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MW radio showdown: Does the newcomer beat the legends? (XHDATA vs Sangean vs Qodosen)
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2024
- The XHDATA D-808 and the Sangean PR-D4W are two tried and tested, and very popular, portable radios for MW listening. The Qodosen SR-286 is the new kid on the block. Which one is the MW king?
I compare these three top-performing MW radios on a very distant signal, VOA 1530 kHz from São Tomé island, a distance of 3800 km, 2400 miles, from my location in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This comparison is with internal ferrite antennas only, indoors. All three radios perform well, the signal was quite strong tonight. In the end, I think the Qodosen is clearer and much less noisy, although the signal is quite clear on the XHDATA and the Sangean as well.
00:00 VOA from São Tomé on three top radios
00:54 Qodosen SR-286 (4 kHz bandwidth)
01:57 XHDATA D-808 (different bandwidths)
03:45 Sangean PR-D4W (different bandwidths)
05:08 Back to the Qodosen (3 kHz bandwidth)
That's an easy question, Andre! The Qodosen wins every time because it's the best one in your collection! 😀 However, to be fair the SR-286 hasn't quite met the C Crane EP Pro, HanRongDa HRD-757, Eton Elite Executive, Tecsun PL-680, PL-880 or the Sangean ATS-909X2 yet, so the Q will always take first place for the time being! 🏅🏆📻
That is very true! I do not own any of those radios you mention, so in my current collection, my personal opinion is that the Qodosen is definitely my best radio 😀
Some of these radios you mention are in a very different price class though, up to two or three times the price of the new, cheaper DX-286. Like the Sangean ATS-909X and the Eton Elite Executive. The three radios in my video are all more or less in the same price range, the new DX-286 is $79, the D-808 is $65 (with SSB, which neither the Qodosen nor the Sangean has), and the Sangean PR-D4W is around $66, with no SW coverage though.
That HRD-757 looks like a very intriguing radio, I saw it on Ali Express. Do you have one of those? And the CCrane EP Pro, you are tempting me now by mentioning that name! It is said to be really excellent on MW. It is also more or less in the same price range as the Qodosen, D-808 and PR-D4W. It is not part of my collection, not yet 😜
@@swlistening No sir, I have just seen the sales pages for the HRD-757 - there are no real world reviews of it at this time of writing. I am intrigued by this radio's LCD display - it's the longest that I've seen on any receiver! The HRD-757 seems to be longer than it is taller and that length could translate to a longer ferrite core antenna that won't fit into pocket radios like the D-219. 🙂
All the contenders I had mentioned earlier are of reasonable horizontal length and when it comes to MW reception, it mostly boils down to the efficacy of their internal ferrite core (the EP Pro has two of them). DSP and SDR radios that rely on external long wire or magnetic loop antennas are excluded since the external antennas' sensitivity to longer wavelengths determine how good they are at picking up long and medium wave stations.
I live in an environment that is already challenging for shortwave DXing and MW DX'ing only gets me a faint VoA broadcast from Thailand targeted at Myanmar. I can get away with receiving SLBC City FM's shortwave feed from Sri Lanka (just discovered this last night) but apart from that lone 1575 kHz Voice of America transmission, there's just static on the rest of the medium wave band.
Alas, the Tecsun AN-200 induction loop antenna which I bought wasn't exactly a miraculous cure. It's more like a crutch for my radios on the MW band. 😥📻
@@StratmanII Really such a pity that you can't catch MW signals there. But, like I said before, maybe when you get the chance to go down to the coast for a holiday, away from a big city, you might have some real luck with MW listening. I think there are some interesting signals to catch in Southeast Asia.
Let's hope we start seeing reviews of the HRD 757 soon. I am quite intrigued by that radio.
I have the D-808 second gen with amber display, and C Crane CC Radio 2E, among many other portable sets. The C Crane has some of the best MW reception, if it has the twin coil antenna, in the model. D-808 second gen is not bad for its size, but the third gen I heard has weaker MW and stronger SW sensitivity. I heard that the xx-286 is better with whip or external antenna for MW because the ferrite bar isn't very big, but whip isn't as good for noise for indoor use.
