Belka DX Shortwave Receiver - Closest Thing To A Spy Radio?

Lets take a look at the Belka-DX a tiny shortwave receiver. This radio was developed by EU1ME and can be found on his website: belrig.by/belka-DX They are also available through Mobimax, but at a higher cost.
Speaker in the video is found here: amzn.to/2QysxRe
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[@craigm7513]

The secret code is always "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine!"

[@eamoralesl]

Timeless ...

[@357bullfrog9]

Lol

[@seaningram3285]

"The Chair Is Against The Wall, The Chair Is Against The Wall. John Has A Long Mustache, John Has A Long Mustache."

[@357bullfrog9]

@@seaningram3285 what I herd was There's no window in the toilet door

[@petemitchell6788]

@@seaningram3285 Wolverines‼️

[@ER1PLG]

A small and beautiful receiver. Easy to handle, fits in your pocket (without a telescopic antenna, so you don't look weird). He is very sensitive to the reception. I tried it in the field with a telescopic antenna and I can say that it is excellent for a shortwave listener and for monitoring amateur radio bands. And in the house, together with the G5RV antenna, it does a wonderful job.

[@AaronHuber]

This radio is Amazing! I have been enjoying mine for a month now. It has a true CW filter almost impossible to find on a tiny reciver like this. I use it to listen to CW when I walk the dog.

[@jimkunkle2669]

That’s cool. Now I need a tux and a Walther PPK.

[@dennistate5953]

Rent a tux; buy a Keltec.

[@KutWrite]

As I recall, he preferred the Beretta.

[@TheTechPrepper]

Fantastic intro, Josh! Great review, too. 73!

[@garymorris8547]

I've had mine a few weeks now and for its size it is very powerful, great little rig.

[@syfr]

Looking forward to getting one!! Great little rig with good reviews coming from everyone.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

It seems very well loved.

[@jolebole-yt]

Great little receiver. It can also serve as a device that you can record your radio contacts by plugin your camera mic input or a separate recorder directly into the receiver while you operate from another radio. Pretty useful for HamTubers. There seem to have an upgraded chasis for the external speaker and a USB-C for charging. Another option they can add is a lock button so you can have your reciever locked to a frequency without the fear that you can bump the freq dial button by accident.

[@ronhaynes1532]

I think the Belka-DX is Amazing! Going to get one. Thanks for sharing. 73, Ron

[@kokohenker9439]

Yes its Amazing. I Have One an I Love IT

[@signalscout6020]

Cool review, and I like the narrative style!

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thank you!

[@ibgeorgeb]

Excellent video. I received my Belka today. It took three weeks and it’s well worth the wait.

[@gregorysmith3097]

Another nice video. I think it's cool that you are letting your kids participate in the videos. It's funny that I heard that guy on 40m trying to finish that contact.

[@zachbender7607]

Get a pigtail adapter, having an adapter + another on top puts stress on the connector -and can pretty soon after damage the solder connection.

[@lindaitken3321]

One of the members brought one of these to the club breakfast this morning. Didn't get a chance to use it, but the thing that impressed me was that it felt SOLID! If I can find a transmitter to go along with it, I'll buy on for Field Day use. WA2WMR

[@johnnorman7708]

Ok, that intro caused the Walter Mitty in me to have goose bumps. My cloak and dagger needs dry cleaning and sharpening. Was just thinking today I need another SW reciever. And here is a micro sized one...

[@figjamtanj9339]

Here is something you didnt comment on. WWV has two stations. You were picking up BOTH! WWVH is located in Hawaii and WWV is located in Boulder Clorado.

[@markevan1]

He also used an external antenna which we know nothing about. I need to know if it hears anything at all on the built-in whip.

[@stridermt2k]

Very interested to see your thoughts on this one Josh! I love the photo!

[@stridermt2k]

Be sure your drink your Ovaltine...

[@Matt_Vanepps]

So awesome you are making new engineers and ham operators

[@robertdemartino7213]

Sounds like something I might buy I'm going to go check around

[@jerryditrolio8064]

The Bellka Spy Radio,I Just Love It,I Going To Purchase Two Them,I Really Love This Spy Radio !!!!

[@normanhill535]

Heard Radio Rebelde and Radio Marti. Thanks for the great review.

[@JDWatkins]

I just found (and subscribed) your channel today. Very cool little toy. That just got out to the top of my "to buy" list.

