Mine arrived a week ago. Very pleased. Was concerned about a rumor that the case was flimsy plastic. I dropped it from waist high onto my tile floor(accidently holding it by the center antenna) with no visible damage to case. Probably aluminum alloy with a thick coat of paint. Very nice sound, 20w as advertised. Needs an external antenna for serious listening.
Well I'm enjoying so far so good, figured it out a lot more already. I bought 2 antennas from amazon none of them fit lol. Can you please inform me of a few antennas that will actually fit this radio. I need some indoor ones for ssb stations and also uhf stations. I don't want to make the same mistake buying wrong ones again😂 tia.
Great looking radio ! With the T- shape antenna on top it kind of reminds me of the dynamite 8- track player which was probably out before your time. Another good video, Thanks!
Great review, ive got one of these on order! 👍 I've got the TR112 and this TR113 looks like a huge step up in features! The direct entry and the back-lit buttons are awesome features to have. Now I have to wait impatiently for a week or so before I have mine. 🤪🤪😂 Pete
I believe the antenna connection in question is an sma for vhf/uhf whip antenna. How is the tunning knob? Some say the Raddy version feels loose and like it will break.
Ah ha! yup, that's it. If you want to use this a a scanner, that's the antenna plug for it. The knob isn't like the 750 eton, but it's not cheap feeling either.
@@FarpointFarms - Really cool! I just noticed a base station microphone on your shelf too (same shelf as the mixer). That looks like an old Johnson Messenger base station mic (I have a video of that base station on my YT channel actually from years ago. Geesh, from 13 years ago actually). Subscribing to your channel now! Thanks!
@@FarpointFarms Curious about something else. It seems that the TR113 has a fixed battery while the RF919 has 2 removable 2500mAh batteries that you could upgrade if you want. Do you think this would be a selling point for the RF919, they seem like the same radio, or do you think it matters? Thanks again for this great video.
Update: Squelch has failed causing lack of reception on CB Band, so after just one week this is going back. I may try another one but I don't have high hopes for it either. After I got this I tested all frequencies every day including the CB band. I had problems with two TR-110 radios, they had issues also. Control your excitement and test it out in every way because, you may find you are not going to hear anything because of squelch circuit failure.
@FarpointFarms I broke down and bought an AOR AR8600 and I am really liking it. I found one in excellent condition, not all banged up, works very well. I wanted to like the TR-113 because, it was nice and compact and all of that but it just couldn't cut the mustard.
That is probably the most badass looking radio I've ever seen & it's got some cool features. I play around with webSDR every now & then & have been debating getting a portable SW radio for around a decade, but this is seriously making want to pull the trigger soon lol Only thing is I'm kind of weary from some comments I've seen about it going bad. And what about the battery pack? Is it replaceable? Also does this even have an AC adapter or can it be powered by USB/USB block plugged into an outlet? Can you use bluetooth headphones with it??
The battery is a 18650 so that isn't an issue. Yes, you can run it on USB, but it makes some noise. There are other options that are a little easier to use, but nowhere near as cool to look at.
@@FarpointFarms Radio nav aids called "nondirectional beacons" all broadcast a morse code signal identifying the particular beacon, which can be heard over the aircraft comnav radio, so the pilot can find it on his map and use it to navigate. I learned to use them when I got my pilot license years ago. It's been a long time since I've flown, and I think NDBs are being retired now, but there's at least one where I live that still broadcasts.
Sidenote: Only precious Radio Shack sold an SWR Meter with the coax patch cord for between cb and meter. Others offer it separately, but a very important part of using it to test and tune your antenna. Really makes a radio with a built-swr meter appealing, but an above base level external swr meter will often have a "watt meter" mode.
Considering it's not a transmitter, you don't have to worry about the SWR too much. A close match will Improve your reception, but in general I just use a piece of wire strung out for the shortwave/hf bands, 50-60 feet or so seems to work fairly good. Another option: Amazon! They sell little dipole antenna kits on there. Again, don't worry too much about building one to exacting specs as you're not transmitting through. And almost any run of wire set up outdoors and above the ground will be an improvement over the telescopic antenna. 👍😉
@@007tallguy Good on you keeping it relevant to the vid! Longwires are worth the trouble with reception, but unless your neighbor arc welds 24/7 a magnetic loop is much better. The name barely makes sense, but it is a loop, and fits indoors, and is not a lightening catcher when you are not home, like an outdoor antenna. Mag Loops are endfire directional, and you can roll apogee to get closer in skip waves, and high-q, so nearly ignores rfi.
