Best budget radio for 2023? Full review of the XHDATA D-219
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
- Welcome to my review of the XHDATA D-219 radio! I think this is the radio that will open up the world of shortwave listening to a whole new generation of listeners. It is very inexpensive, but very effective!
This review is long and detailed, you can jump to the section that interests you! The first part is the general review, followed by scans of the FM, SW and MW bands. The video ends with an explanation of my giveaway. I gave away two of these radios to my subscribers, one to a subscriber in South Africa and one to a subscriber anywhere else in the world. See the giveaway draw rules below. The draw ended on 5 March 2023 and winners have been announced already.
In this review, I'll be sharing my personal experience with the radio and why I think it is such a great little budget radio. I am very impressed by its sound and performance, it does very well on both shortwave and medium wave. I think it is perfect for anyone who would like to start off with shortwave listening, and also useful to experienced DXers. Because of its low price and the use of two AA batteries, this is the kind of radio you can take anywhere, anytime.
00:00 Introduction
00:25 The radio for everyone, cheap and good!
00:42 Where to buy
08:26 Comparing size to Retekess V115 and Tecsun R9012
11:18 My verdict
13:34 FM band scan
15:47 Loud sound from 3W speaker
17:38 SW band scan
23:45 WWVH (or it might be BPM from China)
25:09 Radio Exterior de España
28:23 Voice of Korea form North Korea
31:20 MW band scan
35:27 Voice of America on AM from São Tomé and Príncipe, 3000 miles away
36:52 Lucky draw to win one of these
XHDATA D-219 giveaway draw rules - NOTE: THIS DRAW HAS ENDED
Eligibility: This giveaway is open to subscribers of the channel who are 18 years or older. Unfortunately, due to US sanctions and CZcams rules, I cannot accept entries from residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, or Crimea. I am sorry about this, but it is a CZcams rule.
Entry: To enter, participants must comment below the video with a few words about what they like or dislike about the channel. Only one entry per subscriber is allowed. Participants must be subscribers to the channel to be eligible to win.
Deadline: The last day to take part is 5 March 2023, cut-off time is 23:55 UTC. Any entries submitted after this time will not be considered.
Winners: Two winners will be chosen in a random draw. One winner will be selected from the pool of subscribers in South Africa, while the other will be chosen from the rest of the world. The winners will be contacted by email or social media messaging within 3 business days after the draw. The winners must respond within 7 days to claim their prize. If a winner does not respond within this timeframe, a new winner will be chosen.
Prize: The prize for this giveaway is two XHDATA D-219 radios, one for the winner from South Africa and one for the winner from the rest of the world. The prize is non-transferable, and no cash or other alternatives will be offered.
General: This giveaway is subject to CZcams's Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. The giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with CZcams. By participating in this giveaway, you agree to these rules and all decisions made by the organizers regarding the giveaway. - Zábava
The results of my draw for the XHDATA D-219! are out, so the draw entries have now closed. I used a random name picker wheel, so I had absolutely no say into who won, I entered all the names of those who entered and then spun the wheel! You will see the results in the short video, first group of names are the subscribers outside South Africa, second group are the subscribers inside South Africa. Watch here: czcams.com/video/WB5aipuKkck/video.html
Can the two winners please send me an email to andre9@duck.com, then I will get in touch and we can make arrangements for delivery! I am sorry only two subscribers could win, I have only two sets to give away. But keep watching my channel, I will have more draws like this in future!
🌟
Appreciate the thorough demonstration! I ordered one recently because I wanted a cheap FM radio and it was around $8 USD. But I like to tinker and explore so I'll dip my toes into SW and this helped give me an idea of how to use it.
I hope you will have lots of fun with SW. This radio is a great introduction to SW listening, it is very easy to use and it is very good, you should be able to hear very many stations on SW.
Hello from Chicago- I just got one a few days ago.
They came out with a US version with 10k stepping and was just $10... wow
I really like using it
Great gift for kids to get into shortwave
Thanks for your comment and hello from Johannesburg! I agree with you, I think this is the perfect little radio to get kids into shortwave! I am glad to hear that you enjoy using this radio.
What I like about the SWL channel: thorough, thoughtful reviews of equipment, mentioning both positives and drawbacks. The reviews are easy to understand, without jargon. Often, the stations you pick up are signals I wouldn't typically hear on the west coast of North America, which is cool.
Thank you for this!
I like your channel, not often you hear a review that's worth more than the item reviewed, particularly radios!
Thank you for your very nice comment!
I enjoy your presentations a lot because you don’t overly-complicate the detail and I see what I need to see rather quickly. I appreciate all of your hard work. Thank you.
Thank you very much Larry, I appreciate your comment!
Thank you, SWL, for your great tutorial video in reference to the new XHDATA D-219 as it seems to be a rather sensitive SW receiver for such a low price indeed! I like the very detailed radio info. that you provide as you are very professional. Thank you...
Glad it was helpful! I hope you will enjoy my upcoming reviews also. The next one will be the XHDATA D-109, just waiting for the radio to arrive.
Your commentary has a nice professional sound. Your voice is smooth, while you give great in site into the the radio your showing and good video of the radio. Your videos are enjoyable and informative. I am glad I discovered you.
Thank you so much for your nice comment! I really appreciate that. I hope you will keep enjoying my channel :-)
I'm a General licensed HAM, KM4 VGO, and I tried this one, and loved it so much I bought 6 more to give away. I get them for less than $10 USD on Amazon !!! I twist a 22 ft long speaker wire on to the antenna and get much better reception and more stations. I like especially the analog type dial, more than the digital read-out. I can spin the knob fast, and it only takes me a few minutes to cover all the bands! The little speaker sounds amazingly good for this price. I expected a tinny or hollow sound , but was pleasantly surprised by it. I agree that this radio seems like the quality of a radio 4-5 times the low price. The biggest thing is that I can buy several, keep them laying around, and have fun picking one up and listening. It's FUN again !
Thank you so much for your comment! I couldn't agree with you more, as simple as it is, the little D-219 is just great fun. I do exactly what you do, I use it to scan through all the bands quickly, then I have a very good idea of what the band conditions are like. I also use it often as a little travel radio because it is so small, but the sound is good. So I use it as an FM radio also, when I am travelling. I love radio, so I listen to FM quite a lot also. I have also had very good SW catches on this one with a wire, I use a 27 feet wire, works well. Some small radios don't cope very well with external antennas at all, but this one copes really well, you get some good catches with a wire on the D-219.
Have you tried putting two radios together to demodulate SSB using the AM tuning method?
@@airwolf1987 Actually I haven't, but I know it can be done. Have you tried it?
@@swlistening not yet but would be worth it.
@@airwolf1987 Just thinking aloud now, would this work with DSP-based radios, or does it only work with full analogues? As I said, not something I have tried yet, so I have no idea how well it works or even exactly how it works.
Je trouve que vous êtes très clair, calme et concis dans vos commentaires et c'est ce que j'apprécie.
De plus vous testez beaucoup de modèles très différents et surprenants pour certains, et çà aussi c'est très très 👍.
Merci beaucoup pour tout
Claude MOREAU of France 🇫🇷
Bonjour Claude, merci beaucoup pour votre gentil commentaire, j'apprécie vraiment. J'essaie de tester une grande variété de radios. Tout le monde ne peut pas acheter une radio à 150 $, et la vérité est qu’il existe de très bonnes radios disponibles à de très bons prix. J'en ai également testé de très mauvais :-) Je suis très heureux si mes tests sont utiles.
Salutations d'Afrique du Sud!
Very nice detailed review! This is what I really like on your channel.
Thank you!
I like the price and the fact it works for that price! Nice job on the video well done 👍
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the amazing review. Although I don't know your language, I enjoyed watching the video with the translation. I love radios of this kind. I have xhdata d-368 and I like it.
I am glad you enjoyed my review, thank you! I think this one is quite similar to the D-368, just without the SD card function.
@@swlistening Yes, I completely agree with you, they are similar.
I think you make great review content for radio lovers just like me . Thanks for the reviewing this radio , i am want to buy this radio because i don't have a good SW radio .
From :- India , Uttar Pardesh.
Cool, thanks!
Just got one and for the money it is a really good radio and I got mine from Amazon and got free shipping.
I couldn't agree more, what you get for the money is really astonishing.
Excellent channel. I signed up because I like your reviews to be clear, without complicated jargon and very explanatory. Greetings from Brazil.
Welcome aboard and thank your for your comments!
What I like about your channel is you speak clearly, very well setup for your video. You're well organized prior to upload. Most important to me is you are the top level choice for someone new to shortwave.
Good luck with your draw. Have fun for everyone else. Enjoy the hobby.
I am Canadian, FedEx among others deliver across Canada 🇨🇦.
Good luck to everyone!!
I appreciate that, thank you so much for your comments!
I'm in Alberta, does the 9khz am MW steps work in Canada?
What do l like about SWL channel ? Short videos about picking up signals from thousands of miles away.. looking forward to the D-109 upcoming review.
Great, thank you for your comment! I am really looking forward to the D-109 myself!
Brilliant seus comentários parabéns tenho um deste rádio vou comprar mas 2 parabéns
Eu tenho três desses rádios :-)
thank you so much SWL, as someone just starting out in shortwave radio i felt swamped by the choice of radio. ive watched a lot of youtube shows and was thinking of spending £180 but you have sold the xhdata to me and at a fraction of the cost of what i was thinking, if i dont take to the hobby then ive lost next to nothing so thanks again SWL.
Thank you so much for your comment and I am glad I could help! I really think this radio is perfect for newcomers. Use it, play around, explore, see if you enjoy the hobby. Then, if you enjoy it, think about getting something a little better! But even then I don't think you need a £180 radio. There are terrific receivers that cost half that. The XHDATA D-808, Tecsun PL-368 and XHDATA D-109 are some good options.
Just subscribed. From the videos I’ve seen I like the thoroughness of your reviews. I also like how you’ve bookmarked the chapters in so that you can easily skip to the relevant part that you’re interested in. These little radios look great and it’s well worth having one in a collection
Welcome aboard and thank you for your comments! Appreciated!
SWL . I brought home a Sears Silvertone. Floor model radio. And new tubed it. Some 60 years ago. And started collecting them I will add this one to my stable. Tks
That Sears sounds like a great radio! Twice recently I put in some bids on vintage radios in online auctions, one was an old Grundig Satellite, not sure about the model now. But in both cases I was outbid in the last seconds...
@@swlistening the model was made in 1947. And bore 12 tubes. With a 12" speaker
Thanks mate, just bought myself one for the same price as you : ). I think it will be a great radio to take around on hikes.
Sure! Perfect radio for hikes 🥾🎒
100% best
Thanks!
Ordered one I'll let you know how it works😁✌️
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Hi, thank you very much for your reviews and channel. I like the way you expose everything, clear, direct and independently, as every tester must to! I also run my own channel but in Spanish. 73 de Jorge from Spain.
Gracias Jorge! I subscribed to your channel! It is always interesting to see the different stations people receive at different locations.
Hi from UK just found your channel, thanks for this video review on this radio very informative and I have just ordered one to try, cost 8.48 GBP / 199.27 ZAR with free shipping, look forward to watching more of your video reviews.
Hi there Peter, thank you so much for your comment! You can't go wrong with the D-219. At the price, it is very hard to beat. It performs better than some radios that are two or three times the price.
Muito top seu canal gostei muito ótimo conteúdo parabéns…
Olá José, muito obrigado pelo seu comentário! Fico muito feliz que você goste do conteúdo!
Fiquei tão empolgado com a clareza de informações que neste momento acabei de comprar este rádio no eBay aqui em Londres paguei 15 libras o seus vídeos são top parabéns…
Espero que você fique feliz com o rádio. Eu acho que realmente oferece muito, a um preço muito bom.
This radio is amazing, I love it ❤
I agree, it is a really surprising radio. Great performer!
You provide a very good review and have a nice voice.I also find your chapters quite nice
Great work!! It is interesting to hear the stations that in the states would be very hard to receive
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed my video!
Good radio
I agree, this little radio is great, at such a low price!
I like both but I highly recommend the XHDATA...it has fair reception on AM, good on FM and great on SW...love it!
Thank you for your comment! I agree, Iike the XHDATA D-219 also!
Easy to understand videos. Love em
Glad to hear it! Thank you for your comment!
I've been looking for an inexpensive SW radio, so I very much like the information on the channel. Very laid back, but informative.
Incidentally, I ordered one last night from the XHDATA web site, and this morning, the radio is listed as out-of-stock. I guess I got the last one. I'm sure they'll restock at some point, but perhaps not at the low price.
Great to hear! Thank you for your comment!
Yes, indeed! I also had a look at the site yesterday and noticed that they were out of stock. I think they underestimated how popular this little radio would be!
With the encouragement of the radio community, especially yours, I bought a D-219 in silver. When I found out that I could get a 10hz AM step version for my area I ordered immediately. I paid $9.90 free shipping on Amazon here in USA. Everything you say about it is true. I don't really hold back much on buying radios. I have many cheaper and very expensive radio. The D-219 is already one of my favorites. It is so small and easy to band scan while still providing strong volume, clarity, and intelligibility of a signal. Love the way it strongly locks onto a signal. I always have confidence that it will find anything being broadcast my way and more. A surprisingly good program listener for such a small radio. This little radio makes me want to keep listening. Then you have the 2 AA batteries and great battery life. It is a great SW radio to give a beginner.
Thank you so much for your comment! I am very glad that you are enjoying the D-219 so much. I couldn't agree more, I think this little radio is a real marvel. It does all the things you say very well. I think it can be a really great travelling companion, but can also be used for more serious DXing. The only small addition I would like to see is a digital frequency display :-)
@swlistening Agree a digital frequency display while still keeping the analog dial would be so great to have. Would definitely pay the extra cost. Would also like that digital display to toggle with a UTC clock. And being able to read the frequency counter/utc clock in the dark. Keep radio same size. Basically everything else same.
@@snowpuppy77 That would make a perfect little radio!
So glad you posted this. I ordered this radio last week and waiting for it to come in. I found a couple other reviews before I made the purchase but didn't find one this detailed.
Glad I could help! I hope you will enjoy some of the other videos on my channel also 😀
@@swlistening thank you for the reply. I just subscribed so that I can catch some of the other videos. Take care.
@@Caije Thanks!
@@swlistening The radio came in yesterday. When it came in I fired it up and the AM reception was great! I am in the south east United States and last night around 22:00 local time I was actually able to tune in quite a few SW stations, one of which was European. For my first SW radio, I am very please.
@@Caije So glad you like it! It does surprisingly well for such an inexpensive radio.
The latest version has AM band out to 1710!
Hi Steve, that's great news for people in North America, as the latest version also works in 10 kHz steps on MW.
I love it!
Thanks!
South Africa: great to hear about "obscure" radios, and ALL the frequencies that are located. This radio is surprisingly good! Would appreciate more technical information about each scan - time, antenna, SNR, any other settings, etc. Thanks for your efforts.
Thanks for this Johan, I do try to mention time and antenna used when I post videos of single frequency catches, but I think I don't do it for all my videos. I will make sure that I always mention these technical aspects, thanks for the suggestion.
This is a neat little radio. I’m considering buying one. Otherwise I wouldn’t mind being in the drawing to receive one. Thank you for your review of this receiver. I don’t listen much to the FM but it has the FM expansion. Our FM may soon be extended downward.
Thanks! I'll add your name to the draw, good luck!
I prefer tuning on Analog radios except for F.M which D.S.P. improves ease of tuning.Thanks for review and forum following!
My pleasure Vahan. I do enjoy the analogue tuning with DSP processing also, but I miss a digital display sometimes, just to be 100% sure of the frequency you are on.
That was a really thorough test. This receiver is truly impressive, and at an unbelievable (current) price.
I find the AM/MW is not bad in the US, despite the 9khz tuning. I'm not sure if this is because stations tend to have a wide enough radio footprint that I can pick it up on either side?
But I can definitely recommend this radio to US/NA radio listeners.
And I already have one, so I don't want to participate in your giveaway. But of course I AM a subscriber.
Thanks
Thank you for this, I am glad to hear it does work in the Americas on MW!
