Salute from the Philippines.. Here in my country, dsp-based radios only works well in cities, but in the provinces, not so much especially on the mountains.. Only true analog radios have no problem picking up signal even in the remote areas.. Thanks brother for your video!!
Kumusta ka? Thank you for your message Maxielle! Interesting to hear about your experience with DSP-based radios, I wonder why they don't work well on the mountains. For me, when I go to a mountain, reception on my DSP-based radios is very, very good. Maybe there is interference from radio towers on some of your mountains?
@@swlistening hey brother I am doing ok, I hope you are doing good as well.. To be honest I haven't actually experienced first hand the dsp-based issue in the mountains, but most people who lived there says otherwise.. They say that dsp-based am radio performed poorly, but analog based have no problem at all.. I also wanted to find out the root cause in case this story is true.. God bless you brother and keep on doing good stuff.. Greetings from Manila!!
Mostly cheap Chinese DSP radio are not good in catching radio station because of some of the electronics part are missing for some reason like most people look for affordable one but in reality the quality is waste of money...
Simply put, DSP radios just "snap" to the station, provided the station is strong enough, while true ANALOG radio sits in the frequency you're actually dialed in. That frequency can never be perfectly tuned in and will drift with temperature variations. There will be digital noise with cheaper DSP radios from the internal digital signaling (including display driver, etc.) In practice, for regular listening of strong enough stations, a DSP will be the better option, but in scanning and varied enough scenarios like traveling or hunting stations, an analog radio would fare better.
Thank you for your comment! You are right, the easiest way to know if your radio has a DSP chip is when the stations just "snap" or "pop" in. Cheaper DSP-based radios do suffer from digital noises, as you say, but good-quality ones don't and can be as good as good full analogue radios. Many of the newer ones also don't soft mute as much anymore, so the tuning experience has been improved. I do like a good full analogue radio though!
Вот поэтому и купил degen1103PLL😉🤝 , а xhdata 808 теперь как запасной вариант… Очень удобно бродить по эфиру без провалов в звуке и без режущего слух- кх-кх-кх-кх
@@sudiptamallick6302 Hi Sudipta, yes, this is normal for the D-219. While you are tuning and in between actual frequencies it is usually very quiet. That is the way the DSP chip has been programmed.
Just got my 10 dollar XHD219 and love it. It’s my first night using shortwave here in America and I come to find out there’s a massive solar storm disrupting signals😵💫 lol Your review finalized my decision to get the starter radio XH219 thanks buddy
I am so happy that you are enjoying the radio! I do think it is the perfect choice for beginners. The quality is good, it is very sensitive (when conditions are right), and because the price is so low it is just right for testing the water first. To see if you enjoy shortwave listening. If you find that shortwave listening is not for you, then you haven't wasted too much money and the radio is still useful for FM or just to keep somewhere as an emergency radio. But I am sure you will find that once the SW bug bites, it is hard to leave the hobby :-)
Thanks for sharing the D-219 internals! It seems this radio is a textbook implementation of the Silicon Labs Si4825A10 DSP chip for all RF bands, so no fancy RF front end pre-scalers here, but at this price we do not expect to see it being deployed as that would be what the D-808 uses. However I see some form of a basic RF front end/filter, probably for the SW and FM bands, in the form of a few capacitors, resistors and at least one inductance close to a couple of transistors. The antenna signal is limited by a pair of low capacitance diodes (D3, A7/BAV99) before being passed thru some RLC filters to a couple a RF transistors (Q2 and Q5, R25/2SC3356). Then the RF signal is passe to the DSP chip. The decoded audio signal from the DSP chip is then passed to the popular Chinese D2822M Audio power Amplifier chip.
Thank you for your comments and explanation! I fear my knowledge of radio internals is very limited, your comment really adds lots of information that I did not have!
With so few discrete components, they can build a digital radio at low cost in China. These tiny radios feel quite disposable, and people have commented that either the tuning knob or the keyboard stop working. I don't like how DSP is slow to respond to tuning and may cut out the signal for while the knob is being turned. They are even worse if they have only buttons and not a knob. Seems that to get a good receiver, one needs to go to a used market. I can sort of still carry one like that around, with a makeshift battery tube of 8 AA cells. Older, bigger radios also had better selectivity, with less bleeding around strong stations. FM stations always pop in even with an analogue receiver owing to the capture effect.
Thank you for your comment! I do agree with you about the muting while tuning DSP-based receivers, I don't like it. On higher end DSP-based receivers it is less noticeable. I am always on the lookout for good older radios in the second-hand market. Like you, I think some of the older radios from, for example, Sony, Panasonic, Grundig, are really of very good quality. But, that being said, most of the new Chinese-made radios I own appear to be quite sturdy and I have not had any quality issues with any of them yet, even the cheaper ones. Everything still works.
I’m a recent subscriber to your channel and want to let you know that I really appreciate your videos/reviews. I am myself à radio collector (hoarder) 😂 and in fact own most of the radios you’re presenting. Love them all. Analogue, DSP, HD (I’m in CA USA) and use them daily depending on my “mood”. Some days I’ll grab with me my CCPocket and my R-108 and the next day I’ll grab my DT-400 or DT-800 and the R-9012 to mess around with and so on. Constantly rotating them as they all have their own sound, personality, pluses and minuses but in the end they’re all just a ton of fun and enjoyment to me. Anyways, although I’ve know the differences between analogue, DSP various chips, Digital and what not for like ever, I actually really enjoyed your presentation as always and actually appreciate your obvious love of radios in general as it really really shows through your vids and the frequency of your posting, and that I can totally relate to. Keep up the great work and thanks for posting. Ed
Thank you so much for your comment and for subscribing. Highly appreciated. I think we share the same passion for radios. Like you, I have too many radios already but I can't stop. I like what you say, they all have their own personality! I use mine like you, depending on my mood and what I would like to hear at specific times. Each radio I have provides me with something special. I must say, though, there have been a few duds, radios that have SW and MW bands but really only work OK on FM. I usually give those away to people who just need basic FM reception.
I have a Kchibo KK-9803 radio from a few years back. This had been produced as an analog radio, but the one I have has a label on the box saying "DSP Version." It tunes like the DSP example in your video. In an analog radio the tuning control is mechanically connected to a variable capacitor to accomplish frequency selection, while in a DSP radio, the tuning knob connects to a potentiometer, whose output voltage is sensed by the DSP chip. One disadvantage to analog dial DSP radios is that if you tune quickly across the band, you hear nothing, while with an analog radio you will hear pops for the station. Also DSP radios listen only to discrete channels, and on the MW bands they will either space by 9 or 10 kHz depending on the radio, or the radio's setting. For that reason one needs a DSP radio capable of the correct spacing for optimal performance, especially on weak signals.
It is true what you say about tuning too fast on DSP-based receivers, if you tune too fast, you hear nothing. So you need patience. Here in South Africa there is a radio called Rocka Signal Series, it is exactly the same as the Kchibo KK-9813, except this one does not have TV sound and with a different name. I reviewed it some months back. This Rocka radio is an example of very poor DSP execution. It is simply unusable on SW and MW, you only hear electronic noises for weak signals. Just very strong signals come through. Cheaply made DSP-based analogue radios can be really terrible. I know Kchibo do make some better radios, the one you have sounds like it might be nice?
Interesting video . I really dislike DSP radios . I go back to the valve era and have owned many short wave receivers . Far easier and more pleasant to scan the bands with anologue tuners . With DSP I am never quite sure of the optimum tuning point . This is very noticeable on SW stations . I have a Tecsun s2000 . I guess that's DSP but doesn't seem to have that effect for some reason . I guess DSP is cheaper to produce having less components . I also feel that the audio quality on dsp radios is harsher but maybe that's just me . Thanks for explaining and showing the difference .
I am kind of on the fence about this one. The digital-display radios are quite good with their DSP chips, like the Tecsun PL-368 and the XHDATA D-808. But DSP-based analogue radios are not quite there yet. I think real analogue radios are still more fun to tune, as you say.
@@swlistening True I think . The old valve communication receivers were superb with less background noise . The only problem was drift particularly noticeable on ssb . However that was all part of the fun . Weighed a ton though !!!
I also have a Tecsun S2000 as my desktop radio. It tunes smoothly rather like a pure analog radio i.e. no stepping between stations. Yet it has a frequency display which shows in 1KHz or 5Khz steps etc. It has a keypad and large analog like tuning knob. The signal is processed mainly in analog circuitry using dual freq conversion but the tuning is controlled by a Phase Locked loop (PLL) synthesizer which is crystal locked, hence the stability and accuracy. Most of the radio's operation and display is controlled by a microprocessor even though the actual signal processing is mainly in analog ccts. Some larger newer radios may use the PLL synthesizer for tuning and a fixed freq DSP chip in the last IF to decode the signal and enable all the ' goodies' like ssb, bandwidth, etc. Summing up simply, it has an analog receiver controlled by a digital microprocessor. 😀
Just to add, the cheaper DSP portables do the opposite. They process the signal all in the DSP chip and are tuned manually with no microprocessor. This makes it much cheaper like the XHDATA D219 which I have as well as a pure analog Tecsun 9012 . My XHDATA D 808, does both. It is a DSP receiver with Microprocessor control.
Great video, very informational! I will be receiving my D-219 tomorrow in the mail. Nothing but good reviews I've heard about it and I couldn't believe the price! For a few more dollars, I may have to grab a TECSUN as well. I'm glad I stumbled across this video.
That was super interesting. I was looking for the ferrite am antenna in the XHData radio but could not see it. The TecSun looks like there are more parts that can fail over time.
If you open the D-219 radio up you should see it, I did it some time ago for this video. In the video at about 04:30 you can see the ferrite antenna at the bottom.
Ps::I use a vbfo to mix and get ssb. It's wide signal mixes well. Also getting about 3-4 meter of wire with a gator clip will jazz up the signal w/o batteries. Danka zeer Mir friend!. De kv4li
The wire is a good idea. In fact I also put up a video this past weekend about using a wire to improve reception. On the Tecsun D-219 too long a wire does not work though, just creates noise. Your suggestion of 3-4 metres is a good one for the D-219.
The best of both worlds are the radios of the late 80s and early 90s that used a digital system to select the frequency with the PLL (phase-locked loop), the analog signal not passing through a signal digitization system. No latency, as is the case for FM radios with digital processing, nor compression artifacts, but an equally precise selection and even on certain models automatic channel search and RDS.
Yes i am 100% agreed with you. am form india. back in 2019 i brought a philips 4 band radio it have more IFT s it works well . after corona 2021 i go the same shop and asked about the same radio i have ,, suddenly shop owner says that now it is a bad radio. philips company removed all IFTs, and put new ics
Thank you very much SWL for explaining the difference between DSP and ANALOGUE radio tuning types. İt was very interesting to see the two different radio insides. 👍
When I was a touring cyclist in France and Spain more than twenty years ago a shortwave radio was a good companion but now that I live in Australia my shortwave radio is almost useless as the internet has seemingly taken over, So I am surprised there are still so many different shortwave radios on the market.
It is true, there are far fewer SW stations these days. But I think there are still enough that one can have some fun tuning the SW bands. Personally I think the reason why there are so many SW radios on the market is because SW is still big in China. And all the radios are made in China. There are a surprising number of SW stations in China, the well-known ones like China Radio International and China National Radio 1, but also very many smaller, regional stations. I quite enjoy catching these smaller Chinese stations, like China Tibet Broadcasting, Beibu Bay Radio and various others.
@@swlistening I shall give Radio Tibet a crack as listening to ATC and 'planes approaching to land at Brisbane airport leaves a lot to be desired even when you can watch their flight path on a laptop.
Great video ,In this day of sales competition you provide must needed information for beginners. I like to keep all things Digital separate from my radios ! Thanks!
Nice job! Not confused at all. I’m a noobie and you just explained something to me I have never heard in a way that is very approachable, Many thanks sir! Just subbed.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the video! I actually made the video because I noticed so many people were referring to the D-219 as an analogue radio, when it is actually a DSP-based radio with analogue tuning.
I'm going to buy a D219, so cheap I just want one! I notice that on this DSP radio there is no tuning variable capacitor, it's a potentiometer. So rather than actually doing tuning as in being part of a tuned circuit I guess it just varies a voltage on the DSP chip.
I believe they all would. I now have the radio and I am very impressed. On the FM band no need to raise the aerial at all! So solid build quality, especially at the price. Even the band selector is clearly just telling the DSP chip what to do as the sound so smoothly fades in without crackling as I change band. One possible downside is power consumption, it draws 40mA with the volume fully down. I had a Sony pocket radio bought about 20 years ago and while I never measured current battery life was definitely 100 hours + so I guess the DSP chip takes a bit of power.
You are right. It's some what picky. How ever I get the effects of both worlds. And now have 3 setups. Loaded up and mothballing the older rigs. Filling my go bags tks
Are you planning on not using your older rigs anymore? I love portables, but just this past weekend I found a really good Kenwood R1000, perfect condition. Been playing around with it a bit and I can see the attraction of using a much larger rig sometimes. The tuning experience, for one, is quite different and loads of fun!
In my opinion definitely the D-219, it picks up many more signals than the R9012, even though its SW coverage is a bit less than the R9012. The D-219 covers SW from 4.75 MHz to 22 MHz. The Tecsun R9012 covers 3.9 to 22 MHz. But I would choose the D-219 over the R9012 anytime.
I've found DSP radios, even very inexpensive ones, to be clearly superior for casual broadcast am/fm listening. For DXing/SWL, however, analog still offers some clear advantages that manufacturers seem unwilling or unable to implement with the DSP. What I dislike most about these analog-appearing low end DSP SW radios is that they lack the certainty of a digital freq display.
I do miss the digital display as well, but I can understand why the very inexpensive DSP-based analogue radios don't have that, I suppose it would have made the radios much more expensive. True what you say also about casual listening. But more expensive DSP-type radios, in my opinion, now beat analogue radios for DXing. The really good ones, like the Tecsun PL-368, PL-330 and the XHDATA D-808 are just amazing on shortwave.
My first cell phone was analogue using the AMPS900 system and I could make noisy calls even outside the service areas which were very limited then. When I changed to digital, the service areas were still very limited but now the phone just cut off sharply, no chance of making a call!
@@swlistening Bell Labs developed it and it had a variety of problems, too much bandwidth etc., but mostly is was susceptible to being intercepted by anyone with the right equipment. My phone was one of those large devices like a brick with a short antenna. I carried it in my inside pocket and the antenna came up outside my collar. I regret having thrown it out when they went digital, now they are museum pieces!
@@swlistening I had one of those too! There has been a shift back to phones with only voice and texting with numeric keys, so who knows. On a different topic, my dad was a ham radio enthusiast and one of his contacts was in 1948 to a Mr. Penney ZS5CH in Natal, a distance of nearly 10,000 km from Ireland. They were on CW on the 14 MHz band. I wonder if there is a story in there!
@@karhukivi Wonderful story about your dad's contact with someone in South Africa! You know, when conditions are good, hams can sometimes make really distant contacts, from France to Australia has been done! It all depends on your equipment and the propagation conditions.
Excellent instructive video once again, thanks. It has made me feel like I'd dig further and I've been through the data sheets of various DSP and analog "all in one" radio chips. I've learned a lot of things especially on DSP chips that explain how these radio work e.g. why some have switchable 9/10kHz MW step and some don't. With analog dial DSP radios, everything goes through resistor networks (band select) and potentiometer (tuning). At least for the cheapest ones, I really prefer analog radios over DSP ones. The sound they produce is much clearer, more natural and easier to listen to with my (ageing and not so good) ears. Maybe because the ones like the D-219 use a low fixed AM BW setting? I'm buying analog radios before they go away, and I really, really like my last purchase: the Tecsun R-911 which turns out to perform really well especially in low bands (60m, 49m). Even better than some of my more expensive radios.
Thanks Alain, like you I also really like full analogue radios. I think it is true what you say, some of the cheaper full analogues sound better than some of the cheaper DSP ones. However, I do like the D-219, the bandwidth is definitely set low and the sound is somewhat muffled, but I think I got used to it by now. I think it is a good idea to buy analogues while they are still available. I am intrigued by the Tecsun R-911 you mentioned in one of your other comments, particularly because you said it performs well in the 60m band. That is one band where I generally pick up very little. Is the R-911 very different to the R9012? By the way, in one of your previous comments you asked about my name, it is the same as in the French, André.
@@swlistening I have yet to compare my latest purchase, the R-911 with its fellow analog radios my R-909 and R-9012. I'll post here when I do. But it was definitely doing better than my D-219 and D-108 yesterday night on the 60m band. It was a fruitful evening DX outing BTW: Radio Thailand sounded pretty much like a local FM station, for the first time I have caught Radio Pilipinas and Voice of Iran. The French equivalent of your name definitely is André but I was wondering if I had spelled it right in one of my last comments? Andreiev? correct?
@@F4LDT-Alain Sounds like a good radio! My name is written in exactly the same way as in the French, André. My forefathers were actually French. French Huguenots, they arrived in South Africa in 1688. About 350 years ago... But the French Huguenots were absorbed into the Dutch colnial community at that time very quickly, so the French language only survived for about one generation.
@@swlistening thanks for the correction. I misunderstood "it's André here" in your introduction as "it's Andreiev". I couldn't identify your accent, it sounded vaguely like from eastern Europe to me, so it kind of matched. Completely wrong. I have really bad ears, I told you 🥴
@@F4LDT-Alain No worries! I know the South African accent can sound a bit strange to people who are unfamiliar with it. I think vaguely eastern European is not too far off the mark 🙂
Nice Video thank you sir, recently i purchased a analog radio from my local market in India only $5 . Radio build on single analog chip CD1619 this is clone of Sony chip CXA1619. This radio having 5" speaker , not a pocket radio. Radio Quality is not bad but the reception quality on sw is very good i never expect this type of quality on SW. I can say that this is very good SW receiver. I love analog radio . In India you can easily find analog radio but slowly slowly radio manufacturers companies close your radio manufacturing. In this time only few shops having radio receiver, slowly slowly radio become invisible from India market. Edited:- All analog radio is made in India not China made.
Thank you so much for your comment Ashu. You know, a while ago I saw a video on UA-cam about the 5 Core analogue radio, which is only available in India. Also a bigger radio, not really portable, but according to the reviewer the SW reception was really excellent. I think you are very lucky that you can buy such a radio in India, it looks like it works very well!
@@swlistening yes. The Sony CXA1619bs is a great chip. Almost All analog radios in India from 2002 to 2010 were using this chip . And price was Extremely low. I also have one of these. Shortwave performance is great
@@swlistening yes. It's sad. But now this sony chip is not produced but in my India still cheap radios are available but quality not that good. Now price is INR 550. I think you can get this chip in old 5 core radio
Sir, what could be the reason for cutting the frequency at the beginning or the end on each band of shortwave in all the analog radios of tecsun. What could be the thinking of tecsun company in this, whereas all the radios of xhdata have full frequency. If you want, xhdata d 219. And you can match both by looking at the tuning dial of tecsun r 9012.
Hi Amit, I think with a DSP chip and an analogue display it is very easy and cheap to cover the full SW band, which is why you see full coverage on the D-219. Full analogue radios are a bit more expensive to make.
It tunes well on AM, picks up all my local stations, of which there are only two nowadays 😀 But at night it picks up many other stations, I routinely pick up Cape Town, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique on mine, those are distant signals but they come through nicely.
What about PLL tuners like Sangean ATS-909X or Tecsun PL-880 - are they DSP or not? A digital tuning must not mean that there's DSP, is this what's called PLL always?
