Tag Archives: Paul Jamet

Paul explores the incredibly affordable XHDATA D-219

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):

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

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 …

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Voice of Korea via Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

Several listeners have posted videos on YouTube about receiving broadcasts of “The Voice of Korea” on 6140 kHz DRM – Digital Radio Mondiale.

One video in particular caught my attention, from Indian listeners in the Kerala region:

Indeed, these headphones use a Chinese receiver, the G-226 from GOSPELL which is also sold by TECSUN in Australia: https://www.tecsunradios.com.au/store/product/tecsun-drm-radio/

So, you can see how this receiver works.

All this has aroused my curiosity! And yesterday, Friday 17 June 2022, at 20:00 UTC I connected to several kiwi SDRs in the Pacific area. The DRKP signal could be picked up almost 8,000 km from the transmitter site near Pyong-Yang.

Here attached a screenshot and an audio file recorded with a kiwi SDR located a few kilometres away near Perth, Australia – Distance according to Google Maps, about 7960 km

The signal is encoded in AAC and not xHE AAC

[Audio: Note that the audio level jumps several times, so don’t turn up the volume too high.]

Who is this program for? According to Indian radio listeners, probably to the North Korean fleet in the Pacific. To be continued.

Have a nice weekend. Yours sincerely

Paul JAMET

I would have never guessed VOK would broadcast in DRM. Very interesting indeed. Perhaps we’ll learn more about this with time or someone can confirm whether or not this is actually VOK. Thank you for sharing this, Paul!

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Paul’s recording of “La Voix de la Corée” interval signal and broadcast intro

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes:

Hello Thomas,

I hope everything is fine.

To complete Carlos Latuff’s contribution, here is a recording of the French language program of “La Voix de la Corée” made the afternoon of May 30, 2022 at 14h00 UTC on the frequency 13760 kHz with a TECSUN PL-365 connected to a 5m wire antenna of about 5 meters length.

Recording:

I attach the picture of the receiver on an old wall (see above); the screen displays the frequency and the signal characteristics: Signal strength unit: 27 dBu – Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N) unit: 08 dB

The other frequency used at the same time is 15245 kHz but I could not hear anything!

I hope that this information will hold your attention. See you next time. Sincerely yours.

Paul JAMET
Radio Club du Perche :
http://radioclub.perche.free.fr/

Thank you for sharing your recording, Paul!

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Paul receives a Funklust DRM QSL

Audio File:

KiwiSDR Screenshot:

The signal was picked up as far as New Zealand one told me. I think reception reports from all over the world would be very much appreciated …

Have a nice day. Best regards.

Paul JAMET
Radio Club du Perche

That’s brilliant, Paul. Thank you so much for sharing the recording and QSL info. Hopefully, they’ll continue to receive reports from across the globe. It might be fun, in fact, to see just how far one could DX this DRM broadcast via the KiwiSDR network. Frankly, good copy of Funklust’s 250W DRM signal in Portugal is pretty impressive!

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Paul is impressed with the HanRongDa HRD-747

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes:

Hello Thomas,

I have just received the HRD-747 I ordered a fortnight ago.

Of course, I quickly made some tests and I’d like to share two of them with you and the regulars of the SWLing Post:

1 – This is a recording made yesterday (23 March 2022) on 12125 kHz; RFA in Tibetan from Tinian Island; the signal is very stable, very clear.

The HRD-747 is sitting in the grass at the foot of a tree in a park! Nearby a pond. Only 6 of the 7 segments of the telescopic antenna are deployed.

My Locator: JN19cc – Locator Tinian Island: QK25TB – 13225 km

Recording:

2 – My second recording is of Radio Tamazuj in Juba Arabic on 15150 kHz 15h45 from Talata Volonondry. This recording was made in the same conditions as the previous one. Again, only 6 of the 7 segments of the telescopic antenna are deployed. The reception is still quite good, isn’t it?

My Locator: JN19cc – Locator Talata-Volonondry: LH31TF – 8526 km

My first SSB tests also allowed me to listen to Russian or Ukrainian radio amateurs in the 20m band. This little device seems to me really very promising.

3- I also made this recording made ton March 27, 2022 in a small park in my city (L’Isle-Adam – Locator: JN19CC) NW of Paris.

It is a ham radio picked up on 14328.80 kHz at 15h30 UTC. No other antenna; only the telescopic antenna of the receiver!

The HRD-747 has 100 memories per band; this proved insufficient to store all the stations detected during the scan of the entire spectrum from 3.2 to 30 MHz … The scan stopped in the 19 m band!

First impressions? I am impressed by this tiny receiver (only 108 grams with its battery and strap).

I would like to point out that the first version of the manual which was proposed on the site is particularly useful to me. Indeed, most of the keys are multifunction. It’s a habit to get used to, even if everything seems to have been thought out in a very judicious way.

With my best regards. 73’s

Paul JAMET
Radio Club du Perche

Thank you so much for sharing this, Paul. Those results are promising, indeed! The audio sounds quite good in your recordings–especially for such a compact radio.

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