The Zhiwhis ZWS-2415 is shipped with a 3-meter clip-on wire antenna, so that’s how I did my initial test today. I went up to the local pickleball court where there is a convenient picnic table and set up the wire antenna (not pulled taut) and three radios: the Zhiwhis ZWS-2415, an XHDATA D-109WB and my new Jstvro ATS25 max-Decoder.
I went out around 3:20 pm local time in central Virginia or 20:20 UTC.
The XHDATA D-109 has a reputation as a good shortwave radio, but one plagued with overloading when operated in strong signal areas (like where I don’t live). It has also proven to do a good job with auto tune storage (ATS). It has an external antenna jack, but for this test I clipped the wire onto the end of the collapsed telescopic antenna. It tunes up to 3o MHz. I used its ATS to pick stations. The Music / Voice option was set for Voice.
In the center position is the Zhiwhis ZWS-2415, the prime focus of this exercise. The external antenna was clipped on the end of the collapsed telescopic antenna.
And on the right is the other new kid on the block, the Jstvro ATS25 max-Decoder, one that I’ve had very little time to study. Again the antenna was clipped onto the end of the supplied collapsed telescopic antenna.
All three radios have a feature that I very much appreciate when comparing radios, a MUTE button. It’s a >|| button in the D-109WB, a short press of the power button on the ZWS-2415 and a MUTE button on the touch screen of the ATS25.
Impressions
The D-109WB is the easiest to use, followed by the ATS25 — both having direct frequency entry. The METER band button on the ZWS-2415 helped a lot to get reasonably close to the frequency before applying up and down buttons. If I had to pick, I’d say the ZWS-2415 was the best performer on shortwave, followed closely by the D-109WB, with the ATS25 lagging behind. I think the ATS25 just needs a better antenna.
Listening to the video (below) again, I see how one could argue that the D-109WB was better. One thing for sure is that the frequency response matters. Is the Zhiwhis better because it has greater clarity, or is the XHDATA better because it has less hiss.
It’s nice to have an emergency radio with shortwave that I might actually use for something.
Some video follows. If you her pops and clicks, it’s from the pickleball court.