I am tempted to buy the DX-286 but haven't decided yet. I have too many radios but not enough time to play with them as I am more of a ham than a true RX DXers like some of you. So these are just a side curiosity for me.
@@nine7295 What you heard is correct, the DX-286 is very, very good with an external antenna such as the whip or a wire. I use mine indoors with the Tecsun AN-200 loop, and it works very well. The loop has good nulling abilities, so it is not noisy, even indoors. If you are unable to use the radio outdoors, then it might be a good option to consider getting a loop like the AN-200. I must add though, the internal ferrite antenna on the Qodosen might be small, but it is very effective. Easily on par with my Sangean PR-D4W, sometimes even better. And less noisy.
The C Crane EP Pro needs to be in the competition. It uses an old style analog dial but is an incredible performer on AM. The more expensive C Crane 2/3E are also very good but have a history of not being dependable over time. And, of course, the vintage GE SuperRadio 2 can blow almost every other AM radio out of the water if you can find a used one for sale. But for a small super-AM radio, the Qodosen SR-296 (now the DX-296) is hard to beat, especially at the new, lower price. I also like the performance of my tiny Belka-DX. I own the latest AM band capable unit but also the older, non-AM band unit with a SV2CZF VLF-MF converter (V-LFR10) added on the front end to listen to the AM band. It is also very good at AM DXing and offers all the great DSP control menu options of the Belka-DX, too.
Thanks for your comment! I agree, I think the CCrane EP Pro should definitely be part of this comparison. When I bought my Sangean PR-D4W , I was torn between getting the CCrane or the Sangean. I decided on the Sangean. But I do want to get the EP Pro as well, I think it is very good on MW. Old-style radios are, unfortunately, a bit hard to come by in good condition here in South Africa, but I am always on the lookout for something good. If I do find something nice, you will certainly see it on my channel! And yes, I think the Qodosen is quite remarkable on MW. The Belka sounds like a very good option also, I know it gets very good reviews. Yet something else to add to my to-buy list...
Thanks Andre for another radio mix-up and I believe the little “Q” won again with the 808 2nd, I am surprised the Sangean had trouble suppressing the RF noise…well it is the oldest design.
However, on all three radios, I think we’ll all agree, better than actually going to the location and a whole lot cheaper….😂!
Have a great day! 73!
I am also a bit surprised by the Sangean's performance in general. I was quite excited about getting it, but, so far, it has not really impressed me. It is a good radio, for sure, but not as good as I had expected. Maybe it is because it is the oldest design, as you say.
Qodosen always wins :D maybe the Sangean has a better sounding speaker though. Next test level would be to run all the radio through the same external speaker
It does 😀 The sound in this video was recorded digitally via the earphone jacks to my Tecsun ICR-110. So it is basically the same speaker in all cases, namely the Tecsun ICR-110's recorder.
@@swlistening nice. so the qodosen just always wins no matter what lol
@@KekmanForTheRestOfTheWorld Kind of looks like it 😀
we should a compar with intenal antenna (ferrite )if possible😊
Hi there Kamal, thanks for the suggestion, I will do that.
Love the three job, but clearly qodosens wins
Thanks Marcos. I think there are very few, if any, portable radios that can beat the Qodosen on MW. The Qodosen is just excellent on MW.
What sort speakers do you have hooked up to the Dx-286? Interesting how well that station comes in!
Hi Josh, I use my Tecsun ICR-110 as a recorder and as the speaker, on all the radios here. The ICR-110 has very good sound, it has a passive radiator speaker. But the main reason why I use it, is because I can record the sound. That means what you hear in my videos is clearer and it gives a better indication of what the radios can do, irrespective of speaker differences.
Best at 2.5 kHz BW on D-808 because 2.5 kHz looks like 5 kHz. It seems that BW values on TEF6686 receivers are correct.
I think so too, the bandwidth values on the TEF6686 radios appear more correct.
So, what's the difference between the SR-286 and the DX-286 ?
