Top 3 budget FM/MW/SW radios of 2023: Best picks for the money
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- There are many Top 3 or Top 5 shortwave or multi-band radio lists around. However, many of those are not based on any real use of the radios, so you cannot know if those reviews are trustworthy. It also defies all logic to compare $200 radios to $20 radios. This Top 3 list compares like for like - three budget radios, all costing less than $23. The list has been compiled based on real use and this video shows you the actual performance of these radios.
00:00 Introduction
02:06 Features
05:29 Frequency coverage
08:27 Sound quality on headphones and speakers
14:10 Battery type and usage
15:14 Selectivity and sensitivity test
15:25 FM reception
19:55 MW reception
22:56 SW reception
29:13 Final verdict and top 3 list 
Развлечения
I own both XHData D-219 and a Retekess V115.
As an all-round radio the XHData D-219 wins, it has good SW reception and it uses 2x AA batteries (and the current low price from the XHData website seals the deal).
The Retekess V115 I have found is great for AM listening, good reception and good sound. Let down by poor SW reception and using a BL-5C battery.
Thanks Andrew, I couldn't agree more. We don't have many local AM stations here in Johannesburg, so for me the V115 is my travelling radio for FM and MP3 music. The speaker sound on that one is really great. I also think the BL-5C battery is a bit of a negative, unfortunately.
I have the Prunus J-401 that seems to be an improved version of the V115. I like it and it's a gateway drug that I later bought the R-108, Belka DX, D-808, D-109, Icom R8500, RSP1a, Elad FDM-DUO, so this is a very dangerous hobby, lol. I did consider the V115 long time ago but didn't consider it due to poor SW performance report. I am waiting for the D-219 that will have 10kHz step as I live in North America. Thanks for your videos .
Thank you for your comment. My gateway drug was the Eton Elite Traveler III. Now I am hooked :-) I have seen many reviews and comments from people who live in the USA saying the D-219 does work quite well there. There is no certainty about this, but some in the USA seem quite happy with the D-219 on MW. But, of course, a 10 kHz step version would be best, if it comes out at some point.
Love my Retekess V115. Have just traveled to Argentina and Paraguay and recorded local FM stations.
I also use mine often for travelling, mostly for FM and MP3 listening. It works very well for that and the sound is great!
If you could ever find a Tivdio V-115. Tivdio bought out Vite and Retekess bought out Tivdio. I personally think the Tivdio is slightly better than the Retekess. can't go wrong with the D-219!
Thank you for your comment! I haven't seen the Tivdio V115 around much lately, but I will keep my eyes open. Would you say it is worth getting a Tivdio V115 is you already have a Retekess version? Is the difference in performance significant?
I can't argue with this. Well done comparison.
I personally might choose the Tecsun DR-920C rather than the R9012; they seem identical in reception, but I find the digital display helpful in identifying stations.
Thank you so much for your comment. The Tecsun DR-920C sounds like a great radio, it would be great to have a small true analogue that has digital display. The digital display really does help with identifying stations.
Sound assessment, and thorough! Thanks
Thank you Kirk!
I just ordered the XHDATA D-219. It should be good for me in Southern Australia to do some listening to SW news stations here at night.
I hope you will enjoy the radio!
@@swlistening I have received it. It does get RNZ well on 15.720 Mhz. And gets a station about 100km from me on 531Khz well. It's really good so far.
@@Dan40049 Glad to hear that!
@@Dan40049 I am glad you are enjoying the radio! I think it does very well, considering the really low price.
I have the Retekess v115. It's FM and AM is excellent, but its shortwave is bad. I recommend it for AM/FM listening only. I haven't tried the MP3 feature yet 😀
I agree, the shortwave on this one is not very good. But if you add some wire it actually works very well! I have used it with a wire antenna of 7 metres, around 23 feet, and it turned into a real SW radio when I did that.
I have just discovered your channel and I’m really enjoying the content. I have the Retekess V115 and an Eton Executive Traveller. I also purchased a Sangean ANT-60 retractable antenna. After watching your videos about the XHDATA D-219, I ordered one from Amazon and I’m looking forward to trying it when it arrives. Greetings from Canada.
Thank you so much for your comment! I really enjoy finding good-value radios, so I hope you enjoy the D-219! It really amazed me, such good reception at such a low price.
Coincidentally, just picked up the 219 and the other 115....
You are spot on these two in comparison...don't have the 9012.
