radio receivers

Introduction

there are a variety of radio devices available depending upon needs:
- receive-only type devices:
  - portable battery operated radios
  - software defined radio (SDR) receivers using laptop/smartphone/tablet and a USB radio dongle with special software and an antenna
- receive and transmit (transceiver) radios
  - CB 2-way radio (no license needed)
  - higher power rated transceivers which need Ham radio licenses to use
  - transceivers - software defined radio (SDR) - may be illegal
for those going off-grid or for when the internet / mobile phone system goes down such as extreme weather events (strong winds, floods or bushfires knocking out the local electricity grid) it is nice to have other options such as radio which does not rely upon local infrastructures
radio may be the ONLY way of communicating to the outside world in a disaster

avoid having radio transmitters such as 2-way radios within 2m of receivers as they will overload them
to minimise noise, move away from or turn off electronic devices that produce EMF noise including LED lights, power sources, etc
- HF (SW) is particularly sensitive to noise and ideally needs a long antenna outdoors to match the HF wavelength, although for signals bouncing off the ionosphere, antenna orientation is less critical as the polarisation is dispersed due to the bouncing
if using an outdoor antenna BEWARE of lightning strikes!

Software Defined Radio (SDR) receivers

see software defined radio (SDR) receivers
these are great for learning radio and for detecting and analyzing non-audio data in particular that is being transmitted by radio waves
- these include aircraft or ship transponders containing call signs and GPS location data, remote control devices, weather fax services, etc

Portable SW radio receivers

if you want good sounding stereo music from these, you will want to use headphones (most only have a Mono speaker) and as most do not come with Bluetooth, you may want to add a BT adapter into headphone socket, otherwise you will get very frustrated with the headphone cable!

may be the only communication options if the internet and satellite comms go down as with a major solar storm, major disaster such as bushfires/floods or IT warfare
for campers out of mobile phone coverage range, in addition to keeping in contact with local and nationwide / global news, you can access weather including weather faxes (wefax) of weather maps (just needs audio cable from radio to your laptop and software to decode the fax)
avoid cheap models
FM radio reception in portable radios use the swivel extendable antenna on the radio but will almost certainly not be as good as your car radio
if you want the best AM reception you need a larger radio with a larger internal ferrite rod or add a tuned passive loop like the Kaito AN-100 or Terk AM Advantage, which you can connect it directly through the aux antenna input, if available in the radio enable the 20 db amp.
good models are:
- Tecsun emergency radio
  - has solar panel and hand crank to recharge the 2 x 18650 lithium cells
  - includes a torch, personal locator siren
  - basic radio suitable for the reception of Australian AM, FM and International shortwave stations
  - $AU100
- Tecsun H-501
  - stereo speakers which can be used via USB as PC speakers
  - microSD card slot to play music but UI is clunky and no song names?
  - 1kg; two 18650 lithium batteries, with separate charging capability.
  - $AU490
- Tecsun PL-990x High Performance Shortwave Radio
  - seems it is as for Tecsun PL880 but adds:
    - microSD card slot 128Gb to play music files but UI is clunky and no song names?
    - much improved SSB reception
    - superb FM reproduction;
  - 620g; 198 x 120 x 38mm; one USB chargeable 18650 lithium battery;
  - $AU475
- Tecsun PL880
  - one USB chargeable 18650 lithium battery
  - best sound for the era but bettered by Tecsun's 2020 models
  - covers the entire shortwave range (100-29999KHz), Longwave, FM and AM broadcast bands
  - 520g excl. batt
  - $AU275
- Tecsun PL-330
  - one USB Nokia phone BL-5C 1000mAh Li-ion battery USB micro port
  - smaller speaker so sound not as good as the Tecsun PL-990x but more affordable and has great all round features
  - 139 x 85 x 26 mm; 210g; ~$100 no NOAA weather;
  - fairly uniquely has Enhanced Tuning Mode (ETM+) which automatically can save and save all stations at a time of day as a time of day memory bank - very useful as SW stations often change frequency throughout the day
  - digital volume knob can't change volume during station search mode; speaker is good for voice but not great for music;
  - no fold out kick stand or rubber feet; no air band;
  - instruction manual may be all in Chinese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTv8rtaEVXk but you can download an English version https://www.tecsunradios.com.au/store/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PL-330-USER-MANUAL.pdf
- XHData D-808
  - small affordable ($AU120) and versatile unit which includes a thermometer but speaker sound is not great
  - one USB chargeable 18650 lithium battery
  - has air band and SSB; no ETM+ makes it harder to use for SW; no NOAA Weather Band; operation and documentation are said to be poor ¹⁾
- Qodosen DX-286
  - has great FM sensitivity and selectivity beats most other portable radios in this aspect but still not as good as a car radio; Auto FM bandwidth seems to work perfectly;
    - FM signal Processing, Variable Squelch and Variable Attenuator; FM RDS station identification;
    - Multipath Suppression which brings it closer to car radio performance than other portable radios
  - due to small ferrite rod for AM/LW, you can improve AM outdoors (too much noise indoors) by adding a tuned passive loop like the Kaito AN-100 or Terk AM Advantage, you can connect it directly through the aux antenna input, enable the 20 db amp ²⁾
  - has very good LW
  - no NOAA weather band; no SSB and lacks 1 KHz bandwidth on AM which hard-core DXers sometimes need when chasing Trans-Atlantic or Trans-Pacific DX targets which use different channel spacing
  - smaller than the Tecsun PL-330; 18650 Li-ion battery which can be charged via its USB Micro port; hard padded carry case;
  - https://www.blogordie.com/2024/06/qodosen-dx-286-vs-lijiani-rd239/
- C Crane CC Skywave Shortwave Portable Travel Radio
  - has NOAA Weather Band
- Eton Grundig Satellit 750 Ultimate
  - no battery, needs 6V input
  - taps into the aircraft band from 118 to 137MHz but unfortunately lacks the weather frequencies, making it unsuitable for an emergency radio that receives NOAA stations.
- Sangean ATS-909X World Band Receiver
  - No NOAA (weather) and aircraft bands
- Sangean ATS-909×2

Feature	Tecsun H-501	Tecsun PL-990	Tecsun PL880	Qodosen DX-286
price	$AU490	$AU475	$AU275	$AU119
released	2021	2020	2014	?
weight	1kg	0.62kg	0.52kg	0.24kg incl. battery
size	277 x 167 x 44mm	198 x 120 x 38mm	240 × 160 × 70 mm	~133 x 76 x 31mm
speakers	6Ω, 3W x 2 stereo	4Ω, 3W single	single	4Ω/3W single
USB PC speaker mode	yes	no	no	no
bluetooth	no?	can use radio as BT speaker	no	no
microSD slot music	yes	yes	no	no
alarm clock	yes	yes	yes	yes
USB chargeable lithium battery	two (2nd as spare) x 18650 selectable	one 18650	one 18650	one 18650
DC input power	DC 5V/1A power adapter			USB micro 5V
SSB	yes, USB/LSB	yes, USB/LSB	yes, USB/LSB	no

Weather forecasts on radio

see getting a weather forecast when camping or off-grid
in the US, there is a dedicated NOAA weather band 162.400-162.550 MHz - not all radios can receive this
in Australia, NOAA is not of any use, so you can use the BOM weather:
- radio fax of weather updates
  - http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/radio-fax-schedule.shtml
  - these are sent on frequencies in the range 2000-21000kHz
- for marine use in Australia:
  - see http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/radio-sat/marine-radio-sat.shtml
  - if going more than 25 miles off shore, you will need HF transceiver radio as well as an ACMA approved 25W marine VHF transceiver radio plus satellite phone
  - most coastal radio stations provide regular local weather forecasts on VHF radio, with instructions and broadcast times announced regularly on Channel 16 or 67.
  - VHF Channel 16 frequency is 156.8 MHz. It is the international calling and distress frequency for marine VHF radio communications, channel 67 is 156.375 and is the supplementary channel for channel 16.

¹⁾

https://www.blogordie.com/2023/03/xhdata-d-808-could-be-better/

²⁾

https://radiojayallen.com/qodosen-sr-286-am-fm-sw-high-performance-portable/

Table of Contents

radio receivers

Introduction

Software Defined Radio (SDR) receivers

Portable SW radio receivers

Weather forecasts on radio