Hi Tim, they are said to be exactly the same. Only some shortcut functions have changed, and the price has been lowered. I have a DX-286 on its way to me, so I will make some comparison videos between the DX-286 and the SR-286 once my DX-286 arrives.
too bad no SSB, i like to listen to short wave pirates here in North America. Have they any plans to add SSB ?
Hi Robert, they said they are looking into it, but the R&D is costly and time-consuming. Apparently it is not easy to add SSB to the TEF6686 chip.
Yes, that chip was originally designed for car audio systems about 12 years ago, so it's not in the original design.
I hate to say that, but to me they all feel the same in terms of performance on MW - especially, when speaker is not a factor for testing; so, as always, IMHO - antenna is what really matters. Interestingly, the Sangean PR-D4W is able to produce much bass, I'd call it X-BASS. D-808 also has more bass than the SR-286, if that matters (I'm listening throug headphones, so the difference is quite prominent)...
I agree with you about the antenna, that is, in the end, what can make a big real difference. This is where the Qodosen has a really big advantage, in my opinion, if you use its whip antenna outdoors, away from RFI. I tested mine in the park, using the whip and a short wire attached, and reception was simply excellent.
The sound you hear in this video is not via the speakers, it is via the earphone jacks on all three radios. I recorded the sound digitally to my Tecsun ICR-110. So the sound you hear is not influenced by speaker quality. I think the more bassy sound on the D-808 and the Sangean is because of the narrower bandwidth settings on those two radios. I do hear it quite clearly as well. The narrowest bandwidth setting on the Qodosen is 3 kHz, on the other two it can go down to 1 kHz.
In the end, I agree with you that the difference here is small. I prefer the clearer and less noisy sound on the Qodosen, but on this particular signal all three these radios sound good. It's kind of a matter of personal choice here.
Even a slight change in the placement of a receiver can bring substantial change in reception. You should have tried that.. See what happened when you touched the antenna of the Quodosen.. Not a very fair comparison.
Hi Prasad, I do move each radio around to find the best possible reception on its internal ferrite antenna. I give each radio a fair chance.
I don't know anything about the brand Qodosen.?
Hi John, I also don't know anything about the brand, to be honest. And there seems to be no information online. The little I have read about them before is that they have been active in the Chinese domestic market for a while, before launching the SR-286 to a more international market via Ali Express.
@@swlistening thanks for the information indeed! I must say the Qodosen seems like a sensitive DXer? Thanks...
@@johnbeckham1483 It is very sensitive indeed! I have quite a number of videos on my channel showing the good catches I have had with the Qodosen.
Hi andrea
, Does sangean has external antenna
And whats the result if do the test without external antenna
Hi Eyad, the Sangean does not have an external antenna. Only the internal ferrite. Sometimes I use the Tecsun AN-200 loop with the Sangean. It definitely improves weak signals.
@@swlistening Last week I do some interesting experiment. Take small digital dsp radio Rysamton YK-221, Remove ferrite loop and connect it directly to Tecsun AN-200 loop through 3.5 audio jack. I pick some very weak signals I didn't recieve pefore
@@AymanAli-vet This sounds very interesting indeed! I actually connect my Tecsun AN-200 to the Qodosen via the external antenna jack. It works really well, even better than when I pair it passively to the radio.
@@swlisteningThough a bit off topic, the PR-D4W produces noticeably more signal gain when coupled with a passive tunable loop positioned to the right of the radio rather than the left.
One other thing: I perform MW comparisons between radios during daylight ground-wave conditions because nighttime conditions tend to produce unstable results due to skywave signals fading in and out.
@@swlisteningWhat kind of connecting cable do you use for that? Thank you.
Qodosen the winner. Best audible voice and less noise. I wish I can have the newer DX 286 version
The new version looks like it is exactly the same, but a bit cheaper. Good choice, I think, if you decide to get one.
@@swlistening I already decide but it takes some time to arrive
@@AymanAli-vet Enjoy the new radio!
73 de Frank SWL F14368 organizer of the SWL contest 2024 ( June, july, august )
Listenability to Qodosen.
Thanks James, my feeling as well. All three are good, but the Qodosen is clearer and less noisy.