The 219 is so inexpensive I bought another and the FM reception is fantastic ...the 115 is OK and like you pointed out has great features.
Can't go wrong with these two and thanks for the test
Thank you for your comment! For the D-219 price I fully agree with you, you just can't go wrong. I also have two of them. It's nice to know I have a quite good little radio that I can just take anywhere with me, without worrying too much about damaging it. If I lose or damage one, I have the other as spare 😊
I'm finding stations in the 60 meter band that I'm interested in. I'm thinking of moving to the under $50 tier to get general coverage.
True, there are some really interesting signals in the 60m band, but I don't seem to pick any of them up, except VOA from Botswana and Voice of Hope from Lusaka in Zambia. I would like to pick up some of the South American signals, but have never managed.
Very well done Sir and nor can I argue your choice...I've got a large collection of world band receivers from expensive table tops to what I call my toys...I recently purchased the X-Data D-219 cause of videos in groups I've seen and for the very inexpensive price, this receiver is surprisingly good...A bit hard to tune in those faint HF stations, but with patients is does about the best of all the inexpensive receivers I have...What does rival it might be a Tecsun you didn't have in your video, and that being the R-909 which is another inexpensive receiver that it's performance is surprisingly good...Again, very well done on a segment of receivers few take the time to review...
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I agree with you about the D-219, it is a really good radio for the price, certainly one of the best inexpensive radios one can buy right now. When I made this video I did not have a Tecsun R-909, but since then I have bought two! It is a wonderful little radio, very good also, I like that it is full analogue. I really enjoy using and reviewing inexpensive receivers, not everyone can afford the very expensive radios. Some of these inexpensive receivers can provide you with a really great SW experience.
Thanks for the interesting and in-depth review. I have bought the Xhdata D-219 and although I do agree it is very sensitive and selective (which is essential for a radio, I do admit) I'm not happy with the way it sounds. Very muffled sound, lacking both bass and treble really. Also some issues with build quality that I have mentioned in a former comment. Mine came with the white band selection indicator almost invisble because not aligned with the holes. The tuning wheel is not comfortable to use. Still a good choice, although I did pay significantly more for it here from Amazon France.
It seems unfortunate that some versions suffer from poor quality control. I agree with you about the muffled sound, I actually mention that in my video. But I prefer slightly muffled over too shrill and harsh.
@@swlistening Yes, I had noticed that you mentioned the muffled sound in your video and said that you kind of like it. Well, I don't, possibly because I have poor hearing and like most people in the same situation, I need a lot of treble to hear sound properly. Otherwise a great little radio with amazing SW performance (this is what I have bought it for). It compares to my more expensive radios like my D-808 and PL-330.
@@F4LDT-Alain Thank you, I understand now what you said about the sound. I also think the SW is really amazing, it is incredible what XHDATA did here on a very inexpensive radio.
Does anybody cover the broadcasting stations and regular programming? Once you buy a radio or three I think using it becomes important. Pure DXing for its own sake is ok, but I'd like to know more about the available content.
This is a really interesting question, I don't actually know of anyone who covers programme content. Would be quite a task, there is so much out there. The SWLing blog sometimes has some posts about interesting programmes, here: swling.com/blog/ You can also check out this page for all the music programmes that you can hear on shortwave: swling.com/blog/resources/alan-roes-guide-to-music-on-shortwave/?swcfpc=1
Nice video! I think the one downside of the Tecsun R9012 is that it has trouble picking up FM, not even DX, but it struggles on local stations from what I have seen as reviews online.
You are so right about the FM on the R9012! I found the same issue, I think it is because the frequency spread on the display is so small, the radio covers FM from 76 MHz up to 108 MHz, which means the actual useful section for most people is only 87 to 108, where many stations are now packed in very tightly together. So some stations come through weakly or not at all.
@@swlistening 76mhz is the start of the Brazillian and Japanese FM Range, so maybe it was designed for use there. I know we use 87.5 to 108mhz as FM, but there are different places that have different standards. Other than that issue, the R9012 is great. They should make a 2nd version where they fix the spacing problem by splitting the FM into 2, like the XHDATA D219.
Edit: Fixed a spelling error
@@FamtechVideos True, the 76 to 108 range is also used in Japan and Brazil, and in a couple of countries for campus radio stations. I know there are different ranges around the world, but my estimate is that probably 80% of the world uses 87 to 108.
