Finding radio user manuals and technical information

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Kevin

I often go searching for technical information on consumer electronics. I want to get a look at the user manual for a new radio before I buy it, or I want a searchable electronic copy. Persistent digging has led me to a website, Device.Report, with a phenomenal database of information, including FCC type certification test results, product teardown photos and user manuals.

There are a multiple ways of searching the site. I use a Google search on the model number like this:

site:device.report “HRD-701”

It returns what I want most of the time.

There is a search built in to the home page, https://device.report/, but it required the brand. There there are also index pages for many brands, including these:

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First Impressions: HanRongDa HRD-757

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Kevin

So welcome to the HanRongDa HRD-757 (aka Raddy RF757, ZHIWHIS ZWS-757), what appears to be a relatively new entry in the Swiss Army Knife™ radio class (see feature list below), and my first radio with UHF coverage up to 999 MHz. It completed its FCC type acceptance testing on March 1, 2024.

HanRongDa HRD-757 (photo by author)

I got my HRD-757 from AliExpress at the Jai Ping Bo store. It cost $71.02 including sales tax and shipping to the US. It took 15 days to arrive (1 day late). It’s around $90 with a coupon on Amazon (the Raddy and ZHIWHIS logo versions). The Amazon versions have different packaging and accessories. Update 8/4/2024: the ZHIWHIS version with coupon is around $81.

Unboxing

The radio comes with:

  • Box
  • Radio
  • Radio Manual
  • App Manual
  • USB-C charging cable
  • 2500 mAh 18650 battery
HRD-757 Unboxed (photo by author)

The radio came with the battery installed and the radio key lock setting on. The correct time and date were already set, but for a 12-hour later time zone.

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Comparing radios

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Kevin

I post lots of articles comparing radios and recently I came up with a list of particular radios I’m calling my “Keepers.” I briefly thought I might compare them side by side. How many comparisons would that be? The old math major in me immediately pulled out the formula for the number of combinations of n things (in this case 17) taken r at a time (where r = 2 for side-by-side comparison).

C(n, r) = n! / ((n-r)!r!)
Thanks to Mathplanet.com for a nice picture

C(17, 2) = 163. If I throw out the less serious entries, the list becomes 12 long, and I’m still left with 66 combinations for these radios:

  1. Eton Elite Executive *
  2. HanRongDa HRD-757
  3. LiJiANi Rd239
  4. Qodosen DX-286
  5. Raddy RF75A
  6. Sangean ATS-405
  7. Sihuadon R-108
  8. Tecsun PL-330 *
  9. Tecsun PL-660 *
  10. Tecsun PL-990 *
  11. XHDATA D-109WB
  12. XHDATA D-808 *

(*) Radio has SSB

Divide and conquer

I could divide the radios into two groups: those with single sideband (5) and those without (7) and compare only within groups. Comparisons now are down to C(5,2) + C(7,2) = 31, but that wouldn’t be useful for the international shortwave broadcast enthusiast who doesn’t care about SSB.

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Keepers: The Saga Continues

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Kevin

It’s time to downsize — again. I’ve talked about having too many radios before under the topic, “Sharing the love.” Gilles Letourneau over at the OfficialSWLChannel on YouTube gets out an old radio from time to time and renews the relationship for a couple of weeks. I can see the value of that, but I have radios that really don’t aren’t worth it. It’s time to go through things and pick out what’s good. What’s not good will likely end up at the local Goodwill store or on eBay.

I visited this topic a couple of years ago in another article called “Keepers.” The original keepers list was:

  • Panasonic RF-085
  • Lextronix E1100 (rebranded Tecsun DR-920)
  • Tecsun PL-380
  • Tecsun PL-330
  • Tecsun PL-660
  • Zhiwhis ZWS-603
  • Degen DE15
  • Kaito WRX911
  • Kaito KA29

Of that list the E1100 died and was replaced with a similar Tecsun DR-920C and the PL-380 was sold in the Great Downsizing. The Tecsun PL-660 was far and away the best of show.

To be on the Keepers list, a radio has to have something special that might lead me to actually get it out and use for something, rather than just occupy shelf space.

The Continuing Keepers

  • Panasonic RF-085: Nostalgia and my only all-analog.
  • Tecsun PL-330: Great for travel and has SSB
  • Tecsun PL-660: Very good radio, and probably best SSB performance
  • Zhiwhis ZWS-603: Good speaker, mainly for its record capability
  • Degen DE15: Very compact, attractive, and has good FM performance.

I refer the reader back to my original Keepers article for descriptions of these radios and why they were original keepers.

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Incoming Radio: HanRongDa HRD-757

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Kevin

In a moment of weakness, I ordered a HanRongDa HRD-757 (aka Raddy RF757, Zhiwhis ZWS-727) from AliExpress for around $72 including tax and shipping.

HanRongDa HRD-757 (Product Photo)

I expect a good bit of similarity between this and my shirt pocket Raddy RF75A (aka HanRongDa HRD-787) with its record capability and app control (same app).

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Old v New: MW on Panasonic RF-085 and Qodosen DX-286 — with Antenna

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Kevin

The oldest working radio I have is a Panasonic RF-085 that is almost 50 years old. Panasonic radios are known for their superb MW performance. Now, in addition, I have a Qodosen DX-286, another radio that has made a splash for MW use. I thought I would take some time to compare the two.

Old: Panasonic RF-085

I made a video a year ago showing the performance of the RF-085 on WHBG in Harrisonburg, VA, demonstrating the effectiveness of an antenna with ground on this radio.

Antenna + Ground with Panasonic RF-085
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FM Radio Shootout: Part 2

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Kevin

For the start of this tale, see FM Radio Shootout: Part 1.

Junior League

Update:

Raddy RF74A

I received a strongly-worded challenge from the International Little Radio League (ILRL) over my selection of contestants. They contended that the Mesqool CR1015 was oversized, and took me to task for omitting another very qualified candidate, the Raddy RF75A. Mea culpa.

It’s a really interesting radio with Bluetooth, MP3, App control, weather alerts and VHF. I’ll update the material below to include some of the points of this radio.

The main story

As temperatures climb outside, I’ve gotten interested in the junior league, prompted in part by the receipt of my latest radio, a Tecsun Q3 Pocket Radio Recorder/Digital Audio Player. It’s upper left in the Junior League contestants photo:

Top Row: Tecsun Q3, Tecsun PL-118
Bottom: Mesqool CR-1015, Degen DE15, Degen DE28, HanRongDa HRD-701

Comparison table:

FeatureCR1015DE15DE28HRD-701PL-118Q3RF75A
MWYYYYY
SWYYYYY
WeatherYYY
VHFY
MP3YYYY
RecordYYY
ATS2351500297YY396
AUX inYY
TuningButtonButtonKnobKnobButtonDirectButton
ClockYYYY
BluetoothYY
AppY
Radio feature comparisons
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