I’m curious how this radio compares to the Choyong LC90 for the capabilities they share. I know they have different features but I consider both premium portables. I just bought the LC90 and am learning how to use it. I’m wondering if I made the right decision to spend money on the Choyong before buying the Retekess.
@@FarpointFarms sorry I worded my query badly. I should have just asked if anyone that owns both has an opinion on which radio to buy first if you didn’t have money to buy both.
@kirktinsley5397 it's tough to say since the lc90 includes the excellent internet radio built in as well. That certainly gives it an edge in my book, but it may not matter to some.
@@FarpointFarmsthanks for your input. I think I agree with you. I thought that having internet radio would be a cool thing. But I’m surprised by just how much I love that feature. In fact internet radio now intrigues me just as much as shortwave radio did when I bought my first receiver.
i have an old book 2007 passport to world band radio mint condition back half all short wave radio station listing stops at 21850 mhz other night picked up a bunch 21995 to 23500 6 more channels still play with this hobby made a long wire which i wind back on a fly fishing reel grounded 1 end to the reel then have a cord with alligator clips from reel to telescopic antenna makes a big difference something to pass time late evening
I have just bought this but, after just one night battery life is not exciting, I can have it fully charged one day lightly use it and having three bars still and the following day have one bar for some reason. Not sure why the battery fails so fast unless the clock uses that much power but, I'm more inclined to think the battery is sub par. I won't be able to just remove this battery, they have tried to make it more permanent sort of. I have used this up north in Michigan and the best I can do is pick up two AM broadcasts which is all my vehicle radio will pick up at the same exact location. Back here near Detroit it picks up all the many AM radio stations just fine, no complaints there.
Maybe. In any case test the heck out of it and with the new problem you may find a squelch failure possibly and not even know maybe because that failure just stops any sounds to the speaker. When it does this you will see the secondary screen showing it is getting the signal which I proved it does receive it by turning off the squelch. Not sure if squelch on this TR-113 can be set higher than 1 like the squelch on the TR-110 but anything on the 110 above setting 1 was too much. But anyway this radio is at setting one and there is no doubt it is not working now.
That ferrite is only for am and lw...you have to use the antenna tunner in the back ..sorry im not reviewing it you are my bad the chuffing on sw is pretty bad on the raddy..dont forget the colors on the screen lol sorry again
Do not waste your money on this radio. It should never have been released for sale and basically it should be in the Beta stage. There are much better radios on the market and for equal or less money. It is definitely a packed radio as far as functions and with the ability to be controlled from an App. I owned this radio for roughly two weeks and in that time these are the issues I found with it from an operation point of view. It’s since been returned. What caught my eye on this radio was the range of frequencies it covers, that it can receive Upper and Lower sidebands and the UHF / VHF ability. The other draw was it could be linked to an app. #1 Issue was the muting of the audio when tuning through the frequencies. This to me is a big issue and as far as I saw was yet to be fixed through a software upgrade. In fact many persons say not to perform the upgrade since the patch had issues to the level of “Bricking” the radio, making as useful as a brick. #2 Issue was the unstable receiver. I noticed that tuning into a strong signal on a secondary radio (Yaesu FTdx10) and an external antenna and setting the TR113 to the same frequency, that the radio was tuned lower than the reference radio. Tuning higher using the fine tune control brought the signal in, but when moving away and then back to the same frequency it was not consistent and needed to be adjusted once again. This was repeated over and with differing results. #3 Issue was the external antenna jack. This was a selling point for me being able to connect external antenna’s VHF / UHF through the SMA top connector and shortwave (HF) to the rear of the radio. The radio also has a third input on the top next to the SMA connector for a magnetic (ferrite) antenna that comes with the radio. The jack on the top for this antenna is basically a 3.5mm stereo jack. The rear jack never seemed to make good contact to my external antenna and I was using basically a mono 3.5mm plug / cable / PL 259 connector to the antenna. I can’t confirm, but the top and rear connector on the radio looks to be the same (stereo). The standard for these portable receivers uses mono plugs like the Sangean ANT-60. I found the connection to be loose and finicky. #4 Issue was with the App. Basically the app works as a remote control. It will not provide an audio signal and is only for remove control. The main issue I found was with tuning. The App has an UP / Down button and basically tunes the radio in jumps of 10khz. No where in the app could I find any way to reduce the step lower than 10khz even if the actual radio had the lowest setting possible. There are a lot of reviews of this radio and very few go into issues and how poor of a radio this is. There are other issues with this radio (poor manual, lack of a VHF / UHF rubber ducky antenna, etc.). I've very surprised on the reviews it gets and was partially the reason of deciding to go with it. Invest your money elsewhere in either a Sangean or a Tecsun that has been around for a few years and have proven track records. This radio will probably be replaced by another model leaving you without any support or software upgrades. Its also in my opinion not a good radio for someone starting out in shortwave listening.
Hey Eric the raddy rf-919 it mutes while tuning a lot of the guys into swl don't like that well they had a firmware upgrade dan Robinson who reviewed the raddy model downloads the update and it bricked it. Now it's a decorative paperweight.. im hoping this model is better but a lit of buyers of the rf-919 were really unhappy with it seeing the price point they should never released it with all those issues..
Raddy reached out to me to see if I could update mine to confirm the issue. Umm. Nope! I like my radios to work!! I'll wait until they fix the bricking issues before I update mine.
Hi dear, this may be the reason why our TR113 is better than RF919 now. Although we haven't solved the problem of mute tuning, the firmware version of our TR113 is the latest on the market. There is no need to risk upgrading and worry about the product getting bricked. The firmware version currently released by Raddy is exactly what our TR113 is equipped with. In addition, our TR113 also optimizes the quality problems of the original version. Regarding the mute tuning, we also attach great importance to this market feedback, because it directly affects the user experience. We have reported this problem to the factory and are following up.
@retekessradio1714 I get that but why release a product with so many issues when it comes to shortwave listening thats a big no no..every tecsun and others this isn't an issue. Now you guys are trying to do damage control..thats the main question why release the product with those issues. id buy one not untill the mute while tuning is fixed and other issues..
@@alabamared2568 Hi dear, I'm sorry that these issues make you feel bad. What we want to explain is that not all products can 100% meet all customer requirements after releasing. Mute tuning is actually not a "problem" because mute tuning is exactly the characteristic of DSP radio when tuning. In the early market research, not all users said they care about this matter. After the product was actually launched, users began to report that this was a "problem", so we began to pay attention to it and adjust the product so that more users can be satisfied. 🥲
This is the Raddy RF919. I guess these Chinese companies are either all owned together or copy each others products religiously until someone gets it perfected. There is a $10 dollar difference between this and the Raddy on amazon. Another good review Eric, thanks. Heard you on 26 AM recently, you were 5X5 into North Texas but unfortunately the DX wasn't on my side getting out and I never could reach ya. Picked up an old "Super Scanner" Vertical Beam antenna recently from an estate sale. Going to try to toss that up when the temp drops below 90F in a few months, maybe finally be able to catch the tail end of the Sun spot activity. Catch ya on the next one!
Not to be negative, but that is a DOG of an antenna, save yourself the trouble, and make it 1 vertical dipole. The solenoids, matching unit/phase switcher are lossy, glitchy and there are 3 coax lines u can use for other stuff. Unless it is still in the box, save your time and make a vertical or horizontal dipole, or 1 of each with all the parts. Good luck, get on the air asap!!!
Hi dear, just want to clarify we are not RF919 clone, actually Raddy and our TR113 have the same prototype, we both obtained the patent and sales authorization from the original manufacturer, but they are just released earlier than ours. By the way, our TR113 is superior to RF919 in version, we have the latest firmware version and optimized the quality problems of the early version. That's why our TR113 is currently better than Raddy RF919 on the market. 😁
@@retekessradio1714 Didn't know that. Thanks, however there still remains an issue of improper radio spectrum for USA customers. 225-380 MHz is used in AM mode and is predominantly US Military/US Federal Aviation. This band IS NOT used in FM or even NFM. The 2 meter band (144-148 MHz) is used in FM not NFM but there is some SSB in there too so to have SSB (LSB/USB) and FM for the HAM bands would be really nice. Also the spectrum from 130 to 145 MHz is AM and FM. 138-143 MHz is generally used by US Armed Forces, National Guard, US Coast Guard. In some cases it can be NFM for P25 users (Which is mostly Military). Lastly, 33-54 MHz is still FM, the FCC has not allocated that to be NFM. You are building fantastic radios, They would sell off the shelves even faster if the frequency spectrum was geared for US, USA/Canada and North America in general.
@@ERICtheLATE I'm on the air lol. Have a gizmotchy 4 element beam up and a Sigma ground plane going loud and proud. I remeber the Super Scanner from the 80's and just wanted to try it out. I am nailing the West Coast and even PNW just fine with this skip pattern, it just isn't letting me in up to the Northeast very well. Thanks for the advice though. 828 in the Lone Star state ...
I think it would had been a lot better if you would have actually picked up an AM radio station. Day or night they are on the air. (Maybe you live in a Faraday cage? Or RF blackhole?) Is the radio that deaf or don't you have an external radio. All I heard was noise during the 99% of your demo. I'm not interested in a deaf radio...
I assure you there are exactly ZERO AM radio stations that reach my property in daytime hours. The closest stations are 22 and 45 miles away and they are 1000 watt and 5000 watt. With a very low noise floor (low solar activity) and a really great radio on a long wire I can pick up the 22 mile away one sometimes weakly. The other less so, but every once and a while. Night time is a totally different story. Because there is no local powerhouse, I can hear the enter country! I miss Raleigh and 680, 850, 580, 1450 and others. I was spoiled as a kid i guess!
I tried mine in upper Michigan and there are 2 weak stations that come in just as weak as they do on my car radio in exact same area. No problems getting plenty of AM broadcasts in the Detroit area, picks em all up.
Hi dear, we are not RF919 clone. Actually Raddy and our TR113 have the same prototype, but they are just released earlier than ours. By the way, our TR113 is superior to RF919 in version, we have the latest firmware version and optimized the quality problems of the early version. That's why our TR113 is currently better than Raddy RF919 on the market. 😁
Mine arrived a week ago. Very pleased. Was concerned about a rumor that the case was flimsy plastic. I dropped it from waist high onto my tile floor(accidently holding it by the center antenna) with no visible damage to case. Probably aluminum alloy with a thick coat of paint. Very nice sound, 20w as advertised. Needs an external antenna for serious listening.
Good to know about the durability of the "drop test".
Just recieved my radio and can't even turn it off 😂 I have a long journey ahead. Fantastic looking radio.
There are lots of buttons to figure out, I have faith in you that you can figure it out.
Well I'm enjoying so far so good, figured it out a lot more already.
I bought 2 antennas from amazon none of them fit lol. Can you please inform me of a few antennas that will actually fit this radio. I need some indoor ones for ssb stations and also uhf stations.
I don't want to make the same mistake buying wrong ones again😂 tia.
Hold the power button down it will. Yes, take a learning curve but I have gotten good at it.
Great looking radio ! With the T- shape antenna on top it kind of reminds me of the dynamite 8- track player which was probably out before your time. Another good video, Thanks!
I remember that radio.
Great review, ive got one of these on order! 👍
I've got the TR112 and this TR113 looks like a huge step up in features! The direct entry and the back-lit buttons are awesome features to have. Now I have to wait impatiently for a week or so before I have mine. 🤪🤪😂
Pete
Hope you enjoy it!
Nice looking radio, with lots of cool features. I bet the channels and bands are busy this evening!
John-- I was so busy watching the news I never turned on the radio to listen in
@@FarpointFarms Same here
I believe the antenna connection in question is an sma for vhf/uhf whip antenna.
How is the tunning knob? Some say the Raddy version feels loose and like it will break.
Ah ha! yup, that's it. If you want to use this a a scanner, that's the antenna plug for it. The knob isn't like the 750 eton, but it's not cheap feeling either.