@@swlistening I never knew the 76 to 108mhz range are used for campus stations. I can pick up UCT Radio if I hook an FM Antenna with a 9:1 transformer I wired myself. It might be good for DX.
@@FamtechVideos I have to say that I don't remember exactly in which country, but I once read on a radio discussion forum that somewhere in the world 76 to 87 is used for campus radio. It is definitely not in South Africa though. Here our campus radio stations are all between 87 and 108.
Hello, what about retekess v115 FM reception? Im hoping to buy one only for listening FM, here in Sri Lanka we got very faint FM stations only able to be picked up by very good radios. I previously had a rolton radio which i accidently lost on a trip.
If you want a budget radio for FM, think about the XHDATA D-219.
Winner d219 for 13 bucks no complaints
Fully agree with you Gary! For $13 it is just incredibly good.
Very useful review, thank you. I recently had a power cut so I got to test out my prepper supplies. In 2021 I bought a Running snail radio and the battery had died, and its not replaceable, so ive ordered some of these removable battery radios to try instead. Does the retekis battery charge off mains power? Does the battery fail after a few years meaning you have to throw the whole radio out or can you buy a replacement battery? I like how you can record on it but like you say the battery is important too.
Hi Kate, thank you so much for your comment! The Retekess can be charged off mains power. It uses a BL-5C battery, which is the same one that is used in some mobile phones, so those are quite easy to find. You can replace the Retekess battery very easily, the battery compartment opens up and you just remove it and change it.
But I always keep some AA batteries around as well, some of my smaller radios use those, so when we have power cuts here, those can come in very handy indeed!
@@swlistening Thanks that's good to know that the Retekess battery can be replaced if necessary because that's the most important thing if there's a powercut. I'm looking forward to trying them out. I don't know much about radios at all so I've subscribed to your channel to learn more.
@@katec9893 Thank you for subscribing, I hope you will find my videos useful. They are a mix of reception videos and reviews about radios, sometimes information about using radios and antennas.
what do you think about tecsun 320? I think it's great, but lack of SSB is a deal breaker.
I don't have one (yet) but I have seen some very good reviews. For me it to be kind of similar to the XHDATA D-109, which also does not have SSB. I think if you use SSB, you should look elsewhere, either the XHDATA D-808 or the Tecsun PL-368 or PL-330.
Nice review here: radiojayallen.com/tecsun-pl-320-am-fm-sw-portable-radio/
@@swlistening
I see. Thanks for replying. I'm new to amateur radio hobby and your channel is a big help. Thanks for amazing radio content.
@@eruno_ Sure, I am happy to help. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.
Can you play a radio station for hours? because I don't have radio.
Are you asking about how long you can play these radios for? You can, indeed play a station on them for many hours, many days also. It depends though, the radios with digital displays usually don't play as long as those with analogue displays. The Tecsun R9012 and Tecsun R-909 last a very long time with the same set of batteries.
Tecsun r9012 atau xhdata d219 ?
Ini betul-betul soalan yang saya jawab dalam video saya :-) Saya membandingkan kedua-dua ini dan Retekess V115 supaya anda dapat melihat perbezaannya.
I am see the full video like fm radio best XHDATA D219 RADIO
The XHDATA D-219 is very good on FM also. You can comment in your own language, I will use the translate function to read your comments.
Bad luck never got XHDATA-D219 gift. I think African Post courier service gone in hell.
Ashu, yes, I agree with you, their service is just horrendous. I have been arguing with them for two months now about your package. It seems as if the package got lost. But don't worry, I will send you another one, I feel bad about this. I will communicate with you by email about this.
Is their any way to refund claim for lost packages. In India generally if india post lost any package, sender can able to claim compensation.
@@ashusaini8 It might be possible, although when I look at the way my complaint about your package has been handled so far, I doubt very much whether the post office will pay compensation. Our post office used to be quite good, but over the last few years something seems to have happened and service is now quite bad. Anyway, I just sent you an email about all this. You won the prize in my draw and I will make sure that you do get the radio. Sorry about the problems with the post office, but I will make another plan.
You can send me tecsun r9012
😀
I no English language. ...
64MHz何入るの？
I'm not sure...
ラジオだらけ
For me the best receiver in quality-price rate are Tecsun and Radiwow (mine)
I agree, I also like the Tecsun radios. But I think some of the XHDATA radios like the D-109 are really good, and also very good value for money.