I have literally just been sent one to review myself and I am blown away with what this thing can supposedly do. I normally like to keep my videos short but this is going to be a challenge. Thanks anyway Fred for the kickstart. 73
I broke down and purchased an AOR AR8600 on Ebay. Just so happened the seller lives about 12 minutes away and so I went there and picked it up. This reciever is in excellent like new condition, very pleased with my purchase. The reciever works really nice, very pleased.
Got mine today software version 1- 7 10. Mute is default off. Your instructions were great, very helpful. Thank you. I mistakenly lifted the radio with the "T" antenna and dropped the radio on the tile floor, waist high, no damage to the case. I believe the corners are metal. Very pleased. Purchased this in the Philippines at Lazada for about 10900 PHP, $197 USD.
Might have to check this out. Presently using a Sihuadon D 808 and acceptable for the couple of channels I listen to. I need to explore more of what is available here in the Philippines.
Got the same version. One undocumented feature: in UHF there are preset channels for FRS-CHN (20 chans), FRS-USA (14 chans, not the full GMRS set of channels) and FRS-EUR (PMR446 but only 8 channels oddly ordered). Long press SUB BAND in UHF band then short press it again to cycle through the 3 lists of channels.
Hey Fred. Thank you, great video. By the way, my Raddy RF-919 came with the 1.706 firmware installed and you can disable the "mute" in the setup menu. Appears to be working fairly well.
With the power off, press setup, scroll the tuning knob to Mute enable, press fine tuning to select Mute, turn course to disable, press fine tune to select.
Thx for the vids! My Raddy has v1.704 firmware. The Raddy update file is the 706 that you mentioned. I'm glad I haven't updated it yet. I didn't know 706 has probs!
@@CB-RADIO-UK I'm a gluttin fer punishment :) I installed 706, successfully. I formatted mem card fat32 (full format, not quick format) in case that matters. my squelch issue is gone- I listen to 2m and 70cm ham and even on squelch level 1 it would mute transmissions that were good enough to get thru. they are fine now. the muting while tuning is much better but maybe too good. I now have to roll thru more slowly as each freq takes a split sec to hear it at all. I may be missing something since I'm not experienced by any stretch. Let me know if you want me to try something with it to compare 706 firmware.
Thnx for the video update... I am following these ipdates of you - in fact i am only waiting that they solve the "muting when tuning" problem to buy it!
Thanks Fred but I think I will stick with the Raddy RF-919 with the older firmware due to the battery…a couple of years when it fails it will be hard to find and expensive. 18650’s are allot easier to find on Amazon and at a decent price. 73! Have a great day!
I just ordered the gee whiz model with blue branding..got it foe $212 after discount Amazon. This brand actually comes with a protective case the radio fits in its the C-919 its the only one I've seen with a case it comes tomorrow ill send some pictures
Hi FRED just watched this one and didn't know how I missed it, But all done and they keep pushing them out But that's why we have no money. Anyway mate did call out Sunday morning but there was not a lot happening, Saturday was much better, but it will happen mate, and looking forward to seeing the end of the radioiody QT, and the ANYTONE and the rest of the names, cheers and beers, Alan 💯👍
i just bought on ebay a Steepletone MBR7 that has never been used and still in the box and plastic packaging.. this is a very rare thing to find.. i think it was a house clearance and found in the basement of what was once a Shop AMAZING
Good review: Don't forget 66-72Mhz in the UK is v usefull to have during the Sporadic E season, i suspect you will get many Ukraine/Belarus/Russian FM stations just with the telescopic, always check this band if 50Mhz/6M is open
I bought their model TR 618 to replace my British made Roberts, a brand now out of my price range. The 618 clearly out performs the Roberts in performance, build quality, and features at a quarter of the price. How can I justify buying British.
I've had one for a week and still not sure if i want to keep it. Good audio and great coverage, but build quality is iffy and it's really not an easy radio to use, with many oddities. Seems like a beta release to me.
