The low cost, no frills, 4 band T-6609A compact radio receiver with 2 Shortwave bands plus AM & FM
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ธ.ค. 2022
- This is my review of the very low-cost 4-band T06609A radio receiver.
This is a no-frills basic radio receiver that covers 2 shortwave bands, AM & FM frequencies and upon review, revealed a couple of unexpected surprises!
If you enjoy this don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button to help others find this video and if you visit my channel, you will find plenty of reviews of other low-cost radio receivers including some hidden gems!
Thanks for watching.
TWCG - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Great review. I love that you try out these dirt-cheap AliExpress radios, so I don't have to buy them all!
To be honest, I really enjoy doing these reviews even when it's icy cold in the middle of winter on a table at the back of my garage, as in the case with this little set. When I have a few sets, I chose one or two as keepers and then give the others c/w their boxes/packaging etc. to the local hospice where hopefully, they will make a little money. Winners all round!
Nice video! It would be nice to see the circuitry inside it. I also purchased a cheap radio on Aliexpress, and the most striking problem was easy to spot inside it: a tiny ferrite core with simple enameled wire for the coil. I'm gonna take some time to make a different coil arrangement, with a bigger core and proper litz wire to see if there is any improvement.
Also, subscribed!
Hi, appreciate you getting in touch and for subscribing!. Yes I have been tempted, the only issue being if for some reason it doesn't go back together successfully, my video may have ended up incomplete. So it's a 50:50 choice TBH. However, I have made some earlier videos on a couple of pocket radios from AliExpress and taken them apart. Exactly as you describe, a poor ferrite aerial assembly. I would be really interested how you get on and to see if it can be accommodated successfully, as they don't leave a lot of wriggle room in these little sets. Thanks again.
I was really surprised to see a FULL SW band from 2 to 22.....most of them skimp and cut out lots of the band and few go that low. Really great value there with decent reception. Thanks.
Hi, yes they have squeezed full SW across two bands however, it does make tuning a little interesting LOL. It's a compact no frills budget radio that actually has quite a clear sound given the small speaker and one that I find myself using more than I thought.
06:46 40 meter amateur band, Morse Code tightly packed together.
07:25 I think this is Weather Fax from DWD Pinneberg in Germany on 7880kHz, which is just outside of the 41 meter band broadcasting band.
Hi, many thanks for the information. As soon as I heard it, I had moved past it, but I was curious as to what it was as it was such a strong signal. Your knowledge is impressive so I appreciate you taking the time to get in touch. All the best TWCG
@@TheWobblyCameraGuy No problem. DWD Pinneberg does quite a lot of weather transmissions on Shortwave, and in many different modes too. They also do a voice weather transmission which is very similar to the Shipping Forecast. It broadcasts on the 49 meter band on 5905kHz and 6180kHz at 0600, 1200 and 1600 UTC. You should be able to pick it up around 1600 UTC without any problems. The 5905kHz appears to be the stronger signal. The transmission is in German, but you can still get to understand some of the broadcast, even if you don't understand German. The transmission is in AM mode so any of your portable radios should be able to pick it up.
@@radioweebdx7680 That's so good of you to let me and everyone else know about these transmissions. TH-cam is such a good place to share information and to learn new things. I will definitely look out for these transmissions - interesting stuff, thankyou!
Hi my wife got me the L-258 radio for Christmas, it's pretty good for the money and at around the same price as the CS-106.
I was able to catch most stations I wanted to catch. And some more.
China Radio International on 17490kHz 1100 UTC
Radio Farda 12005kHz 1130 UTC
Radio Romania International on 15460kHz 1200 UTC
Voice Of Turkey 12035kHz 1230 UTC
DWD Pinneberg 7880kHz Weather Fax (The radio auto scanned and stopped on the frequency)
DWD Pinneberg 5905/6180kHz 1600 UTC
Voice Of Turkey 5960kHz 2300 UTC
Shortwave reception appeared to be a lot poorer in the evening so I couldn't catch Radio Romania International on 7220kHz 2300 UTC, I checked the bands on my Orbit OR-9803 (a Kchibo KK-9803 clone) with similar results. Overall it appears to be a very sensitive radio with direct frequency input and memory storage. The only downside was the audio in AM mode appears to be a little muffled but sound is OK on FM. Also the antenna does swivel but it won't sit in an upright position when sitting on it's kickstand, because the radio case design hasn't allowed for it to do so.
