XHDATA D220 Portable Radio AM FM SW Shortwave Receiver Pocket Radio | 2AA Battery Operated, Transistor Radio with Excellent Reception for Gift, Family, Elder (Orange)

XHDATA has quite a few excellent radios, and here's another good one with a retro "transistor radio" vibe that performs a lot better than the ones did back when these types of radios were popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Still, there are a few operational details that might make it less suitable for some listeners than some other radios. Reception: FM and shortwave are exceptionally sensitive. In fact, I compared the shortwave reception of this radio to a couple of digital receivers I have. I was able to get everything on the D-220 that the bigger radios would get. And on a few of the stations, this little D-220 actually delivered cleaner reception than the larger, more expensive radios. Quite a surprise. But here's the problem: The entire shortwave band, which runs on this radio from 5.6 MHz to 22 MHz, is packed into one band. Finding a particular frequency can be a challenge. But with patience and a steady hand you can eventually get there. If there is ever a revision of this radio, I would hope they would consider dividing shortwave into two bands to make it easier to find specific frequencies. FM works really well also, especially given the relatively short antenna. I am able to receive an FM station about 70 mi away that's right between two local stations on the dial. Again, though, you need to really tune slowly to do that because not much movement of the tuning thumbwheel can sweep you right past the station you're looking for. AM (Medium Wave) reception is predictably not as good as FM and shortwave because the radio's small size means the internal AM antenna isn't very big. It works fine for local and stronger regional stations, though, and it will pull in some distant ones at night. Sound Quality: The biggest strength here is that the radio gets pretty loud without audio distortion, making it suitable to use outdoors or in noisy environments. Overall, I would rate the sound as good for a radio this size. You don't have a lot of bass, but the audio is clear and crisp for news/talk and casual music listening. Operation: Because of this radio's overall simplicity it might seem suitable for an elderly person who prefers a radio without a lot of extra buttons, knobs and controls. However, because tuning it requires fairly precise movements of the tuning wheel, a person with limited hand dexterity might find it frustrating to use. On the plus side, though, once you do find the station you want, the radio's digital signal processing chip homes in on the center of the signal, so there isn't much need to do any fine tuning. Battery Life: Phenomenal. To test this, I took a couple of previously-used AA batteries out of a different radio and checked their voltage, finding that each battery was between 1.2 and 1.3 volts - significantly less than the 1.5 volts of a new one. I then put them in the D-220 and turned it on at a moderate normal listening volume on an FM station. So far the D-220 has been playing for over 48 hours continuously on those previously-used batteries. Overall: The XHDATA D-220 is a high-quality radio at an attractive price. For those who intend to do a lot of shortwave listening, I suggest also looking at XHDATA's D-219, which costs about the same and divides the shortwave spectrum into several bands, making it easier to find the exact frequency you want. But if you prefer the slightly smaller size and vertical orientation of the D-220, the shortwave performance is excellent on this radio as well, albeit requiring a little more time to tune.

Your emergency kit needs a battery powered radio, ideally a radio that takes off the shelf batteries. This is a great choice - it's inexpensive, easy to use, and takes regular AA batteries. Lasts for AGES on a single set of alkalines, so you can leave it playing while you listen for emergency alerts and other important announcements. It also has shortwave, which is interesting and useful. The sound quality is good and it's plenty powerful if you turn it up. The tuning is quite sensitive, especially in shortwave mode - so you have to turn the knob carefully. But it's a great little radio and excellent value for money. Have a couple in your emergency kits, and a couple sets of batteries.

Excellent reception. Great value for price. Carry anywhere. Easy to use. Strong , thick plastic casing. Sound quality surprisingly high for small radio. Ideal for everyday or emergency use.

