Author Archives: Kevin

About Kevin

Just an old guy with opinions that I like to bounce off other people.

Antenna + ground

Posted on December 31, 2023 by Kevin

When I was a young shortwave listener 56 years ago, I had a Lafayette KT-340 desktop radio with connectors on the back for an antenna and a ground. I always hooked up my 75-foot long wire to the ANT post … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Semier SM-838: Review before donation

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Kevin

OK, I had to have a radio under the Christmas tree, and as the last thing I really needed for Christmas was another radio, I went to the bottom of the barrel for this Semier SM-838 at the sale/coupon price … Continue reading →

Posted in Product Reviews, Radio | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ex-radio

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Kevin

When I write a review of a radio for Amazon, I’ll often try to gain credibility by saying “I’ve owned over 100 radios…” and that’s true. I currently have 39 radios (not counting car radios and clock radios). What happened … Continue reading →

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Goodbye PL-880

Posted on December 23, 2023 by Kevin

It became obvious some time ago that it made no sense to own both a Tecsun PL-880 and a PL-990 portable shortwave receiver. I knew one of them should go — but which one? The PL-880 had the best speaker … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio, Technology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Battle of the under $50 shortwave radios: Take 2

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Kevin

It’s only been 5 months since 13 shortwave radios did battle in the original Battle of the under $50 shortwave radios, but things have changed. There are new contenders. XHDATA D-109WB The XHDATA D-109 (shown above) was the winner of … Continue reading →

Posted in Product Reviews, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Updating the LiJiANi Rd239 radio firmware

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Kevin

I bought my LiJiANi Rd239 in November of 2023, with Version 2.8 firmware. Prior to November, the radios had V2.7, and now in December, I’ve learned it’s 2.9! I emailed the address in the user guide and they sent me … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio, Technology | Tagged , | 10 Comments

XHDATA D-109WB vs LiJiANi Rd239 Multiband Receivers

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Kevin

These two radios, arriving within a couple of days of each other, cry out for comparison. Both are in roughly the same price range: the Rd239 was $39.80 delivered from Amazon (Black Friday sale) and the D-109WB costs $46 including … Continue reading →

Posted in Radio | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments