Brand new Qodosen DX-286 vs SR-286 on distant MW signals

[@arcticradio]

Good to hear Mozambique on 1224 and RFA on 1377, I’m still so happy to have heard them here in Finland! Mozambique was my best DX ever.

[@swlistening]

Hey Matt, always nice to hear 1224 and RFA, even for me, where they are quite a bit closer. For you, of course, these are terrific catches! The RFA one was nice and strong in this video, it's not always like this.

[@Kw1161]

Thanks Andre I am glad that QoDosen waited a couple of months before slashing the price in half with a more appropriate DX instead of SR 286…so I will not have buyers remorse…😢😂😂😂! 73! Have a great day!

[@swlistening]

I see it this way: We were early adaptors with the SR-286. It gave us insight into this radio long before everyone else, kind of like an exclusive preview 😂

[@Kw1161]

@@swlistening Andre ….Yes I will take cheese with my “Whine”….😀! 73!

[@richardmerriam7044]

I'll go with Jay Allen's review stating that the only difference is the DX variant has fewer button pushes for most commands. They both have the same chip, just slightly different programming.

[@swlistening]

Hi Richard, indeed, I talk about the exact same small changes in my video as the ones that Jay mentions. These are the only changes, the two radios are the same, the same chip, the same circuit, the same performance. Only some small changes with shortcut buttons. Also some changes to the FM band steps and FM coverage that are more appropriate for the US, as Jay also mentions, and as I mention in my video. There is one additional change though that I mention here, the 100 kHz fast tuning jumps in the shortwave band when you turn the tuning dial very fast, that is something that I did not notice on my SR-286.

[@AustraliaRadioChannel]

Thanks for the comparison! Sadly, I can’t seem to find a way to get the cheaper DX-286 in Australia yet. If it becomes available, I’ll definitely purchase it since it seems like an excellent performer on MW and FM which I primarily listen to.

[@swlistening]

Thanks for your comment! Is shipping very high if you order from the US Amazon site?

[@AustraliaRadioChannel]

@@swlistening Unfortunately it does not even give me an option to ship to Melbourne Australia on the US amazon website. I haven’t checked if it ships to other Australian cities though.

[@swlistening]

@@AustraliaRadioChannel That's a pity. Hopefully they will start shipping to Australia soon.

[@jamesglenn6461]

Almost half the price for the same unit. Gonna buy one.

[@swlistening]

Hi James, indeed, a lot cheaper, and it really is just the same.

[@frankfoduw-ci8rr]

73 de frank SWL F14368 organizer of the SWL contest 2024

[@swlistening]

Hi Frank, I have a question for you about the competition please. I am a bit uncertain about the number of stations. If you pick up the same station in different bands, does that count as one station, or more than one? Let's say you hear PBS from China in different languages in different bands, is that one station only? Because you ask for listings per band, and then a total, but the same stations are often heard in different bands and languages. For example, CRI in Croatian and CRI in Serbian and CRI in Hausa, one station, or three?

[@any_username]

Those early adopters who paid twice as much be like: P.S. The DX-286 is not available on one well-known 🇨🇳 marketplace, so those who cannot order from Amz. have no other option but to enjoy the SR-286.

[@swlistening]

That is true, I suppose. The SR-286 was quite expensive. I was one of those early adaptors myself 😁 I bought my SR-268 from Ali Express and paid high import duties on it here in South Africa. Total price was almost $200. But so be it, I was and still am very happy with my SR-286, and now with the DX-286.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

Yes I am 😆 It will appear sooner of later on Ali, when they've sold out their remaining stock of SR-286, I guess.

[@DG-zp2wz]

Great comparison! I’m wondering, though, if you can compare the radios using their internal MW antennas. The SR-286 I have can be noisy on MW unless I turn the display off. I wonder if that got fixed in the DX-287

[@swlistening]

Hi there and thank you for the suggestion. I will do that.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

Hello André, quite well done matching here, congratulations. As a matter of fact I find the DX-286 significantly noisier in the first, third and fourth clips. OTOH the SR-286 seems noisier in the fifth. Equal in the remaining ones. Oh well, this might be due to signal variation, hands placement around the radios or even changes in the way the cable runs between the AN-200 and the receiver. Not quite significant, I guess.

[@electro-soma]

I think there are differences in internal noise between copies of the original SR. I think Gary de Bock did a video showing the difference between several SR-286s.

[@swlistening]

Hi Alain, thanks for your comment! I did pick up the noise variations also, sometimes on the SR-286, sometimes on the DX-286, as you say. I think it might be signal variations or other factors. MW is a hard band to compare because on distant signals it can vary a lot within seconds. Overall, though, I think they perform pretty much the same. But, you know me, I will do more of these comparisons over the coming weeks, so we can be sure :-)

[@AymanAli-vet]

Revoultion

[@richardfranciscone3392]

Just got the DX 286 and I'm impressed so far. But I have a potentially dumb question. Does the telescopic antenna work for MW when the unit is set to External Antenna? I haven' t seen much difference yet. Also ,am I right that the Antenna Amp is only when the unit is in External Antenna mode for the whip or an antenna plugged into the external antenna jack is used?

[@swlistening]

Hi Richard, thanks for your question! Yes, when you switch to external antenna, it uses the telescopic antenna, or if you plugged in an external antenna to the antenna jack on the left side, it will use that one. If you are listening to strong MW stations, you will not notice a difference. When I listen to strong local MW stations (the few I have in Johannesburg), and I switch between internal and external antenna, there is no difference. The difference with the telescopic antenna will become noticeable on weak signals, especially when you are outside. It makes a big difference, you will hear some weaker signals on the telescopic antenna that you might not hear at all with the internal antenna, or they will be clearer. But it works best outside, away from RFI.

[@richardfranciscone3392]

Update: Your reply answered my questions perfectly. Thanks for the quick reply , and for the great work you do on your channel

[@swlistening]

@@richardfranciscone3392 Thank you, and my pleasure!

[@hammockdweller]

André. in another video you mentioned some problems with the SR-286. Like the volume error and some stations on mirror frequencies. Are these still present in the DX-286?

[@swlistening]

Those are the next things I will check over the coming days, particularly the mirror images. I don't catch them all the time, but I will monitor that.

[@hammockdweller]

@@swlistening Baje dankie

[@swlistening]

@@hammockdweller My plesier 🙂

[@kallayferenc1343]

Hi! Nekem az SR 286 hangja érthetőbbnek tűnt. A zajból jobban kiemelkedett az adás. Szerintem a belső felépítés, alkatrészek változtak a kedvezőbb ár miatt. DX = XDATA minőségben. Köszönöm a tesztet, és nagyon várom a folytatást.

[@swlistening]

@@kallayferenc1343 Szia Kállay és köszönöm hozzászólásodat! Szerintem nem változtattak semmilyen belső alkatrészen, de minden bizonnyal még több összehasonlítást fogok végezni, hogy biztosak lehessünk benne!