You better test the CB Band thoroughly like, mine failed to work properly after about a week. Scanning for known signal on known frequency I was transmitting on and it passes right by, in my case like 27.1250 Mhz. I can just jog the tune button to the frequency and it will pick it up but, only when the squelch is at 0, setting it to 1 then no signal either. This was an all of a sudden problem that just cro😮pped up, worked just fine prior to this failure. Squelch is set to 1 on Air Band and it works just fine, I have about five frequencies that I scanned for in the certain range they transmit on on the air band and put them in presets and that works perfect and squelch does its job perfectly too. I like the radio mostly but, something is way off with the Citizens Band. I will have to send this back and I'm not happy about that.
This radio has many things going for it. It's a shame that it mutes when it's tuned and as you mentioned they need to do something about the wobbly tuning. Thanks for the review.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Confusing to use at first but pretty decent reception and with a long wire antenna great SW listening on sideband. For cost and size it is great.
I’ve had my XH Data D 808 for about three years Fred and it’s a lot of radio for the money. Some very clever boffin loosely copied the Skywave SSB radio and implemented it into what we now know as the XHDATA D 808 and it is a far superior radio at about half of the price. The video you are doing on this seemingly high tech radio at the moment has many people frustrated and at a loss as to how best to get used to it. I would recommend anyone to watch and listen to the videos you have been posting about this model of radio because as you say it is a very complex radio to get your head around. I hope that your two lovely hounds are well and that you and Mrs Fred and family are doing well 73 s Tom👍.
Nice review. One question: Does the squelch work on all communication bands ? I agree...mute on tuning is why I haven't bought one. In the truly analog radios one could always do a modification but in these software days there is no possibility to make changes...sadly. Thanks for the review.
Hi. There is no difference in performance as they are the same radio. The TR113 has a non replaceable battery (well not without taking the back off and searching ebay for it) where as the FR919 uses 18650 cells. To me thats an advantage. On my RF919 there was a link and a discount code that might still work.
For me the main issue is that it looks too much like a kid's action man radio, the frequency even for someone with poor eye sight is too big, Fred is too polite on the knobs and switches that wobble and shake too easily. I do like the sound power and quality and the antennas. Why don't they make it all one colour "black" and shrink the scale of the displays.
@@CB-RADIO-UK The Tecsun 2000x looks amazing but costly, if Retekess or Radioddity would make something in the same idea but not a clone I would be very interested - and thank you as always for taking time to reply Fred - 73s 👍
Hi fred 👋 new to your channel but very interested, what would you recommend to a new guy to get started, that picks up the most amount of channels. From sw to cb etc. for here in the uk ❤
@@CB-RADIO-UK Thanks, Fred. as a newby I hadn't realised that there was such a tie up between the Retekess and Raddy versions. Come the time are the Raddy and Retekess firmware upgrades interchangeable? Thanks. Alastair
@@CB-RADIO-UK anyone notice the difference between this radio any it's clones? I watched your video a couple times but missed anything that might be different. They all look identical. Maybe firmware that will let you update without bricking the radio. I read the older units had that problem regardless of brand.
@@CB-RADIO-UK I am glad to receive your message. For this, the firmware cannot be upgraded on the radio, and the new firmware will be updated on the latest version of the product. You buy the latest version of the radio. We have not upgraded the product firmware. If you have any problems in the process of use, please tell us in time that we will try our best to help you. Looking forward to your reply! Stay Well Warm Regards Retekess-AGELA This is what I got from support
FYI Fred, there's no such word as "AN - TEN - UATION" The correct word is ""A - TEN - U - ATION"".. The word you say sounds legit but it's wrong and doesn't exist.. Thank you for your great content!
The d608wb is a very good choice. It has great sound, great sensitivity and it goes up to 30 MHz, which is rarely seen. The rest is bonus (BT, mp3, LEDs, can serve as an ad-hoc power bank,...)