Hi, the 10K version is now available in the US, apparently at Walmart
@@Klassenfeind I ordered my 10k version directly from XHDATA.
Excelente vídeo, muito bem explicado e com ótimo teste de recepção! Sou Brasileiro, gostei bastante do rádio, com excelente custo.
Obrigado!
My regular shortwave radio weighs a ton and has a bunch of tubes in it as it is antique. This small radio is much easier to use :) and I love the ear jack so I can attach it to speakers.
I agree! It's a fun little radio, small, lightweight and it works very well!
I just ordered the 10k version from amazon for under $10
Great buy! I hope you will enjoy it, this is a wonderful little radio. So small and so inexpensive, yet really good.
I subbed because it's always nice to see how the DX looks like in a different part of the world (I'm from Poland). Surprised to see some reviews, including this one, which I enjoyed with pleasure :)
BTW I think your 10000 kHz station is actually BPM in China. They do use a similar format with low-pitched tones & clock ticks to WWV & WWVH, but the key difference is a CW ID followed by voice announcement in Chinese, all 29 & 59 minutes past each hour. So please do look for them :)
Thanks for subscribing Arnie and thanks for pointing out that it might be BPM. I have picked them up before, so I think you might be right, this is probably BPM and not WWVH. I agree with you, it is really interesting to see what different people receive at different locations around the world. I subscribed to your channel also.
@@swlistening thank you for a sub 😊I must admit I'm really lazy uploading stuff to my own channel, but I promise I'll change that! 😼 So do enjoy ;)
I was looking for the reviews for this model and viola a new review is up.
Thanks
From Delhi, India
Edit: Wasn't aware of the giveaway, well there was nothing to dislike about the video because it was very well explained with all the technicalities so it cleared all my doubts about it. That's all! Thanks!
Available in Amazon india 🇮🇳 you may order
Gald I could help!
What I like - your simple , lucid style and your friendly and humble voice . What I didn't like -- hmm...this is tough cause you have such a friendly voice and your oresentation was so concise. Maybe you should say something aboit the features the radio ought to have and doesn't have it .
Thank you, I really appreciate your comments!
Thank you for the excellent review! I will be following your channel closely. I want to purchase this radio as I have never owned a SW radio but I'm in the US and the 9 kHz for MW is holding me back. Can you recommend a budget SW radio with 10 kHz for MW that is comparable to this radio?
The Tecsun R9012 is good, it is analogue so I think it will work in the US also, no digital 10 kHz steps. But many people in the US have said that they do use the D-219 there and that it works well on AM. It's a great radio!
You know mate I have the same Tecsun that you have and after watvhing this video I 'd say this radio is quite a bit suoerior to Tecsun.
I agree with you, I think it is better than the R9012.
Thank you for this video. Glad I discovered your channel. When you went through the SW bands, were you using a wire clipped to the whip antenna?
Thank you for your comment George! I did not use a wire, this radio does not work well when using a long wire, it overloads. But a short wire, under 10 feet or 3 metres, works well. However, it works really well anyway with just the whip antenna!
I would like to enter the draw for South Africa. Your content is great, useful and informative. I have not seen a person that does these reviews of radios available in our country. This is one of the best channels as it has helped decide what to do for dxing and how to do it. My mates now do DXing thanks to you. Many thanks Andre. From Deniz
Edit:Fixed a spelling mistake.
Great, thank you for the feedback Deniz, I am so happy that your friends are also DXers now. It is a fun hobby! Good luck with the draw!
@@swlistening Just curious, but when will you do the draw?
@@FamtechVideos I will do it on Monday 6 March.
@@swlistening Ok thanks.
@@swlistening Has there been any draw results? Sorry if I am annoying you. I have never entered a draw before.
Roland type power adaptor with inverted polarity....important to mention.
Indeed, I did not mention this. I don't plan to use a power adaptor with this one, so I neglected this aspect. As you say, it is important to know, thanks for pointing it out.
Perhaps the most comprehensive review of shortwave radios in CZcams. #Ubuntu. #India.
Thank you so much for this, I really appreciate it!
why #ubuntu this has nothing to do with Ubuntu
Hola,me gusta mucho su canal y aprecio mucho su opinión.Compré esta radio en Amazon y mi experiencia ha sido muy negativa,decepcionante.Vivo en una zona con muy buena recepción en la sierra de Madrid, España y tengo varias radios de onda corta pero con esta radio sólo recibía ruido y emisoras de FM en onda corta.
En FM su sensibilidad también era mala e incapaz de recibir emisoras que otras radios económicas sí recibían.No sé si es un problema de mi unidad y está defectuosa pero ya la he devuelto.Saludos.
¡Muchas gracias por su comentario! Que lástima escuchar su experiencia con el D-219, creo que tal vez sea como dices, la versión que recibiste puede estar defectuosa. Es una lástima, porque mi experiencia con esta radio ha sido realmente buena, no hay ningún avance con la FM en onda corta.
Its nice to know the cost of a radio before getting too interested
Indeed, and when you know that a really inexpensive radio actually works, it is even nicer :-)
You can buy the radio here: xhdata.com.cn/products/2022-new-product-xhdata-d-219-fm-am-sw-11-bands-portable-radio-receiver-will-be-officially-sold-on-november-28?variant=44185979027774
It's certainly a lot of radio for the price. I paid $11.38 on sale from the XHDATA website shipped to the US, but it has a a couple of shortcomings. First the AM channel spacing is fixed at 9 kHz which makes for irregular and awkward turning on MW in the Western Hemisphere. I also found the sound tinny and unpleasant on shortwave -- but as you say, it is loud.
I find the sound quite OK and quite clear, easy to identify stations. But, I agree it is not in the class of the Tecsun ICR-110 or other much more expensive radios. Someone else commented here that they use this in the US on AM and that he does find stations, but as I pointed out in my review, I cannot really comment on that because I am not in the US. So I need to rely on people in the US to comment on AM use. Thank you for your comment about that!
@@swlistening The radio is certainly usable on AM in the 10kHz side of the world, but one will hear the station and then tune and hear it again, presumably when the frequency splits 2 9kHz channels. It's annoying when you're counting the number of stations you can receive doing radio comparisons.
@@StratmanII Yes, I learned about that, and I bought one. I donated the old one to Good Will.
Hi, thanks for the great review. If you had to choose only one between this XHDATA D219 and Tecsun R9012, which one would you choose? Thanks
I would choose this one. I do like the Tecsun R9012, it is so nice that the R9012 is real analogue. But this one, in my opinion, is more sensitive on both SW and AM.
@@swlistening Thank you!
These little cheap radios are often overlooked. This has a reason: there are really bad ones, usually those that have unstable reception in a way that the signal drifts when you pick the radio up or even get close to it. This one however seems very stable indeed. For the money it is a little gem. I use these radios for quickly checking if it is worth going upstairs where my shack is. Conditions vary during the day and seasons. Some bands might be useless, some are open and have a lot of activity. On medium wave the radio is very sensitive. I mean, if it can pick up Magic 828 where you are near Johannisburg and realising the station uses only 20kWs it is quite impressive for such a small radio. However, while I was in Capetown in 2017 and 2019 , I noticed quite a difference if it comes to propagation conditions between Europe and South-Africa on MW. And this has got nothing to do with the crowded AM band in Europe. It seems the soil in South-Africa is the reason (more conductive ?) for that or maybe the differences in the stability of the atmosphere that make it possible to cover a wider range on medium wave, judging by the relatively low fading of the signals at night, no matter what frequency a station transmits on. Remarkable. I remember receiving Lesotho on 891kHz at night coming in weak but listenable, only during the dark hours by the way. Heard some great South-African songs and artists like Bucy. Greetings from Willem, Hekelingen, Holland.
Thank you Willem, I couldn't agree with you more! There are some really terrible cheap radios, and then there are some excellent ones. The thing is just to find the excellent ones among the bad ones. I hope my channel helps a bit with that :-) I do exactly the same as you, I use my small analog-type radios (like the D-219) or analog radios (like the Tecsun R9012 or the tiny Tecsun R808) to quickly scan the bands to see how conditions are, then I use the more elaborate radios for my DXing. It is very interesting what you say about the MW conditions in South Africa, I have been wondering about that because I seem to pick up many very interesting and very distant MW signals quite often. Egypt, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Spain, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Oman and many others have all come through, sometimes very clearly. And I only use the AN-200 loop antenna.
@@swlistening That passive loop is not to be underestimated. On my Tecsun PL-880’s medium wave is deaf, no arguing that, simply deaf. Maybe they’ve done that for a reason, don’t know. What I do is placing the radio together with the AN-100/200 on a small plastic turntable. Such little turntables (I believe they are called “Lazy Susans” in the English language) do wonders. For the newbees, a loop antenna is very directional. In the case of both of my PL-880’s medium wave comes to live and transforms the radios into true long distance receivers. All the possibilities the radio offers can be used such as selectable bandwith and switchable sensitivity, very important at night. However, do not assume that those loops will do any good to a bad radio. Things sometimes even get worse.
@@leyland9999 I really love my AN-200 loop. Just like you, I find that it brings in so many faraway signals! I am interested to see that you say it is highly directional, I actually did not know that. Mine is always facing the same direction. I'm going to start moving it around now and see what happens, thanks for the tip!
@@swlistening This is one of the main advantages of any loop antenne, active or not. What’s more, they are more sensitive for the magnetic part of the wave so the electrical part of the signal is surpressed. Just what we want to avoid man made noise as much as possible. And over here in Europe where we still have stations on the same frequency so you can null out the unwanted station. That is, if the interfering station comes from the same or the opposite direction, you won’t have that benefit. Vertical antennas are omni directional.
Surprisingly good performance from such a budget priced piece of kit. A random long wire might make it even more capable. I'm curious to see what is inside it, and if it would be hackable to some different frequencies. I guess I'll need to pick one up and take a look. Hopefully its not just an epoxy blob on a circuit board, or a nameless chip.
I am also curious about what is inside, I plan to open one up. I will record it. I also plan to make some videos while using a wire, I have a 7 metre, 23 feet wire that I use sometimes.
@@swlistening I've subscribed, and I'm looking forward to that. If I was going to take a wild guess I would think that the Si4735 DSP chip would be a good bet, but I'll just have to wait and see.
@@AndyHullMcPenguin I think you are probably spot on.
@@swlistening If so, it will be interesting to see if we can access the pins on it, and what filtering, support circuitry and so forth is on the board.
@@AndyHullMcPenguin I am not really technically inclined, but once I open it up and you see the inside, you will be able to judge for yourself. I'll try to do it this coming weekend, I am away from home at the moment. I have the radio with me but no tools.
Is the 31m and 25m band scan with the whip antenna?
Whip antenna only. This radio overloads if you use a wire that is too long, so I usually only use the whip antenna, which works very well.
Hi Andre, I think you need to make an update on this video. There is a 10khz step version of the D219 in the United States, but you can order one, and add in the notes to give the 10khz step version from China.
