I've been using this D-220 radio for a week now and I'm thoroughly impressed by its SW sensitivity (I use it only for this, neither FM not MW). My last purchase was the Clooblut radio, about the same size that had good reviews here by SWLers, but I was extremely disappointed by it. That one is really very sensitive, even on its short whip antenna. It comes very close to my Xhdata D-808 on most signals. Of course, tuning it requires feather touches and a lot of patience with several SW bands packed to a single dial scale. This plus the fat needle will only provide a very rough estimate of the frequency you're on. It makes it difficult to find out what you're listening to. As you point out, selectivity is an issue on this radio. When connected to a long wire antenna, signals step on each other to the point that it becomes impossible to listen to many stations. Still, a fantastic radio for such a cheap price.
@@F4LDT-Alain Yeah - you can’t expect too much from a very cheap radio with limited space for an analog tuning dial. But, this little radio finally does SW right! I have an update coming tonight that worked for indoor SW reception! Stay tuned!!
I bought 2 already , one for me and the other for my mom for emergencies. Pretty good for the price, highly recommended 👍 And mine is orange and yes you can see the analog tuner if you’re on a very dark area!
I have the orange model. The degree of illumination at night is irritating; the top right hand side of the audio looks like it’s on fire it’s a good little receiver though.
Not bad for a portable that runs on AA batteries and has some shortwave frequencies besides AM and FM. That's a good one to keep with you wherever you go. I usually tune my old AM/FM portable in the dark with no backlight, you remember where the stations are after a while. Thumb dialing is easy if you have the magic touch. I told my wife I want this one for Christmas 😉
I watched early reviews of the D-220 on RUclips and promptly bought both the D-219 and D-368 for the second time. 😀 As far as mechanically tuned, XHDATA DSP radios go, I think the D-368 is the best of them all. It's not really a legacy model, as the D-368 appeared sometime in early 2022 and it's still made to this day with an updated USB-C charging port. The D-220 gets a lot of attention because it's the latest XHDATA product in 2024 and comes in a few color options, but it's still a basic AM/FM radio with SW thrown in for free. If XHDATA had intended this as a true shortwave radio, it would have given this model 9 shortwave bands. I still don't know what DSP tuner chip the D-220 uses, but it's not a Skyworks/Silicon Labs product. 📻🤔
@@StratmanII the shortwave is remarkably good for such an inexpensive radio. It is just as good as my old Grundig 100 PE handheld shortwave (the radio that started it all for me!!)
@@shortwavelistener Have you ever tried the XHDATA D-368? Its bass response is beats the D-219 and possibly the D-220 as well. XHDATA made the D-368 and the D-328 only in one color, black. That's probably not going to attract much attention. They didn't advertise on RUclips either. This company has never been known to issue color variations until they announced the D-219 last year. That model started grabbing attention. I would readily buy an XHDATA paperback sized radio like the Tecsun R-9700DX, but in DSP form. XHDATA isn't going fully analogue like Tecsun, while Tecsun's past analogue DSP model was a commercial failure. 📻😐
@@shortwavelistener 🙂Try the D-219 or better still, the D-368.. The XHDATA D-220 may their latest product, but the latest model isn't necessarily better than earlier ones. The D-368 is endowed with a higher spec'ced Skyworks Si 4836-A10 chip, which is why it has an FM stereo as well as a station tuning LED indicators. In addition, this chip has provisions for bass and treble controls, although XHDATA didn't make use of those features. Probably due to lack of space on the D-368's plastic case or they wanted to cut down on manufacturing costs. Even without the bass/treble controls, the D-368's speaker still outperforms the D-219, D-220 and the D-328 by a wide margin. You can feel the low frequencies when you hold the D-368 in your hand even on shortwave, with a strong station. And oh, the D-368 also can also function as a remote Bluetooth speaker and a basic MP3 player although I feel these aren't necessary features in a small shortwave radio. 