Hi. I guess you dont get around much or been living under a rock for the past 3 years. FM CB radios were approved in the United States in 2021 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Hi Fred, I was thinking about buying one of these to listen to soccer reports from different countries. (ps: I sent you an email, can you check please)
@@CB-RADIO-UKthe new tecsun s2200x is a great radio Fred it will be the one id buy. I was really interested in the tr113 or the RF 919 but the mute while tuning I just can't the tecsun s2200x should be the shortwave radio of the year honestly I've watched all reviews on it it's amazing and no mute while tuning. Go see the official SWL on UA-cam Gillies does a great job on the radio cheers from Alabama USA
Comprei um rádio desse esperando ter recepção das faixas de 11, 20,40 e 80 metros mas não pega nada além de AM,FM e VHF... Serve como uma peça linda e ornamentativa mas nada além disso!!! Dinheiro jogado fora!!! So tem beleza, mas funcionalidade:Zero!!!
Hi. You have to email Retekess or Raddy fo find out if they will ship. This is a longer review of the same radio. ua-cam.com/video/cdAJeI-v06U/v-deo.html
I have literally just been sent one to review myself and I am blown away with what this thing can supposedly do. I normally like to keep my videos short but this is going to be a challenge. Thanks anyway Fred for the kickstart. 73
I broke down and purchased an AOR AR8600 on Ebay. Just so happened the seller lives about 12 minutes away and so I went there and picked it up. This reciever is in excellent like new condition, very pleased with my purchase. The reciever works really nice, very pleased.
Got mine today software version 1- 7 10. Mute is default off. Your instructions were great, very helpful. Thank you. I mistakenly lifted the radio with the "T" antenna and dropped the radio on the tile floor, waist high, no damage to the case. I believe the corners are metal. Very pleased. Purchased this in the Philippines at Lazada for about 10900 PHP, $197 USD.
Might have to check this out. Presently using a Sihuadon D 808 and acceptable for the couple of channels I listen to. I need to explore more of what is available here in the Philippines.
Love it. The vlog was awesome. You've made it easy for me to purchase and understand the Radio. Cheers mate.
Glad it helped
Got the same version. One undocumented feature: in UHF there are preset channels for FRS-CHN (20 chans), FRS-USA (14 chans, not the full GMRS set of channels) and FRS-EUR (PMR446 but only 8 channels oddly ordered). Long press SUB BAND in UHF band then short press it again to cycle through the 3 lists of channels.
Hey Fred. Thank you, great video. By the way, my Raddy RF-919 came with the 1.706 firmware installed and you can disable the "mute" in the setup menu. Appears to be working fairly well.
Wow did not know that. What part of the set up menu are we talking about.
Lovely. Thank for the information. That is great news.
With the power off, press setup, scroll the tuning knob to Mute enable, press fine tuning to select Mute, turn course to disable, press fine tune to select.
Thx for the vids! My Raddy has v1.704 firmware. The Raddy update file is the 706 that you mentioned. I'm glad I haven't updated it yet. I didn't know 706 has probs!
Thanks. Yes some bad issues i am afraid. See here. ua-cam.com/video/yCm5C1zIzdc/v-deo.html
@@CB-RADIO-UK I'm a gluttin fer punishment :) I installed 706, successfully. I formatted mem card fat32 (full format, not quick format) in case that matters. my squelch issue is gone- I listen to 2m and 70cm ham and even on squelch level 1 it would mute transmissions that were good enough to get thru. they are fine now. the muting while tuning is much better but maybe too good. I now have to roll thru more slowly as each freq takes a split sec to hear it at all. I may be missing something since I'm not experienced by any stretch. Let me know if you want me to try something with it to compare 706 firmware.
Thnx for the video update... I am following these ipdates of you - in fact i am only waiting that they solve the "muting when tuning" problem to buy it!
Yeah we are waiting for that ourselves. Cheers
Thanks Fred but I think I will stick with the Raddy RF-919 with the older firmware due to the battery…a couple of years when it fails it will be hard to find and expensive. 18650’s are allot easier to find on Amazon and at a decent price.
73! Have a great day!
Well build quality looks very poor, wanted to get one but after few reviews decided to get Malachit DSP 3. Thx for video!
Is there already a 3??
@PureAwareness76 yup
Yes, verrrry poor.