I don't think I will order a 10 kHz version also, I will not use that so much. But I have seen quite a number of videos from people in the US reviewing the 10 kHz version and they all seem to be very happy with it.
@@swlistening Add an info card in the video to one of these reviews, Todderbert has done a good job on it, like you did with the 9khz version.
Thiscradio looks better than the Tecsun , the tuning needle with my poor eyes is at times hard to see. In the old days thevtuning needle used to be bright red , blue and even green which created contrast with the tuning dial which were usually white or yellow and even silvery. The new radios can either have flouroscent red , blue or green and could even be a thin LED ehich light up at the press of a button.
It is true, the tuning needle on this one does seem to be quite easy to see. There seems to be a little red light at the bottom of the tuning needle.
@@UKRO404 There is actually a tiny red light at the bottom of the tuning needle on the D-219, it moves along with the needle as you tune. It's not very bright though. The other red light on the front of the radio indicates that the power is on, yes. This is where the R9012 is better, it does have a light that lights up when you tune in to a station.
@@UKRO404 I will take you suggestion to heart about comparing the two radios side by side, I will do that, thanks for the suggestion!
Hello sir,
Can you please also tell us/me whether the low FM band works properly?
( I use 84 to 87 MHz WFM )
Healthy and Friendly Greetings from the Netherlands!
Rob
Hi Rob, thank you for your question. I cannot comment on anything below 87 MHz, I don't have any signals below 87 MHz at my location. But I pick up signals on 87.8, 87.9, 88 and 88.1, all very clearly.
Tecsun still uses old components, signal reception is less sensitive. Tuning is still slow. Meanwhile, xhdata already uses smd components and the system is dsp. Xhdata is much better and very sensitive.
You are right, the D-219 uses a DSP chip, so it is quite sensitive. It is a nice radio.
I like original analog radio. Because it has its own satisfaction.
Morning Andre. Just curious, I saw that the Tecsun PL-368 is expensive. I'm actually looking for a really portable radio with great reception on shortwave and mediumwave. I have also started to get into longwave dxing. Now, this XHDATA shown in this video is perfect, but do you know a great, cheap receiver with the same bands as the XHDATA, but with longwave too, great for dxing on medium wave and shortwave?
Have you been able to pick up anything on LW yet? I have tried many times with the Tecsun PL-368 and the XHDATA D-808, but no luck so far, except one time when I picked up a beacon somewhere in the Western Cape. But none of the broadcast stations yet. Anyway, there is a brand new radio from XHDATA, the D-109, it has LW, MW, SW and FM. It was released just last week, the promotional price at the moment is just $30, until 26 February. regular price is $50. I ordered one of these, shipping to South Africa was $13, so total price of $43 (just under R800). I think it will be a nice radio, it also has Bluetooth and can play SD cards. I am just waiting for the radio to arrive, then I will test it also. There is nothing else that I know of in that price range. You can buy it here: xhdata.com.cn/products/2023-new-xhdata-d-109?variant=44520177697086
@@swlistening That is very nice. I picked up Radio Algiers last weekend. Thanks for the suggestion and I will wait until your review is published. R800 is okay. My Sony from 1972 costed me R1350.
@@FamtechVideos I have been trying to pick up Radio Algiers for a while! What time did you pick it up?
@@swlistening I forgot to log it in my logbook, but it was around 2-3 am SAST.
@@FamtechVideos Thanks, maybe I should stay up until that time and try it also 🙂
I would like you to do disassemble videos of famous portable radios
Rafique from uzbikstan
Thank you for this suggestion, I will consider it. I have disassembled some radios that I bought here in South Africa and some of the cheaper Tecsuns, for fun. I will make some videos next time!
@@swlistening try for some retro transistors radios like Panasonic or Sony
@@remopkr198 I would love to do that, I always keep my eyes open for these, but haven't found any yet. I keep checking online classifieds and flea markets, I will continue to do that until I find something!
Brasil tenho um❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Do you think that any chinese copy that looks exactly like this one is worth it? (They are way cheaper)
This radio is so inexpensive already, I would rather buy the real one from XHDATA directly. That way you will know that you will get a good radio. I don't trust copy radios.
Je m abonne votre chaîne est intéressante j’habite en France et j’ai récemment acheté un 808
Denis, merci de vous être abonné! J'apprécie vraiment mon D-808, je pense que c'est une très bonne radio. J'espère que vous apprécierez ma chaîne ! J'ai utilisé Google pour traduire ceci :-)
@@swlistening j’ai fait une carrière militaire dans les transmissions voilà pourquoi les radios m’intéressent
How good is D368 for SW reception? In comparison with D219
Hi Syed, the D-368 is very good. I think the D-219 and D-368 might actually be quite similar inside, they probably use the same DSP chip. I recently received a D-368 and will be uploading a full review in the coming weeks, I will also do a comparison then between the D-219 and the D-368.
@@swlistening
I will wait for this comparison. Actually some of the youtubers reviewed about d368 that it's reception is not as good as of d219.
@@syedpak9549 OK, I will do my review as soon as possible, I am also quite curious to see how the D-368 compares to the D-219. So far, as I said before, it seems to be about the same, but I haven't done a direct comparison yet.
Shortwave radio can regain its glory of the past if the radio stations which are dead now come back to life again. I live in India and most of the shorrwave bands are jammed by Radio China transmitting their Chinese prooaganda garbage. Few nights ago I even received Radio Vhina on MW and it was loud and clear. I am 58 now and back in the days I used to receive Voice of America ,BBC which I still receive but the reception is erratic , Radio Australia ( was my favourite for the music and request shows ) ,Radio Netherlands , Radio Moscow and many other radio stations from Europe , U.S.A , South America and from the African continent and all now one gets is Radio China drowning other radio stations . Maybe USA vould install very powerfull transmitters and others can do the same too.
I also enjoyed all the stations you mention, in the late 1980s, there were many stations available at that time. I am a bit lucky I think, because we still get many signals in Africa. I pick up the Chinese signals, yes, but I also pick up many others. VOA, Radio Exterior de España, Radio France International, BBC, Radio România International, Radio Thailand, Voice of Korea and many others.
Hi bro check xhdata d368, it has same band panel like d219, performance little bit better than d219 and d368 sound very fruity and thicker, plz compare these two👍
Thanks for this, I am sorry, I just saw your comment now. Thank you for the suggestion, I will see if I can do a comparison.
I have one ordered. Wondering if it will work with rechargable NiMH batteries - I have lots of them on hand.
I am quite sure it will work with the rechargeable batteries, I actually also have some back at home, I will try it out and let you know. I am travelling at the moment, will be back home this weekend.
Ron, I can confirm now that it works perfectly fine with NiMH batteries, I used my NiMH batteries today and it works.
I have the radio now. I found that the EnergyON brand NiMH's are a bit larger in diameter than most AA cells, and the battery compartment door will not close with that brand installed, but I have some Imedion brand that do fit. But I have also stocked up on the heavy duty carbon/zinc AA's, in a good brand, in case of prolonged outage. Thanks SWL for your replies.
@@ronholder5844 Sure! Hope you enjoy the radio as much as I do!
@@swlisteningI found out that we have a different mascot in Turkey for batteries from Duracell. Duracell isn't a pink bunny, but a brown bear. Duracell sounds similar to "durak", a Turkish word meaning endurance, and bears are known for their strength and endurance, hence why they chose it to be that way.
XHATA D-219 vs Tecsun R9012. The battle will be legendary!
I am still using the first pair of batteries, I have had the radio for 12 days now, been using it a lot, still going strong!
@@swlistening Wow. By the way, I just figured out how to check a QTH.
Mine is JF96GC
@@FamtechVideos There are some nice websites to do that!
@@swlistening What did you use? I downloaded this app for it.
Hi from Brazil! Went to SA in 1997. Very interesting country in terms of multicultural and multilanguage broadcasting.
Obrigado! I am glad you found it interesting.
Which Color is this?
They are available in two colours only, silver and grey. This is the silver one.
does it have a back light on its dial?
No, unfortunately there is no backlight. There is a "power on" light just below the frequency display and it seems to reflect some of its light onto the display, but it's just a very weak light.
Thank you mister for your kind reply. What about the Wenpzeray Y-706 AM FM SW Radio , do you know it ?@@swlistening
@@marcoszalder8819 Hi Marcos, no unfortunately I do not know the Wenpzeray radio. However, I am quite confident when I say that there probably isn't another ultra-budget radio around that could outperform the XHDATA D-219. It really is an excellent radio, much better than one would expect at such a low price.
thank you so much, it will be my first radio. and I cannot spend too much money on it nowm . I undertoodd that you said this one is actually digital, nowadays can we find a real analogical one? @@swlistening
@@marcoszalder8819 There are very few full analogue radios left, but two options are the Tecsun R-909 and the Tecsun R9012. They are more expensive than the D-219, more than double the price. They are both good radios and I can recommend them also, I have both.
Fingers cross
Good luck!
I think it was BPM the Chinese Time Signal on 10MHz not WWV.
Thanks for this, you might be right... But BPM usually has a Morse code identifier, which I did not hear?
@@swlistening I'm not sure if BPM has an Morse Code ID, there are some recordings of the station on wikipedia for reference.
@@radioweebdx7680 Maybe I am confusing them with the Russian one on 9996 kHz, which has Morse code. I have received BPM before with a voice in Chinese that provides the time.
@@swlistening Here is a capture of BPM from a receiver in Japan, there doesn't appear to be any kind of ID for the station.
czcams.com/video/gwtBPvRonOI/video.html
@@radioweebdx7680 Thanks for this, I am quite intrigued by this signal now. Some time ago I picked up this signal and thought it was WWV, someone commented that it was BPM with Morse code, so I accepted the comment. Here is a capture of mine, with Morse code and right at the end, very faint, there seems to be a voice in Chinese, so I thought it was BPM. But it is really faint. Interesting signal, I would like to explore it more. czcams.com/users/shortse8KGdetTNic?feature=share
Who won outside the SA
The winners will be announced on 6 March.
@@swlistening ok
I want radio in pune Maharashtra
OK, I will add your name to the draw.
Suid Afrika, ek hou van jou videos, baie deeglik, maklik verstaanbaar en eerlik.
Net jammer ons in SA vang so min Afrikaanse stasies op, en dan amper geen Amerikaanse stasies nie.
Ja, nogal jammer oor die Afrikaanse stasies! Maar daar is nogal heelparty Amerikaanse stasies, as mens dink aan VOA, wat maklik is om op te vang. En omtrent al die godsdienstige stasies is van Amerika, al kom die sein soms van Zambië of Madagaskar af. Ek weet van mense wat vroegoggend ons tyd Amerikaanse stasies op MW opvang, ek het nog nie self probeer nie.
@@swlistening Middag, wat sou jy se is die beter radio tussen die XHDATA D 219 en die SINOTECH PR 45 U ?
