ATS25 Max Decoder – First Impressions

I’m interested in this radio for a few reasons. It’s a very different form factor from what I’m used to. It has a metal box and coaxial antenna input that might make it more immune to local noise. It has a waterfall display (I think), and finally it can decode some transmissions (FT4 and FT8. I can’t touch yet.

My ATS25 Max Decoder arrived from AliExpress one day early (at a time when snow has everything backed up). Extra points for that. The store, POTOLAB, seems to be out of the shortwave radio receiver business this week, and looking for other sources finds that the price has dropped $20.

Warning

I also found something one has to watch out for at AliExpress, misleading product descriptions. I found what was described as an ATS25 Max Decoder for $37.47 with free shipping, but the product photo was of the cheaper ATS20. The buyer will likely get ripped off.

Unboxing

Feel free to leave a comment if you think unboxing photos are a waste of time. I have my own doubts.

Radios shipped singly from China tend to waste no space on packaging which is the case here.

In the box are:

• Radio
• Product Manual
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• FM telescopic antenna
• UHF antenna for router
• Rubber feet
• Stylus
• Screen protector
• Screen cleaning cloth

First impressions

I was overwhelmed by the density of information in the manual, followed by a feeling of despair that I would never figure it out. Then I found the Off/On switch in the back, installed the FM antenna, and actually tuned an FM station.

At first I thought the FM sensitivity was very poor, but then I found an antenna switch on the back that came set to the SSB/MW/LW/SW position. Switching it to FM helped a great deal. There is also an “AUTO” position that I’ve read works well. At first listen, I thought the speaker sounded very good with FM music. I tried classical and pop music and after more listening, I thought the sound lacked what I call “presence” or definition. It’s still a good speaker. I think the Qodosen DX-286 is better and the Tecsun PL-990 far better.

The screen protector was hard to move and a little bit of it is still caught in the right corners, but since I can’t see it in the photo above, I’m not going to worry about it.

The next observation is that the external antenna uses a BNC connector. Do I have an adapter for that? [Kevin runs downstairs to check the adapter box] No. I have some BNC terminators and T junctions, but no adapters, and the only BNC cable is an oscilloscope probe that I’m not going to cannibalize. It looks like antennas will have to be clipped onto the end of the telescopic until these arrive from Amazon on Monday:

Speaking of the telescopic antenna; it’s a bit loose compared with what I would expect on a portable radio.

I’m going to assume that the little green LED next to the charging cable going out means the radio is fully charged.

It did come with version 4.17 of the software as advertised.

Now for the $64 question, can it get WWV or CHU on the telescopic and, without me having to read the manual. The answer is yes. I got it on 10 and 15 MHz (around 8 PM local time in central Virginia). I tried one other station, CRFX in Toronto on 6070 kHz, and there was something barely audible, sort of, maybe. The Qodosen DX-286 had a usable signal on telescopic.

So my first impressions are good. The display is nice. The speaker is nice. The knob is nice. It’s definitely not designed to be hand held.

The Manual

Readers here know I’m picky about manuals. The manual that came with this radio is for an earlier version of the firmware. There are buttons not described. There is a manual for download for a different product (the ATS25 AIR) that seems newer, but not quite aligned with the features of mine. My manual has some of the screen shots in what looks like Italian, and the downloaded one is in Russian.

The manual is basically: look at this; here’s what it means. It doesn’t say now to actually do stuff.

I mentioned that I found reception of CHU weaker than on my DX-286. The manual mentions an LNA (low noise amplifier). The LNA is on by default for the DX-286. Beyond noting that there is an on/off indicator, the ATS25 manual doesn’t mention it again. There is an LNA button, but it won’t turn on, and the UI explicitly says it’s off. I’m doubting that there even is an LNA, or if there is, that it’s not supported by the firmware.

Definitely some YouTube searches are in my future.