😊 The D-109 and D-328 models get the basic, less expensive Si 4825-A10 DSP chip, which is why they have neither the signal strength LED nor the FM stereo light. As for the D-220, it's likely to be using some really cheap, unmarked Chinese DSP, presumably to further save costs. That cheap DSP might also be the reason the D-220 cannot support multiple SW bands. Now, I'm not putting down the D-220 and I mean no offense to anyone who has bought one! I'm sure it's better than other Chinese branded radios of the same caliber and price point. But from a shortwave enthusiast's POV, the D-220 should have _at least_ five SW bands, or nine, like the D-219 and the D-368 have. Having a single band to cover the HF broadcast spectrum translates to selectivity issues and dealing with a hair trigger tuning wheel. It's certainly no fun having to literally inch your way across the tuning dial and trying to pinpoint where exactly 9600 kHz and 11660 kHz are on that dial. You wouldn't have bought that Grundig Yacht Boy 100 if it had only one SW band covering 5.5-22 MHz. 📻😁 If you want a backlit dial, buy a Tecsun R-9700DX. It's a good looking and sounding dual conversion analogue (non DSP) SW radio but Tecsun's quality control can be dodgy. I had one for more than a week, but returned it as its tuner seemed to be faulty. It was hard to part with a lovely analogue shortwave receiver, but it was even more frustrating to have a miscalibrated tuning pointer as well as a tuning capacitor that makes distorted, garbled sounds when the tuning wheel is moved. Speaking from personal experience. 😊
Hi Sir, thanks for sharing very good details about 368's impressive insides, how is battery life on that and portability for backpacks. What's the chip on D220, I read they scrubbed the label off the chip
@@newsnetworkz i don’t know the chip - sorry. I haven’t had mine run out of battery yet since i bought it - so not sure just how long it will last. I think XHDATA says it uses very little power.
I've been using this D-220 radio for a week now and I'm thoroughly impressed by its SW sensitivity (I use it only for this, neither FM not MW). My last purchase was the Clooblut radio, about the same size that had good reviews here by SWLers, but I was extremely disappointed by it. That one is really very sensitive, even on its short whip antenna. It comes very close to my Xhdata D-808 on most signals.
Of course, tuning it requires feather touches and a lot of patience with several SW bands packed to a single dial scale. This plus the fat needle will only provide a very rough estimate of the frequency you're on. It makes it difficult to find out what you're listening to.
As you point out, selectivity is an issue on this radio. When connected to a long wire antenna, signals step on each other to the point that it becomes impossible to listen to many stations.
Still, a fantastic radio for such a cheap price.
@@F4LDT-Alain Yeah - you can’t expect too much from a very cheap radio with limited space for an analog tuning dial. But, this little radio finally does SW right! I have an update coming tonight that worked for indoor SW reception! Stay tuned!!
Thnx, ordered a green one, should come in today.
@@sjenth just curious- what’s going to be your primary use for it?
I bought 2 already , one for me and the other for my mom for emergencies. Pretty good for the price, highly recommended 👍 And mine is orange and yes you can see the analog tuner if you’re on a very dark area!
@@zacariaspiedrasdelrio8984 that’s good to know! I think I’ll get the orange one. Thx!
I have the orange model. The degree of illumination at night is irritating; the top right hand side of the audio looks like it’s on fire it’s a good little receiver though.
Not bad for a portable that runs on AA batteries and has some shortwave frequencies besides AM and FM. That's a good one to keep with you wherever you go. I usually tune my old AM/FM portable in the dark with no backlight, you remember where the stations are after a while. Thumb dialing is easy if you have the magic touch. I told my wife I want this one for Christmas 😉
@@myronsez if you use it outside for shortwave you’ll really enjoy it!
I have placed an order for orange color one to be a little poppy 😂
@@newsnetworkz good choice!!!!
Get rid of fm 2 and add a sw1 and sw2. It is fun to use.
Great viseo. But the volume is very low...
@@alexdetrojan4534 Yeah - sorry - it was an issue in that video.
