{"id":22825,"date":"2016-12-15T08:39:51","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T12:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=22825"},"modified":"2017-10-22T07:43:13","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T11:43:13","slug":"troy-reviews-the-audiomax-srw-710s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/troy-reviews-the-audiomax-srw-710s\/","title":{"rendered":"Troy reviews the Audiomax SRW-710S"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy\u00a0Riedel, for the following guest post:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>A Mini-Review of the Audiomax SRW-710S<\/h2>\n

by\u00a0Troy Riedel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why would someone want a sub-$20 shortwave radio? Wait \u2026 I guess I should be answering questions & not asking them, right? But I\u2019ll give you my answer to \u201cwhy I want a sub-$20 shortwave radio\u201d: I have many nice radios, but I wanted one that I consider \u201cdisposable\u201d. I define \u201cdisposable\u201d as something I won\u2019t be upset if I lose, get it splattered with paint, or leave it outside only to get rained on. Taking the family of four to the movies nowadays costs upwards of $100 (the three ladies I live with can really throw-down pop & popcorn!) so a sub-$20 radio, even a \u201cdisposable one\u201d, is a true bargain.<\/p>\n

I have seen the SRW-710S badged under three different names: Audiomax<\/strong>, VITE<\/strong> and TIVDIO<\/strong>. There very well may be other badging. I paid $18.52 for my Audiomax badged device direct from a vendor in China. I\u2019ve subsequently seen it as low as $13 on eBay<\/a> and as much as $37 on Amazon<\/a>. So much for a sub-$20 radio, huh?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The SRW-710S comes with only a USB charging cable in the box to recharge the Li-ion BL-5C battery (no earbuds, no case or pouch \u2013 just a very simple set of basic instructions). The 710S features a small LCD screen that offers menus in three languages: English, Spanish & Chinese.<\/p>\n

The screen greets you with \u201cwelcome\u201d (lowercase) when turning it on & \u201cBye Bye!\u201d when you power-off. There is a Sleep Timer function that I have yet to use. All of the ports are on the right side of the unit (nothing on the left). It has a TF Flashcard Slot \u2013 no card provided \u2013 for recording off the radio & for playing pre-loaded mp3 & wma files from the flashcard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It has 100 memories, a Line-In port, a built-in mic, and a headphone port. There is no ANT-In port. This radio has AM, FM & SW (no LW) with the appropriate international tuning steps. Lastly, there is no folding stand on the back (one is provided and is attached to the wrist strap – it is inserted into a small slot just above the battery cover).<\/p>\n

One Chinese web site listed the SRW-710S as having an \u201cAKC6951 DSP chip\u201d. Until now, I had never heard of this DSP chip and I frankly know nothing about it. Maybe some more informed readers can comment?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Operation is easy (except for one quirk that I will detail later). There are two rows of numbers for direct input of a frequency. Simply input the frequency \u2026 and then wait (there is an approximate 3-5 second delay from input to the radio actually tuning to the frequency \u2026 I am still getting used to this pregnant pause). You also have an option of tuning directly to a meter-band.<\/p>\n

Of course, there is no SSB for this low price.<\/p>\n

The one speaker is a bit \u201ctinny\u201d but adequate (stereo via user-supplied earbuds). And considering the price point, the RF shielding isn\u2019t too bad. I can actually use the shortwave band of this radio in my kitchen and breakfast nook (I cannot say that for my more expensive receivers).<\/p>\n

The biggest limiting factor in reception is the size of the telescopic antenna (15.5\u201d). However, for its size I am quite impressed (it\u2019s exponentially better than the old Grundig G2000A Porsche that has a 21.25\u201d antenna \u2013 but that radio is notorious as needing a reel antenna). Just via the telescopic whip, I can actually tune the major broadcasters to NA (e.g., Radio Romania), I can adequately tune to the VOA 15.580 MHz signal to Africa during the North American East Coast AFTN, and the time signals are easily audible (of course, frequency appropriate for the time of day).<\/p>\n

I do not plan to open the radio\u2019s chassis, but AM reception seems to be limited due to the obvious small size of the ferrite antenna (the radio itself is essentially palm-sized, approximately 4.75\u201d x 3\u201d & less than 1\u201d thick). My postal scale indicates it weighs 5.5 – 6 ounces including the battery. The radio must be propped to support it when attaching the telescoping whip to a Slinky Antenna (even the weight of the Slinky\u2019s alligator clip causes balance problems)
\nOne quirk I have found: there is a \u201cLock\u201d key. However, it only seems to lock the radio power \u201con\u201d (locks are used to lock the power \u201coff\u201d during transport so the power remains off and the battery doesn\u2019t drain). The \u201cLock\u201d feature is not discussed in the instructions and at present I have not figured-out if this switch works in the traditional way. I find this to be quite amusing because it\u2019s either an odd quirk or I\u2019m just not smart enough to intuitively figure it out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I am quite satisfied with my new \u201cdisposable\u201d $18.52 Shortwave Radio (I have no information whether the quality I have considered is consistent through a production run or between badging). For those who wish to listen to a local AM or FM station \u2013 or listen to one of the \u201cmajor\u201d shortwave broadcasters with a booming signal into your part of the world \u2013 you can\u2019t beat it for this price point. I can see myself using this radio while I complete outdoor household repairs or while cleaning-up the garage. Too bad it\u2019s so close to Christmas, this would make a great stocking stuffer to introduce someone, young or old, to the world of shortwave.<\/p>\n

Update: Searching for the\u00a0SRW-710S<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note that the lowest prices omit the model number in eBay search results.<\/p>\n

Click this link to search eBay for the\u00a0SRW-710S on eBay.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scroll through search results to find a matching receiver.<\/p>\n

\n

Thank you, Troy, for mini-review of the\u00a0SRW-710S! Like you, I have very low expectations from shortwave portables at this price point. Still…for the glove compartment of your vehicle, for outdoor listening, for small gifts? These fit the bill! I’m most impressed you could receive the number of stations you did from inside your home.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy\u00a0Riedel, for the following guest post: A Mini-Review of the Audiomax SRW-710S by\u00a0Troy Riedel Why would someone want a sub-$20 shortwave radio? Wait \u2026 I guess I should be answering questions & not asking them, right? But I\u2019ll give you my answer to \u201cwhy I want a sub-$20 shortwave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836,3,3196,26,129,43,154],"tags":[5719,5720,965,6208,6209,4581],"class_list":["post-22825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-products","category-news","category-portable-radio","category-radios","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-audiomax-srw-710s","tag-audiomax-srw-710s-review","tag-shortwave-radio-review","tag-tivdio-v-115","tag-tivdio-v-115-review","tag-troy-riedel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5W9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26076,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/tom-reviews-the-tivdio-v-115\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":0},"title":"Tom reviews the Tivdio V-115","author":"Thomas","date":"May 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Stiles, who\u00a0notes that he's recently posted a video review of the Tivdio V-115 on his YouTube channel. He added that the V-115 is an, \"amazing little shortwave radio with many functions including MP3 recording.\" Check out Tom's review via the embedded player or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35034,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/radio-deal-retekess-v115-tivdio-v-115-audiomax-srw-710s\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":1},"title":"Radio Deal: Retekess V115\/Tivdio V-115\/Audiomax SRW-710S","author":"Thomas","date":"December 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Retekess V115 (A.K.A.\u00a0Tivdio V-115 & Audiomax SRW-710S) price has been lowered to\u00a0$19.99 US shipped on Amazon.com. Click here to read our previous reviews of this radio.\u00a0The V-115 makes for a great portable broadcast receiver\/recorder and has very pleasant audio--certainly a benchmark performer in the sub $25 category. It's a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-01-at-5.24.00-AM-1024x382.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-01-at-5.24.00-AM-1024x382.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Screen-Shot-2018-12-01-at-5.24.00-AM-1024x382.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35591,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/tivdio-v-115-audiomax-srw-710s-keith-approves-of-everything-save-battery-performance\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":2},"title":"Tivdio V-115\/Audiomax\u00a0 SRW-710S: Keith approves of everything save battery performance","author":"Thomas","date":"January 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Keith Stephens, who writes: Regarding the Audiomax\u00a0 SRW-710S\u00a0 radio. I was very pleasantly surprised at more than one aspect of this radio.\u00a0 First, it sounds like something with a much larger speaker.\u00a0 It has the base capability of at least a 6\" speaker.\u00a0 My favorite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28334,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/more-positive-reviews-of-the-tivdio-v-115-audiomax-srw-710s\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":3},"title":"More positive reviews of the Tivdio V-115 & Audiomax SRW-710S","author":"Thomas","date":"September 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I received yet another positive comment about the Tivdio V-115 (a.k.a. Audiomax SRW-710S). This little radio is widely available on Amazon\u00a0and\u00a0eBay for around $19.00 - 25.00 US including shipping. \u00a0About as inexpensive as a radio gets.\u00a0Both Troy Riedel and Tom Stiles gave it an overall positive review. Check\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Audiomax-SRW-710S-Midwinter-Broadcast-Field-e1505472496268.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42509,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/martin-is-pleased-with-the-retekess-tivdio-v-115-a-k-a-audiomax-srw-710s\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":4},"title":"Martin is pleased with the Retekess\/Tivdio V-115 (a.k.a. Audiomax SRW-710S)","author":"Thomas","date":"March 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Martin, who shares the following comment: Ok, this comment might be a little bit too late, but what the heck, SW radios are way more too old so. I\u2019m 46 and as a little kid, my first \u201celectronic\u201d device was a National or Panasonic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Tivdio-Audiomax-Voice-of-Greece-9420-1024x633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Tivdio-Audiomax-Voice-of-Greece-9420-1024x633.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Tivdio-Audiomax-Voice-of-Greece-9420-1024x633.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28824,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/dave-reviews-the-tivdio-v-115\/","url_meta":{"origin":22825,"position":5},"title":"Dave reviews the Tivdio V-115","author":"Thomas","date":"October 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who notes that he has published a review of the Tivdio V-115 on his website. Dave's conclusion? This little receiver is a \"Decent Low Cost Pocket Set.\" I would whole-heartedly agree. I mean, this little radio is widely available on\u00a0Amazon\u00a0and\u00a0eBay\u00a0for around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Tivdio-V-115.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}