These radios are in a different class. They often use hybrid conversion. So, the signals might be demodulated through an analogue circuit first, and then pass through DSP conversion as well. I don't own any of these receivers so I don't actually know what they sound like. But I know they use both analogue and DSP conversion.
@@swlistening Thank you! I have both types and my friend. For me on the expensive ones the noise from LED lamps is much higher than on the D-808. My cheap R-108 receives somewhat similar, but on the D-808 indoor I can hear much more! I Weak stations are better, clear to hear. But I have read - not tried - that they are less good on big outdoor antennas, for this case this "not only DSP" should be better. I can imagine that this is true.
@@c.m.obrecht I still hope to buy a Sangean ATS-909X2 one day! I think these hybrid-type radios can be quite good. Some people say the D-808 and D-109 are not so good on outdoor antennas, but I have had great success on both those radios with a long wire antenna. I think it depends on where you are and the electrical interference in your area.
@@swlistening ah really! For you it worked fine. Interesting. I would say, at least indoor the D-808 is the best I've ever heard regarding reception also with electric interferences (I noticed them on the PL-660 very disturbing). And much cheaper. But the ATS-909 (I have the one without air band) sounds better if the signal is strong simply because of the speaker. Somehow this older Grundig music boy with its huge speaker sounds very well too and receives very clear.
@@c.m.obrecht I think I am lucky in my area, with not too much electrical noise. Sometimes the older radios like the Grundig Music Boy seem to have better noise filters, maybe that is why it also sounds good for you.
Now I know, its not a manufacturing defect. As often hear people complaint , their radio dailer not accurate. DSP radio pick up identical signal that are spread out. Thanks
For all I know true anolog tuning radio is superior to DSP radio in sound quality and receiving stations long distance. But the main difference is hissing sound in anlog radios. If some noise reduction circuit or any noice copression circuit is provided in anolog radios then it's performance is superior also. I myself tried philips anolog and philips DSP radios which have bought. Anolog radio is better than DSP radio in my review.
Hi Laxmi, thank you for your comment. There was a time not so long ago where I would have said that DSP radios are better than analogue radios, but I think I have changed my mind a bit. It does depend on the radio, but a good-quality analogue radio can easily match or outperform a good-quality DSP radio. I recently bought a Tecsun PL-680, which is analogue, and I am really happy with the performance. I think it easily matches the Qodosen DX-286 for sensitivity, and the tuning experience on a true analogue radio is better, because there is no muting. So I agree with you, analogue radios can sometimes beat even the newest DSP radios. But with cheaper radios I find that the DSP radios are better than the analogue ones. For example the XHDATA D-219 and the Tecsun R9012 or R-909. I would choose the D-219.
Otra diferencia entre una verdadera radio analógica y una basada en DSP, es la distribución de las frecuencias en el dial, en los análogicos la escala es logarítmica y en los DSP es lineal
Hi Antonio, this is a very hard question to answer. All analogue transistor-based radios and DSP-based radios will probably be affected in some way. Any radio that is switched on at the time of such an event, whether a massive solar storm or something man-made, will definitely be affected, except tube radios. Those appear to be quite safe. If you are concerned about something like a massive solar storm, the best thing is to keep one radio aside, store it inside its box and wrap foil very tightly around the box, at least three layers of foil. That way you will know one of your radios will certainly keep working in case of an EMP event.
@@swlisteningThanks for answering my question. So basically a tube radio appears to be the most reliable/probable radio type to still operate well after such an event.
Wow. You haven't used the XHDATA R808 in forever. I used a method years ago to check if my Yuegan was DSP. It would always pause when I changed frequencies, so if I changed it slightly, it would have a little scrape sound like chalk, as I will show in my Yuegan radio review. I know the difference very well between analogue and dsp radios without opening them up. I is quite easy.
Indeed, it is actually quite easy to hear the difference. But it is surprising how many people think an analogue display automatically means it is an analogue radio. Just yesterday I saw a review of the XHDATA D-219 calling it true analogue. On Amazon many buyers say in their reviews they like the radio so much because it is real analogue :-) I suppose it does not matter for casual listening, but it's still nice to be able to tell the difference.
@@swlistening True. Like you said in the video, the signal tuning on an analogue radio, the station come in slowly, peaks, then fades away. The DSP finds the signal peak immediately and it just pops in. Edit: I fixed a spelling error. I spelt peak wrong in the final sentence.
@@swlistening You know, you should do this video, but as a UA-cam Short. All the other beginners tips videos are UA-cam Shorts. Edit: Also, why not make a compilation of the shorts? I see you have a playlist of the beginner tips, but you can compile them together all in one, so that anyone can refer back to it. I am sure it should be less than 15 minutes, your standard video length.
@@FamtechVideos Thanks for the suggestion, but this video has way too much info for a Short :-) I wanted to really explain everything nicely, some of my beginner's videos will have to be longer than Shorts to really explain stuff clearly. Making a compilation of the other beginner's Shorts sounds like a nice idea though! I might do it some day, but I have too many other ideas I want to work on before I do that.
@@swlistening Ah OK. Well, there is no such thing as too many ideas. It can be stressful to plan them out due to your job in education. I understand what you are saying. Good luck on getting those ideas together. I know how hard it can be.
Sudipta, it's hard to answer this. Various other factors also matter, such as antenna length, filters, noise floor. I think there are excellent and very sensitive analogue and DSP radios. And there are quite poor analogue and DSP radios. It is not possible, in my opinion, to say that one is better than the other. Many people will probably say DSP radios are better, and they can be incredibly sensitive. But I cannot really choose between the two.
@@swlistening Hopefully we can talk DX, as probagation improves. UK will be giving foundation licence holders extra 10 watts soon. Lekker vir qrp. Totsiens De M7AIL.
I received your channel link from a DXer friend of mine. First, the content is great, keep up. Anyway, I have been confused about buying expensive radios, because I do not like the DSP-based receiver. DSP gives much slower tuning response than traditional analog radios. Presently I am using an Eton Mini, but it gives me pain when I try to roll the wheel. Literally there is nothing audible when you have poor signals. We are operating a radio listeners group in our country. To be honest, we are te last of those radio lovers. Manufacturers stopped making readios. That's why I am in search of a small true analog radio. Please suggest me a tecsun true analog radio I can use with DC or batteries.
Thank you so much for your comment, I am very glad that you enjoy my channel! You know, in South Africa radio listening is still very strong, I read somewhere that a majority of the population still listen to radio, whether in their cars or at home. But, yes, more and more people are streaming radio and not listening on real radios. It is sad, because I think nothing beats turning on a real radio, tuning around, and finding something to listen to. It is not the same experience when you stream content. You asked for a suggestion of a small analogue radio. I think the Tecsun R9012 that I show in my video is a great choice, it is still available online, on Amazon. Also the Tecsun R9700DX, which is more expensive, but also a true analogue radio. Another option is the Tecsun R909. I don't have the R909 but I have heard many good things about it, I actually ordered one myself. Still waiting for delivery. All these radios work with regular AA batteries.
@@StratmanII The Tecsun PL-680 is a great suggestion! I don't have one (yet), it is a bit expensive for me, but it is one of the radios still on my wish list. I think, like you say, if you only want one very good radio, this is the one!
That's the Toshiba TY-HRU30. It was branded as Toshiba here in South Africa and India and some other countries, but in North America it is known as the Audiocrazy. It is available on eBay, for example here: www.ebay.com/itm/126696319658?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oMim8pnWSCq&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
At this absolute-minimum cut-throat price level it will be hard to find a true winner. Both technologies have their advantages, and in general use each of the advantages may decide what you receive best. In principle a DSP-based radio will offer way better near selectivity. I.e. when there is a stronger station adjacent to the one you are listening to, the DSP-based radio will receive it much better because the filters are way better. Those "coils" offer a sloped filter and that is what results in that gradually stronger signal when you tune. May sound "easy to tune" but in fact it is a bad filter that will not cut away nearby interfering stations as well as a DSP does. However, the broadband selectivity of a DSP-based radio will be worse a that low price point, because there is no filtering ahead of the electronics at all, i.e. all signals go into the radio processing hardware, and it could get overloaded e.g. when you live near to a transmitter that works on a completely different band than you listen to. At a slightly higher price-point, the DSP-based radio have switched analog front-end filters that pass only the band you listen to and then the DSP part cuts the one station out of that band. Radios that do that will always outperform an analog radio without problem.
Thanks for your comment Rob! I agree that DSP radios with good filters are really quite good. But a very good analogue radio remains a joy to tune, with no soft muting and stations slowly fading in and out as you tune in. That is something that I haven't experienced on any DSP-based radio.
@@swlistening Sure, but for an experienced user that is not something you would want to have in a radio anyway. Stations operate on a fixed frequency, and you can either just key that in or have a "tuning" that hops along the frequencies in the raster that is used on that particular band. So it becomes like a channel selector. More advanced DSP radios have a scrolling "waterfall" display that shows you what is happening on the band and where the interesting signals are. That beats any analog tuning any time. But as I said, you are looking at the absolutely lowest priced radios here. A radio with waterfall, keyboard frequency entry, a settable step (e.g. 1kHz, 9kHz, 10kHz), a good front-end filter etc would cost a bit more, maybe starting at $200-$300 these days, but it would be so much better. And when you omit the front-end filter requirement, it can be below $100 (e.g. the ATS120).
@@Rob2 Thanks again for your comment Rob. I think the analogue tuning experience is still something that many radio listeners like, myself included. For SW and MW DXing, analogue tuning helps to find the strongest possible signal. Of course, you can also tune in increments of 1 kHz on a DSP radio to find the strongest possible signal, but the soft muting can be quite irritating for some people. I think each type of radio has its advantages. The waterfall display radios you speak of, are really quite something, a great way to find interesting signals. I don't have such a radio, but I do use online SDRs sometimes, I enjoy the waterfall display on these.
@@swlistening I understand whay you mean, but "tuning for the strongest possible signal" only has meaning when the bandfilters in the receiver are wider than the signal you try to receive, and the shape of the bandfilter curve is like a hill. In a DSP (SDR) receiver, the filters are brick-shaped and have the same width as the signal, and there is no such thing is "tuning for strongest signal", the only thing that matters is that the signal is within the bandfilter passband, and you hear that better by tuning for best sound quality than by tuning for strongest signal. So it is more of an emotional thing than that it would be "better". Some people really want and like to tune the carburetor of their car engine for best performance, good and stable idling, and easy start in the cold. But the majority of cars have an electronic injection system that makes all that superfluous.
Differnce beetween anlog radios and DSP, is that the latter sucks a bit. With an anlog radio you can listen into an empty space in the spectrum, and stations can fade in from the crackle in a short while, its like listening to our world
Hi there Stig. This is true :-) I recently acquired a Tecsun PL-680 and what a pleasure to listen to the empty space and hear the stations fading in and out. It's something that you cannot find on DSP radios.
Amit, this is not easy to answer. Some true analogue radios are very sensitive, some DSP radios are very sensitive. Many people prefer the analogue way of tuning, where you can hear signals fading in and out as you tune. In most DSP radios you don't hear this. I prefer the analogue radios, like the Tecsun PL-680, for the way it tunes. I like to hear a weak signal slowly appearing and then tuning until I hear it clearly. But, in the end, you will hear similar stations on both.
Рік тому+1
Great review. One nit-pick: What you call a transformer - aren't these filters?
Thanks Johann, yes, I think you can also call them filters. I myself had to read up a bit about how exactly an analogue radio works (there is surprisingly little information). Some sources call them transformers (air-core transformers, to be precise). I suppose they do the same thing, in a way, filter signals and transform them to radio sound?
@kti Thank you so much for this. I am trying very hard to educate myself on the insides of these radios and how they work. I find it quite challenging 🙂
@kti Thank you so much for your explanation. I actually saw your previous comment last night as I went to bed, did not reply at that time. Really odd that it disappeared ... I appreciate that you repeated it. I will have to open up the radio again to show that chip, someone else also asked for a date on the IC board, which I did not show. I am planning a bit of an in-depth review of this radio at some point, so I will open it up again then.
Hi Amit, some people like the R9012 very much and it does have quite good reception. Personally, I don't like mine so much, I think it is very noisy when tuning, there is a lot of atmospheric noise and it also picks up electrical noise. I prefer the R-909.
I had that silver coloured near invisible to my eyes tuning needle changed to a red one few weeks ago from a radio technician.He had an old National radio which was truely dead and had a red tuning needle 😂
Excelent episode!! Love the explanation. I see you own a Telefunken radio. Telefunken was my first color TV back 1972. In Brazil Telefunken had a large plant. I thought Telefunken had bankrupcy. Is this rádio Telefunken or chinese using this reliable brand? Have a nice Sunday. Best regards, Mário.
Thank you for your comment Mario! Telefunken still sells their name to some companies, so they can brand the products as Telefunken. Here in South Africa we have many Telefunken products, from stoves to radios to TVs. But, of course, all these products are made in China, the Telefunken name is just added later. The quality is not quite the same as the real Telefunken from long ago.
@@swlistening oh I see, here in Brazil you can not find any Telefunken product and it was a very strong brand here. The Telefunken made in Brazil until late 80,s were excelent. I miss this brand.
I don't own this radio but I had a look at some pictures online, it looks like full analogue. One way you can see this is to look at the frequency displays on your dial. With DSP-based analogue radios the display is equally split. The space between, say 600 kHz and 800 khz, will be exactly the same as between, say 1200 kHz and 1400 kHz on the dial. On full analogue radios, the higher frequencies are squashed tighter together on the display. So on your dial there will be a lot of space between, say 531 kHz and 600 kHz, but 1400, 1500 and 1600 will appear squashed together. That is a clear sign of a full analogue radio.
There are so many portable radios available, it really depends on what you want and how much you are willing to pay. The best inexpensive radio available right now is definitely the XHDATA D-219, it is a great radio at a very low price. It has very good sensitivity on SW and MW, runs on AA batteries, so it's also cheap to run. The Tecsun R9012 and Tecsun R909 are both good analogue options, they are about double the price of the D-219. And the Retekss V115 is another option, but it is not so good on SW with just the built-in antenna, you need to use a wire antenna to improve SW on this one. It does have MP3 playback and a very good speaker. All these radios are available at around $25 or less.
It's a great little radio! But I recently got the Tecsun R-909 and I think I now like it more than the R9012. Seems to be just a little bit more sensitive.
Some of these radios are incredibly inexpensive (e.g. D-219, under $20), so it's not unreasonable to have several of each technology. In other words, many people do not have to choose one, or the other.
Thanks Dimitri. I like the R-909, I think it is a good radio, it is quite sensitive and picks up many stations on shortwave and medium wave. It is nice if you want a full analogue radio. But my honest opinion, the D-219 is better and cheaper.
@@swlistening Still, producing new units while there is a glut of equipment (radio and otherwise) that often just needs minor repairs (cleaning, mains cords, capacitors), seems wasteful. OTOH, building a workshop when all one wants is just one radio might have a worse eco footprint indeed :(
@@splitprissm9339 That is very true, looks like both options are not so good for the environment. Best solution, in my opinion, is to buy one really good radio and use it for as long as you can.
These are both good radios, it really depends on what you want. The D-219 is about half the price of the R9012, so if price is a factor I would definitely recommend the D-219, it works very well. SW and MW sensitivity is excellent for such a small radio. The R9012 is analogue, so the user experience is a bit different, but it is also a great little radio. If I really had to choose between these two, I would pick the D-219, I think its reception is a bit better than the R9012.
Thanks Jeffrey, I was being very sloppy here with my language, I'll be more careful with technical terms in future. Of course it should be "demodulate" for the full analogue radios 😀 But I hope the idea still gets across.
Hi Fred, I think there are some very good DSP radios, for example the Qodosen DX-286, and there are still some good analogue radios, like the Tecsun PL-680, although the PL-680 is becoming hard to get.
Tecsun is also Chinese though 😁 There are some good Chinese radios, and I am thankful that Chinese companies are still developing and selling new SW radios. Nobody else seems to do it anymore, with one or two exceptions, like Eton in the US. But Eton radios are also made in China.
There are a few sets like that with digital displays, but inside they are true analogue, so yours might be true analogue inside. The Tecsun R818 is one such example. Do you remember the brand name of the set you had?
Salute from the Philippines.. Here in my country, dsp-based radios only works well in cities, but in the provinces, not so much especially on the mountains.. Only true analog radios have no problem picking up signal even in the remote areas.. Thanks brother for your video!!
Kumusta ka? Thank you for your message Maxielle! Interesting to hear about your experience with DSP-based radios, I wonder why they don't work well on the mountains. For me, when I go to a mountain, reception on my DSP-based radios is very, very good. Maybe there is interference from radio towers on some of your mountains?
@@swlistening hey brother I am doing ok, I hope you are doing good as well.. To be honest I haven't actually experienced first hand the dsp-based issue in the mountains, but most people who lived there says otherwise.. They say that dsp-based am radio performed poorly, but analog based have no problem at all.. I also wanted to find out the root cause in case this story is true.. God bless you brother and keep on doing good stuff.. Greetings from Manila!!
@@maxiellevillegas1388 If you ever find out the cause I would like to hear what it is! It is quite strange to me. Greetings from Johannesburg!
For me I'm happy with my analogue and DSP radio 😊
Mostly cheap Chinese DSP radio are not good in catching radio station because of some of the electronics part are missing for some reason like most people look for affordable one but in reality the quality is waste of money...
Simply put, DSP radios just "snap" to the station, provided the station is strong enough, while true ANALOG radio sits in the frequency you're actually dialed in. That frequency can never be perfectly tuned in and will drift with temperature variations. There will be digital noise with cheaper DSP radios from the internal digital signaling (including display driver, etc.) In practice, for regular listening of strong enough stations, a DSP will be the better option, but in scanning and varied enough scenarios like traveling or hunting stations, an analog radio would fare better.
Thank you for your comment! You are right, the easiest way to know if your radio has a DSP chip is when the stations just "snap" or "pop" in. Cheaper DSP-based radios do suffer from digital noises, as you say, but good-quality ones don't and can be as good as good full analogue radios. Many of the newer ones also don't soft mute as much anymore, so the tuning experience has been improved. I do like a good full analogue radio though!
Вот поэтому и купил degen1103PLL😉🤝 , а xhdata 808 теперь как запасной вариант… Очень удобно бродить по эфиру без провалов в звуке и без режущего слух- кх-кх-кх-кх
Some analog radios are very stable, they simply stay tuned; others seem to stay tuned even with wide temperature variations.
When I am tuning the digital radio became mute, almost no sounds are there. That means the radio is good dsp not bad?@@swlistening
@@sudiptamallick6302 Hi Sudipta, yes, this is normal for the D-219. While you are tuning and in between actual frequencies it is usually very quiet. That is the way the DSP chip has been programmed.
Just got my 10 dollar XHD219 and love it. It’s my first night using shortwave here in America and I come to find out there’s a massive solar storm disrupting signals😵💫 lol
Your review finalized my decision to get the starter radio XH219 thanks buddy
I am so happy that you are enjoying the radio! I do think it is the perfect choice for beginners. The quality is good, it is very sensitive (when conditions are right), and because the price is so low it is just right for testing the water first. To see if you enjoy shortwave listening. If you find that shortwave listening is not for you, then you haven't wasted too much money and the radio is still useful for FM or just to keep somewhere as an emergency radio. But I am sure you will find that once the SW bug bites, it is hard to leave the hobby :-)
Thanks for sharing the D-219 internals!
It seems this radio is a textbook implementation of the Silicon Labs Si4825A10 DSP chip for all RF bands, so no fancy RF front end pre-scalers here, but at this price we do not expect to see it being deployed as that would be what the D-808 uses.
