The Qodosen DX-286 backstory and my review: Is this the best DXing radio right now?

[@calogerodilegami9708]

If they release a version with SSB, Air Band, and 27.001 to 29.999 i will buy it

[@swlistening]

Let's wait and see, maybe it will happen!

[@eldontyrellcorp]

I wouldn't be surprised if they would come soon with a new version, as it's the case with many Chinese stuff.

[@swlistening]

@@eldontyrellcorp That would be great!

[@hg-sx5nk]

There are two ways then can do that: the PL-880 / ATS909X approach that includes a 1st conversion stage and let the TEF6686 as a FI demodulator... Or use a more sophisticated circuit (like the one used in Sony XDR F1HD) with a tuner IC followed by a DSP IC. The problem is: writing DSP code is extremely expensive.

[@swlistening]

@@hg-sx5nk I think the cost is the issue indeed.

[@jerseyjeeper1575]

This was a great review and great explanation.

[@swlistening]

Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for your comment!

[@Kw1161]

Andre Thanks for the follow-up on the little “Q’s” baby brother, hopefully they will solve the SSB function problem before the release of their next offering. 73! And have a great day!

[@swlistening]

My pleasure, I hope so too!

[@Bdub1952]

Thank you so much for the background information regarding the design AND the designer. I've been an SWL since the 60's and I can state that this is truly a remarkable radio. I've had mine for about a week and a half. Curious, though, is the chip limited to a 3khz minimum bandwidth on AM? If not, for the next version I would request 1-2Khz bandwidth for us MW DXers.

[@swlistening]

Thank you so much for your comment, I am glad that you enjoyed the video! I am also quite amazed by this radio, I think it has raised the bar for all designers of SW radios. I also miss the 1 and 2 kHz bandwidth settings, I will mention this when I speak to the designer's brother again.

[@jamesglenn6461]

My new DX- 286 arrived monday. I ordered batteries and a charger at the same time but they are shipping from China and will take another week. Fortunately I already had a charged 18650 battery in a flashlight bought at Harbor Freight . I'm buying several types of rechargable batteries now. Mainly AA size. Much better than throwing away batteries. The DX- 286 is quietly sensitive. A distant signal that sounds terrible is no fun. MW quality is a bonus. We keep having severe storms and no electric power or internet. Long distance radio to the rescue. I am still learning the new DX-286. If I made a comparison it would be to the Tecsun R9700DX. It's analog, good sound, and very sensitive. The Tecsun R9700DX does not function in the same way. But clear and sensitive. Add on antennas could increase distance . These two different radios have something missing from many other devices. Listening to them is pleasant.

[@swlistening]

Good to hear that your radio arrived James and that you are enjoying it! Very interesting what you say about the Tecsun R9700DX. I don't have one of those yet, but your comparison to the Qodosen makes me quite curious now. MW on the Qodosen is really great, as you say. I find that it is the band where I keep hearing new signals that I haven't heard before.

[@StratmanII]

@@swlistening Hi Andre, wasn't the Tecsun R-9700DX also on your hit list last year? 📻☺ PL-680: "Hold my beer, me first!" 🍺

[@swlistening]

@@StratmanII It was, and still is! 🙂

[@michaelis1819]

I would definitely like to see the AIR band in this radio. This would be a great improvement.

[@swlistening]

It would be a nice feature indeed.

[@rtcurtis5858]

Hello Andrea. Great angle on a very informative review. Last night, i was figuring out the Xhdata Emergency radio purchased recently as a result of your enlightening review of it. One of the strongest stations was one with, you guessed it, Brother Stair. Coincidentally, when i flipped the radio to MW, a familiar voice came out. Guess who? Brother Stair. 😮 Randy Illinois.

[@swlistening]

Hi Randy, thanks for your comment! That Brother Stair station seems to be everywhere :-) They have a lot of money to be able to send out so many broadcasts.

[@canyondan]

Excellent Review Andre. The best ever. Really enjoyed the information on the design and build of the radio. Thank you sir.

[@swlistening]

Thanks Dan!

[@WilliamParmley]

Very helpful review, thanks!

[@swlistening]

My pleasure William, thanks for your comment.

[@inhaleexhale]

This is super exciting! I am looking for my first shortwave radio. I was hoping for SSB (I am interested in listening occasionally to HAM radio); but this sounds like a great first radio. Also I would love to see USB-C port for charging. Are you using just the radio’s built-in antenna while DXing? I am also in a noisy urban environment with a lot of interference. Thank you for this review!

[@swlistening]

This is, indeed, a really great radio for broadcast station DXing. The lack of SSB does not bother me, because I still enjoy listening to all the other signals. But it would depend very much on where you are located and whether you can still hear some broadcast SW signals there. Of course, it is great for MW listening also! I live in a suburban area and use a long wire as antenna, the Qodosen is not noisy here in my area.

[@KekmanForTheRestOfTheWorld]

thanks for the investigation! now we know why there is no ssb and what a teaser on a maybe upcoming ssb version ;) hope i comes around for christmas time interesting to see that and how radio romania reaches your position. it is always among the strongest and clearest stations here in germany.

[@swlistening]

Radio Romania is sometimes strong here, but mostly the transmissions in Romanian, and sometimes Serbian. The transmissions in other languages appear to be beamed more northwards, so I am way outside the signal area. Let's hope for a Christmas present from Qodosen!

[@dxace1]

Enjoying your videos on the 286. It is notable that these designs are informed by much older SONY models, such as the SW-1 in the case of the 286. Where SSB is concerned, that appears to be a much greater challenge in terms of including that feature in a competent way.

[@swlistening]

Thank you very much Dan! This radio does look almost like a carbon copy of the SW1, I suppose the designers just copied that design. Bigger screen though, which is nice. And inside it is a different story :-) SSB does seem to be a big challenge, it seems to me that it is completely incompatible with the TEF6686 chip. Perhaps newer versions of the chip might be more compatible.

[@StratmanII]

@@swlistening I found out that the Silicon Lab's Si4735, which is found in your Tecsun PL-368 and XHDATA D-808 does natively support SSB. Detailed instructions for enabling and configuring SSB demodulation are provided in the Si4735 data sheet and programming guide, so it's a matter of the firmware programmers to issue a appropriate function call to the specific registers of the DSP chip. The TEF668x series from NXP do not support SSB at all, but then neither does the lower specc'ed Si4732 chip that's used in the ATS-25 and ATS-120 family of receivers. These radios are able to demodulate SSB and provide sync detection by tapping into the receiver's powerful ESP32 microprocessor. This results in a much better BFO/SSB operation compared to relying on the Si4735's built-in SSB demodulation. I don't know if the Qodosen 286 radios have a separate microprocessor like the ESP32, but if it doesn't then it's not possible for SSB to be implemented, since the TEF668x wasn't designed to support SSB in the first place. Which makes perfect sense, because this chip was meant to excel in FM reception for car stereos. While there had been shortwave capable car radios in the past (including Sony's discontinued X'plod series), none of them provided SSB demodulation in any case.

[@paul.steckler]

There is a variant of the chip used in this radio that supports HD Radio, the digital system used in the US and Canada. That would be a nice addition for some of us.

[@swlistening]

Hi Paul, thanks for your comment! Yes, that chip is the TEF6688 chip, that would be very nice for users in the US. It supports HD radio and DRM.

[@hammockdweller]

@@swlistening Are there any portable radio's able to decode a SW DRM signal? I listened to a couple of stations on SW with help of an online KIWI SDR receiver.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

@@swlistening DRM too? this would really be a great thing! I see more and more DRM radios on SW. I could decode these with a complicated setup on my PC with my RTL-SDR dongle, but since the latter isn't the best DX performer, I don't quite bother.

[@swlistening]

@@hammockdweller There are two that I know of, very expensive. Here is one on Ali Express, it is around $270! www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005530773585.html And this one is around $127 www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006686476743.html

[@swlistening]

@@F4LDT-Alain I would love to have a DRM radio, for the same reason as you, it looks very intriguing with all the DRM signals appearing on SW. I just posted another comment here with links to DRM radios on Ali Express, very expensive!

[@hammockdweller]

André, dank je wel voor deze interessante informatie. I'm still testing the radio. I did a MW scan this weekend, but there were no stations I didn't hear before. Maybe the conditions were not so good. Until now I found two stations I haven't heard before, on LW 171 Radio Méditerranée Int'l and on shortwave WWV. The LW station was not audible on any of my other radio's. I could hear WWV besides the Qodosen only on my Kenwood, both on the MLA-30+.

[@swlistening]

Dit is my plesier! On my side the band where I really hear many signals that I haven't heard before is the MW band, several completely new catches so far (Kuwait, Riyadh, heard something on 1449 last night that I haven't heard before). On FM it's the distant signals that are new. On SW there are asome, but fewer than on MW, Shan News Radio comes to mind. I wish I could hear LW like you! Great to hear that your Qodosen also picks up WWV.

[@hammockdweller]

@@swlistening I think there are only six LW broadcast stations left. I receive three on a regular basis. I'm still trying to receive Iceland. There used to be more SW stations, but they closed down (Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland).

[@swlistening]

@@hammockdweller You are right, I think there are six in Europe and North Africa, and there are also three in Mongolia. But I think the Mongolian ones are very hard to catch. I keep trying for all these, I will be happy if I manage to catch even just one 😀

[@hammockdweller]

@@swlistening I have the same with Iceland, I hope to receive them before they close it down. BTW I meant LW stations when I said "There used to be more SW stations"

[@swlistening]

@@hammockdweller I guessed you meant LW 🙂 I was lucky to catch the Danish LW station before it closed, when I was in Europe in December 2023. I caught it when I was in Berlin.

[@arcticradio]

It is certainly a great radio and it can handle from my tests any length of wire on FM and AM without overloading which was the main problem facing a lot of older portables. I would really like to see this company produce a good tabletop radio at some point. You can’t get a small portable though it really fills a gap that was left by the expensive Sony SW1. It’s crazy to buy the Sony these days as they suffer terrible capacitor breakdown.

[@swlistening]

Thanks Matt, a desktop radio would be really great. Let's dream :-) Maybe they will develop a desktop version with SSB!

[@mooninthewater3705]

It also feels very good in the hand. I like it better than the PL330 as far as the feel is concerned.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

I have both and I agree that it's easier to tune than the PL-330. I hate the PL-330's tuning wheel. It's imprecise and too flat. The Qodosen usually has a slightly better sensitivity and doesn't have the annoying squelch effect the PL-330 has on weak signals with fading. OTOH the PL-330 has SSB and this is a huge plus. It also has a better balanced speaker. The speaker on the Qodosen lacks clarity on SW.

[@mooninthewater3705]

@@F4LDT-Alain good points. Have you tried playing with the bandwidth on SW? On broadcast AM it permits choice between “Voice” and “Music” tone. I don’t know if that works on SW.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

@@mooninthewater3705 Yes, If course I have. But the speaker still severely lacks in the high part of the audio spectrum IMO. It's quite obvious when you use headphones. And it doesn't sound natural, even on FM. There's something in it I really don't like.

[@swlistening]

I like how compact it is, and how easy to tune, the tuning wheel is nice and big.

[@hammockdweller]

@@F4LDT-Alain Also some buttons are terrible on the PL-330, like the ETM and the Step button. I have a hard time pressing them, because they are small and not high enough above the case.

[@isleifoterogarcia4478]

It also fit protected 18650 batteries which are longer in the battery compartment when the positive terminal is button type. I hope that the next model has USB type C and SSB.

[@swlistening]

Thanks Ísleif. I think many people are hoping for an SSB version. Let's see!

[@F4LDT-Alain]

Hello André and thanks for this informative video. I really like the "Q". It has become my first choice during my outdoors DX sessions. Will I buy the DX? probably not. It has no distinct advantage over my SR-286 and I like discovering new radios. As I've mentioned several times already since the very beginning when I received it, my major gripe with the "Q" is its speaker. It's not good, it lacks clarity. This does harm my experience with this radio a bit. What you've learned about SSB just confirmed what people who know more than we do already said. If this can't be done on TEF6686-based radios that have an open-source firmware, chances are that it's technically unfeasible. Not entirely convinced by the explanation about shipping without a battery. Every other company does ship with them. My own SR-286 came with one from the reseller on Ali, and an excellent one too. because I hardly ever have to recharge the radio. Yes, I use it much less often than you do. (edited for typos)

[@swlistening]

Thanks Alain! I agree with you, absolutely no need to buy the DX-286 if you have the SR-286, they really are just the same. The speaker, as you say, could have been better, I agree. I don't really use the built-in speaker much, I almost always have my Qodosen plugged in to the Tecsun ICR-110, which serves as the speaker and the recorder. So that I am ready to hit the "record" button every time I hear something new! When I did the MW scan for this video I also heard new signals on 1449 and 594, too weak to ID though. The Qodosen is definitely a MW powerhouse. I think what they mean with the battery explanation is that because they don't ship inside China with batteries, they also decided not to ship outside China with batteries. That's how I understood it. But, as they said, they realised it was a mistake. I am guessing the next batch will ship with batteries, once current stocks in Amazon warehouses are exhausted.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

@@swlistening For the time being, the stocks of SR-286 on Ali don't seem exhausted yet, because the DX-286 still is nowhere to be seen there. Not from where I look anyway, Ali tends to adjust offers based on the location of the customer.

[@swlistening]

@@F4LDT-Alain It's kind of strange that they are still selling the SR-286 at higher prices, but I guess for people who live in places that Amazon does not ship to, this remains the only option.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

...such as here in France! 😆 Neither Germany (I checked). Nor UK. Not many places have it yet.

[@alijawad999]

Hi Andrea, Which type of wire you use on your external antenna? how long the wire is? where it is attached outside? and which jack you use for it?

[@swlistening]

I use speaker wire, it is 10 metres long. It runs from my study out of the window along the wall of my garage, and is attached to the eaves. I just clip an exposed bit of the wire to the whip antennas of my radio, with a crocodile clip. But you can also attach it to a 3.5mm mono plug and then plug it into the antenna jack on the Qodosen.

