I got mine today. First thing i noticed is that it receives BBC in the LW band very well. I mean, as well as my Sony icf-sw11 and it's the ONLY chinese radio I own that has good performance on the long waves, and i own dozens of them. I'm eagerly waiting for the evening, to be able to test it on the MW/SW bands. FM is totally amazing with 60 found channels, 20 more than most of my other radios.
Thank you for the comments. I am glad to hear that it does well on LW. Unfortunately, the only LW transmissions I get in the United States are non-directional beacons and NAVTEX. And those were on received on my Tecsun PL-660. Have a good night.
Thanks for the Shout Out TVRadio1972! Those XHDATA 3000's are the easiest to get. I just retested all of my protected Orbtronic Button Tops, and the 3600s I have were the only ones that wouldn't make contact because of a shallow button. The battery door goes on with no issues. The same with Protected Button Tops from Tecsun Radios, such as the PL-990/H501X, they fit and work fine. The unprotected Samsung 3500s I have from 18650batterystore are a great fit as well. Some Protected button tops have a thicker bar that runs along side of the battery causing the battery door not to close properly. Glad you made this video :)
Thank you for the information. I originally wanted to get the Samsung or Molicel button tops, but they were sold out at the time. So I bought the XHDATA batteries instead, and I'm glad I got them. Have a good weekend.
Good report. I have some Tecsun 2600 mAh 18650s that are just over 69 mm long and they fit just fine. However, they are 18.2 mm in diameter and make the battery door a tight fit. I read a forum comment from someone who was able to use an 18650 with a built-in USB-C charging port, 70 mm long, and it fit according to them. Anyway, I bought some TAKEN 3000 mAh batteries that are 67 mm by 18 mm and they not only fit but the battery door installs easier, too. Just my experience FWIW.
This is going to be my next radio.😁. I haven’t bought a New radio in a few years. I already have several 18650 batteries. Some protected, some not. And a “dedicated “ separate charger just for 18650 batteries. I hope my C.Crane batteries fit. [3400 mAh]. If not, I have XHDATA, and Tecsun batteries . Great video, as always. 📻🙂
I 'borrowed' an XHDATA 18650 3000 mah from another radio, and it works fine in the Qodosen DX-286. I ordered a pair from XHDATA for the DX-286 so I'll always have a backup. Strange that the designer of the DX-286 didn't recommend the XHDATA cell in his communication with Jay Allen. Be VERY careful about charging the cell in the DX-286, as a fast charger will damage the radio. I have an Opus BT-C3400 charger which will work well. Great video.
Anyone can use any 18650 battery. Ultrafire battery comes in capacity of 6000 mAH. But remember, always charge in outside charger. Don't charge inside the radio to protect the circuitary of your radio.
For some reason, my Midland protected button tops don't fit in the radio, but my unprotected ones do. I usually use a separate charger to charge 18650 batteries. Thank you for watching and have a good weekend.
One of the Midland protected button top batteries that I tried was too long and didn't fit. The other one fit, but I couldn't put the battery door back on. Perhaps there are shorter or thinner protected 18650 batteries, but I don't have those.
Could you say anything about the battery life of this radio? I've been looking around and it's hard to find any data about this, other than some reviews mentioning that it's a "battery hog". Of course battery life depends on 18650 capacity, but let's assume 3000mAh like the ones you got.
The battery drains a little more than similar portable receivers that use 18650s. However, I find that the XHDATA 3,000 mAh batteries do a better job at maintaining battery life than the 2,000 mAh ones.
Hi Michael, sorry for going a bit off-topic but have you experienced noise from your Qodosen's display on LW & MW? Because from what I have seen on YT, a few folks do experience that noise. But then, it would happen only when using the telescopic antenna, and you can easily turn that display off & on. I'm curious, because the radio is tempting, but maybe better wait for a follow-up model 🙂 73
That's a tough one to answer. I noticed that the AM/MW band is a bit noisy with the telescopic antenna on some stations. I don't know what causes that. When I recorded the review on Tuesday, I forgot to mention using the telescopic antenna for MW. I only mentioned the internal ferrite bar and external antenna jack uses for MW.
HI Michael, I just got my Qodosen DX-286 two days ago, Can I use my computer USB port for charging DX-286 or my Samsung tablet wall charger and how long does it take to charge the DX-286. Thank you for posting this and all your videos... 📻
I never used my computer to charge the DX-286, so I couldn't tell you if you could. You can use a wall charger as long as it is not a fast charger. Makes sure that the charger is no more than 5 Volts. I don't know how long it takes to charge the radio, but micro USB are not known to charge at fast rates.
I got mine today. First thing i noticed is that it receives BBC in the LW band very well. I mean, as well as my Sony icf-sw11 and it's the ONLY chinese radio I own that has good performance on the long waves, and i own dozens of them.
I'm eagerly waiting for the evening, to be able to test it on the MW/SW bands.
FM is totally amazing with 60 found channels, 20 more than most of my other radios.
Thank you for the comments. I am glad to hear that it does well on LW. Unfortunately, the only LW transmissions I get in the United States are non-directional beacons and NAVTEX. And those were on received on my Tecsun PL-660. Have a good night.