I just ordered the gee whiz model with blue branding..got it foe $212 after discount Amazon. This brand actually comes with a protective case the radio fits in its the C-919 its the only one I've seen with a case it comes tomorrow ill send some pictures
Friend, what a good radio, congratulations on the video, I'm going to buy one for myself..
Enjoy your radio.
Just got mine Fred! Thanks!
Have fun Lewis. 73
I have the tr 113. Great radio.
I would love to see a "waterfall" display. I think it is the best way to FIND a new radio station
Yes agree.
🎉 Malahit DSP-2 ❤
Hi FRED just watched this one and didn't know how I missed it, But all done and they keep pushing them out But that's why we have no money. Anyway mate did call out Sunday morning but there was not a lot happening, Saturday was much better, but it will happen mate, and looking forward to seeing the end of the radioiody QT, and the ANYTONE and the rest of the names, cheers and beers, Alan 💯👍
Hi Alan. We were on about 4.30-5pm today on the 305. Cheers
Interesting Video Fred, and many thanks. 👍
the mla30+ works well with my rf919
i bought the Raddy 320 a really impressive bit of tech
i just bought on ebay a Steepletone MBR7 that has never been used and still in the box and plastic packaging.. this is a very rare thing to find.. i think it was a house clearance and found in the basement of what was once a Shop AMAZING
Very retro. Amstrad did something the same.
@@CB-RADIO-UK they did
Good review: Don't forget 66-72Mhz in the UK is v usefull to have during the Sporadic E season, i suspect you will get many Ukraine/Belarus/Russian FM stations just with the telescopic, always check this band if 50Mhz/6M is open
Very cool. I like that they keep improving it.. But the manual tune mute is a non-starter for me.
The muting on manual search is a deal breaker, I do 90% of my searching this way .
Nice review. Thank you!
18:31 Brother Stair rises from the grave! 😂
I bought their model TR 618 to replace my British made Roberts, a brand now out of my price range. The 618 clearly out performs the Roberts in performance, build quality, and features at a quarter of the price. How can I justify buying British.
Sadly nothing is really British anymore if you look up where its made.
Great interesting radio and video, interesting it don’t do 1.6 to 2.3mhz range . 73s de mark G8rde
Frid in the shed your UA-cam videos are awesome my friend
Frid in the shed you do a awesome job at explaining how radios work and how cb radios work my friend
I've had one for a week and still not sure if i want to keep it. Good audio and great coverage, but build quality is iffy and it's really not an easy radio to use, with many oddities. Seems like a beta release to me.
Does take a bit of getting used too.
Looks like a military radio
Frid in the shed your new Retekess TR-113 AM Lw Fm sw ssb.6 band portable receiver is awesome my friend
You better test the CB Band thoroughly like, mine failed to work properly after about a week. Scanning for known signal on known frequency I was transmitting on and it passes right by, in my case like 27.1250 Mhz. I can just jog the tune button to the frequency and it will pick it up but, only when the squelch is at 0, setting it to 1 then no signal either. This was an all of a sudden problem that just cro😮pped up, worked just fine prior to this failure. Squelch is set to 1 on Air Band and it works just fine, I have about five frequencies that I scanned for in the certain range they transmit on on the air band and put them in presets and that works perfect and squelch does its job perfectly too. I like the radio mostly but, something is way off with the Citizens Band. I will have to send this back and I'm not happy about that.
Interesting. Thanks for letting us know. What step rate did you use for the scanning.
I tried different step rates I tried everything, I left no stone unturned.@@CB-RADIO-UK
@CB-RADIO-UK I tried different step rates.
Frid in the shed I learn lot from you about bying cb radios and antennas for cb radios and power supplys for cb radios my friend
This radio has many things going for it. It's a shame that it mutes when it's tuned and as you mentioned they need to do something about the wobbly tuning. Thanks for the review.
Blimey - I will stick with my XHDATA D808.
Just got one of those in. How do you find yours ?
@@CB-RADIO-UK Confusing to use at first but pretty decent reception and with a long wire antenna great SW listening on sideband. For cost and size it is great.
