A few years back I bought a Tecsun PL-380 that had a thermometer. That was my go to travel radio and the thermometer was convenient. I missed this feature when I traded in the PL-380 on a PL-330. Since then, I’ve accumulated 7 radios (that I know of) that display temperature.
Last night I wondered what the temperature was at a spot in my house and I dragged out an XHDATA D-109. The reading seemed a bit low, which led me to wonder about the accuracy of radio thermometers in general, so I gathered all my radios with the feature, plus a kitchen cooking thermometer that supposedly covers -40 to 482° F, and tested them.
I did two tests, one indoors and one outdoors.
Front Row: XHDATA D-109 (only 1 shown), Sihuadon R-108, XHDATA D-109WB.
Here are the results:
| Device | Indoor Temp (F) | Outdoor Temp (F) |
|---|---|---|
| HanRongDa HRD-757 | 66 | 37 |
| Sihuadon R-108 | 66 | 39 |
| XHDATA D-109 (1) | 62 | 35 |
| XHDATA D-109 (2) | 61 | 34 |
| XHDATA D-109WB | 59 | 33 |
| XHDATA D-608WB | 63 | 37 |
| XHDATA D-808 | 64 | 39 |
| Thermowand PT12 | 68.5 | 38.1 |
Conclusion
Not a lot of accuracy there.
Well… they’re all pretty much in the ballpark, lol