Qodosen SR-286 Update

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Kevin

It’s been a few weeks now with the Qodosen SR-286 receiver. This is a status report.

I have over 30 shortwave receivers, some pretty good ones. I find myself using the SR-286 almost all of the time. The only exceptions are when I get out the Tecsun PL-990 to receive SSB — in particular LRA36 in Antarctica, and the XHDATA D-808 to compare something.

I use the SR-286 with its telescopic antenna alone, with Tecsun AN-07 extender, and with an external long wire. I’m not using the MLA-30+ much right now.

I really like the radio. One advantage is its compact size over the PL-990. I like the controls. The automatic scans pick up weak stations so well that I don’t need to do band scans by hand.

It’s sensitive, it sounds good and it’s fun to operate. The display is easy on the eyes in any light.

The bottom line is that I’m using the SR-286 to the exclusion of the others.

Here was a really fun reception of Radio Piepzender from the Netherlands:

Radio Piepzender on the Qodosen SR-286

Update:

I tried a feature on my SR-286 for the first time last night and I really like it.

When the tuning knob is pressed in, the radio switches between FAST, SLOW, AUTO and STOP modes. I tried AUTO. In this mode, the radio begins a search for the next station and stops when one is found (either up or down depending on which way it’s turned). I found that it stopped for faint stations. There is no DSP chuffing sound when tuning this way.

Update 2

Hint for North American SR-286 users:

The DEFAULT values for FM de-emphasis and RDS settings are wrong for North America. Also the MW step should be set.

To change the values, turn the radio off, then long-press the SET button until MW-XXK appears. (XX will either be 9K or 10K).

If you see MW-9K, short press the SET button to change it to MW-10K.

Continue turning the knob until you see either FM-RDS or FM-RBDS. If it’s FM-RDS, short press the SET button to changed it to FM-RBDS.

Continue turning until you see “FMDE-XXUS.” If XX is 50, quick press SET to change it to “FMDE-75US.”

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The Burning Question: is the Qodosen SR-286 worth it?

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Kevin

Introduction

The Qodosen SR-286 set me back $129 US, a price tag that made me pause before purchasing. I wasn’t buying a radio on a whim. What drew me in was its novelty and the promise of improved performance compared to my current setup. An online review even touted its superiority on FM.1 [See Update at the end of this article about the new mass market version of the SR-286, the DX-286, available for $79.99. Everything in this article also applies to the new version.]

As I share my findings and experiences with the SR-286 through information and videos, I expect to field questions about its value proposition. Is it worth the price, or would a more budget-friendly option like the XHDATA D-808 suffice? Perhaps some might wonder if it’s worth holding out for a pricier model like the Sangean ATS-909 X2.

It’s essential to recognize that different people prioritize different features. For instance, one comment on Facebook said, “If it doesn’t have SSB, it’s off my list.” If you share that sentiment, need AIR band coverage, or specifically require a radio that runs on AA batteries, then the SR-286 might not be the right fit for you. Its HF coverage tops off at 27,000 kHz, so you won’t pick up the US Citizens Band (CB) or the 10m amateur radio band. Additionally, it lacks weather band and VHF functionality. However, once you move past those limitations, the SR-286 starts to reveal its intriguing qualities.

Conventional wisdom in the world of portable receivers suggests that once you enter the upper echelon, all radios essentially receive the same stations; however, I’m inclined to challenge that assumption with the SR-286.

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Qodosen SR-286: First Impressions

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Kevin
Qodosen SR-286 (photo by author)

I’ve been waiting for 21 days for the radio to arrive and in that time I wrote a blog article in anticipation and studied the manual. Now that it’s here I want to share my first impressions. During the wait I researched and decided that I was going pronounce the brand, “CHO do sen.”

First, the radio felt heavy, but really isn’t particularly heavy; it’s just small. It actually weighed 8.6 oz. with the battery installed. I checked and yes, it has rubber feet. It comes in a fold over Velcro fastened case, sort of a khaki color. I like having a case. The kit also includes a USB Micro charging cable. What aren’t included are earphones, a product box and a manual. Good thing I found a manual on line. The manual says that the radio comes with a manual. OOPS.

The radio is small, in fact identical in size to the Sihuadon R-108, with the same 19 1/4″ antenna length.

