{"id":60098,"date":"2024-06-30T06:46:12","date_gmt":"2024-06-30T10:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=60098"},"modified":"2024-06-30T06:46:12","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T10:46:12","slug":"checking-out-the-xhdata-d-808","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/checking-out-the-xhdata-d-808\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking out the XHDATA D-808"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Size matters . . . especially when it comes to antennas. In general, the more aluminum or wire you can get up in the air (presuming, of course, that it is properly designed), the more signal you are going to pull in. A radio friend has a 560-foot loop erected on his property, and its performance is, well, impressive.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had my share of high-performance antennas over the years, and I enjoyed them.<\/p>\n

Lately, however, I have yearned for simplicity. So when I encountered the phrase \u201cUltralight DXing\u201d a couple of years ago, it had a kind of magic allure to it.<\/p>\n

At first, I was intrigued: \u201cWhat the heck is that?\u201d I wondered. After poking around on the internet, I discovered that at the heart of ultralight DXing was the notion of having a whole lot of fun trying to hear distant radio stations (usually on the medium wave band) with tiny, shirt-pocket-sized radios.<\/p>\n

Gary DeBock<\/a> got the whole ultralight DXing thing rolling in 2007. He already had deep experience in DXing, having worked 144 countries as a ham radio operator with a 1-2 watt transmitter he had built. That was his apprenticeship in radio propagation. Then in 2007, he wondered if it would be possible, using his skill and knowledge of propagation, to hear Japanese and Korean broadcasters from his home in Washington State using \u2013 wait for it \u2013 a cheap pocket radio: a Sony Walkman SRS 59. At 1 am on an autumn night, he put propagation and operating skill to work and heard a couple of medium-wave stations from Japan and one from Korea.<\/p>\n

In November 2007, he posted his results on the internet and got a lot pushback, the upshot of which was: \u201cHow could you possibly do this?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

To which he replied (in essence), \u201cTry it and see for yourself.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people did<\/em> try for themselves, some with notable success. For example, one DXer from Canada logged 300 stations in 30 days. The idea caught fire, and ultralight DXing was born, concentrating on medium wave stations because there are lots of them to DX. (Ultralight DXers have their own forum, which can be found here: https:\/\/ultralightdx.groups.io\/g\/main<\/a> )<\/p>\n

In the intervening years, ultralight DXers have experimented with exotic antennas and achieved some astonishing results, but for me, the soul of ultralight DXing is simplicity: a tiny radio, a pair of headphones, and a comfortable place to sit.<\/p>\n

In 2021, DeBock published an \u201cUltralight Radio Shootout<\/a>,\u201d and when I encountered it online, I saved it (I\u2019m a bit of a pack rat with interesting files). Earlier this year, I was rummaging through my computer when I rediscovered the Shootout and found that DeBock thought very highly of the XHDATA D-808.<\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s the weird part: strictly speaking, the XHDATA D-808 is not<\/u> an ultralight radio. A radio must be no bigger than 20 cubic inches to be considered an \u201cofficial\u201d ultralight radio. The D-808 is actually around 27 cubic inches.<\/p>\n

Curious, I contacted the XHDATA folks, asking if they would like to send me one for review, which they did, without charge.<\/p>\n

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

The D-808 measures just under 6 inches wide, 3.5 inches high, and 1.25 inches deep and weighs about a half a pound. It receives:\u00a0 FM: 87.5 \u2013 108 (64-108) MHz, LW: 150 \u2013 450 kHz, MW: 522 \u2013 1620 kHz (9k Step) 520 – 1710 kHz (10k step), SW: 1711 \u2013 29999 kHz (including single sideband), and AIR: 118 \u2013 137 MHz. It is powered by an 18650 battery that can be recharged by a USB cable.<\/p>\n

Others have written extensively about the D-808, but my overall verdict is that it is indeed, a neat little radio for listening in general. Because it has a larger internal ferrite rod \u201cloopstick\u201d antenna, it can do a better job of pulling in faint medium wave stations than some of the \u201cofficial\u201d ultralights with smaller internal antennas. In addition, the D-808 has a longer telescoping antenna that makes it easier to hear faint shortwave stations.<\/p>\n

On the face of the D-808 are 24 buttons that control various functions, and they pretty much \u201cwork as advertised.\u201d There is, however, one small issue that some users may find confusing. Just below the orange power button is a circular button marked SSB. Push it, and it engages single-sideband mode and can be used on medium wave as well as shortwave signals. Below that button, in tiny orange letters is an indication: USB\/LSB. It refers to the INFO button below, NOT to the SSB button above. If you press the SSB button, hoping to switch between upper sideband and lower sideband, it will not work, and you will think the radio is broken (I spent several minutes searching the manual, trying find out what was wrong). When SSB is engaged, press the button marked INFO between to switch between sidebands, got it?<\/p>\n

Playing around with the D-808 on a rainy Saturday morning, I found that it is a \u201chot\u201d receiver \u2013 for its size \u2013 on medium wave, shortwave, and FM. Using the UP and DOWN buttons to search for stations, and I found that it would, indeed, find interesting stuff to hear that I could not hear so readily on \u201cofficial\u201d ultralight radios with smaller antennas. It\u2019s a small, fun radio that virtually begs me to find a comfy chair, clap on the headphones, and tune around to see what\u2019s out there.<\/p>\n

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

Having said that, if this were a trip to Santa\u2019s lap, there are a couple of things I would change about the D-808. The first is the soft muting that occurs between tuning steps, which is accompanied by a mechanical \u201cclunk, clunk, clunk\u201d at each step in both the main and fine tuning knobs. It\u2019s like driving down a highway with expansion cracks or tar strips every 20 feet . . . it\u2019s annoying. My personal preference is for smooth, continuous tuning, and, even when a radio has jumps between tuning steps, it is possible to deliver a smooth, \u201cclunkless\u201d tuning experience such as in the CCrane EP-PRO or the Tecsun PL-880. You can, however, get around the clunking by directly entering the frequency you want using the keypad (be sure to press the FREQ button first) or by using the UP and DOWN seek buttons to search for stations . . . the radio simply quiets itself until it find the next signal. Second, while the D-808 seems to just sip power from the 18650 battery, I prefer portable radios that are powered by AA batteries, since they are so readily available in so many places. In the grand scheme of things, that is a relatively minor consideration.<\/p>\n

Bottom line: the D-808 packs a whole lot of fun and pleasing performance into a package that can be slipped into a jacket pocket. Even more important, it delivers the simplicity of an ultralight: a radio I can grab, kick back in an easy chair, slide on the headphones, and tune around for a bit of radio fun, and I can heartily recommend it.<\/p>\n

Check out the XHDATA D-808 at XHDATA.<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the D-808 at Amazon.com (affiliate link).<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Size matters . . . especially when it comes to antennas. In general, the more aluminum or wire you can get up in the air (presuming, of course, that it is properly designed), the more signal you are going to pull in. A radio friend has a 560-foot loop erected on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_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":[373,3781,3194,433,3,26,129,43],"tags":[9323,4086,9399,6619,6742],"class_list":["post-60098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-fm","category-guest-posts","category-mediumwave","category-news","category-radios","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-sihuadon-d-808","tag-xhdata-d-808","tag-xhdata-d-808-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-fDk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62440,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/radio-deals-the-xhdata-d-808-and-d-220-via-prime-spring-sale\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":0},"title":"[Updated] Radio Deals: The XHDATA D-808 and D-220 via Prime Spring Sale","author":"Thomas","date":"March 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Please note that two excellent shortwave portables are on sale during Amazon\u2019s Prime Spring Sale: XHDATA D-220 ($9.95 on sale) \u2014 A compact, ultra-affordable pocket radio. XHDATA D-808 ($87.55 on sale) \u2014 A feature-packed portable with SSB, air band, and great performance. The D-808 remains a favorite among SWLing Post\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\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Angle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Angle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Angle.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Angle.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30382,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/comparing-the-xhdata-d-808-digitech-ar-1780-and-tecun-pl-660-on-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":1},"title":"Comparing the XHDATA D-808, Digitech AR-1780 and Tecun PL-660 on shortwave","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On Friday, I managed to set aside an hour to finally do a video comparison of the Digitech AR-1780 and the new XHDATA D-808. I placed a table in my driveway, far away from any source of RFI, and set up the radios in identical configurations: same orientation, antennas fully-extended,\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\/XHDATA-D-808-Digitech-AR-1780-side-by-side-1024x613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/XHDATA-D-808-Digitech-AR-1780-side-by-side-1024x613.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/XHDATA-D-808-Digitech-AR-1780-side-by-side-1024x613.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30142,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/xhdata-d-808-and-digitech-ar-1780-comparing-size-and-appearance\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":2},"title":"XHDATA D-808 and Digitech AR-1780: Comparing size and appearance","author":"Thomas","date":"January 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Tuesday evening, I received my long-awaited XHDATA D-808 from AliExpress via the postal service. Yesterday morning, I unboxed it and started charging the included 18650 Li-Ion cell. I haven't properly put it on the air yet but if you're interested in some initial reports, check out these previous posts. Dimensions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/D-808-AR-1780-Keypad.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32493,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/gary-pulls-apart-and-examines-the-xhdata-d-808\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":3},"title":"Gary pulls apart and examines the XHDATA D-808","author":"Thomas","date":"May 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Gary DeBock, who shares the following report of the XHDATA D-808: XHDATA D-808 AM-LW-FM-SW-AIR Portable- Tech Report by Gary DeBock The XHDATA D-808 portable is an AM-LW-FM-SW-SSB-AIR band model which has already been the subject of many excellent reviews. Until recently the model was not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/XHDATA-D-808-Chip.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/XHDATA-D-808-Chip.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/XHDATA-D-808-Chip.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/XHDATA-D-808-Chip.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30054,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/xhdata-d-808-modification-to-allow-an-external-mediumwave-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":4},"title":"XHDATA D-808 modification to allow an external mediumwave antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"January 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Rolf Snijder, who writes: I have added an external antenna capability for mediumwave on the XHData D-808. Simply add a 27 pF capacitor on the backside of the PCB on C10 to the the ferrite antenna. The mod causes no loss on FM or shortwave! I also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/XHdata-D808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30754,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/xhdata-d-808-using-an-external-longwire-antenna-for-mw\/","url_meta":{"origin":60098,"position":5},"title":"XHDATA D-808: using an external longwire antenna for MW","author":"Thomas","date":"February 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mad Radio DXer, who writes: I want to bring to the attention of your readers & fellow XHDATA D-808 owners that it can accept an external antenna on MW without the need for any modifications. This I found out during a DXpedition to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Panel-1024x686.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Panel-1024x686.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/XHDATA-D-808-Front-Panel-1024x686.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60098","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\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60098"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60111,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60098\/revisions\/60111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}