First impressions. This is a nice radio for the price, and with some interesting features. The radio is designed to be operable in different markets (i.e. Europe or the United States). For FM, the user switches between FM1 and FM2, depending. For AM, the tuning changes at 1KHz steps, so no need for a switch. And short-wave on a small radio like this at this price is, to me, amazing. Reception on AM is pretty good. I picked up a decently powerful fringe station about 270 miles away during the daytime and it came in loud and clear. And I picked up a couple Spanish language broadcasts on shortwave at about the same time while experimenting. FM is likewise very good. In all cases the speaker is very good for such a small radio. There is no play in the turning, and it isn't too stiff or loose. Similarly, there is no play in the on/off/volume control. On the negatives, the bar showing position on the dial is hard to see depending on the light and the angle you are holding the radio. This is with the orange model, an orange bar on orange background, and certainly would not be an issue with the black and green models. The easy workaround is to tilt the radio to see the contrast better when this is a problem. The band switch will probably be ok, but I wish it felt a little more solid and tight, more substantial, when switching from one bad to another. My uses cases would be a travel radio, especially if traveling by air and carrying everything, or stick in your bug-out-bag with lithium batteries and forget about it until you need it.

Cute little AM/FM/SW radio. Just what I was looking for. It will come in handy during power outages and for portable uses as I do not use my cell phone for music/news. Easy to use and I was amazed at the sound quality as I live out in a rural area 30+ miles from a radio station. I would definitely recommend this radio.

Well made, very tough, very functional radio.

I own a few pocket radios. This is a very good value for the low price. Does it sound like a $1200 Stereo? No it doesn't. It's a pocket radio. But I can say for a pocket radio it has decent sound quality. Tuning is on point and it gets good reception both am/fm. There is an fm1/fm2 feature. Here in the U.S. fm is broadcast 87-108 mhz. Some nations use 64-108 mhz. Both frequency ranges are totally useable in the Americas. A.M. reception is good too. Weaker stations may require rotating the radio for best reception. It has a mast antenna for fm/shortwave reception. I haven't used sw as it presently isn't an interest of mine. The tuning is a little stiff, this may wear in with repeated use but is a non-issue for me. It does require a little finesse to use the tuning knob but again is a non-issue for me. It is small enough to nearly disappear in a t-shirt pocket. The corners are well rounded for comfort. What would I like to change? 1. It had a fold out stand on the rear for table top use. I would prefer a clip so it can attach to a belt or other article of clothing. 2. I would like a tuning light. 3. I would like The Weather Channel instead of Shortwave. 4. Some pocket radios have a built in flashlight. This is a handy feature as it also can be used for tuning at night as well as a flashlight. These changes are by no means IMHO a deal breaker, but they may be for some users. It's much like a Classic 1960's or 1970's pocket radio. I didn't test the 3.5mm ear jack. It uses two AA batteries. It represented to me a very good value for the money. Hiking, lawn work, fishing etc. If money is tight, you won't be disappointed. It is among the least expensive pocket radios, batteries weren't included so add that into the cost.

No batteries included. Reception is ok but not great.

Se ve de buen material, resistente. La bocina suena muy bien para su tamaño. Buscaba que se pudieran conectar audífonos, lo cual es un plus.

Excellent budget pocket radio. This little radio brings in a ridicules number of stations across all the FM1, FM2 and even the MW band! Can't wait until the evening to see how it does on the SW band. For such a low price it performs well above it's weight! It's well built too and doesn't feel like it will fall apart in your hands. If you are looking for a inexpensive little radio to take with in your pocket or a purse this would be ideal.

It’s a great little radio! Stays on the station like it should, easy to get stations, nice long antenna, which I’ve hardly had to use. The sound is not tinny like the other three. Great for the balcony!

Después de probarlo por varios días, en A.M., tiene un alcance superior al de otras marcas que tengo. En F.M. si le cuesta alcanzar estaciones más distantes, tal vez por la antena tan corta, se soluciona con un potenciador externo de frecuencia. En S.W., se necesita un horario, precisión y paciencia para encontrar alguna estación (muy pocas). En conclusión es una radio muy eficiente. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.