I quickly noted that I really like the way this radio tunes. You don’t have to set a band. If you want 351 kHz LW, just punch in 351 and hit AM. If you want 1070 kHz MW, just punch in 1070 and hit AM. If you want 6070 kHz SW, just punch in 6070 and hit AM. If you repeatedly press AM without entering a frequency, it will skip from LW to MW to SW. The buttons feel good too.

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Sihuadon R-108: an overlooked radio

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Kevin

I’ve seen nice things said about the Sihuadon R-108 radio for some time, but I never bought one because it seemed redundant for my personal use. The radio is quite small (5″ L x 1.2″ W x 3″ H), it convenient to pack or carry. It’s powered by a BL-5C battery and sports LW, MW, FM, general coverage SW and AIR bands.

Sihuadon R-108 Receiver (Amazon product photo)

I thought that if I had the XHDATA D-808, I wouldn’t have any use for this scaled down version without SSB and without RDS. And that made sense, but not everyone has a D-808, and those who don’t might want a review of the R-108.

Pricing

I’m always looking for the best price and this radio’s price has varied quite a bit. Today on Amazon US it costs $59.90 less a 12% coupon, or $51.71. On the XHDATA website it’s $52.90 less 30% promotion plus around $6.50 shipping from China, or $43.53. I paid $49 for mine including shipping from XHDATA.

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Charging Radios – USB-C

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Kevin
USB-C connector – Raddy RF75A

Houston, we have a problem.

A reader commented on a problem charging an XHDATA D-808 radio with a USB-C to USB-C cable. The XHDATA supplied USB-A to USB-C cable worked, but not the other.

This reminded me of something from a user guide:

TYPE-C input
a. TYPE-C data cable… Please connect 5V charger, computer interface, standard USB output port, etc. Please do not connect the phone fast charger; the phone fast charger output has 9V or 12V. It may burn the machine. This machine has done this protection, but the risk still exists. …

— LiJiANi Rd239 User Guide (V3.0)

I’ve been doing some testing with a standard USB-C end-to-end cable with 4 USB chargers:

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Radio Confusion

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Kevin

And no, I’m not talking about the clandestine radio station that sent me this QSL card.

Radio Confusion QSL from 1980

My confusion is over is the frequency range for FM radio in the United States. This should be an easy question, and the official answer is:

The FM broadcast in the United States starts at 88.0 MHz and ends at 108.0 MHz.  The band is divided into 100 channels, each 200 kHz (0.2 MHz) wide.  The center frequency is located at 1/2 the bandwidth of the FM Channel, or 100 kHz (0.1 MHz) up from the lower end of the channel.

— Federal Communications Commission

And further research indicates that there other frequency ranges in other parts of the world.

In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) region 1) and in Australia and New Zealand,[1] it spans from 87.5 to 108 megahertz (MHz) – also known as VHF Band II – while in the Americas (ITU region 2) it ranges from 88 to 108 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76 to 95 MHz, and in Brazil, 76 to 108 MHz. The International Radio and Television Organisation (OIRT) band in Eastern Europe is from 65.9 to 74.0 MHz, although these countries now primarily use the 87.5 to 108 MHz band, as in the case of Russia. Some other countries have already discontinued the OIRT band and have changed to the 87.5 to 108 MHz band.

— Wikipedia

To simplify, US starts at 88 and Europe/Africa/Oceania starts at 87.5 MHz.

My confusion comes from dealing with real radios. Many portable radios with FM have a setting for the FM range, allowing the radio to function in a familiar way in different regions. On some of those radios, the FM setting also controls other things like the MW step (10 kHz in the Americas and 9 kHz most everywhere else) and sometimes the temperature scale, C or F.

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Incoming Radio! Qodosen SR-286

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Kevin

If all goes well, I’ll be receiving a Qodosen SR-286 (aka Xiaoqiang SR-286) radio mid-February from AliExpress. I learned about it from RadioJayAllen’s review and it pushed a few of my buttons.

First off, the SR-286 is small: 128 x 75.5 x 38 mm. I like a portable radio to be portable.

Qodosen SR-286 Product Photo (AliExpress)

Allen says that this is the best portable for FM that he’s seen, and the addition of RDS gives me an opening for more DXing on that band. I also like the fact that the external antenna can be used for all bands, including LW/MW. With tax and shipping from China, my order totaled $134.78, not exactly a bargain radio, but much less than a Tecsun PL-990 or Sangean ATS-909 X2.

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