Incoming Radio: Axyebi AB-US-107Y 13000mAh Crank Emergency Weather Radio

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Kevin

This fellow popped up on Amazon, on sale for $25.99. It’s not my usual sweet spot for a radio with its analog tuning dial and no shortwave, but I have come to the conclusion that those two features aren’t important to me in an emergency radio. It’s set to arrive January 23.

AXYEBI AB-US-107Y Emergency Weather Radio

The AXYEBI AB-US-107Y has the standard feature complement one expects in the genre:

  • MW/FM reception
  • Weather band
  • NOAA Weather Alerts
  • Charging crank
  • Solar charging
  • Reading light
  • Flashlight
  • Emergency Alarm
  • Ability to charge other things

It adds a compass.

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ATS25 Max Decoder: Testing

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Kevin

Normally I wouldn’t be concerned that a radio is a couple of years old, or even 10 years old in case of the Tecsun PL-880, but these ATS radios seem to become obsolete overnight. If I had known better, I would have bought the Decoder II variant particularly because of its low noise amplifier.

My ATS25 Max Decoder — Voyage of Discovery (updated) article left a list of things to try out. And while I’m posting a 2025 review of a 2023 radio, it’s good that I was able to update the firmware to Ver. 4.2 Beta from June 8 of 2024.

This article continues the voyage of discovery and provides initial testing results.

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ATS25 Max Decoder — Voyage of Discovery

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Kevin

So I have the thing. What can I do with it?

I’m getting the impression that this is a tinkerers radio designed for ham radio operators primarily. (Update: the developer said in a video exactly that.)

All sorts of interesting stops appeared along the way, even a firmware upgrade!

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ATS25 Max Decoder – First Impressions

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Kevin

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, and finally it can decode some transmissions (FT4 and FT8) I have no access to.

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.

The first impressions are based on version 4.17 Beta of the firmware. In my next article, this gets updated to version 4.2 AIR Beta.

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.

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Competition heats up

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Kevin

A few years back I bought a Tecsun PL-380 that had a thermometer. That was my go to travel radio and the thermometer was convenient. I missed this feature when I traded in the PL-380 on a PL-330. Since then, I’ve accumulated 7 radios (that I know of) that display temperature.

Last night I wondered what the temperature was at a spot in my house and I dragged out an XHDATA D-109. The reading seemed a bit low, which led me to wonder about the accuracy of radio thermometers in general, so I gathered all my radios with the feature, plus a kitchen cooking thermometer that supposedly covers -40 to 482° F, and tested them.

I did two tests, one indoors and one outdoors.

Back Row: XHDATA D-109, D608-WB. HanRongDa HRD-757
Front Row: XHDATA D-109 (only 1 shown), Sihuadon R-108, XHDATA D-109WB.
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Sangean ATS-60 Reel Antenna Review

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Kevin

I purchased my Sangean ANT-60 in 2011, 13 years ago. In the intervening years I’ve gotten other similar reel antennas included with shortwave radios I bought.

They’re all about the same except for one very important characteristic — how easy the antenna is to reel in. Some of them stick, and reeling the antenna back in is tedious and frustrating. The ANT-60 works pretty smoothly — and a tiny bit of silicone lubricant makes it perfect.

The antenna terminates in a 3.5 mm phone jack, the almost universal connector for portable shortwave radios. For radios with no antenna jack, the ANT-60 comes with an adaptor that clips onto the end of the telescopic antenna.

Sangean ATS–60 Reel Antenna — Amazon product photo

The ANT-60 also comes with a short strap and a clip suitable for attaching the end to a tree limb or something else convenient.

It’s a piece of wire with a phone plug rolled up in a reel. This isn’t rocket science, but this model works the best. If mine ever got lost or finally broke, I’d buy this model again.

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New Year’s Antenna

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Kevin

I made a new year’s resolution to put up an outdoor antenna in 2025 and this article will chronicle the progress.

Previously I had an MLA-30+ on a balcony, but it was in an inconvenient location for where I really wanted to listen to radio, so I took it down. I have a 20-foot wire up a tree, but I have to go outside to connect to it, and the weather is turning cold. I don’t want to stumble down the sloping outdoor stairs to get to it in the dark and it’s not any fun in the rain.

So, the general plan is to put up a straight long wire antenna from a tree to the house, around 25 feet long. There will be an earth ground and a 9:1 BALUN for impedance matching, plus a lightning arrester. Shielded cable will run from the BALUN to a window where I’ll use one of those under window antenna strips to get in inside. Everything will be shielded between the wire and a connected radio.

This article will be updated with progress. Maybe it will get finished before the ATS-25 max-Decoder radio arrives.

Post 1, January 2, 2025

First thing I did was to take inventory, and I decided I didn’t have enough wire for the antenna, so I ordered some from Amazon (nothing on local Ace Hardware website).

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