Thanks 👍
You're welcome
Is that an old Radio Shack mixer on the shelf? I used to have one of those when I was a teenager in the late 80's.
Yup! I still use it for the radio station sometimes, but it's mostly a show piece now.
@@FarpointFarms - Really cool! I just noticed a base station microphone on your shelf too (same shelf as the mixer). That looks like an old Johnson Messenger base station mic (I have a video of that base station on my YT channel actually from years ago. Geesh, from 13 years ago actually). Subscribing to your channel now! Thanks!
Nice looking radio! Great video. Keeping an eye on this one to see if it drops in price, but definitely on my buy list.
Very "military surplus" looking!
@@FarpointFarms Curious about something else. It seems that the TR113 has a fixed battery while the RF919 has 2 removable 2500mAh batteries that you could upgrade if you want. Do you think this would be a selling point for the RF919, they seem like the same radio, or do you think it matters? Thanks again for this great video.
Update: Squelch has failed causing lack of reception on CB Band, so after just one week this is going back. I may try another one but I don't have high hopes for it either. After I got this I tested all frequencies every day including the CB band. I had problems with two TR-110 radios, they had issues also. Control your excitement and test it out in every way because, you may find you are not going to hear anything because of squelch circuit failure.
My opinion on these radios has fallen somewhat lately as well.
@FarpointFarms I broke down and bought an AOR AR8600 and I am really liking it. I found one in excellent condition, not all banged up, works very well. I wanted to like the TR-113 because, it was nice and compact and all of that but it just couldn't cut the mustard.
this is awesome! Nice vid
Thanks!
@@FarpointFarms you are welcome
Jesus I love that tune
Thanks
That is probably the most badass looking radio I've ever seen & it's got some cool features. I play around with webSDR every now & then & have been debating getting a portable SW radio for around a decade, but this is seriously making want to pull the trigger soon lol Only thing is I'm kind of weary from some comments I've seen about it going bad.
And what about the battery pack? Is it replaceable? Also does this even have an AC adapter or can it be powered by USB/USB block plugged into an outlet? Can you use bluetooth headphones with it??
The battery is a 18650 so that isn't an issue. Yes, you can run it on USB, but it makes some noise. There are other options that are a little easier to use, but nowhere near as cool to look at.
Thanks. So you can listen to this radio with bluetooth headphones as well?? I know you can pair it to your phone to control it with a smartphone app
Only thing I pick up on long wave is the local airport beacon, which is a repeating morse code signal.
Morris code really? I would not have thought that
@@FarpointFarms Radio nav aids called "nondirectional beacons" all broadcast a morse code signal identifying the particular beacon, which can be heard over the aircraft comnav radio, so the pilot can find it on his map and use it to navigate. I learned to use them when I got my pilot license years ago. It's been a long time since I've flown, and I think NDBs are being retired now, but there's at least one where I live that still broadcasts.
These are things that should be ordered a week before primie Day, separate barge ☺️🏁
Good call!
Used to have Atlantic 252 LW in Ireland. Always crystal even when the antenna was snapped off the car. What are the plastic qualities like?
It is a hard plastic-
I have many of the Raddy types of radios, seem to work well
Glad to hear it
Mine is should be here tommorow.
You will have to let me know how you like yours
You have modulation modes, wavelengths and frequencies all mixed up in the thumbnail... Why?
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean?
Nice video.
Thanks
Hey could you post the specific's with/on building a 11 M CB run up a tree antenna ...Thanks
I have that on my list of videos to do, life keeps getting in the way and I am far behind.
Step 1: PURCHASE an swr meter, or a cb that has one built-in...
Sidenote: Only precious Radio Shack sold an SWR Meter with the coax patch cord for between cb and meter. Others offer it separately, but a very important part of using it to test and tune your antenna. Really makes a radio with a built-swr meter appealing, but an above base level external swr meter will often have a "watt meter" mode.
Considering it's not a transmitter, you don't have to worry about the SWR too much. A close match will Improve your reception, but in general I just use a piece of wire strung out for the shortwave/hf bands, 50-60 feet or so seems to work fairly good. Another option: Amazon! They sell little dipole antenna kits on there. Again, don't worry too much about building one to exacting specs as you're not transmitting through. And almost any run of wire set up outdoors and above the ground will be an improvement over the telescopic antenna. 👍😉
@@007tallguy Good on you keeping it relevant to the vid! Longwires are worth the trouble with reception, but unless your neighbor arc welds 24/7 a magnetic loop is much better. The name barely makes sense, but it is a loop, and fits indoors, and is not a lightening catcher when you are not home, like an outdoor antenna. Mag Loops are endfire directional, and you can roll apogee to get closer in skip waves, and high-q, so nearly ignores rfi.
Can both antenna be used for SW?
It's main use.is for am, but I do detect a difference on shortwave as well.
@@FarpointFarms Thank you
I’m curious how this radio compares to the Choyong LC90 for the capabilities they share. I know they have different features but I consider both premium portables. I just bought the LC90 and am learning how to use it. I’m wondering if I made the right decision to spend money on the Choyong before buying the Retekess.
The LC90 includes wifi radio, right? That would make it a very different product.
The LC90 does have WIFI so it is not really comparing apples to apples.
@@FarpointFarms sorry I worded my query badly. I should have just asked if anyone that owns both has an opinion on which radio to buy first if you didn’t have money to buy both.
@kirktinsley5397 it's tough to say since the lc90 includes the excellent internet radio built in as well. That certainly gives it an edge in my book, but it may not matter to some.
@@FarpointFarmsthanks for your input. I think I agree with you. I thought that having internet radio would be a cool thing. But I’m surprised by just how much I love that feature.
In fact internet radio now intrigues me just as much as shortwave radio did when I bought my first receiver.
i have an old book 2007 passport to world band radio mint condition back half all short wave radio station listing stops at 21850 mhz other night picked up a bunch 21995 to 23500 6 more channels still play with this hobby made a long wire which i wind back on a fly fishing reel grounded 1 end to the reel then have a cord with alligator clips from reel to telescopic antenna makes a big difference something to pass time late evening
like your videos on radios all types
Thanks man!
I have just bought this but, after just one night battery life is not exciting, I can have it fully charged one day lightly use it and having three bars still and the following day have one bar for some reason. Not sure why the battery fails so fast unless the clock uses that much power but, I'm more inclined to think the battery is sub par. I won't be able to just remove this battery, they have tried to make it more permanent sort of. I have used this up north in Michigan and the best I can do is pick up two AM broadcasts which is all my vehicle radio will pick up at the same exact location. Back here near Detroit it picks up all the many AM radio stations just fine, no complaints there.
Not sure on the battery issue. It could just be a dud.
Maybe. In any case test the heck out of it and with the new problem you may find a squelch failure possibly and not even know maybe because that failure just stops any sounds to the speaker. When it does this you will see the secondary screen showing it is getting the signal which I proved it does receive it by turning off the squelch. Not sure if squelch on this TR-113 can be set higher than 1 like the squelch on the TR-110 but anything on the 110 above setting 1 was too much. But anyway this radio is at setting one and there is no doubt it is not working now.
That ferrite is only for am and lw...you have to use the antenna tunner in the back ..sorry im not reviewing it you are my bad the chuffing on sw is pretty bad on the raddy..dont forget the colors on the screen lol sorry again
I forgot about the color changing functions. I was under the impression that the new antenna would help with SW as well. My mistake!
@FarpointFarms no worries it's your channel not mine I wasn't judging you Eric I shouldn't have said anything sorry about that
That's a pretty hefty manual....... thunk.😆
Yes
CB cool
Agreed!
I can't afford one, but that would be nice to have.
maybe you can save up for it
Do not waste your money on this radio. It should never have been released for sale and basically it should be in the Beta stage. There are much better radios on the market and for equal or less money.
It is definitely a packed radio as far as functions and with the ability to be controlled from an App. I owned this radio for roughly two weeks and in that time these are the issues I found with it from an operation point of view. It’s since been returned.
What caught my eye on this radio was the range of frequencies it covers, that it can receive Upper and Lower sidebands and the UHF / VHF ability. The other draw was it could be linked to an app.
#1 Issue was the muting of the audio when tuning through the frequencies. This to me is a big issue and as far as I saw was yet to be fixed through a software upgrade. In fact many persons say not to perform the upgrade since the patch had issues to the level of “Bricking” the radio, making as useful as a brick.
#2 Issue was the unstable receiver. I noticed that tuning into a strong signal on a secondary radio (Yaesu FTdx10) and an external antenna and setting the TR113 to the same frequency, that the radio was tuned lower than the reference radio. Tuning higher using the fine tune control brought the signal in, but when moving away and then back to the same frequency it was not consistent and needed to be adjusted once again. This was repeated over and with differing results.
#3 Issue was the external antenna jack. This was a selling point for me being able to connect external antenna’s VHF / UHF through the SMA top connector and shortwave (HF) to the rear of the radio. The radio also has a third input on the top next to the SMA connector for a magnetic (ferrite) antenna that comes with the radio. The jack on the top for this antenna is basically a 3.5mm stereo jack. The rear jack never seemed to make good contact to my external antenna and I was using basically a mono 3.5mm plug / cable / PL 259 connector to the antenna. I can’t confirm, but the top and rear connector on the radio looks to be the same (stereo). The standard for these portable receivers uses mono plugs like the Sangean ANT-60. I found the connection to be loose and finicky.
#4 Issue was with the App. Basically the app works as a remote control. It will not provide an audio signal and is only for remove control. The main issue I found was with tuning. The App has an UP / Down button and basically tunes the radio in jumps of 10khz. No where in the app could I find any way to reduce the step lower than 10khz even if the actual radio had the lowest setting possible.
There are a lot of reviews of this radio and very few go into issues and how poor of a radio this is. There are other issues with this radio (poor manual, lack of a VHF / UHF rubber ducky antenna, etc.). I've very surprised on the reviews it gets and was partially the reason of deciding to go with it. Invest your money elsewhere in either a Sangean or a Tecsun that has been around for a few years and have proven track records. This radio will probably be replaced by another model leaving you without any support or software upgrades. Its also in my opinion not a good radio for someone starting out in shortwave listening.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the radio- I am sure it can help someone out.
Looks ok, but the step volume is a deal breaker for me. You can never find that sweet spot. It's either too loud or too soft.
I get that-
Resembles a Panasonic, GX 400 RF-966 a bit
It does
@@FarpointFarms I still have one from 1975 works perfectly
Nice radio. Little pricey.
I agree it could be a bit cheaper, but there is tons of stuff in it
Hey Eric the raddy rf-919 it mutes while tuning a lot of the guys into swl don't like that well they had a firmware upgrade dan Robinson who reviewed the raddy model downloads the update and it bricked it. Now it's a decorative paperweight.. im hoping this model is better but a lit of buyers of the rf-919 were really unhappy with it seeing the price point they should never released it with all those issues..
Raddy reached out to me to see if I could update mine to confirm the issue. Umm. Nope! I like my radios to work!! I'll wait until they fix the bricking issues before I update mine.
Hi dear, this may be the reason why our TR113 is better than RF919 now. Although we haven't solved the problem of mute tuning, the firmware version of our TR113 is the latest on the market. There is no need to risk upgrading and worry about the product getting bricked. The firmware version currently released by Raddy is exactly what our TR113 is equipped with. In addition, our TR113 also optimizes the quality problems of the original version. Regarding the mute tuning, we also attach great importance to this market feedback, because it directly affects the user experience. We have reported this problem to the factory and are following up.
@retekessradio1714 I get that but why release a product with so many issues when it comes to shortwave listening thats a big no no..every tecsun and others this isn't an issue. Now you guys are trying to do damage control..thats the main question why release the product with those issues. id buy one not untill the mute while tuning is fixed and other issues..
@@alabamared2568 Hi dear, I'm sorry that these issues make you feel bad. What we want to explain is that not all products can 100% meet all customer requirements after releasing. Mute tuning is actually not a "problem" because mute tuning is exactly the characteristic of DSP radio when tuning. In the early market research, not all users said they care about this matter. After the product was actually launched, users began to report that this was a "problem", so we began to pay attention to it and adjust the product so that more users can be satisfied. 🥲
This is the Raddy RF919. I guess these Chinese companies are either all owned together or copy each others products religiously until someone gets it perfected. There is a $10 dollar difference between this and the Raddy on amazon. Another good review Eric, thanks. Heard you on 26 AM recently, you were 5X5 into North Texas but unfortunately the DX wasn't on my side getting out and I never could reach ya. Picked up an old "Super Scanner" Vertical Beam antenna recently from an estate sale. Going to try to toss that up when the temp drops below 90F in a few months, maybe finally be able to catch the tail end of the Sun spot activity. Catch ya on the next one!
The sun has been wrecking havoc for sure on the radio side. Some days are great and some is total silence. I hope the weather breaks soon for you
Not to be negative, but that is a DOG of an antenna, save yourself the trouble, and make it 1 vertical dipole. The solenoids, matching unit/phase switcher are lossy, glitchy and there are 3 coax lines u can use for other stuff. Unless it is still in the box, save your time and make a vertical or horizontal dipole, or 1 of each with all the parts. Good luck, get on the air asap!!!
Hi dear, just want to clarify we are not RF919 clone, actually Raddy and our TR113 have the same prototype, we both obtained the patent and sales authorization from the original manufacturer, but they are just released earlier than ours. By the way, our TR113 is superior to RF919 in version, we have the latest firmware version and optimized the quality problems of the early version. That's why our TR113 is currently better than Raddy RF919 on the market. 😁
@@retekessradio1714 Didn't know that. Thanks, however there still remains an issue of improper radio spectrum for USA customers. 225-380 MHz is used in AM mode and is predominantly US Military/US Federal Aviation. This band IS NOT used in FM or even NFM. The 2 meter band (144-148 MHz) is used in FM not NFM but there is some SSB in there too so to have SSB (LSB/USB) and FM for the HAM bands would be really nice. Also the spectrum from 130 to 145 MHz is AM and FM. 138-143 MHz is generally used by US Armed Forces, National Guard, US Coast Guard. In some cases it can be NFM for P25 users (Which is mostly Military). Lastly, 33-54 MHz is still FM, the FCC has not allocated that to be NFM. You are building fantastic radios, They would sell off the shelves even faster if the frequency spectrum was geared for US, USA/Canada and North America in general.
@@ERICtheLATE I'm on the air lol. Have a gizmotchy 4 element beam up and a Sigma ground plane going loud and proud. I remeber the Super Scanner from the 80's and just wanted to try it out. I am nailing the West Coast and even PNW just fine with this skip pattern, it just isn't letting me in up to the Northeast very well. Thanks for the advice though. 828 in the Lone Star state ...
I think it would had been a lot better if you would have actually picked up an AM radio station. Day or night they are on the air. (Maybe you live in a Faraday cage? Or RF blackhole?) Is the radio that deaf or don't you have an external radio. All I heard was noise during the 99% of your demo. I'm not interested in a deaf radio...
I meant "external antenna.."
I assure you there are exactly ZERO AM radio stations that reach my property in daytime hours. The closest stations are 22 and 45 miles away and they are 1000 watt and 5000 watt. With a very low noise floor (low solar activity) and a really great radio on a long wire I can pick up the 22 mile away one sometimes weakly. The other less so, but every once and a while. Night time is a totally different story. Because there is no local powerhouse, I can hear the enter country!
I miss Raleigh and 680, 850, 580, 1450 and others. I was spoiled as a kid i guess!
@@gregweinfurtner7774could you recomend an external antenna for this radio for me, what tyoe of connection should i have on the antenna also.tia.
I tried mine in upper Michigan and there are 2 weak stations that come in just as weak as they do on my car radio in exact same area. No problems getting plenty of AM broadcasts in the Detroit area, picks em all up.
@@FarpointFarms😅
Looks like a clone of the RF-919
Very similar
Hi dear, we are not RF919 clone. Actually Raddy and our TR113 have the same prototype, but they are just released earlier than ours. By the way, our TR113 is superior to RF919 in version, we have the latest firmware version and optimized the quality problems of the early version. That's why our TR113 is currently better than Raddy RF919 on the market. 😁
@@retekessradio1714 We need a video proving this.
@@n1kkri Sure thing, we have other partners who will gradually release videos in the near future.