XHDATA D219 Portable AM FM Shortwave Radio Battery Operated Small Great Reception Radio with Good Sound,Earphone Jack for Elder,Home,Child [Gray]

As a long time radio ham, I've owned many phenomenal receivers. The radio isn't one of them. But, for the low cost, this radio is amazing. It's well made, easy to use, and will easily receive shortwave stations from around the globe. The standard medium-wave band reception is very good. From upstate NY I'm able to receive stations from hundreds of miles away with great clarity. The FM band is amazing, with many stations all across the dial. It isn't FM stereo, but even distant stations come in loud & clear. I've been a shortwave listener for over 60 years, and this little radio does a good job pulling in stations from all over the world. While there aren't as many shortwave stations as there were years ago, there is still a lot of activity on the 9 international shortwave bands available on this little radio.It operates for many, many hours on 2 AA-cells, and the telescopic antenna for FM & SW is of very high quality. If you're looking for a versatile, fun little radio for yourself or as a gift, don't hesitate to buy one of these. I enjoy mine on my backyard patio in the evening. As someone mentioned in another review, it's great for a language student to hear actual foreign broadcasts. I can highly recommend this little powerhouse portable radio.

The media could not be loaded. Initially, I had problems with the Shortwave Reception. Ordered a replacement, but it was lost in shipping! I'm a long time radio enthusiast, radio amateur operator, and tinkerer so I disassembled the radio. I re-routed the antenna wire, which was too long and poorly dressed. I added an SMA Jack for an External Antenna using RG-174 and attached the Ground to the PCB’s ground plane. There’s a ton of info on the Si4825 IC Chip used in this radio and this little guy is very sensitive and is a great platform for modifications. Cost me less than $9(USD) delivered, which is a fraction of the cost of a Si4825 Development Board. I’ve been building radios since age 9, and at 71 I can say that none of my homemade xtal sets, regens, or direct conversation receivers worked as well as this XHDATA D219.I believe this little guy would work much better out in the countryside. I live in a large metropolitan area which is full of radio broadcasters, cellphone towers, TV stations, and VHF/UHF utility stations. The IC Device, a Si4825, which is the heart of this radio, is subject to RF interference. To some degree, all DSP devices suffer from this issue. In higher cost radios using these chips, filtering is added. Because there are really no filters on this inexpensive radio, it is subject to RF Interference and Overload. This becomes even a greater issue in a large metropolitan area with many transmitters. Out in the countryside, your reception on Shortwave would be much better. My radio did improve once I shortened the lead wire from the built-in telescoping antenna and added a jack for an External Antenna. I have been using my outdoor longwire antenna. It would overload and suffer from intermodulation without any filtering. So I've been using my Ham Radio Antenna Tuner between the radio and my outdoor antenna. And I've added a homemade Antenna Attenuator, you can see it in my video. Works just great.The sound quality is just fantastic for having such a small speaker. And the plastic used for the case is very high quality and nearly unbreakable. My wife liked the little radio so much that I ordered another for her. She loves the "Big Radio Sound" coming from this really small speaker and we've both been listening to a local AM Radio Oldies Station as we cook and go through our daily routine.Some users have reported that their radio was "dead" on the Shortwave Bands. As a long time Shortwave Listener (SWL) I will advise you: you must make sure that the Shortwave Bands are "OPEN". In other words, there must be radio signals present in order to hear them. For the past two days the Shortwave Bands have been "dead" due to Solar Flares. This evening I tuned the little D219, which my wife calls "Gidget", to the 17 meter SW Band. It was full of stations with Radio New Zealand booming in the loudest. I also received Radio Free Asia, transmitting in Chinese from Saipan. It was being "Jammed" - by guess who? I'll leave that to you to surmise. If you're persistent in listening, you will hear stations, some of them quite exotic.BTW, I did try out the XHDATA D219 this evening without using my outdoor antenna and attenuator. I stood next to my apartment window and easily picked up Radio New Zealand on 17.675 mHz, just using the built-in telescoping antenna.Overall, I highly recommend this little radio.

If your thinking about whether or not to buy this radio, think first about what you'll use it for. I believe its best use would be as a backup radio for news and weather in any emergency.- It uses AA batteries. *(how long they will last is yet to be determined)- It has around a 2" speaker that sounds crisp but by no means unpleasant. *(No base or mid to speak of,but it does sound much better than many other small radio's. The speaker sounds very clear on both AMand FM, and I did actually like the sound of some symphony music I heard on the public radio station.- The antenna is 53.3cm (21"), is sturdy, and swings 360. *( More than adequate for this radio)- The tuner seems very sensitive and I found myself picking up "many" more stations on AM and FM thana few of my other radio's. *( however; you will hear some different clicks, hisses, and other faintbackground noises) as you tune through other stations. These all seem to get hidden or disappearonce you get to a stronger station.- I didn't find that earphones made any significant improvement over the speaker. I also couldn't tell ifI was hearing ST or Mono. I'm sure it must say it online somewhere. The headphones themselves werean inexpensive set.- There is a nice fold out stand in the back that sits the radio at a nice angle for listening.- Reception on Shortwave(SW) was fairly nonexistent. *(as expected for the whip antenna). If I reallywanted shortwave I would not be buying this radio! Excellent shortwave still requires a significantexpense!Final Thoughts: I bought this radio for very low volume nighttime listening while in bed. It failed that test because at the volume I listen at, (which is understanding 1 word in 5), the voice was distorted; I believe because of the low power not being able to drive the speaker properly. However; I plan to keep the radio as a backup storm radio, a purpose for which I believe it is well suited; chiefly because of how many stations this tuner picks up, as well as the other reasons listed above. $10. !

I was I Dire Straits and needed a Dial instead of Buttons and Shortwave access. I got this little radio because of the size and portability. But it was So Cool! Good reception for such a compact device although some frequencies that are close together are hard to get but still fun to go channel surfing and feeling my way through the Ethos electronically. Definitely worth the price.