Author Archives: Kevin

About Kevin

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

Tecsun R-9700DX Radio Compared

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Kevin

I’ve hesitated to talk about the Tecsun R-9700DX radio much because while other reviewers like it, I was disappointed, and I didn’t want to bad mouth a radio unfairly. In this article, I’ll also refer also to my vintage Panasonic … Continue reading →

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

HanRongDa HRD-701 — Many Features, tiny package

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Kevin

As one can see from the photograph, the HRD-701 is one of the smallest shortwave radios on the market, but its designers packed in a world of features underneath that small exterior sporting just 7 buttons, a switch and two … Continue reading →

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XHDATA D-109: A new radio

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Kevin

I typically buy a radio after it’s been on the market for a while, often several years. This one, the XHDATA D-109, was released February 16, 2023 and I ordered it two days later. Before the radio arrived, I received … Continue reading →

Posted in Product Reviews, Radio, Technology | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Ultra-bargain XHDATA D-219 AM/FM/Shortwave radio

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Kevin

The XHDATA D-219 is an AM/FM/Shortwave radio with an analog tuning dial. It covers AM (only up to 1600 kHz), FM (2 bands) and shortwave (9 bands from 4.75 to 22 MHz) It doesn’t have much in the way of … Continue reading →

Posted in Product Reviews, Radio | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The WOBOT Chronicles

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Kevin

These are my thoughts about an online word game hosted by the New York Times called Wordle. The game picks a 5-letter word and the player tries to guess it. After each guess (up to 6) the game reveals for … Continue reading →

Posted in Games, Technology | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

An open letter to the New York Times about its coverage of Advanced Driver Assistance systems

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Kevin

I don’t know what the New York Times is trying to accomplish in its coverage on driver-assist systems, but informing the public is not it. “Driver-Assist Systems Linked to Hundreds of Crashes“ was your headline, carrying the context-free ambiguous term … Continue reading →

Posted in Autonomous Vehicles, Technology, Tesla, Tesla | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The impact of electric vehicles on the power grid

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Kevin

I saw something online saying that electric vehicles consume so much energy that more than a few in a neighborhood would crash its power grid. They had a few numbers that sounded mostly right, but they lacked context. Here’s something … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric vehicles, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment