Another excellent review. I was on the fence on this radio but soft muting problem is a deal breaker for me. Thanks again and keep these informative shows coming. Long time follower, Tom.
Thanks Dan I bought the pro-order model RF 919 which I received in May 2024 and agree with your assessment. I will not update the firmware until the Radioddity people assure that the firmware won’t brick my set. I am disappointed that the factory is not planning to address the lack of SSB on MW and making mode selection in the other bands easier. I would like to see SSB in the VHF/UHF ham bands as well. Full EQ selection such as my Zhiwhiz A320 for audio I find it helps cut thru QRM by changing the EQ for my ears. Finally changing the LNA/LPH filters to a more intuitive process, it is still confiding to me and holding the change settings until I finish too fast for me now. 73! Have a great day!
I picked up a Retekess TR113 (appears to be the same radio as the RF919) for $159 from the Jungle website on Cyber Monday. Great price, but I'm not impressed, for many of reasons you state above. I think it's going back to Amazon. For about $60 more you can pick up a SDRPlay RSPDX-2 and it does everything a ham radio receiver does, plus goes up to 2 GHz. Just not quite as portable as the Raddy...but still doable if you don't mind carrying around a laptop and the SDRPlay box. I'm also spoiled on not having a waterfall display. LOL 73, KD0GS
Thanks for keeping us up to speed on developments with this radio. It's too bad that the soft muting issue remains to be fully addressed. The value proposition is there as the RF919 is now down to $170 (plus tax) delivered on AliExpress and I suspect will soon drop further. Especially in comparison with the Tecsun 2200x at $327, which doesn't seem to be a great leap corward I was surprised to learn that your replacement RF919 came with firmware version 707. I upgraded my unit to version 706 with no problems about a week ago. Ver 706 provided a modest improvement on the muting issue but apparently Ver 707 does not contain further improvements. A UA-cam poster has indicated that his Retekess TR113 has Ver 707 installed and that it "solved" the muting problem. However when I queried Radioddity on this just a couple of days ago they said that 706 was the latest version available and cautioned that any upgrade for the Retekess equivalent model may not be compatible with the RF919. Raddy also said that they are still working on fixing the muting. BTW, my unit's SSB calibration is dead-on, so it's a QC issue and YMMV. I really enjoy other aspects of the RF919. As you've noted, audio quality is as good as most anything out there, and sensitivity and selectivity are up to snuff. It doesn't have synchronous detection but that is well implemented on my Tecsun PL-680 and I don't much miss it.
A little trick I use Dan on the PL330 is a little 3M black rubber sticker one thr tuning dial in order to speed up the dialing a little bit. I don't think the muting on the 330 is so bad. To this day the PL330 is, bar none, The best scanner for Shortwave I know! Good videos!
I passed to other you tube's, like Official Short Wave that the Raddy 919 Firmware update bricked it. I won't do it with mine. Actually, being over 80, and a SW listener and amateur radio operator over 60 years, I am becomming very disappointed with a lot of these Chines manufacturers, such as Baofeng, Raddiodity, Retevis and Ailunce too, mostly being clones of each other. Yes, Tecsun is pretty good. I have the Tecsun 501, which is good, however the Eton Elite Satellit, while I like HD for FM, could have a clearer LCD Display, and an AM Ferrite Rod Antenna, not just the whip antenna for AM, which is inadequate and swivels all over the place, like the previous model. I keep checking the Universal Radio website, and still see the Eton Executive HD FM capable portable, is still delayed as was the Eton Elite Satellit for several years, which I did obtain for $349.99 price as a pre order offer back then. Thanks. 73 de W2CH Ray😊
I did not get into some of the other issues in this video -- such as the design of the whip antenna on the RF919 which hits the top of the radio left side strap handle. My point with this vid is that there are better choices out there -- PL330, Qodosen 286, Tecsun S-8800, 501, 990 etc without muting and that Hanrongda should get its act together.
@dxace1 THanks Dan for your reply. I agree. Does the plug in turnable antenna, which mine did not come with, I have to still request mine yet, improve reception?
If they fixed the soft muting, problem, and it is a problem, a deal breaker for me, I would bite one one, and probably would have bought one as soon as they were introduced. I've had a couple of past receivers with soft muting, and one that instead of muting had an annoying "Zip-zip-zip" sound when tuned at anything faster than one step per second. I can't remember what make or model it was, I didn't have it long. Anything that tunes with a knob or buttons and soft mutes is a radio to pass on. It kind of amazes me that radios do it at all at this point in time.
You have to change the setting in the system settings to turn off the soft mute. Hold down the setting button in power off mode, Scroll the big dial until you get to: Mute Enable, press the inner tuner knob, and you can change to Disable - This makes it less harsh and turns off the soft muting. It has made it the same as my XHDATA D808 by doing this.
İnstead of the Raddy RF919 you can better go for the Sangean ATS909X2 which is a far better radio. Also the Sangean has no muting when searching the frequencies. İ don't recommend the R919. You can better save your money for a Tecsun S2200X or PL880 or PL990X!
💯 Even the PL-680 would be a better choice for someone who likes to manually scan SW. The Raddy RF919 (HRD-C919) is based on the Si4735 chip (for AM 150 kHz-30 MHz), similar to the ATS-20 (which is occasionally sold for around 13 bucks). On the ATS-20, you can upgrade the firmware to eliminate the soft-mute effect. Just saying...
The choice of radio depends on the features that you're looking for. I have the Sangean and it is a great radio especially for those who don't want soft muting. If you want other features such as Bluetooth, remote control, weather, CB, and better sound then the Raddy 919 is a great radio and my choice.
Overpriced Chinesium. I've been DX'ing since the late 60s and have had dozens of radios from dirt cheap to several kilobucks. While I like and regularly use my Tecsun PL-880 and 990, I agree with those who are disappointed with many Chinese offerings. The form factor is also butt ugly, looks like someone slapped together parts of different radios. For me, nice try but no cigar. Thanks Dan
Well, the capabilities of the 919 are indeed amazing. Wide band coverage, recording to microSD, phone app control, huge speaker, multi-bandwidths, and antenna tuning, a feature we have not seen in many years in a portable. But the soft muting is a killer for many people.
Another excellent review. I was on the fence on this radio but soft muting problem is a deal breaker for me. Thanks again and keep these informative shows coming. Long time follower, Tom.
Thanks Tom -- I do enjoy your videos
Thanks Dan I bought the pro-order model RF 919 which I received in May 2024 and agree with your assessment. I will not update the firmware until the Radioddity people assure that the firmware won’t brick my set.
I am disappointed that the factory is not planning to address the lack of SSB on MW and making mode selection in the other bands easier. I would like to see SSB in the VHF/UHF ham bands as well. Full EQ selection such as my Zhiwhiz A320 for audio I find it helps cut thru QRM by changing the EQ for my ears. Finally changing the LNA/LPH filters to a more intuitive process, it is still confiding to me and holding the change settings until I finish too fast for me now.
73! Have a great day!
I picked up a Retekess TR113 (appears to be the same radio as the RF919) for $159 from the Jungle website on Cyber Monday. Great price, but I'm not impressed, for many of reasons you state above. I think it's going back to Amazon. For about $60 more you can pick up a SDRPlay RSPDX-2 and it does everything a ham radio receiver does, plus goes up to 2 GHz. Just not quite as portable as the Raddy...but still doable if you don't mind carrying around a laptop and the SDRPlay box. I'm also spoiled on not having a waterfall display. LOL 73, KD0GS
Thanks for keeping us up to speed on developments with this radio.
It's too bad that the soft muting issue remains to be fully addressed. The value proposition is there as the RF919 is now down to $170 (plus tax) delivered on AliExpress and I suspect will soon drop further. Especially in comparison with the Tecsun 2200x at $327, which doesn't seem to be a great leap corward
I was surprised to learn that your replacement RF919 came with firmware version 707. I upgraded my unit to version 706 with no problems about a week ago. Ver 706 provided a modest improvement on the muting issue but apparently Ver 707 does not contain further improvements.
A UA-cam poster has indicated that his Retekess TR113 has Ver 707 installed and that it "solved" the muting problem. However when I queried Radioddity on this just a couple of days ago they said that 706 was the latest version
available and cautioned that any upgrade for the Retekess equivalent model may not be compatible with the RF919. Raddy also said that they are still working on fixing the muting.
BTW, my unit's SSB calibration is dead-on, so it's a QC issue and YMMV.
I really enjoy other aspects of the RF919. As you've noted, audio quality is as good as most anything out there, and sensitivity and selectivity are up to snuff. It doesn't have synchronous detection but that is well implemented on my Tecsun PL-680 and I don't much miss it.
A little trick I use Dan on the PL330 is a little 3M black rubber sticker one thr tuning dial in order to speed up the dialing a little bit. I don't think the muting on the 330 is so bad. To this day the PL330 is, bar none, The best scanner for Shortwave I know! Good videos!
Tks for the suggestion -- any URLs appreciated
Very nice 👍
Seems less options / better (no muting ) issue. The soft muting should come first in options, then add what works with it & illuminate what doesn't.
I passed to other you tube's, like Official Short Wave that the Raddy 919 Firmware update bricked it. I won't do it with mine. Actually, being over 80, and a SW listener and amateur radio operator over 60 years, I am becomming very disappointed with
a lot of these Chines manufacturers, such as Baofeng, Raddiodity, Retevis and Ailunce too, mostly being clones of each other. Yes, Tecsun is pretty good. I have the Tecsun 501, which is good, however the Eton Elite Satellit, while I like HD for FM, could
have a clearer LCD Display, and an AM Ferrite Rod Antenna, not just the whip antenna for AM, which is inadequate and swivels all over the place, like the previous model. I keep checking the Universal Radio website, and still see the Eton Executive
HD FM capable portable, is still delayed as was the Eton Elite Satellit for several years, which I did obtain for $349.99 price as a pre order offer back then. Thanks. 73 de W2CH Ray😊
I did not get into some of the other issues in this video -- such as the design of the whip antenna on the RF919 which hits the top of the radio left side strap handle. My point with this vid is that there are better choices out there -- PL330, Qodosen 286, Tecsun S-8800, 501, 990 etc without muting and that Hanrongda should get its act together.
@dxace1 THanks Dan for your reply. I agree. Does the plug in turnable antenna, which mine did not come with, I have to still request mine yet, improve reception?
@@raymondmartin6737 yes a noticeable difference and mla30+ works well with this radio
I'm still testing it
@dxace1 Thanks 😊 good luck
If they fixed the soft muting, problem, and it is a problem, a deal breaker for me, I would bite one one, and probably would have bought one as soon as they were introduced. I've had a couple of past receivers with soft muting, and one that instead of muting had an annoying "Zip-zip-zip" sound when tuned at anything faster than one step per second. I can't remember what make or model it was, I didn't have it long. Anything that tunes with a knob or buttons and soft mutes is a radio to pass on. It kind of amazes me that radios do it at all at this point in time.
You have to change the setting in the system settings to turn off the soft mute. Hold down the setting button in power off mode, Scroll the big dial until you get to: Mute Enable, press the inner tuner knob, and you can change to Disable - This makes it less harsh and turns off the soft muting. It has made it the same as my XHDATA D808 by doing this.
I disagree -- this feature does not sufficiently improve the soft muting problem....and the D-808 is still actually superior
İnstead of the Raddy RF919 you can better go for the Sangean ATS909X2
which is a far better radio. Also the Sangean has no muting when searching the frequencies. İ don't recommend the R919. You can better save your money for a Tecsun S2200X or PL880 or PL990X!
💯 Even the PL-680 would be a better choice for someone who likes to manually scan SW. The Raddy RF919 (HRD-C919) is based on the Si4735 chip (for AM 150 kHz-30 MHz), similar to the ATS-20 (which is occasionally sold for around 13 bucks). On the ATS-20, you can upgrade the firmware to eliminate the soft-mute effect. Just saying...
The choice of radio depends on the features that you're looking for. I have the Sangean and it is a great radio especially for those who don't want soft muting. If you want other features such as Bluetooth, remote control, weather, CB, and better sound then the Raddy 919 is a great radio and my choice.
Missing ssb on vhf/uhf, softmute, missing data poort.
Deal-breaker
When we re-start to produce beautiful sophisticated hf receivers in the USA and Europe? why should we wait for expensive cheap quality Chinese radios?
Too many AH's.
rf919 is a piece of crap! bought one,sent it back! I will not buy from Raddy ever again. rf320 is also a piece of crap!
Overpriced Chinesium. I've been DX'ing since the late 60s and have had dozens of radios from dirt cheap to several kilobucks. While I like and regularly use my Tecsun PL-880 and 990, I agree with those who are disappointed with many Chinese offerings. The form factor is also butt ugly, looks like someone slapped together parts of different radios. For me, nice try but no cigar. Thanks Dan
Well, the capabilities of the 919 are indeed amazing. Wide band coverage, recording to microSD, phone app control, huge speaker, multi-bandwidths, and antenna tuning, a feature we have not seen in many years in a portable. But the soft muting is a killer for many people.
Looks cheap and nasty