for, and of course smooth, non-“muting” tuning in variable steps down to 10Hz.

The Belkas have no built-in speaker (available as option tho) but really excellent audio on headphones and external speakers and they actually give my Icom IC-705 a run for its money in terms of reception quality, and they do that for up to 24 hours on a single charge of the internal Li-Ion battery. This stunning feature set is crowned by the best performance on a telescopic whip antenna ever – the Belkas have a high-impedance (>10 kOhm) antenna input optimized for this whip and taking it on a walk is (really!) like having a big rig with a big antenna in tow…

Despite all this goodness setting the Belka(s) quite fundamentally apart from most (if not all) current and former, even much higher priced portables and simultaneously putting it solidly into pricey tabletop territory, it hasn’t put Tecsun et al out of business for a couple of reasons: One reason is that it can only be obtained from Alex in Belarus, which is now often assumed to be impossible (it isn’t, more on that later). Another reason is that it doesn’t try to compete with aforementioned multiband radios from China, so there is no FM broadcast band and – until now – no AM BC band, but most owners and potential buyers particularly in the US really wished it had at least the latter. Well, Alex obviously heard us! After the Belka DSP and the Belka DX, the new Belka is just called “Belka”, so in order to avoid any ambiguity I’m going to refer to this model as “Belka 2022”.

What’s new?

The most prominent addition to the Belka 2022 is the extended 0.1-31 MHz coverage, the previous version only started receiving at 1.5 MHz. With LW and MW included, its “pseudosynchronous” detector (as featured in venerable radios from Harris, Racal or Drake), the great filtering and the great frequency precision for hassle-free ECSS reception are promising that the “squirrel” is now an ultra-ultraportable companion for MW DXers as well.

Continue reading →

Which radio? How to avoid analysis paralysis…

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I’ve been running the SWLing Post for fourteen years (!!!) and during that time I’d say that one of the top three questions I receive is a variation of “Which radio is better?” followed by a list of radio makes and models.

Sometimes that question is easy to answer because the reader is new to the world of shortwave, they only have two choices, and one is an obvious winner.

In truth, though, that’s very rare.

Most of the time–and I’m speaking from having received hundreds of these questions–I’m asked to choose between a list of radios that the reader has thoroughly researched, uncovering radios DXers and enthusiasts consider to be the best in price class.

They’ve already read numerous reviews, created spreadsheets comparing features/specifications, and they’ve weighed all of the pros and cons by price class.

But they can’t decide.

Analysis paralysis

We’ve all been there, right?

We’re ready to invest a bit of money in a new radio and there are many good options, but there’s no one stand-out…no “perfect” radio with everything we seek.

It’s a slippery slope.  We start our research with some obvious choices. We can’t decide which is best, so we broaden our research, we take deeper and deeper dives, but the more we research, the more confused we become.

Sound familiar? (Trust me: you’re not alone.)

I remember receiving an email once from someone with a list of two dozen sub $150 radios on a multi-tab spreadsheet.They had every feature and specification listed for comparison. They wanted to know which of these radios was “the best.”

I can’t answer this questions for a very good reason.

It’s all about personal preference

My favorite radio from a list of twenty four will likely not be your favorite radio.

Enjoyment of a radio has everything to do with you as the radio’s operator.

Ask yourself, “What’s my main goal–?”:

  • DXing?
  • Weak signal work?
  • Band-scanning?
  • Pirate Radio hunting?
  • Travel?
  • Emergency communications?
  • Casual broadcast listening?
  • Digital mode decoding?
  • Scanning?
  • Mediumwave DXing?

Look at your options with this goal being given the priority.

A rather simple way to avoid analysis paralysis

If you’ve thoroughly researched multiple options, the likelihood is that overall performance between the models is comparable. Sure, some models might have better AGC, better sync, finer tuning, a better encoder, or better sensitivity, etc. but the overall performance package is similar else there’d be no difficult decision to make.

My advice is to pick the radio that you believe you’d enjoy the most.

  • Do you like the display and large encoder on one? Does it look like the sort of radio you could cuddle up to late into a cold winter evening? Go for it!
  • Do you like the compact size and features of one? Does it look like a radio you could pack away for an international flight then use on a mini DXpedition in a foreign country? Grab it!
  • Do you like the comments you’ve read about the robust audio and speaker of a particular model? Pull the trigger!

I’ve been communicating with a reader over the past few days that is stuck in analysis paralysis. No doubt, this is what prompted this post.

Here’s what I told him this morning:

All of the models we’ve discussed are good ones and have overall excellent performance. I would simply pick the one you think you would enjoy using the most.

[Keep in mind that] DXing is a skill.

A skilled DXer can accomplish a lot with almost any radio! It’s easy to fall in the trap of options overload. Just find a good deal on a radio you think you would enjoy and go for it! 

I suppose another way of stating it would be if you believe you’re stuck in analysis paralysis, follow your heart instead of your head.