I watched early reviews of the D-220 on RUclips and promptly bought both the D-219 and D-368 for the second time. 😀
As far as mechanically tuned, XHDATA DSP radios go, I think the D-368 is the best of them all. It's not really a legacy model, as the D-368 appeared sometime in early 2022 and it's still made to this day with an updated USB-C charging port.
The D-220 gets a lot of attention because it's the latest XHDATA product in 2024 and comes in a few color options, but it's still a basic AM/FM radio with SW thrown in for free. If XHDATA had intended this as a true shortwave radio, it would have given this model 9 shortwave bands. I still don't know what DSP tuner chip the D-220 uses, but it's not a Skyworks/Silicon Labs product. 📻🤔
@@StratmanII the shortwave is remarkably good for such an inexpensive radio. It is just as good as my old Grundig 100 PE handheld shortwave (the radio that started it all for me!!)
@@shortwavelistener Have you ever tried the XHDATA D-368? Its bass response is beats the D-219 and possibly the D-220 as well.
XHDATA made the D-368 and the D-328 only in one color, black. That's probably not going to attract much attention. They didn't advertise on RUclips either.
This company has never been known to issue color variations until they announced the D-219 last year. That model started grabbing attention.
I would readily buy an XHDATA paperback sized radio like the Tecsun R-9700DX, but in DSP form.
XHDATA isn't going fully analogue like Tecsun, while Tecsun's past analogue DSP model was a commercial failure. 📻😐
@@shortwavelistener
🙂Try the D-219 or better still, the D-368..
The XHDATA D-220 may their latest product, but the latest model isn't necessarily better than earlier ones.
The D-368 is endowed with a higher spec'ced Skyworks Si 4836-A10 chip, which is why it has an FM stereo as well as a station tuning LED indicators. In addition, this chip has provisions for bass and treble controls, although XHDATA didn't make use of those features. Probably due to lack of space on the D-368's plastic case or they wanted to cut down on manufacturing costs. Even without the bass/treble controls, the D-368's speaker still outperforms the D-219, D-220 and the D-328 by a wide margin. You can feel the low frequencies when you hold the D-368 in your hand even on shortwave, with a strong station. And oh, the D-368 also can also function as a remote Bluetooth speaker and a basic MP3 player although I feel these aren't necessary features in a small shortwave radio. 😊
The D-109 and D-328 models get the basic, less expensive Si 4825-A10 DSP chip, which is why they have neither the signal strength LED nor the FM stereo light. As for the D-220, it's likely to be using some really cheap, unmarked Chinese DSP, presumably to further save costs. That cheap DSP might also be the reason the D-220 cannot support multiple SW bands.
Now, I'm not putting down the D-220 and I mean no offense to anyone who has bought one! I'm sure it's better than other Chinese branded radios of the same caliber and price point. But from a shortwave enthusiast's POV, the D-220 should have _at least_ five SW bands, or nine, like the D-219 and the D-368 have. Having a single band to cover the HF broadcast spectrum translates to selectivity issues and dealing with a hair trigger tuning wheel. It's certainly no fun having to literally inch your way across the tuning dial and trying to pinpoint where exactly 9600 kHz and 11660 kHz are on that dial. You wouldn't have bought that Grundig Yacht Boy 100 if it had only one SW band covering 5.5-22 MHz. 📻😁
If you want a backlit dial, buy a Tecsun R-9700DX. It's a good looking and sounding dual conversion analogue (non DSP) SW radio but Tecsun's quality control can be dodgy. I had one for more than a week, but returned it as its tuner seemed to be faulty. It was hard to part with a lovely analogue shortwave receiver, but it was even more frustrating to have a miscalibrated tuning pointer as well as a tuning capacitor that makes distorted, garbled sounds when the tuning wheel is moved.
Speaking from personal experience. 😊
Hi Sir, thanks for sharing very good details about 368's impressive insides, how is battery life on that and portability for backpacks. What's the chip on D220, I read they scrubbed the label off the chip
@@newsnetworkz i don’t know the chip - sorry. I haven’t had mine run out of battery yet since i bought it - so not sure just how long it will last. I think XHDATA says it uses very little power.