Author Archives: Kevin

About Kevin

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

Semier SM-838: Review before donation

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

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Ex-radio

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

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

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Battle of the under $50 shortwave radios: Take 2

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

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Updating the LiJiANi Rd239 radio firmware

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

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XHDATA D-109WB vs LiJiANi Rd239 Multiband Receivers

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

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LiJiANi Rd239: A different radio

A Black Friday sale item caught my eye on Amazon for just under $40. The first thing that jumps out is the coverage: FM/MW/SW/AIR/VHF/Weather. It also has weather alerts, MP3 Play/Record, external antenna jack, AUX in jack and a flashlight/reading … Continue reading

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