Fast review of a toy radio

This is a radio that i use long ago around 3 years. A technician from the gas company used it used it the time he installed the  main hub for the building .It was a relatively small radio with many features. it included a torch  a LED light and MP3 and standard radio

I didnt find the same but something very similar and quite bulkier

This is something  similar to Waxiba or related radios but now is designed with DSP technology. I have not opened its rear but know from the relatively poor audio in FM

Now what makes  this radio so  interesting that i post it here? AS you see this radio has a a player as it can be seen with these 3 buttons on the bottom of he tuning screen
And yes this is a interesting mp3 player with clear audio  !

For unknown reason the photo has been  shut in inverse You  can see :
- A t3 stop switch : OFF , MP3 player, Radio . If  switches to mp3 it can be use aslo as Bluetooth speaker! Thogh the older times it worked OK in the most recent times it went off
-Volume level. it is a standard potbut in quite low levels the volume raises very high
-Tuning - very typical =
-DC9 V using the miniD  plug the standard plug 4 years ago

-6+2 radio bands (FM/ MW ), The shortwave bands cover quite broader than the standard radio band . MW can be used for roughly 520-1700
-micro Sd memory or USB plug for external memory
-5 V from PV systems !!
-two positions for torch or LED light !!

This is the LED lighter and the torch !

...and finally 

 

This is the inner side of the battery compartment .Now what is the funny?
This radio except of using 3 AA batteries includes also a standard Nokia BL5 C battery!!
Its price?  Just 11 eu that time that is  ridiculous for its rich features!

Sound ? ts sounds sharp for FM and mp3 . Unfortunately the sound in AM mode is limited by the inner DSP filter keeps of ca  3kHz. 
Second mistake : 4-6 , 8-11.14-17 MHZ bands are missing 
Third mistake : there is not a earphone output

Sensitivity? It seems good
Overloads? really this is the only radio so far I have tested not no suffer from overloads!
Band accuracy? Rather no Once i was listening a station on 71xx but after checking with the PL330 the station was located on 7220...
FM band is the standard 88-108 plus 2.5MHz in each end
MW starts from 531 to about 1700

Battery life: I can assume around 60 or more hours if used at jut above threshold levels ! This i my favorite radio for sleeping or waking up in the moms house and listening news from local or  national FM stations 

Here you can listen to samples from the radio 

https://app.box.com/s/v7cf9si1cblhjp5abp8ia83r8mo8dhu3  and 
https://app.box.com/s/h45ld79o3hiipcx3rnucdayeowx6wt0n

The one shows reception on shortwaves and the other is a FM scanning

-.-.-.

Hope you liked this review ! If yes please post below your comments !

Short review for the Youloop antenna

The Youloop antenna has been bought via the official site of RTL SDR in ebay.It has been received  without any problems in the standard Speedpack time of ca 15 days. I waited a few days more when i returned in Thessaloniki two weeks after. 

It has been tested with the Airspy HF+Discovery   and its 2 m cable. 

interesting to see is their dimansions !

Reception on the bands above the 15MHZ is quite very poor: System   threshold is ca -150dbm  with signals shown in the band with n more than 20 db SNR These stations re usually heard strong with standard radios as PL330 or PL550 fron Tecsun

The above copy  is made with my SDRConsole, my most prefered program  for making SDR reception. S units and  dbm levels are the standard method to evaluate signals . Notice also the spurious nd self generated  signals that recur in the band

 

Airspy in contrast 'zooms' the signal ie tunes better with its counterpart antenna (Youloop),   I cant prefer using Youssef's program (SDR#) as it is not well normalized as the SDRConsole. This program that suits much better for scientific research. As far as I remember it has all the whistles and bells to so  a more serious  and scientific signal analysis work (signal history analysis, 3D , multiple audio recordings etc just look at )

a few interesting hints by using it

(1)The door nearby the mini PC  (laptop) has the highest signal indoors! It is one f the few points where the noise is very low with levels of 15+ db as shown in the radio signal level readout . Antenna hung in the door with a 'cloth hanger'. Turning this door cold remove most of the local noise and offer also cleaner reception :

https://youtu.be/qdCYASiJWck  my mom helped me to turn the door!

(2) Outdoor reception offers higher signals and SNR . Correctly rotated antenna can also remove nose to the 20db level except router noise. More than 12 routers can be detected with my smartphone in this building .The range  effected is 150-1200kHz - partially-  , 3-6.5 and  8-11MHz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pycoPZ6Aquo

detailed info with photograph Just click on the photo to see beter:

(3) HF+D can also be overloaded with this antenna . N Greece is flooded with more than 15 signals [er band of S9+20-40db on the 49, 41 and sometimes 31mb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZWj0Is6beU

What i didnt like  with the antenna's  metalic hardware : this  antenna will be used for Dxpeditions with some temporary use per event These connectors require very careful usage and for sure they can easily break. If  the box could be could be a bit bigger/sturdier  ass their  competitor I wold feel more safe for more everlasting usage 

I would also like if there would be a more permanent system design.

IN the VHF band the signals are better that  i could expect ....I found this video useful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-TbWOPP-cQ&t=1s

I m generally quite impressed with this antenna  in the lower parts of the HF scrotum.
I now think to use it outdoors that is adding modifications on the support , extending the cable and possibly add an LNA near to the loop.. 

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Update: testing with standard radios

I added  a SMA-3.9mm mini jumper after the antenna lead  and used: One  analog PL550  and the DSP PL330 radio. Both are from Tecsun.  Results are as follows:

-PL550 good and deep nulls
-PL330 not so deep nulls 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCv0m6mzghU

..with PL550 only.  Antenna's shadow  in shown in the chair the time i turned it back and forth . Notice that most of the noise is automatically removed thanks to the ANC - auto noise cancelling - a feature that is built in on my smartphone