Look ma, the DX-286 got batteries!

Posted on December 10, 2025 by Kevin

It’s no big deal for me since I have a pile of 18650 batteries, but reading anecdotes on the Internet leads me to think procuring them is a problem for some folks.

Initially, the DX-286 was sold without batteries. Then it was sold in two versions, one without batteries and one with two batteries. That provided a solution, but the 2 battery version added $10 to the price and I note that competitor XHDATA sold its radios standard with batteries installed, as does Tecsun.

I started seeing hints of a third version of the DX-286, one with a single battery, and now that appears to be the new version on Amazon.

DX-286 Product Description – Amazon

Rather than the 2-battery version where the batteries were plastic wrapped, the new one comes with a 3350 mAh battery installed in the case, with a plastic tab to separate the battery contact from the radio — pull tab before use.

DX-286 with battery included
Pull tab before use

When I look at the serious under $100 radio list now, most come with a battery, so this simplifies the choices.

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Santa’s Nice Radio list for 2025

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Kevin

Unlike my “Top Ten Portable Shortwave Radios for 2025,” these are not necessarily the best you can buy, but ones that I think bring something worthwhile to the table, and are good value. They’re ones that I personally use and enjoy.

These selections might fit into a few broad categories: Some of them have an active developer community with exciting changes in firmware with new capabilities and for the brave of heart the possibility of updating the circuitry. Some are entertainment focused, with good speakers, music play and Bluetooth speaker capability. Some are in the Swiss Army Knife category that have flashlights, device charging, SOS sirens, a compass and a thermometer. Some are bargains. Some are just great shortwave radios, sensitive, well-designed, pleasant to use and with the options needed to coax out best reception.

For details on any entry, check out my manuals page.

12 Radios of Christmas (click to expand)

Here is the list (in alphabetical order):

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Radio Time

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Kevin

I was in the chat room of the OfficialSWLChannel on YouTube when someone commented that the clock on their radio wasn’t accurate. I got out a few of mine and observed some a minute or so off, some more, but my Eton Elite Executive had the correct time and a couple of weeks later it still had the time within a few seconds.

Today I got out my Grundig G4000A that I seldom use, and that probably hasn’t had its clock set since I bought it 7 months ago. It was accurate at least to the minute. And later today I read a comment on the XHDATA Facebook group saying that the D-808 is well known for clock problems (consider the source).

This seems like a question worth researching. All I need is pile of radios and some spare time. Now where in the world could I find a pile of radios? Hmmm.

The methodology is simple. First I’ll set the clock on the radio to some close approximation of the correct time and then record the exact time when it switches to the next minute. The exact time will come from the time.gov website. After a while the radio time and the real time can be compared. RDS Time setting will be set off (as I do with all my radios with the option).

A few of my radios have an app that simplifies setting the exact time based on my phone’s time, which I observe is accurate to the second; unfortunately, it only sets local time, not UTC.

I’m excluding radios like the Deepelec DP-666 that synchronize with an internet time server.

RadioDaysGain / Loss (Sec)Sec / DaySec / 30 Days
Eton Elite Executive
Grundig G4000A
HanRongDa HRD-701
HanRongDa HRD-757
Kaito KA1101
Qodosen DX-286
Raddy RF760
Sangean ATS-909
Tecsun PL-330
Tecsun PL-660
Tecsun PL-990
XHDATA D-808
Zhiwhis ZWS-C919

It will be a month or so before I have any data. Based on some preliminary observations, I think some radios will prove surprisingly accurate.

If you have a radio of interest that’s been previously covered on the blog, but not on the list, leave a comment.

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Tuning, Muting, and Things that Go Chuff in the Night

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Kevin

Terminology one sees online isn’t always precise, and many people equate muting, soft muting and chuffing. I tend to get sloppy too. For the purpose of this article, here are the terms as I’m using them:

  • Muting: When the radio shuts off the sound. This can be a Mute or Play/Pause button on the radio, or an automatic function to quiet the radio when scanning.
  • Soft Muting: This is a radio feature that reduces the volume when there is a very low signal to noise ratio. It makes the radio quieter when tuning through empty bands, but it can also hide weak signals.
  • Chuffing: Chuffing is an annoying “chuff” sound when tuning from one frequency to another.

Whenever someone asks a question or makes a comment about these, it’s best to know what they mean.

Continuous Tuning

Shortwave radio receivers can be divided into two categories, those that tune continuously, and those that tune in steps.

My Nanaola 10NT-504 from 1966 is an example of continuous tuning.

Nanaola 10NT-504
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XHDATA Launches Improved D-219

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Kevin

I bought the original XHDATA D-219 in February of 2023, gray, with a fixed 9 kHz tuning step on MW, topping off the MW band at 1620 kHz. I wrote about it: Ultra-bargain XHDATA D-219 AM/FM/Shortwave radio.

Original XHDATA D-219
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Size Matters?

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Kevin

A snippet of discussion occurred on the OfficialSWLChannel YouTube channel. Someone commented in the chat that the Zhiwhis ZWS-C919 had a telescopic antenna almost a meter long! I replied, to some surprised reactions, that the Tecsun PL-990 telescopic was the same length. And did you know that some radios have a telescopic antenna more than a meter?

I handle telescopic antennas all the time and sometimes wonder about whether their length makes much difference. So just how long are they?

In classic Blog or Die! style, here’s a big table. Data +/- 1 cm due to rounding. Antenna under the plastic doesn’t count.

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Birdies in the Dark: ZWS-C919

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Kevin

It was dark and bleeping cold this morning (OK 40°F is not all that cold, but it was damp and foggy too) when I dragged 3 radios down to the patio to see what was happening before sunrise.

The radio of interest this trip was the Zhiwhis ZWS-C919. Mostly I tuned the 49m band and below, using the radio’s Search feature (hold down the tuning button) to find some good stations. I got this unbelievably gorgeous signal in Japanese, but when I looked up the schedule, alas, it was from WRMI.

The most memorable bits from the experience were not the stations, but the other sounds. The C919 has lots of birdies. The birdies would come and go perhaps migrating up and down the bands.

The topic of birdies brings to mine another radio manufactured by the HanRongDa company, the HRD-701, that had sporadic birdies.

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