I’ve had my XH Data D 808 for about three years Fred and it’s a lot of radio for the money. Some very clever boffin loosely copied the Skywave SSB radio and implemented it into what we now know as the XHDATA D 808 and it is a far superior radio at about half of the price. The video you are doing on this seemingly high tech radio at the moment has many people frustrated and at a loss as to how best to get used to it. I would recommend anyone to watch and listen to the videos you have been posting about this model of radio because as you say it is a very complex radio to get your head around. I hope that your two lovely hounds are well and that you and Mrs Fred and family are doing well 73 s Tom👍.
Thanks Tom.
just ordered mine.....
Enjoy.
Nice review. One question: Does the squelch work on all communication bands ?
I agree...mute on tuning is why I haven't bought one. In the truly analog radios one could always do a modification but in these software days there is no possibility to make changes...sadly.
Thanks for the review.
I think it does. Deffo works on SW
@@CB-RADIO-UK Thank you.
Could you please do a comparison between the Retekess TR113 and the Raddy RF919. Which is better of the two?
Whilst they are on sale for black Friday.
Hi. There is no difference in performance as they are the same radio. The TR113 has a non replaceable battery (well not without taking the back off and searching ebay for it) where as the FR919 uses 18650 cells. To me thats an advantage. On my RF919 there was a link and a discount code that might still work.
@@CB-RADIO-UK yes, the 18650 are much better.
hard to get hold of these,anazon have 2 left but 220 pounds so i cant get it just yet. looks just the job though.
Try the Raddy version on this video and i think my discount code still works. ua-cam.com/video/cdAJeI-v06U/v-deo.html
@@CB-RADIO-UKi got one from amazon already,what antenna would you recommend for ham band.
Frid in the shed i like your mw band in the uk my friend
For me the main issue is that it looks too much like a kid's action man radio, the frequency even for someone with poor eye sight is too big, Fred is too polite on the knobs and switches that wobble and shake too easily.
I do like the sound power and quality and the antennas. Why don't they make it all one colour "black" and shrink the scale of the displays.
You might want to check out the more old school new Tecsun 2000x
@@CB-RADIO-UK The Tecsun 2000x looks amazing but costly, if Retekess or Radioddity would make something in the same idea but not a clone I would be very interested - and thank you as always for taking time to reply Fred - 73s 👍
Hi fred 👋 new to your channel but very interested, what would you recommend to a new guy to get started, that picks up the most amount of channels. From sw to cb etc. for here in the uk ❤
I would say this radio or the Raddy RF919 offers a lot of choice. If your after CB you will still need a proper CB antenna like a Silver Rod 5/8 wave.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Is this the upgraded version of the Raddy RF919, badged with a different name?
Basically the same radio with a few improvements covered in the video.
Does the Mil aircraft band 225 - 400Mhz hear AM or still FM?
Hi Fred. Just wondering where you get the latest info./downloads on the firmware? Ta. Alastair
Via email from Raddy normally.
@@CB-RADIO-UK Thanks, Fred. as a newby I hadn't realised that there was such a tie up between the Retekess and Raddy versions. Come the time are the Raddy and Retekess firmware upgrades interchangeable? Thanks. Alastair
What’s the difference between this and the very similar looking Raddy models?
Slightly better build quality and different battery. All shown in the video.
Frid in the shed I wish you and your wife and kids and dog 73s my friend
is it lithium battery? how's the battery life on a single charge? type c port?
Since i made the review i ve only had to recharge it once when it dropped to half.
I see the signal meter works with voice do you have the opportunity to select signal strength?
No there is no scale.
Who sells the improved version? Amazon??
Yep. Links
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CYB29PH...
US: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYLK894F?...
DE: www.amazon.de/dp/B0CYB29PH5?m...
FR: www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CYB29PH5?m...
IT: www.amazon.it/dp/B0CYB29PH5?m...
ES: www.amazon.es/dp/B0CYB29PH5?m...
How would you compare this with the 919 as they are about the same price.
Small improvements. I would say its all down to who drops the price first.
Whats he difference between this radio and he RF-919 ?