However I see some form of a basic RF front end/filter, probably for the SW and FM bands, in the form of a few capacitors, resistors and at least one inductance close to a couple of transistors.
The antenna signal is limited by a pair of low capacitance diodes (D3, A7/BAV99) before being passed thru some RLC filters to a couple a RF transistors (Q2 and Q5, R25/2SC3356). Then the RF signal is passe to the DSP chip.
The decoded audio signal from the DSP chip is then passed to the popular Chinese D2822M Audio power Amplifier chip.
Thank you for your comments and explanation! I fear my knowledge of radio internals is very limited, your comment really adds lots of information that I did not have!
This video really helped for basic understanding and to choose a Radio..Thanks a million.😊
I am so happy I could help, thank you for your comment!
Glad I finally found one true analogue radio. Thanks a lot for bringing up this difference. Love the break down of every aspect.
Thanks! Glad I could help.
With so few discrete components, they can build a digital radio at low cost in China. These tiny radios feel quite disposable, and people have commented that either the tuning knob or the keyboard stop working. I don't like how DSP is slow to respond to tuning and may cut out the signal for while the knob is being turned. They are even worse if they have only buttons and not a knob.
Seems that to get a good receiver, one needs to go to a used market. I can sort of still carry one like that around, with a makeshift battery tube of 8 AA cells.
Older, bigger radios also had better selectivity, with less bleeding around strong stations. FM stations always pop in even with an analogue receiver owing to the capture effect.
Thank you for your comment! I do agree with you about the muting while tuning DSP-based receivers, I don't like it. On higher end DSP-based receivers it is less noticeable. I am always on the lookout for good older radios in the second-hand market. Like you, I think some of the older radios from, for example, Sony, Panasonic, Grundig, are really of very good quality. But, that being said, most of the new Chinese-made radios I own appear to be quite sturdy and I have not had any quality issues with any of them yet, even the cheaper ones. Everything still works.
I’m a recent subscriber to your channel and want to let you know that I really appreciate your videos/reviews. I am myself à radio collector (hoarder) 😂 and in fact own most of the radios you’re presenting. Love them all. Analogue, DSP, HD (I’m in CA USA) and use them daily depending on my “mood”. Some days I’ll grab with me my CCPocket and my R-108 and the next day I’ll grab my DT-400 or DT-800 and the R-9012 to mess around with and so on. Constantly rotating them as they all have their own sound, personality, pluses and minuses but in the end they’re all just a ton of fun and enjoyment to me. Anyways, although I’ve know the differences between analogue, DSP various chips, Digital and what not for like ever, I actually really enjoyed your presentation as always and actually appreciate your obvious love of radios in general as it really really shows through your vids and the frequency of your posting, and that I can totally relate to. Keep up the great work and thanks for posting.
Ed
Thank you so much for your comment and for subscribing. Highly appreciated. I think we share the same passion for radios. Like you, I have too many radios already but I can't stop. I like what you say, they all have their own personality! I use mine like you, depending on my mood and what I would like to hear at specific times. Each radio I have provides me with something special. I must say, though, there have been a few duds, radios that have SW and MW bands but really only work OK on FM. I usually give those away to people who just need basic FM reception.
I have a Kchibo KK-9803 radio from a few years back. This had been produced as an analog radio, but the one I have has a label on the box saying "DSP Version." It tunes like the DSP example in your video. In an analog radio the tuning control is mechanically connected to a variable capacitor to accomplish frequency selection, while in a DSP radio, the tuning knob connects to a potentiometer, whose output voltage is sensed by the DSP chip.
One disadvantage to analog dial DSP radios is that if you tune quickly across the band, you hear nothing, while with an analog radio you will hear pops for the station. Also DSP radios listen only to discrete channels, and on the MW bands they will either space by 9 or 10 kHz depending on the radio, or the radio's setting. For that reason one needs a DSP radio capable of the correct spacing for optimal performance, especially on weak signals.
It is true what you say about tuning too fast on DSP-based receivers, if you tune too fast, you hear nothing. So you need patience.
Here in South Africa there is a radio called Rocka Signal Series, it is exactly the same as the Kchibo KK-9813, except this one does not have TV sound and with a different name. I reviewed it some months back. This Rocka radio is an example of very poor DSP execution. It is simply unusable on SW and MW, you only hear electronic noises for weak signals. Just very strong signals come through. Cheaply made DSP-based analogue radios can be really terrible. I know Kchibo do make some better radios, the one you have sounds like it might be nice?
@@swlistening The Kchibo KK-9803 is not very interesting. In fact I donated it to charity this week.
Interesting video . I really dislike DSP radios . I go back to the valve era and have owned many short wave receivers . Far easier and more pleasant to scan the bands with anologue tuners . With DSP I am never quite sure of the optimum tuning point . This is very noticeable on SW stations . I have a Tecsun s2000 . I guess that's DSP but doesn't seem to have that effect for some reason . I guess DSP is cheaper to produce having less components . I also feel that the audio quality on dsp radios is harsher but maybe that's just me . Thanks for explaining and showing the difference .
I am kind of on the fence about this one. The digital-display radios are quite good with their DSP chips, like the Tecsun PL-368 and the XHDATA D-808. But DSP-based analogue radios are not quite there yet. I think real analogue radios are still more fun to tune, as you say.
@@swlistening True I think . The old valve communication receivers were superb with less background noise . The only problem was drift particularly noticeable on ssb . However that was all part of the fun . Weighed a ton though !!!
I also have a Tecsun S2000 as my desktop radio. It tunes smoothly rather like a pure analog radio i.e. no stepping between stations. Yet it has a frequency display which shows in 1KHz or 5Khz steps etc. It has a keypad and large analog like tuning knob. The signal is processed mainly in analog circuitry using dual freq conversion but the tuning is controlled by a Phase Locked loop (PLL) synthesizer which is crystal locked, hence the stability and accuracy. Most of the radio's operation and display is controlled by a microprocessor even though the actual signal processing is mainly in analog ccts. Some larger newer radios may use the PLL synthesizer for tuning and a fixed freq DSP chip in the last IF to decode the signal and enable all the ' goodies' like ssb, bandwidth, etc.
Summing up simply, it has an analog receiver controlled by a digital microprocessor. 😀
Just to add, the cheaper DSP portables do the opposite. They process the signal all in the DSP chip and are tuned manually with no microprocessor. This makes it much cheaper like the XHDATA D219 which I have as well as a pure analog Tecsun 9012 . My XHDATA D 808, does both. It is a DSP receiver with Microprocessor control.
@@StratmanII Yep. As I said the S2000 is a PLL receiver controlled by a microprocessor. No DSP.
Great video, very informational! I will be receiving my D-219 tomorrow in the mail. Nothing but good reviews I've heard about it and I couldn't believe the price! For a few more dollars, I may have to grab a TECSUN as well. I'm glad I stumbled across this video.
Glad it was helpful! I hope you will enjoy the D-219. It really is a great radio, considering the very low price.
That was super interesting. I was looking for the ferrite am antenna in the XHData radio but could not see it. The TecSun looks like there are more parts that can fail over time.
If you open the D-219 radio up you should see it, I did it some time ago for this video. In the video at about 04:30 you can see the ferrite antenna at the bottom.
Thank you for your comment!
Ps::I use a vbfo to mix and get ssb. It's wide signal mixes well. Also getting about 3-4 meter of wire with a gator clip will jazz up the signal w/o batteries. Danka zeer Mir friend!. De kv4li
The wire is a good idea. In fact I also put up a video this past weekend about using a wire to improve reception. On the Tecsun D-219 too long a wire does not work though, just creates noise. Your suggestion of 3-4 metres is a good one for the D-219.
The best of both worlds are the radios of the late 80s and early 90s that used a digital system to select the frequency with the PLL (phase-locked loop), the analog signal not passing through a signal digitization system.
No latency, as is the case for FM radios with digital processing, nor compression artifacts, but an equally precise selection and even on certain models automatic channel search and RDS.
Ah, the good old days! Sadly we don't seem to have any more radios like this.
Yes i am 100% agreed with you. am form india. back in 2019 i brought a philips 4 band radio it have more IFT s it works well . after corona 2021 i go the same shop and asked about the same radio i have ,, suddenly shop owner says that now it is a bad radio. philips company removed all IFTs, and put new ics
Thank you for your comment and sharing your experience from India!
Thank you very much SWL for explaining the difference between DSP and ANALOGUE radio tuning types. İt was very interesting to see the two different radio insides. 👍
Glad it was helpful, thank you for watching!
When I was a touring cyclist in France and Spain more than twenty years ago a shortwave radio was a good companion but now that I live in Australia my shortwave radio is almost useless as the internet has seemingly taken over, So I am surprised there are still so many different shortwave radios on the market.
It is true, there are far fewer SW stations these days. But I think there are still enough that one can have some fun tuning the SW bands. Personally I think the reason why there are so many SW radios on the market is because SW is still big in China. And all the radios are made in China. There are a surprising number of SW stations in China, the well-known ones like China Radio International and China National Radio 1, but also very many smaller, regional stations. I quite enjoy catching these smaller Chinese stations, like China Tibet Broadcasting, Beibu Bay Radio and various others.
@@swlistening I shall give Radio Tibet a crack as listening to ATC and 'planes approaching to land at Brisbane airport leaves a lot to be desired even when you can watch their flight path on a laptop.
@@SubTroppo These smaller Chinese stations can be a lot of fun, and I am sure you will hear some of them in Australia.
Great video ,In this day of sales competition you provide must needed information for beginners. I like to keep all things Digital separate from my radios ! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Nice job! Not confused at all. I’m a noobie and you just explained something to me I have never heard in a way that is very approachable, Many thanks sir! Just subbed.
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the video! I actually made the video because I noticed so many people were referring to the D-219 as an analogue radio, when it is actually a DSP-based radio with analogue tuning.