@@robertcombrinck7402 Die D-219 is beslis beter, daar is meer kanale vir kortgolf, en ek dink dis meer sensitief, vang beter op. Die Sinotech is regtig nice, maar die klein D-219 is beter vir kortgolf. FM is dieselfde, werk ewe goed op albei. Ek dink AM is ook beter op die D-219.
Ek wil dalk net verder verduidelik, die feit dat die D-219 meer SW-kanale het (SW1-9), beteken die seine is nie so opmekaar nie, hulle is verder versprei in elke kanaal. Die Sinotech het net een kortgolf-kanaal, wat beteken daar is plekke waar vreeslik baie seine reg langs mekaar is, dis soms moeilik om te onderskei wat is wat.
@@swlistening baie dankie vir die flink reply, die mooi uiteensetting , verduideliking en aanbeveling.
12 band nehi chaheya
Interesting, thanks for your comment. Which radio would you prefer?
I am a radio lover from India you make video short then your video perform better ok......
Thanks for this comment! I make some long videos and some short videos.
hi be a little more tekall pluse
Thanks for your comment Miky, I do try to provide some of the most basic technical details, but I try to keep my videos as simple as possible for regular users. However, I will, in future, try to add some more technical details.
Woh won???
The winner is identified in thus video: czcams.com/video/WB5aipuKkck/video.html
The only thing I don't like is CZcams Shorts
Sometimes I like the Shorts! If I just want to add a very short clip of a station I received, it's quick and easy to do that 😀
Okay but not good
Thanks for your comment! I think it is great at the price level. Much better than some more expensive sets. But, of course, if you are willing to pay more, there are even better radios. As a basic shortwave radio that actually really catches distant signals, this one is unbeatable at the price.
SWL....Greetings from New York...very nice presentation about this radio. I just ordered a couple of these from amazon for $9.98 each. Since mine are going to be with 10khz MW step, I am wondering how they will perform on MW in your part of the world with 9 KHz step. By the way, I also
became your channel subscriber. I especially enjoyed the familiar SA accent. I used to work as an expatriate engineer in Zimbabwe in early 80’s and have visited the region many times over. I personally love Africa. I am a 66 years old retired engineer,a SW listener and a radio collector with 230 radios in my collection to date and counting....lol......very nice to come across your channel and I will start watching your other videos. Does talk radio 702 still has a MW transmission or strictly on FM...I do listen to Aubrey Masango’s show on internet sometimes. All the best.
Hi here Nisar, thank you so much for your comment, I am glad you liked the video! I really think one cannot go wrong with this radio, I have three of them myself. Nice to have some as back-ups. I think the 10 kHz MW one will also work here in South Africa, but not as well as it would in the US. Back when there was only a 9 kHz version available, I saw some videos of people using the 9 kHz one in the US and it worked there also. Not as well as the 10 kHz version, but it still picked up many MW signals.
Nice to hear about your connection with my part of the world! I have also been to Zimbabwe quite a few times, I think it is a very beautiful country.
Sadly, 702 is no longer on MW, for quite a while now. So they are only on FM, and streaming. There are only two MW stations left in Johannesburg, both religious stations. Radio Pulpit is on 657 and Radio Islam is on 1548. In Cape Town there are three MW stations left, Cape Talk, Cape Pulpit and Magic 828. MW is dying here. But still lots of MW stations coming through from Mozambique, Botswana, Eswatini and Lesotho at night.
@swlistening Thanks for answering my questions in detail. Appreciate it. Is Cape talk on 567 KHz? I visited Malawi in November 23 and could only get FM signals there. At night time I guess there were couple of MW stations either from Mozambique or Tanzania. Not sure if you are into transistor radios. Philips, national panasonic and Sony produced some real nice receivers in 60's, 70's and 80's. I remember buying a Sanyo from Gaborone when I was in Zimbabwe in 1984. Used to listen cricket commentry on SW. Those were good old days.I will stay in touch. Cheers.
@@NisarAhmad-jr6ol Yes, Cape Talk is on 567 indeed. There are actually a few MW stations in Malawi. MBC Radio 1, on 1422 that I catch sometimes, and 540, and some other frequencies as well. Those are 10 kW transmitters, but I do catch them at times here in South Africa. And Radio Free Africa from Mwanza in Tanzania on 1377 is another occasional catch, but that is quite a distance from me, about 2400 miles or 3900 kilometres, so it is not a regular catch. Angola also has some MW stations, there is one on 945 that I have caught once only.
I do very much enjoy the older transistor radios, I have a Sony ICF-J40 (not a well-known radio, sold in Middle East and Africa only), and I have a Barlow Wadley XCR-30, a South African made radio that is really very good, maybe you know about it?
@@swlistening yes I heard about SA made Barlow but not sure how it looks. Will google it. I always say, radio buying and collection is an addiction and there is no known cure for this sickness...lol
@@swlistening I have Sony J-40 which I bought from Pakistan while visiting there 3 years ago. It’s a decent performer but I always liked National Panasonic R-312 over j40, just better built.
Looks like the Voice of America rules the waves...
They are certainly very active!
Sir Which one is Powerful Reception on "MW Band" Between
Tecsun R-9012 & Tecsun Dr-920c &
XH-DATA D-219.
Kuldeep, I do not own the DR-920C, so cannot comment on that one. In my opinion the R9012 and the D-219 are about the same on MW, but both of them are not exceptional performers on MW. They are fine and you will pick up many stations, but I think both these radios are better on SW than on MW.