@@tvradio1972 in Northeast USA with radio hooked to random wire 171 kHz Medi 1 radio Morocco has been heard.
Thanks for the Shout Out TVRadio1972! Those XHDATA 3000's are the easiest to get. I just retested all of my protected Orbtronic Button Tops, and the 3600s I have were the only ones that wouldn't make contact because of a shallow button. The battery door goes on with no issues. The same with Protected Button Tops from Tecsun Radios, such as the PL-990/H501X, they fit and work fine. The unprotected Samsung 3500s I have from 18650batterystore are a great fit as well. Some Protected button tops have a thicker bar that runs along side of the battery causing the battery door not to close properly. Glad you made this video :)
Thank you for the information. I originally wanted to get the Samsung or Molicel button tops, but they were sold out at the time. So I bought the XHDATA batteries instead, and I'm glad I got them. Have a good weekend.
The Qodosen DX-286 is perhaps the BEST new radio on the market! It has the TEF6686 high sensitivity chip!
I agree.
Good info Michael. I will keep all these things in mind if I ever decide to purchase this radio.
Thank you so much. Have a good weekend.
Good report. I have some Tecsun 2600 mAh 18650s that are just over 69 mm long and they fit just fine. However, they are 18.2 mm in diameter and make the battery door a tight fit. I read a forum comment from someone who was able to use an 18650 with a built-in USB-C charging port, 70 mm long, and it fit according to them. Anyway, I bought some TAKEN 3000 mAh batteries that are 67 mm by 18 mm and they not only fit but the battery door installs easier, too. Just my experience FWIW.
Thank you for the feedback. Have a good day.
This is going to be my next radio.😁.
I haven’t bought a New radio in a few years.
I already have several 18650 batteries. Some protected, some not. And a “dedicated “ separate charger just for 18650 batteries.
I hope my C.Crane batteries fit. [3400 mAh]. If not, I have XHDATA, and Tecsun batteries .
Great video, as always.
📻🙂
Thank you Jeff. I like the radio so far, especially on FM.
The C Cranes batteries will work. I just have one from the CC Radio Solar and it works.
I 'borrowed' an XHDATA 18650 3000 mah from another radio, and it works fine in the Qodosen DX-286. I ordered a pair from XHDATA for the DX-286 so I'll always have a backup. Strange that the designer of the DX-286 didn't recommend the XHDATA cell in his communication with Jay Allen. Be VERY careful about charging the cell in the DX-286, as a fast charger will damage the radio. I have an Opus BT-C3400 charger which will work well. Great video.
Thank for the feedback. Have a good night.
Anyone can use any 18650 battery. Ultrafire battery comes in capacity of 6000 mAH. But remember, always charge in outside charger. Don't charge inside the radio to protect the circuitary of your radio.
For some reason, my Midland protected button tops don't fit in the radio, but my unprotected ones do. I usually use a separate charger to charge 18650 batteries. Thank you for watching and have a good weekend.
Those XHDATA batteries actually are around 2500mAh instead 3000mAh. I have 4 of them and checked. Anyway, on these I can run for 2 to 3 days.
Good to hear about the actual mAh of the batteries. Have a good night.
There are protected 18650 batteries with a button type positive terminal. Those will work.
One of the Midland protected button top batteries that I tried was too long and didn't fit. The other one fit, but I couldn't put the battery door back on. Perhaps there are shorter or thinner protected 18650 batteries, but I don't have those.
@@tvradio1972 The C Crane Batteries will work and the UltraLast 3400 also fit ok. Those are that I got.
Could you say anything about the battery life of this radio? I've been looking around and it's hard to find any data about this, other than some reviews mentioning that it's a "battery hog". Of course battery life depends on 18650 capacity, but let's assume 3000mAh like the ones you got.
The battery drains a little more than similar portable receivers that use 18650s. However, I find that the XHDATA 3,000 mAh batteries do a better job at maintaining battery life than the 2,000 mAh ones.
Hi Michael, sorry for going a bit off-topic but have you experienced noise from your Qodosen's display on LW & MW? Because from what I have seen on YT, a few folks do experience that noise. But then, it would happen only when using the telescopic antenna, and you can easily turn that display off & on. I'm curious, because the radio is tempting, but maybe better wait for a follow-up model 🙂 73
That's a tough one to answer. I noticed that the AM/MW band is a bit noisy with the telescopic antenna on some stations. I don't know what causes that. When I recorded the review on Tuesday, I forgot to mention using the telescopic antenna for MW. I only mentioned the internal ferrite bar and external antenna jack uses for MW.
HI Michael, I just got my Qodosen DX-286 two days ago, Can I use my computer USB port for charging DX-286 or my Samsung tablet wall charger and how long does it take to charge the DX-286. Thank you for posting this and all your videos... 📻
I never used my computer to charge the DX-286, so I couldn't tell you if you could. You can use a wall charger as long as it is not a fast charger. Makes sure that the charger is no more than 5 Volts. I don't know how long it takes to charge the radio, but micro USB are not known to charge at fast rates.
@@tvradio1972 Thank you *TVRadio1972.*