Its all explained in the video.
@@CB-RADIO-UK anyone notice the difference between this radio any it's clones? I watched your video a couple times but missed anything that might be different. They all look identical. Maybe firmware that will let you update without bricking the radio. I read the older units had that problem regardless of brand.
New battery and improved build. Still waiting for the approved update.
According to Retekess the firmware can not be updated?
Yes there is an update. However the last one was not approved and bricked a few radios so i would hang back.
@@CB-RADIO-UK I am glad to receive your message.
For this, the firmware cannot be upgraded on the radio, and the new firmware will be updated on the latest version of the product. You buy the latest version of the radio. We have not upgraded the product firmware.
If you have any problems in the process of use, please tell us in time that we will try our best to help you.
Looking forward to your reply!
Stay Well
Warm Regards
Retekess-AGELA
This is what I got from support
Do you think it's worth it £200 plus price???
I think compared to whats on the market at the moment yes. I like the look of the Tecsun 2000x but thats more money.
FYI Fred, there's no such word as "AN - TEN - UATION" The correct word is ""A - TEN - U - ATION"".. The word you say sounds legit but it's wrong and doesn't exist.. Thank you for your great content!
Thanks bud.
Don't feel too bad,as Americans we still don't know how to pronounce"ALUMINIUM"😊@@CB-RADIO-UK
Frid in the shed my hobbies are painting pictures 🖼 and listening to shortwave and ssb iam thinking about getting my Grms license my friend
Frid in the shed iam thinking about getting the XHDATA D-608WB AM FM sw wx Bt mp3 weather Alert emergency portable receiver my friend
The d608wb is a very good choice. It has great sound, great sensitivity and it goes up to 30 MHz, which is rarely seen. The rest is bonus (BT, mp3, LEDs, can serve as an ad-hoc power bank,...)
Fred, You seem to have a phobia for FM CB! No such thing in the USA.
this is an expensive radio!
Get a Ham License!!
Hi. I guess you dont get around much or been living under a rock for the past 3 years. FM CB radios were approved in the United States in 2021 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
shame it does not do AM air band
Does the air band
ah theres that muting again...and for that reason I am out..over and out!
Yes its still there for now but there is an update coming soon apparently.
Hi Fred, I was thinking about buying one of these to listen to soccer reports from different countries. (ps: I sent you an email, can you check please)
Hi. Seen your email and replied.
@@CB-RADIO-UK thanks
Battery not removable?!?!? What do you do when it fails? This is a $250 dollar radio!
You can unscrew the cover so the pack is prob replaceable.
Frid in the shed your shold think of getting the tecsun s-2200x AM LW FM Air sw ssb 6band disktop receiver for views on your UA-cam channel my friend
Is that the 2000X. If so it looks like a good radio.
New tecun coming next month
@@CB-RADIO-UKthe new tecsun s2200x is a great radio Fred it will be the one id buy. I was really interested in the tr113 or the RF 919 but the mute while tuning I just can't the tecsun s2200x should be the shortwave radio of the year honestly I've watched all reviews on it it's amazing and no mute while tuning. Go see the official SWL on UA-cam Gillies does a great job on the radio cheers from Alabama USA
Yes ive seen some videos. Just need a sensible UK price and not something like £350
Comprei um rádio desse esperando ter recepção das faixas de 11, 20,40 e 80 metros mas não pega nada além de AM,FM e VHF... Serve como uma peça linda e ornamentativa mas nada além disso!!! Dinheiro jogado fora!!! So tem beleza, mas funcionalidade:Zero!!!
Looks like a cheap plastic radio. Loose encoder too.
Everything is built to a price. I ve just tested a X6200 radio which was lovely but it 4 times the price.
Junk
Blessed love to all, How can I get one of these radio to buy, watching from Jamaica west Indies !!.
Hi. You have to email Retekess or Raddy fo find out if they will ship. This is a longer review of the same radio. ua-cam.com/video/cdAJeI-v06U/v-deo.html
Frid in the shed i wish you and your wife and kids and dog 73s my friend