[@petemitchell6788]

You’re napkin or towel looks like the striker on Strike Anywhere Matchboxes.

[@BradOmedic]

It is starting to go the way of East Berlin here. This might be handy.

[@KutWrite]

Love the T-Shirt!

[@DenisSmithson]

Thank you for a very good easily u der stood review on this Radio.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks!

[@Dusty_Ham]

Love the intro

[@tlebryk]

Good quick review. Nice little radio. I am holding out for someone to put all the features together similar to the Malachite but without the RF screen noise, built-in IQ recording of wider spectrum, and digital (receive) modes like DRM, HD, DAB, etc. I don't want to have to carry a laptop around anymore just to do spectrum recording.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Good call!

[@proprotornut5389]

Great little radio. Excellent review. Thanks.

[@davidsradioroom9678]

It is a nice receiver, and probably worth the price, but I like to have medium wave and perhaps FM in a portable receiver.

[@hdofu]

As long as it’s got an aux port you can use it to output from this receiver as it doesn’t have a built in speaker

[@dandruff7807]

It's the only portable 1.5-31 mhz. communications receiver that 'i'm aware of' that can receive the 10 mtr amateur fm band. Very enjoyable audio when there is a band opening. This receiver is made by a ham specifically for the ham radio operator in mind. No vlf or mw.

[@DonzLockz]

Thats really nifty. Very nice. So tiny!😮👍

[@housesOTR]

The speaker model reduces the battery from 2200 mah to 1250. Something to take note of.

[@gteague]

and yet, it _still_ lasts a week!

[@housesOTR]

@@gteague Amazing isn't it.

[@markt.3454]

Ok. That's cool. I'm a sucker for nifty stuff like that!

[@staatsfiend]

SW stands for Stair radio, cause brother stair is the only thing I pick up on anymore listening to shortwave radio broadcasts.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Lol!

[@normanhill535]

Thank you, great review

[@sas7388]

Great video review, BTW Belka means Squirrel in Russian -:)

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Fitting name.

[@begbieyabass]

What's a squirrel ?

[@Lengry]

@@begbieyabass A belka.

[@metrotek5]

I love my Sangean radios. I think Id lile to get one of these.... you know for my super secret operations

[@nigelgunn322]

The latest version (including speaker) just cost me $180. It's an amazing little radio. I've suggested that DX Engineering should sell it.

[@MakeDoAndMend1]

Belka DX radio looks ideal for use in our Motorhome. I cannot listen to SW in our home as too much interference from neighbours. But parked up in our motorhome in the wild ideal. Great product but just cannot afford the price as shipping cost high. Hoping prices come down Cheers from old pensionets George and Jane motorhome Adventures. 👫👍🇬🇧

[@stevegriffin3609]

Hi Josh really enjoy shortwave listening and that would be perfect if you go on somewhere and nothings on TV I definitely like the size of it I may have to check it out at a later date thanks for doing the review on the radio. WD5ENH Steve

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Awesome, thank you!

[@UDX-21]

Wow! fantastic intro, Thanks for the video. Stop in sometime. OLd Radio Night 21

[@Jody_VE5SAR]

This piqued my interest into tiny receivers, but ended up ordering a Tecsun PL-330 instead. Just seemed a lot more usable, albeit not as tiny.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Good call! Finally a smaller Tecsun with SSB!

[@BradSnyder1]

It being really small, I like it! Pretty cool radio. Thanks for sharing it Josh! 73

[@grigorirasputin5020]

Interesting little radio and nice video! Damn, now I want one of these, and I haven't been on hf in years.

[@jeffreybrunken556]

Ordered one. Thanks.

[@1L6E6VHF]

It does AM? Yes. but read the fine print. It only gets the last twenty AM BC channels in the U.S., only the last ten channels elsewhere.

[@TheNoCodeTech]

#TeamReplay for the win! Great looking little receiver there

[@richardjohnson9869]

I remember when you would call pop corn on the telephone for the exact time.

[@zzxxenith]

I would be interested in the important tests like image rejection and so on. Thank you for the review.

[@amateursandairwaves]

Great opening, great review as always

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thanks Evan!

[@haroldmiller6853]

Cool little radio

[@rfmonkey4942]

very nice unit

[@DonHavjuan]

For around that price you could get a full SDR with a touch screen and a larger frequency range, which is about the same sized unit, and more features.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

But then you have to bring another device to run it. Kind of misses the point.

[@marcreynolds7948]

How does this radio compare to the Malachite SDR's in terms of receive quality?

[@juandavidbarrada]

Great review. Nice and fun intro!!!

[@viralsheddingzombie5324]

I put the unit in envelope detector mode and it led me straight to the post office.

[@sethirwin1610]

Wasn't the message "Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine 🙂. Remember when Ralphie gets his decoder in Christmas Story.

[@yuliymateychev4923]

Hello, I ask for your opinions. What do you think about the latest version of the receiver ''Belka-DX-max set with LSP3W speaker kit '' from Mobimax ?

[@kurtzFPV]

No more SWRs for me without waterfalls. If I'd have known about this, wouldn't have bought the last one. Tecsun, Sangean etc need to take note in my opinion. This one at least has i/q output for a panadapter on your computer or phone.

[@FellowContentCreator]

4:55 The spec sheet says it has an IQ output for waterfall viewing on an external screen or computer

[@willieb6529]

i am in if next iteration has mw bcb, otherwise the tecsun pl-368 is the current winner for me

[@PhilG999]

Very interesting! I'm more into CB and have been for years. Also interesting is I have that same NAA .22 Magnum revolver!

[@jamesslick4790]

"Shortwave" is considered to cover 3 MHz to 30 MHz. Since CB is 26.965 MHz - 27.405 MHz and can use AM or SSB, You have IN FACT have been into Shortwave for years!

[@kti5682]

Is it a .22 magnum or hornet? Do you guys feel you need one when out in the wild?

[@fungo6631]

I don't recommend external speakers for SW radios. They are pretty hit or miss, at least on the Tecsun PL-660, noise wise.

[@gteague]

i have to say that for someone with so many radios in the background, to say something like the difference between the belka and the malachite is 'features' tells me you likely haven't tried a malachite which is nearly universally panned for dreadful reception and extreme susceptibility to random noise. btw, i was demo'ing my ic-705 for a ham friend the other day and had the belka out (he also has one based on my praise of it) and for every signal we monitored on the 705 we started turning the belka (with the whip--the 705 was on an end-fed outside) to that signal and for every frequency we sampled the belka received it just as good as the 705 although the audio (using the new mobimax external speaker) wasn't near as good. the belka (little squirrel) is a marvel of engineering. /guy (73 de kg5gt | wqpz784)

[@thormusique]

This is very cool, thanks! Just wondering if you've tried it with higher gain antennas and, if so, whether you noticed a considerable difference in reception? Cheers!

[@Psychedelic_Cowboy]

The boys getting big

[@torugonza]

Me quedé con ganas de escuchar la banda de MW en el modo synchro

[@Bulletguy07]

Pity you only ran it via an external aerial.......would have been useful to hear what the signal was like with the telescopic aerial.

[@nr3rful]

Interested only when i see and hear the optional speaker and the price of the speaker.

[@ComputerLearning0]

Pricey option...

[@madjack8893]

I like it ☘️

[@jamescopeland5358]

Cool gadget

[@hpvspeedmachine4183]

What about airband?

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Ps my steel box is 8"x10"by 1.3/4 " and when opened. It displays the rig and power supply w/ key. And couplings for the antenna and ground. That /Mir frund ist/ a spy radio as Qrp is hard to DF. .

[@TR6Telos]

When you store the memory it stores the mode you have set.

[@kk4pqr]

It is amazing to me, that the first test had audio from cuban radio stations. Talking about spy radio, hahahahaha

[@davidcroteau3306]

Do you recommand it for a listener starter pack? I want to begin with something good. I'm not Licence am radio. I just want to get in the hobby. From Québec Canada thanks!

[@johnharris1846]

great video and info on the Belka! Josh how do you think it would perform with a 40 ft wire antenna clipped to its telescope antenna? thanks.

[@LionRoars918]

I like it, but wanted to use something like it for MW DX. I guess it is out for that.

[@zach0gr]

Hello very cool radio and your nearby gear What is that R0DE ? I can assume a mini BT microphone?

[@tonysigsby870]

Try it on 27 385 looks about the size of my autec signal analyzer

[@twovictorhamradio]

Seems to work fine with your house antenna, but how does it work with the included antenna? Can you do another video in the field? Hopefully it has the same performance.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

The stock antenna works well to a point. When you want to pull in the lower frequencies, you're still going to want to do with a much longer antenna to be effective.

[@matthewdavies2057]

The Malachite is half the price and covers 2GHz with CW decode, a speaker and a much better display.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

They look to be the same price. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Also, the Belka is what 1/3 the size? I’m sure the Malahit is great, but they seem to fit different roles.

[@dandruff7807]

The Malachite has a significant noise problem! The Belka Dx is made for the ham radio operator in mind.

[@markschmit457]

Bummer it didn’t have standard AM 530-1710

[@ScotKlein]

Where is the "decoding acronyms" video from Saturday? I wasn't able to watch it live...

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

It goes live in about 15 minutes. I explain in the beginning what happened.

[@QUADBOYification]

Nice, Maybe you forgot to tell about filters. Are there any built-in DSP noise canceling options?

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Nope.

[@Epiclyspeaking]

I'm surprised. Usually Belkan technology is more... airborne in nature

[@doomgod314]

I just want an affordable, portable HF transceiver for CW on 40m that doesn’t require soldering.

[@doomgod314]

@Steven H the Lab599 is exactly what I want, if it was $400 as originally advertised. Soldering sounds like fun until I botch the radio. I just don’t have time right now to solder small parts. The qcx mini does sound like a great deal though and once I succeed with soldering, I’ll probably love the device that much more. $55 for an HF is amazing

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

The Belka will do 40 meters without issue and has CW filtering.

[@brucebissell7626]

AWESOME LITTLE RADIO! KE7LGD

[@harrisleck3960]

Would be better if it contained AM broadcast band. Other than that it looks very interesting. K9RJ

[@MrRW1980]

very good receiver but a spy receiver needs a micro SD for the onee time pad because for sure the russians have SD card for the OTP....so the reeciever needs a slot for micro SD very good video!

[@wrongsideof40]

Great video! I haven't had time to watch the WHOLE thing. Does the audio momentarily cut as you tune about (I think it's called 'chuffing') or is there no such effect? Thanks 🙂

[@kamilsp7fll]

No chuffing, totally smooth VFO tunning.

[@wrongsideof40]

@@kamilsp7fll Thanks!

[@angelscomputers]

I wonder about quality vs the Malahit with the waterfall. If they put somehow a waterfall on that radio Ill be sold in a hearbit

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Owning both radios, the Belka is much smaller and seems hardier in construction.

[@angelscomputers]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse thanks for the quick response Josh.

[@angelscomputers]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse I have a follow up question, the tuning knob in the Belka its a clicky one or a smooth one? Im about to pull the trigger and order one but I hate clicky vfo knobs. In case I dont explain myself with "Clicky", its like a G90 VFO or like a Tecsun VFO knob. I love my Tecsun PL880 but I really wants something more compact. Thanks in advance.

[@alterhype]

I ordered one. Made it to NYC. Turned over to USPS and promptly lost. Out $$$. Feel like this is a metaphor for our govt ability to get things done.

[@AD4C]

Although your video is fine, you did not test what all of us were wishing, to test its sensitivity with its own telescopic antenna. Most of the SDR receivers today fail when tested at home with a telescopic antenna.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

At home, indoors, there isn’t much of a test, and that isn’t the receivers fault. If you want even acceptable shortwave performance you need an antenna outside.

[@hi-tonemichael8030]

Can you get the 11 meter band on it ????

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Yes

[@hi-tonemichael8030]

@@HamRadioCrashCourse thank you for your help great video 👍

[@timdacey4520]

cool

[@alexnaturalis1179]

A listener-only radio without scan? That's a deal breaker for me. But with only a 32 memory size I don't know how useful it would be even if it had one.

[@anonymous_friend]

Whats a good alternative?

[@MistahKurtzASMR]

Belka is cool, I agree. But a spy needs to communicate two way. HB1B trx plus T1 atu and a piece of wire you can receive and send.

[@kurttuttle1708]

Keep the radio, I like the pistol. 🙂

[@mackmack4499]

Great video could you please recomend a very good sw ssb receiver or radio i was looking at the xhdata 808 or a tescun pl680 but i dont know anything about radios or receivers thanks buddy

[@鈴木道雄-c9e]

How are you guys? I really appreciate your information thank you so much and also I enjoy your introduce new equipment In my mind it’s amazing for me I think recent year and the year The radios are getting smaller and smaller well I can’t believe this but for me it’s nice because I have no more space for my hobby life I am from Japan about 15 miles away north of Tokyo thank you so much I really appreciate you goodbye٩( 'ω' )و

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

Thank you for watching!