Hi, good to hear from you and your experience with your Prunus L-258. I had a quick look at it and as you say, it does indeed have similar features to the 106. The case style even shares some design similarities. The red LED display seems decent and probably a little clearer to the 106's LCD display. The CS-106 was one of the first compact multi-band receivers that I bought and I think, is still up there with the best of them in this budget class of receivers in terms of value for money & performance.
The description for the L-258 mentions twin speakers, but I wonder if that second speaker is a passive radiator? Having the ability to directly input a frequency is a big plus point so that's always a welcome feature
Unusual to hear that SW reception appeared to be a little poorer in the evening, I wonder if there any topographical issues nearby that may have an influence?
I'm still enjoying the T-6609-A that I recently reviewed as it's starting to grow on me even though I have better receivers and have it playing in the background whilst I am editing videos on my laptop.
Thanks & regards
TWCG
Merry christmas to you.
Nice radio. It is very advantagous to know the limits of the bradcastbands but I gues it doesnt matter with this "low resolution" scale. Nice radio else. I love the 18650 it will play for some days straight through on that.
Thanks for the upload.
Hi, thank you and a very happy Christmas to you. As I mentioned in the comments to Radio Dweeb below, it was surprisingly good value for the price. I will look out for some more budget receivers to see if I can find any gems in the rough!
Ohh! A new radio! It appears to be quite sensitive, and the dial pointer does appear to be close to the frequencies displayed. Quite a lot of the SW band is featured too. Shame it's not a true analogue radio, but it looks like a good radio for Shortwave. Merry Christmas TWCG!
Hi, great to hear from you. I have to confess I had a mare with this video with lighting and audio problems, but appreciate you taking the time to stop by and take a look at my review this little radio. I thought it was going to be a poor performer, but I was pleasantly surprised with it's performance and the inclusion of a decent capacity battery. Happy Christmas to you and a peaceful, healthy new year. 👍
6:46 when you say resolution I think you mean bandwidth, too wide of a bandwidth for Morse.
I don't think this even has any bandwidth options, so you're stuck with one (probably a lot wider than it needs to be) which can give you issues when you're on a station that's really close to another station.
Hi, many thanks for your feedback. Yes, indeed bandwidth is what I should really be referring to. Definitely no external bandwidth options on this little set, but I'm wondering now if anything can be changed with regards to the DSP chip (i.e. external components to sharpen the tuning a little? albeit all surface mount I imagine!). All in all though in my opinion, not a bad little receiver for the low price point
@@TheWobblyCameraGuy the issue with tuning is probably because it's still tightly packed together 4 bands and only two dedicated for shortwave, now if the radio had 6 or 8 bands (one for FM, one for MW/AM and 4-6 dedicated to shortwave like some other radios) it would make tuning a lot better as the frequencies wouldn't be so tight together.
But being that this is DSP based, all the software and radio functions are baked into the DSP chip and can't be changed.
The only thing I could think of with this radio is some kind of gear reduction for the knob (to make it to where you have to turn the knob more vs what I'd does now for the same amount of frequencies being changed.
@@madmax2069 Hi, many thanks again for your detailed feedback - much appreciated. I mention in my video about only having two SW bands so concur with your thoughts. Pesky DSP's huh 🙄I have it on in the background as I type this and once you have managed to lock onto your particular station, it performs reasonably well so we can't really complain too much about the limit tuning ability. Thanks again - interesting thoughts!
@@madmax2069 BTW for a very cost effective multi-band radio with several separate SW bands then if you haven't already, take a look at the Kchibo KK-9803, I was pleasantly surprised!