I'm going to buy a D219, so cheap I just want one! I notice that on this DSP radio there is no tuning variable capacitor, it's a potentiometer. So rather than actually doing tuning as in being part of a tuned circuit I guess it just varies a voltage on the DSP chip.
This is interesting to me, a bit above my own knowledge. Would that mean that all DSP-based radios use potentiometers? Or only the cheaper one?
I believe they all would. I now have the radio and I am very impressed. On the FM band no need to raise the aerial at all! So solid build quality, especially at the price. Even the band selector is clearly just telling the DSP chip what to do as the sound so smoothly fades in without crackling as I change band. One possible downside is power consumption, it draws 40mA with the volume fully down. I had a Sony pocket radio bought about 20 years ago and while I never measured current battery life was definitely 100 hours + so I guess the DSP chip takes a bit of power.
@@simonbeasley989 Glad you like the D-219! I continue to be amazed at how good this little radio is, at such a low price.
I know this is an old post, but how do the two older analog Tecsun radios in the video compare to the current PL-680?
Thanks for your question, but unfortunately I don't own the PL-680, so I can't compare the other two to the PL-680. I plan to buy one.
You are right. It's some what picky. How ever I get the effects of both worlds. And now have 3 setups. Loaded up and mothballing the older rigs. Filling my go bags tks
Are you planning on not using your older rigs anymore? I love portables, but just this past weekend I found a really good Kenwood R1000, perfect condition. Been playing around with it a bit and I can see the attraction of using a much larger rig sometimes. The tuning experience, for one, is quite different and loads of fun!
Sir which one do you recomend XHDATA D-219 or Tecsun R9012. I am looking for more bands and more channels. Please advise
In my opinion definitely the D-219, it picks up many more signals than the R9012, even though its SW coverage is a bit less than the R9012. The D-219 covers SW from 4.75 MHz to 22 MHz. The Tecsun R9012 covers 3.9 to 22 MHz. But I would choose the D-219 over the R9012 anytime.
I've found DSP radios, even very inexpensive ones, to be clearly superior for casual broadcast am/fm listening. For DXing/SWL, however, analog still offers some clear advantages that manufacturers seem unwilling or unable to implement with the DSP. What I dislike most about these analog-appearing low end DSP SW radios is that they lack the certainty of a digital freq display.
I do miss the digital display as well, but I can understand why the very inexpensive DSP-based analogue radios don't have that, I suppose it would have made the radios much more expensive. True what you say also about casual listening. But more expensive DSP-type radios, in my opinion, now beat analogue radios for DXing. The really good ones, like the Tecsun PL-368, PL-330 and the XHDATA D-808 are just amazing on shortwave.
What are your EARS for!?@@swlistening
@@vahanyazarian5582 True 🙂
My first cell phone was analogue using the AMPS900 system and I could make noisy calls even outside the service areas which were very limited then. When I changed to digital, the service areas were still very limited but now the phone just cut off sharply, no chance of making a call!
Very interesting, I never knew that there were analogue cellphones!
@@swlistening Bell Labs developed it and it had a variety of problems, too much bandwidth etc., but mostly is was susceptible to being intercepted by anyone with the right equipment. My phone was one of those large devices like a brick with a short antenna. I carried it in my inside pocket and the antenna came up outside my collar. I regret having thrown it out when they went digital, now they are museum pieces!
@@karhukivi I remember my first brick phone, it was a Nokia 5160. These old phones make me feel a bit nostalgic, those were different times.
@@swlistening I had one of those too! There has been a shift back to phones with only voice and texting with numeric keys, so who knows. On a different topic, my dad was a ham radio enthusiast and one of his contacts was in 1948 to a Mr. Penney ZS5CH in Natal, a distance of nearly 10,000 km from Ireland. They were on CW on the 14 MHz band. I wonder if there is a story in there!
@@karhukivi Wonderful story about your dad's contact with someone in South Africa! You know, when conditions are good, hams can sometimes make really distant contacts, from France to Australia has been done! It all depends on your equipment and the propagation conditions.
Thank you, your explanation was very helpful!
Thank your for your comment Andrew!
Excellent instructive video once again, thanks. It has made me feel like I'd dig further and I've been through the data sheets of various DSP and analog "all in one" radio chips. I've learned a lot of things especially on DSP chips that explain how these radio work e.g. why some have switchable 9/10kHz MW step and some don't.
With analog dial DSP radios, everything goes through resistor networks (band select) and potentiometer (tuning).
At least for the cheapest ones, I really prefer analog radios over DSP ones. The sound they produce is much clearer, more natural and easier to listen to with my (ageing and not so good) ears.
Maybe because the ones like the D-219 use a low fixed AM BW setting?
I'm buying analog radios before they go away, and I really, really like my last purchase: the Tecsun R-911 which turns out to perform really well especially in low bands (60m, 49m). Even better than some of my more expensive radios.
Thanks Alain, like you I also really like full analogue radios. I think it is true what you say, some of the cheaper full analogues sound better than some of the cheaper DSP ones. However, I do like the D-219, the bandwidth is definitely set low and the sound is somewhat muffled, but I think I got used to it by now. I think it is a good idea to buy analogues while they are still available. I am intrigued by the Tecsun R-911 you mentioned in one of your other comments, particularly because you said it performs well in the 60m band. That is one band where I generally pick up very little. Is the R-911 very different to the R9012?
By the way, in one of your previous comments you asked about my name, it is the same as in the French, André.
@@swlistening I have yet to compare my latest purchase, the R-911 with its fellow analog radios my R-909 and R-9012. I'll post here when I do. But it was definitely doing better than my D-219 and D-108 yesterday night on the 60m band.
It was a fruitful evening DX outing BTW: Radio Thailand sounded pretty much like a local FM station, for the first time I have caught Radio Pilipinas and Voice of Iran.
The French equivalent of your name definitely is André but I was wondering if I had spelled it right in one of my last comments? Andreiev? correct?
@@F4LDT-Alain Sounds like a good radio! My name is written in exactly the same way as in the French, André. My forefathers were actually French. French Huguenots, they arrived in South Africa in 1688. About 350 years ago... But the French Huguenots were absorbed into the Dutch colnial community at that time very quickly, so the French language only survived for about one generation.
@@swlistening thanks for the correction. I misunderstood "it's André here" in your introduction as "it's Andreiev". I couldn't identify your accent, it sounded vaguely like from eastern Europe to me, so it kind of matched. Completely wrong. I have really bad ears, I told you 🥴
@@F4LDT-Alain No worries! I know the South African accent can sound a bit strange to people who are unfamiliar with it. I think vaguely eastern European is not too far off the mark 🙂
Thanks for the video, I definitely learned a lot from it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice Video thank you sir, recently i purchased a analog radio from my local market in India only $5 . Radio build on single analog chip CD1619 this is clone of Sony chip CXA1619. This radio having 5" speaker , not a pocket radio. Radio Quality is not bad but the reception quality on sw is very good i never expect this type of quality on SW. I can say that this is very good SW receiver. I love analog radio . In India you can easily find analog radio but slowly slowly radio manufacturers companies close your radio manufacturing. In this time only few shops having radio receiver, slowly slowly radio become invisible from India market.
Edited:-
All analog radio is made in India not China made.
Thank you so much for your comment Ashu. You know, a while ago I saw a video on UA-cam about the 5 Core analogue radio, which is only available in India. Also a bigger radio, not really portable, but according to the reviewer the SW reception was really excellent. I think you are very lucky that you can buy such a radio in India, it looks like it works very well!
@@swlistening yes. The Sony CXA1619bs is a great chip. Almost All analog radios in India from 2002 to 2010 were using this chip . And price was Extremely low. I also have one of these. Shortwave performance is great
@@dilipdas5777 It's a pity these radios are not available outside India, I would love to try one.
@@swlistening yes. It's sad. But now this sony chip is not produced but in my India still cheap radios are available but quality not that good. Now price is INR 550. I think you can get this chip in old 5 core radio
Which radio you have purchased ? Please share your experience
You described it very well for anyone.
Thank you!
Sir, what could be the reason for cutting the frequency at the beginning or the end on each band of shortwave in all the analog radios of tecsun. What could be the thinking of tecsun company in this, whereas all the radios of xhdata have full frequency. If you want, xhdata d 219.
And you can match both by looking at the tuning dial of tecsun r 9012.
Hi Amit, I think with a DSP chip and an analogue display it is very easy and cheap to cover the full SW band, which is why you see full coverage on the D-219. Full analogue radios are a bit more expensive to make.
@@swlistening thankyou sir
How does the R9012 tune AM? Is it stable and does it catch all the local stations? Best regards
It tunes well on AM, picks up all my local stations, of which there are only two nowadays 😀 But at night it picks up many other stations, I routinely pick up Cape Town, Botswana, Lesotho and Mozambique on mine, those are distant signals but they come through nicely.
What about PLL tuners like Sangean ATS-909X or Tecsun PL-880 - are they DSP or not?
A digital tuning must not mean that there's DSP, is this what's called PLL always?
These radios are in a different class. They often use hybrid conversion. So, the signals might be demodulated through an analogue circuit first, and then pass through DSP conversion as well. I don't own any of these receivers so I don't actually know what they sound like. But I know they use both analogue and DSP conversion.
@@swlistening Thank you! I have both types and my friend. For me on the expensive ones the noise from LED lamps is much higher than on the D-808. My cheap R-108 receives somewhat similar, but on the D-808 indoor I can hear much more! I Weak stations are better, clear to hear. But I have read - not tried - that they are less good on big outdoor antennas, for this case this "not only DSP" should be better. I can imagine that this is true.
@@c.m.obrecht I still hope to buy a Sangean ATS-909X2 one day! I think these hybrid-type radios can be quite good. Some people say the D-808 and D-109 are not so good on outdoor antennas, but I have had great success on both those radios with a long wire antenna. I think it depends on where you are and the electrical interference in your area.
@@swlistening ah really! For you it worked fine. Interesting. I would say, at least indoor the D-808 is the best I've ever heard regarding reception also with electric interferences (I noticed them on the PL-660 very disturbing). And much cheaper. But the ATS-909 (I have the one without air band) sounds better if the signal is strong simply because of the speaker. Somehow this older Grundig music boy with its huge speaker sounds very well too and receives very clear.
@@c.m.obrecht I think I am lucky in my area, with not too much electrical noise. Sometimes the older radios like the Grundig Music Boy seem to have better noise filters, maybe that is why it also sounds good for you.
Now I know, its not a manufacturing defect. As often hear people complaint , their radio dailer not accurate. DSP radio pick up identical signal that are spread out. Thanks
Yes, that is what happens. Glad I could help!
General rule of thumb- if it is still currently sold as new, and it’s cheap, it’s DSP based.
Very useful general rule of thumb, thanks 😀
Good info, thanks.
My pleasure!
I did not know what DSP analogue radios are.
Indeed, many radios look like analogue, but then actually only the tuning is analogue and inside it uses a DSP chip.
For all I know true anolog tuning radio is superior to DSP radio in sound quality and receiving stations long distance. But the main difference is hissing sound in anlog radios. If some noise reduction circuit or any noice copression circuit is provided in anolog radios then it's performance is superior also. I myself tried philips anolog and philips DSP radios which have bought. Anolog radio is better than DSP radio in my review.
Hi Laxmi, thank you for your comment. There was a time not so long ago where I would have said that DSP radios are better than analogue radios, but I think I have changed my mind a bit. It does depend on the radio, but a good-quality analogue radio can easily match or outperform a good-quality DSP radio. I recently bought a Tecsun PL-680, which is analogue, and I am really happy with the performance. I think it easily matches the Qodosen DX-286 for sensitivity, and the tuning experience on a true analogue radio is better, because there is no muting. So I agree with you, analogue radios can sometimes beat even the newest DSP radios. But with cheaper radios I find that the DSP radios are better than the analogue ones. For example the XHDATA D-219 and the Tecsun R9012 or R-909. I would choose the D-219.
Otra diferencia entre una verdadera radio analógica y una basada en DSP, es la distribución de las frecuencias en el dial, en los análogicos la escala es logarítmica y en los DSP es lineal
Es cierto, olvidé hablar de eso en mi video. Gracias por mencionar esto!
I have a question for you. Will a DSP chip lose reception quality if there were an EMP event? Same question but for an all transistor based radio?
Hi Antonio, this is a very hard question to answer. All analogue transistor-based radios and DSP-based radios will probably be affected in some way. Any radio that is switched on at the time of such an event, whether a massive solar storm or something man-made, will definitely be affected, except tube radios. Those appear to be quite safe. If you are concerned about something like a massive solar storm, the best thing is to keep one radio aside, store it inside its box and wrap foil very tightly around the box, at least three layers of foil. That way you will know one of your radios will certainly keep working in case of an EMP event.
@@swlisteningThanks for answering my question. So basically a tube radio appears to be the most reliable/probable radio type to still operate well after such an event.
@@Movieman1965 Yes, that is definitely the case. Tube radios will survive any strong EMP event.
Thank you for this information it’s very helpful 🎉
Sure!
Wow. You haven't used the XHDATA R808 in forever. I used a method years ago to check if my Yuegan was DSP. It would always pause when I changed frequencies, so if I changed it slightly, it would have a little scrape sound like chalk, as I will show in my Yuegan radio review. I know the difference very well between analogue and dsp radios without opening them up. I is quite easy.
Indeed, it is actually quite easy to hear the difference. But it is surprising how many people think an analogue display automatically means it is an analogue radio. Just yesterday I saw a review of the XHDATA D-219 calling it true analogue. On Amazon many buyers say in their reviews they like the radio so much because it is real analogue :-) I suppose it does not matter for casual listening, but it's still nice to be able to tell the difference.
@@swlistening True. Like you said in the video, the signal tuning on an analogue radio, the station come in slowly, peaks, then fades away. The DSP finds the signal peak immediately and it just pops in.
Edit: I fixed a spelling error. I spelt peak wrong in the final sentence.
@@swlistening You know, you should do this video, but as a UA-cam Short. All the other beginners tips videos are UA-cam Shorts.
Edit: Also, why not make a compilation of the shorts? I see you have a playlist of the beginner tips, but you can compile them together all in one, so that anyone can refer back to it. I am sure it should be less than 15 minutes, your standard video length.
@@FamtechVideos Thanks for the suggestion, but this video has way too much info for a Short :-) I wanted to really explain everything nicely, some of my beginner's videos will have to be longer than Shorts to really explain stuff clearly. Making a compilation of the other beginner's Shorts sounds like a nice idea though! I might do it some day, but I have too many other ideas I want to work on before I do that.
@@swlistening Ah OK. Well, there is no such thing as too many ideas. It can be stressful to plan them out due to your job in education. I understand what you are saying. Good luck on getting those ideas together. I know how hard it can be.
Which radio has the best sensitivity or reception? Analog or digital?
Sudipta, it's hard to answer this. Various other factors also matter, such as antenna length, filters, noise floor. I think there are excellent and very sensitive analogue and DSP radios. And there are quite poor analogue and DSP radios. It is not possible, in my opinion, to say that one is better than the other. Many people will probably say DSP radios are better, and they can be incredibly sensitive. But I cannot really choose between the two.
Amazing comparison
Thank you!
Very good and interesting video. Baie dankie, van Manchester.
Thanks Tony, groete uit Suid-Afrika!
@@swlistening Hopefully we can talk DX, as probagation improves. UK will be giving foundation licence holders extra 10 watts soon. Lekker vir qrp. Totsiens De M7AIL.
I received your channel link from a DXer friend of mine. First, the content is great, keep up.
Anyway, I have been confused about buying expensive radios, because I do not like the DSP-based receiver. DSP gives much slower tuning response than traditional analog radios.
Presently I am using an Eton Mini, but it gives me pain when I try to roll the wheel. Literally there is nothing audible when you have poor signals.
We are operating a radio listeners group in our country. To be honest, we are te last of those radio lovers. Manufacturers stopped making readios.
That's why I am in search of a small true analog radio. Please suggest me a tecsun true analog radio I can use with DC or batteries.
Thank you so much for your comment, I am very glad that you enjoy my channel! You know, in South Africa radio listening is still very strong, I read somewhere that a majority of the population still listen to radio, whether in their cars or at home. But, yes, more and more people are streaming radio and not listening on real radios. It is sad, because I think nothing beats turning on a real radio, tuning around, and finding something to listen to. It is not the same experience when you stream content.
You asked for a suggestion of a small analogue radio. I think the Tecsun R9012 that I show in my video is a great choice, it is still available online, on Amazon. Also the Tecsun R9700DX, which is more expensive, but also a true analogue radio. Another option is the Tecsun R909. I don't have the R909 but I have heard many good things about it, I actually ordered one myself. Still waiting for delivery. All these radios work with regular AA batteries.
@@StratmanII The Tecsun PL-680 is a great suggestion! I don't have one (yet), it is a bit expensive for me, but it is one of the radios still on my wish list. I think, like you say, if you only want one very good radio, this is the one!
REaLradioss don,t MUTe between stations.but if everything you buy now has to look and perform like a computer you deserve what you get!@@StratmanII
What model is the radio right front with the handle on it?
That's the Toshiba TY-HRU30. It was branded as Toshiba here in South Africa and India and some other countries, but in North America it is known as the Audiocrazy. It is available on eBay, for example here: www.ebay.com/itm/126696319658?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oMim8pnWSCq&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
At this absolute-minimum cut-throat price level it will be hard to find a true winner. Both technologies have their advantages, and in general use each of the advantages may decide what you receive best.
In principle a DSP-based radio will offer way better near selectivity. I.e. when there is a stronger station adjacent to the one you are listening to, the DSP-based radio will receive it much better because the filters are way better. Those "coils" offer a sloped filter and that is what results in that gradually stronger signal when you tune. May sound "easy to tune" but in fact it is a bad filter that will not cut away nearby interfering stations as well as a DSP does.
However, the broadband selectivity of a DSP-based radio will be worse a that low price point, because there is no filtering ahead of the electronics at all, i.e. all signals go into the radio processing hardware, and it could get overloaded e.g. when you live near to a transmitter that works on a completely different band than you listen to.
At a slightly higher price-point, the DSP-based radio have switched analog front-end filters that pass only the band you listen to and then the DSP part cuts the one station out of that band.
Radios that do that will always outperform an analog radio without problem.
Thanks for your comment Rob! I agree that DSP radios with good filters are really quite good. But a very good analogue radio remains a joy to tune, with no soft muting and stations slowly fading in and out as you tune in. That is something that I haven't experienced on any DSP-based radio.
@@swlistening Sure, but for an experienced user that is not something you would want to have in a radio anyway.
Stations operate on a fixed frequency, and you can either just key that in or have a "tuning" that hops along the frequencies in the raster that is used on that particular band. So it becomes like a channel selector.
More advanced DSP radios have a scrolling "waterfall" display that shows you what is happening on the band and where the interesting signals are. That beats any analog tuning any time.
But as I said, you are looking at the absolutely lowest priced radios here.
A radio with waterfall, keyboard frequency entry, a settable step (e.g. 1kHz, 9kHz, 10kHz), a good front-end filter etc would cost a bit more, maybe starting at $200-$300 these days, but it would be so much better.
And when you omit the front-end filter requirement, it can be below $100 (e.g. the ATS120).
@@Rob2 Thanks again for your comment Rob. I think the analogue tuning experience is still something that many radio listeners like, myself included. For SW and MW DXing, analogue tuning helps to find the strongest possible signal. Of course, you can also tune in increments of 1 kHz on a DSP radio to find the strongest possible signal, but the soft muting can be quite irritating for some people. I think each type of radio has its advantages. The waterfall display radios you speak of, are really quite something, a great way to find interesting signals. I don't have such a radio, but I do use online SDRs sometimes, I enjoy the waterfall display on these.
@@swlistening I understand whay you mean, but "tuning for the strongest possible signal" only has meaning when the bandfilters in the receiver are wider than the signal you try to receive, and the shape of the bandfilter curve is like a hill.
In a DSP (SDR) receiver, the filters are brick-shaped and have the same width as the signal, and there is no such thing is "tuning for strongest signal", the only thing that matters is that the signal is within the bandfilter passband, and you hear that better by tuning for best sound quality than by tuning for strongest signal.
So it is more of an emotional thing than that it would be "better". Some people really want and like to tune the carburetor of their car engine for best performance, good and stable idling, and easy start in the cold. But the majority of cars have an electronic injection system that makes all that superfluous.
Differnce beetween anlog radios and DSP, is that the latter sucks a bit. With an anlog radio you can listen into an empty space in the spectrum, and stations can fade in from the crackle in a short while, its like listening to our world
Hi there Stig. This is true :-) I recently acquired a Tecsun PL-680 and what a pleasure to listen to the empty space and hear the stations fading in and out. It's something that you cannot find on DSP radios.
Sir please tell me witch one is the best ? Dsp or true Analogue
Amit, this is not easy to answer. Some true analogue radios are very sensitive, some DSP radios are very sensitive. Many people prefer the analogue way of tuning, where you can hear signals fading in and out as you tune. In most DSP radios you don't hear this. I prefer the analogue radios, like the Tecsun PL-680, for the way it tunes. I like to hear a weak signal slowly appearing and then tuning until I hear it clearly. But, in the end, you will hear similar stations on both.
Great review. One nit-pick: What you call a transformer - aren't these filters?
Thanks Johann, yes, I think you can also call them filters. I myself had to read up a bit about how exactly an analogue radio works (there is surprisingly little information). Some sources call them transformers (air-core transformers, to be precise). I suppose they do the same thing, in a way, filter signals and transform them to radio sound?
@kti Thank you so much for this. I am trying very hard to educate myself on the insides of these radios and how they work. I find it quite challenging 🙂
@kti Thank you so much for your explanation. I actually saw your previous comment last night as I went to bed, did not reply at that time. Really odd that it disappeared ... I appreciate that you repeated it. I will have to open up the radio again to show that chip, someone else also asked for a date on the IC board, which I did not show. I am planning a bit of an in-depth review of this radio at some point, so I will open it up again then.
Respected sir how is the reception of the tecsun r 9012 radio? please tell me sir 🙏
Hi Amit, some people like the R9012 very much and it does have quite good reception. Personally, I don't like mine so much, I think it is very noisy when tuning, there is a lot of atmospheric noise and it also picks up electrical noise. I prefer the R-909.
@@swlistening thankyou sir
I had that silver coloured near invisible to my eyes tuning needle changed to a red one few weeks ago from a radio technician.He had an old National radio which was truely dead and had a red tuning needle 😂
That sounds like a great idea!
Excelent episode!! Love the explanation.
I see you own a Telefunken radio. Telefunken was my first color TV back 1972. In Brazil Telefunken had a large plant. I thought Telefunken had bankrupcy. Is this rádio Telefunken or chinese using this reliable brand? Have a nice Sunday. Best regards, Mário.
Thank you for your comment Mario! Telefunken still sells their name to some companies, so they can brand the products as Telefunken. Here in South Africa we have many Telefunken products, from stoves to radios to TVs. But, of course, all these products are made in China, the Telefunken name is just added later. The quality is not quite the same as the real Telefunken from long ago.
@@swlistening oh I see, here in Brazil you can not find any Telefunken product and it was a very strong brand here. The Telefunken made in Brazil until late 80,s were excelent. I miss this brand.
@@mariojr377 Same here, I miss the true Telefunken brand.
@@swlistening Yes yes 😔
What about the Sony ICF P36? Is it a truly analogue radio or does it use a DSP?
I don't own this radio but I had a look at some pictures online, it looks like full analogue. One way you can see this is to look at the frequency displays on your dial. With DSP-based analogue radios the display is equally split. The space between, say 600 kHz and 800 khz, will be exactly the same as between, say 1200 kHz and 1400 kHz on the dial. On full analogue radios, the higher frequencies are squashed tighter together on the display. So on your dial there will be a lot of space between, say 531 kHz and 600 kHz, but 1400, 1500 and 1600 will appear squashed together. That is a clear sign of a full analogue radio.
@@swlistening wow man you sure do know a lot about radios
I have a Sony ICF-P26 radio and the P26 is analog while the P27 is DSP.
Thanks Miguel, I'm sure it's very interesting to compare those two. Which one is your favourite?
@@swlistening P26
@@Embargoman Thanks for replying!
Hi Good Morning from India. Do you also repair radios ?
No, sadly I don't. I do not have the technical skills or knowledge to do that.
I want to purchase portable radio ,witch one best radio please suggest me.
There are so many portable radios available, it really depends on what you want and how much you are willing to pay. The best inexpensive radio available right now is definitely the XHDATA D-219, it is a great radio at a very low price. It has very good sensitivity on SW and MW, runs on AA batteries, so it's also cheap to run. The Tecsun R9012 and Tecsun R909 are both good analogue options, they are about double the price of the D-219. And the Retekss V115 is another option, but it is not so good on SW with just the built-in antenna, you need to use a wire antenna to improve SW on this one. It does have MP3 playback and a very good speaker. All these radios are available at around $25 or less.
Thank you. this is great.
You're very welcome!
Great video!
Thank you Jakub, glad you enjoyed it!
I also have sw,mw radio tecsun r 9012.
It's a great little radio! But I recently got the Tecsun R-909 and I think I now like it more than the R9012. Seems to be just a little bit more sensitive.
Some of these radios are incredibly inexpensive (e.g. D-219, under $20), so it's not unreasonable to have several of each technology.
In other words, many people do not have to choose one, or the other.
Good point! It's fun that way to also compare the different technologies.
Dsb radio should have digital screen right so it bw good
My favourite radio
Which one, the Tecsun or the XHDATA?
Hi.Good job my friend.What is your opinion for the Tecsun R-909.
Thanks Dimitri. I like the R-909, I think it is a good radio, it is quite sensitive and picks up many stations on shortwave and medium wave. It is nice if you want a full analogue radio. But my honest opinion, the D-219 is better and cheaper.
@@swlistening Thank you very much.I will take a look to the D-219.Marry Christmas.
@@dimitris-oh4ce Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you also!
From any large fleamarket, you can get a wheelbarrow full of analog radios if that is what you want....
True, but you can't always be sure that they will work :-)
@@swlistening Still, producing new units while there is a glut of equipment (radio and otherwise) that often just needs minor repairs (cleaning, mains cords, capacitors), seems wasteful. OTOH, building a workshop when all one wants is just one radio might have a worse eco footprint indeed :(
@@splitprissm9339 That is very true, looks like both options are not so good for the environment. Best solution, in my opinion, is to buy one really good radio and use it for as long as you can.
The panasonic rf-2400 is DSP
Thank you for this, I actually thought it was full analogue.
@@swlistening No, it is a DSP, and I consider it among the best currently still sold in this category، rf-3500 is analog
@@khalidwave Thanks! I have, indeed, seen many comments on UA-cam and elsewhere from people who really like the RF-2400, seems like a great radio.
Panasonic 2400 - analog 2400D - DSP
@@ВалентинАн-р3ю Thank you!
Suara lebih baik mana?
Saya lebih suka suara pada D-219. Itu kurang keras.
salam hangat , saya juga pecinta radio ..
R 9012 or D 219 ?
These are both good radios, it really depends on what you want. The D-219 is about half the price of the R9012, so if price is a factor I would definitely recommend the D-219, it works very well. SW and MW sensitivity is excellent for such a small radio. The R9012 is analogue, so the user experience is a bit different, but it is also a great little radio. If I really had to choose between these two, I would pick the D-219, I think its reception is a bit better than the R9012.
💯💯💯💯💯
Thanks for watching!
3:40 Stop using that word "decoded" this is analog radio reception therefore it is 'demodulated'
Thanks Jeffrey, I was being very sloppy here with my language, I'll be more careful with technical terms in future. Of course it should be "demodulate" for the full analogue radios 😀 But I hope the idea still gets across.
I have a DAB+ radio.
I also have one, it is nice to hear some good-quality music on it.
Analog 👌
Hi there, thanks for your comment! There really is something about analogue that just makes it more like a real radio experience :-)
Is there really a good radios now a days...Dsp app junk....
Hi Fred, I think there are some very good DSP radios, for example the Qodosen DX-286, and there are still some good analogue radios, like the Tecsun PL-680, although the PL-680 is becoming hard to get.
There is no such thing as DSP based Analog
Once a signal has been digitally processed, it's still considered DSP after converting back to analog.
Thanks Robert. When I talk about DSP-based analogue I mean the tuning dial is analogue, the processing is DSP.
Tecsun is the best
Xh data .. retekes ....
Are so bads ..
Finaly
Chinese radios are
Baaaaaaad
Tecsun is also Chinese though 😁 There are some good Chinese radios, and I am thankful that Chinese companies are still developing and selling new SW radios. Nobody else seems to do it anymore, with one or two exceptions, like Eton in the US. But Eton radios are also made in China.
@@swlistening i tested philips made in china ..
And others
Really
They are no good
No quality
China is the best for manifectring shos and botts only
I had a small am/fm radio with "digital" display but the tunning wasn't digital. A made in China hoax, I guess. 😷
There are a few sets like that with digital displays, but inside they are true analogue, so yours might be true analogue inside. The Tecsun R818 is one such example. Do you remember the brand name of the set you had?
@@swlistening No, it wasn't a major brand.
@kti Yes it does, in a fuzzy logic manner. I don't have it anymore thats why I can't check the brand. It was pretty cheap.
@kti If this radio is a true analogue with digital frequency display it could actually be quite a nice radio. It's nice to see the exact frequency.
МОЛОДЕЦ
Большое спасибо!