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Portable radio question

gar hi

gar hi

So I'm considering getting the XHDATA D-109 Shortwave Longwave AM FM radio because it has an old style tuner instead of push button but it doesn't take standard batteries and instead takes one of those special lithium batteries.

A charger comes with it but it doesn't plug into a wall AC outlet as far as I can see.

It just has a USB connector and I don't understand how I'm supposed to charge the battery.

All I know about USB is that it's a connection on a laptop and I can't see how my Chromebook could charge something.

So I take it I would also have to get some kind of adapter to plug it into the AC?

If so, are they expensive?

I was also considering the C Crane Skywave radio but it takes only 2 AA batteries and I would guess they wouldn't last that long?
 
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gar hi said:
So I'm considering getting the XHDATA D-109 Shortwave Longwave AM FM radio because it has an old style tuner instead of push button but it doesn't take standard batteries and instead takes one of those special lithium batteries.

A charger comes with it but it doesn't plug into a wall AC outlet as far as I can see.

It just has a USB connector and I don't understand how I'm supposed to charge the battery.

All I know about USB is that it's a connection on a laptop and I can't see how my Chromebook could charge something.

So I take it I would also have to get some kind of adapter to plug it into the AC?

If so, are they expensive?

I was also considering the C Crane Skywave radio but it takes only 2 AA batteries and I would guess they wouldn't last that long?
Click to expand...
If you want a radio that will also serve as an emergency radio, don't get one that only uses rechargeable batteries.

Ask here which of the "regular" battery operated SW / AM / FM radios is best for your purpose: DXing, casual listening, or whatever. Many of them operate off AC as well, so look for that if you plan to use the radio every day.

Note that a $20 price range radio of any kind is going to be very limited in sensitivity, selectivity and even audio quality.
 
Thanks for the link.

But I'm not really interested in something for emergency use but just curious as to how I would charge the lithium battery.
 
The "U" in USB stands for "universal." As long as you have the right flavor of USB cable for the jack on the radio, you can plug it in to just about anything. Most hotel rooms now have multiple USB outlets that supply the needed 5VDC, as does pretty much any car these days. Every convenience store has a rack full of 120VAC or 12VDC USB chargers, some better quality than others, usually for $20 or less. Or you can charge from a USB jack on a computer, or on a power strip, or on a rechargeable battery pack.

I'm writing this on the train from my phone, which is plugged into a USB charger that's plugged into the onboard 120VAC, but if that didn't work, I could use the charger pack that I carry in my bag, or charge off the battery in my laptop.
 
Following up on Scott's post, here is what an AC adapter that plugs into a wall AC outlet looks like:
1680631926532.png

This is an "under $10" Amazon one.

If you buy that radio, the cable that comes with it may be one of two standard USB connectors, Type A or Type C:

1680632078515.png

And, as Scott says, many power strips and utility devices... even newer cars... have USB power outlets that can be used for charging. A and C are standards, with standard voltages. However, some are capable of faster charging so consider that if you are concerned about that.

I would assume that the radio can be used while charging, and in that case, it will "never run out of power". Again, that is a very cheap radio. I have a Tecsun PL 880 and love it... but it is much more expensive; the C C Crane radios are also proven to be good and are recommendable.
 

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fybush said:
The "U" in USB stands for "universal." As long as you have the right flavor of USB cable for the jack on the radio, you can plug it in to just about anything. Most hotel rooms now have multiple USB outlets that supply the needed 5VDC, as does pretty much any car these days. Every convenience store has a rack full of 120VAC or 12VDC USB chargers, some better quality than others, usually for $20 or less. Or you can charge from a USB jack on a computer, or on a power strip, or on a rechargeable battery pack.
Click to expand...

So you're saying I can just plug it into the USB jack on my Chromebook laptop and it will charge?
 
gar hi said:
So you're saying I can just plug it into the USB jack on my Chromebook laptop and it will charge?
Click to expand...
Yes. You charge the radio just like you charge your mobile phone. You can plug the usb into the brick (as David showed above), or anything powered that has a usb port- laptop (when it’s on), car, airplane seat, etc.
 
gar hi said:
So you're saying I can just plug it into the USB jack on my Chromebook laptop and it will charge?
Click to expand...
Yup. Standard USB is just 5 VDC. The only variable is whether any given source of power will provide enough wattage to charge your desired device as quickly as you'd like.
 
The model of Chromebook I have may be subject to power surges so I wanted to find an AC adapter.

When I look up the Type C on Amazon or Ebay, it says for charging Android phones.

www.ebay.com

Adaptive Fast Wall Adapter+USB-C For Samsung Galaxy A10e/A20/A30/A40/A50/A70 696950717657 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Adaptive Fast Wall Adapter+USB-C For Samsung Galaxy A10e/A20/A30/A40/A50/A70 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Will that also charge this radio?
 
Also before I decide whether to get the XHDATA D-109, I also like the basic C Crane Skywave radio but it's more than twice as expensive, $90 as opposed to $40.

I take it that has better shortwave sensitivity than the XHDATA D-109?

What I like about the XHDATA D-109 is that it covers the entire shortwave band which includes the CB channels that are fun to DX from Hawaii.

I sold the hand held CB receiver/transmitter I got a couple years ago because while I could hear people from the mainland during E Skip every afternoon, they could never hear me because I was only transmitting with the legal 4 watts limit and didn't have any special antenna set up.
 
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One thing it's hard to buy a portable radio nowadays. Went looking at WorstBuy recently and they had none. I asked an employee and he said "we use apps now."
 
gar hi, it's all in the USB cables you use. Just like with an audio connection, you have to match the connectors at both ends. If the charger you're using has a USB-C output (slightly rounded at both ends), you need a cable with a USB-C plug at that end. USB-C is slowly replacing the somewhat larger Type A connections (rectangular, and can only fit in the plug in one direction), but for now Type A connections are still the most likely ones you'll find on chargers and in hotel rooms and such.

Newer radios might have USB-C jacks on the radio, but are more likely to use the older micro-USB connector, which was also the standard for non-Apple phones until USB-C replaced it.

The radio you buy will almost certainly come with a USB cable that's type A at one end and whichever plug fits the radio at the other end. If not, go to Anker or Monoprice or Amazon and buy the cable you need. Shouldn't cost you more than $10.

I know this sounds complicated, but it really isn't - it's no different than needing an audio cable that's RCA on one end and 3.5 mm stereo male on the other end. It's all 5 volts moving through, so you just make sure you've got the right connectors or adapters and away you go.

My Tecsun PL-380 is the best of both worlds - it takes AAs but has a USB jack on it that can charge NiMH AA rechargeables, which is what I keep in it. The batteries hold charge pretty much forever, and the radio has minimal current drain, so I could get a few days of listening out of it if there were an emergency.
 
This might be a point where we post the "all band" radios that we have experience with. Must have AM, FM and all international SW bands. Since LW is likely totally gone in next year or two, perhaps "AM, FM, Weather and SW" would be the ones we can mention.

I have the Tecsun PL 880 (about $160)
Scott has the PL 380. (About $50) (The PL 389 has FM stereo with dual speakers)
 
DavidEduardo said:
This might be a point where we post the "all band" radios that we have experience with. Must have AM, FM and all international SW bands. Since LW is likely totally gone in next year or two, perhaps "AM, FM, Weather and SW" would be the ones we can mention.

I have the Tecsun PL 880 (about $160)
Scott has the PL 380. (About $50) (The PL 389 has FM stereo with dual speakers)
Click to expand...
Actually, there are two versions: the PL-390 without Bluetooth (no longer made) and the PL-398 with Bluetooth, which is what I think you meant.

Tecsuns tend to be best for FM. I have the PL-310ET, PL-380, PL-390, PL-505, PL-606, and even the PL-100. All are DSP based. All except the PL-100 also have AM, with multiple audio bandwidths available.

A step up is the XHDATA D-808 which, unfortunately (IMO) uses the 18650 lithium-ion battery. I've had problems with them though the radio itself is very good, more sensitive on AM than the Tecsuns. The FM performance is comparable though I think the stereo quieting threshold is set too high. There was (may still be) an Australian version from the retailer Jaycar, which also sold for a time to American customers. It's the Digitech AR-1780. I recently sold my XHDATA units to Gary DeBock, who will be modifying them for AM DXers. I'm keeping the Digitech, though - it uses 4 standard AA cells. Both the XHDATA and Digitech units have SSB, multiple audio bandwidths, and RDS on FM.

Sorry, I don't have current prices. I paid around $50 for each of the Tecsuns; around $110-120 each for the XHDATA and Digitech radios. But I believe prices are higher now.

Other choices: CC Skywave from CCrane, Sihuadon/Radiwow R-108 (a blatant knockoff of the C. Crane). Also don't overlook Sangean models. The venerable DT-400W is now DSP based and performs well. A more modern version, with RDS, is the DT-800. If you're outside North America, the equivalents are the DT-250 and a different version of the DT-800 respectively. The North American versions have the weather radio band; outside North America they don't, and have 50 usec de-emphasis rather than the American 75.

This is a very rapidly composed summary - I can expand information for individual radios as time permits and if there's demand. I went through a lot of them looking for the perfect combination for travel but I'm convinced that combination just doesn't exist, at least not for me. I've got five radios with me on my current trip and I've having to switch among them due to surprisingly bad reception conditions where I'm staying.
 
Mark Roberts said:
A step up is the XHDATA D-808 which, unfortunately (IMO) uses the 18650 lithium-ion battery. I've had problems with them though the radio itself is very good, more sensitive on AM than the Tecsuns.
Click to expand...
I have no experience with the XHDATA radios.

But if they use the 18650 batteries, I find that to be an emergency radio disadvantage. They are not "universal" and require some considerable "stuff" to charge when traveling. For emergency and travel, I prefer those that use 0-volt, AA or AAA batteries.

At home, I have a lot of tools that use 18650 as well as several "cordless" kitchen appliances, auto vacuums and the like. So I have several chargers that hold four batteries. Further, those come in various capacities with the longer charge life ones costing more, so I generally buy the highest capacities for convenience.

I have not had issues, but one friend had 18650 battery "discussions" at airport security locations on two occasions because they "explode at high altitudes". That caused him several delays while he insisted on a supervisor review. After the second one, he got a different radio with triple-A batteries.
 
Is the C Crane Skywave much more expensive for it's size because of it's sensitivity or because it also has Air and Weather bands?
 
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