[@ArnieDXer]

Andre, I know it doesn't concern you, but I've just noticed there's a new firmware version for the open-source TEF6686 radios, which adds a scanner on FM BC band! I've upgraded my radio, and am going to try how that scanning function works 📻

[@swlistening]

Let me know how it works! I am considering getting one of the open-source radios.

[@shreddez]

I don’t care abut SSB

[@swlistening]

@@shreddez Hi Brian, I think there are many listeners like you who don't need SSB. For them, this radio is perfect.

[@shreddez]

@@swlistening just got my 286, had it less than 3 days and I’ve been using it a lot! On SW outdoors last night using a reel up random wire, it heard stuff my icon r75 w outdoor grounded random wire antenna couldn’t. FM off the whip is incredible.

[@swlistening]

@@shreddez Hi Brian, this is great to hear! An incredible little radio.

[@AdamEbelgccengineering]

I am not buying this radio receiver this time, because I found out when you order it, it doesn't come with a battery, so that really messed up my future plans in buying this radio this time. I have to go ahead and order a different receiver for the time being.

[@swlistening]

Hi Adam, it's quite easy to find a battery though. I would not give this one a pass just because it does not ship with a battery. It is just too good.

[@johnbeckham1483]

Andre, the overall sound quality from the Qodosen DX-286's speaker is very good indeed! Can you elaborate on both the type & quality of this radio's built in speaker! Thank you...

[@swlistening]

Hi John, personally I am quite happy with the speaker sound, it is clear and there is no hiss. At narrow bandwidths, some people say the speaker sounds muffled, and it does sound a bit more muffled than some of my other radios when set at, say 3 kHz. I do think the bandwidth settings on the Qodosen are different to my other radios, 4 kHz sounds more like 2 kHz on the other radios. I do not know much more about the speaker other than what is mentioned in the manual. The impedance is 4Ω and the power is 3W.

[@NJF60]

Andre, that was an honest, down to earth breakdown of your favorite go-to radios. I’m quite intrigued on getting one. Update on my ATS 25 Max decoder II. Do you have any idea of this low AM frequency 506.20 ? I have it in PSK mode, AM and it’s decoding some weird text, seems foreign but unknown text. Perhaps it’s a weather report?? Any idea, let me know… regards, John

[@swlistening]

Thanks John! I tried to find information about that signal you decoded on the ATS25 Max, but I haven't been able to find anything yet. I looked on some utility signal sites also, and haven't been able to find anything. Interesting...

[@NJF60]

@@swlistening okay Andre, thanks for checking it out, I also did some digging on that but same result. It must be some type of ham communication text.

[@StratmanII]

​@@NJF60May I know what kind of external antenna you're using with the Max Decoder II? I have the ATS-25 AMP and my 100 foot wire antenna doesn't pick up low frequencies that well.

[@NJF60]

Hello, I was just using an indoor reel-type of wire antenna extending about 7 feet attached to my patio door (inside)

[@NJF60]

I’m also thinking there is some kind of defect with the Max Decoder II.

[@johnbeckham1483]

So, SWL, is the SR-286 no longer manufactured since the NEW DX-286 is now available? If the two radios are basically twins and the price is somewhat less regarding the Qodosen DX-286 therefore why wouldn't one purchase the DX over the SR? Both are very nice radios from what I can see per your video(s)! 73s & Happy DXing indeed...

[@swlistening]

Hi John, the only reason why the SR-286 is still an option for some, is because the DX-286 currently only ships from Amazon in the US. They do not ship the Qodosen all over the world, someone in Australia said they do not ship to Australia. They do ship to South Africa, I know that, and various other countries, but not all countries. So if you live in a country that Amazon does not ship to, the SR-286 on Ali Express is still an option. But more expensive. If you live somewhere that Amazon ships to, the DX-286 is the obvious choice, same radio at a lower price.

[@electro-soma]

My understanding is the DX is for the western market and the SR for eastern and the SR version will adopt the new firmware on the DX eventually.

[@johnbeckham1483]

@@swlistening Thank you for the info. as the Qodosen is quite interesting & the audio sounds of a very good quality indeed!

[@swlistening]

@@electro-soma Might very well be. I see the SR version is cheaper on Ali Express now, seems to be around $100.

[@swlistening]

@@johnbeckham1483 My pleasure John!

[@Homer19521]

I find the audio on my DX286 is not up to the PL330 standards. As soon as I turned it on, it sounded muddy. The built in speaker just doesn't have the sparkle & clarity to my ears. YMMV. I cannot hear a difference between VOICE & MUSIC, even with a pair of Koss PortaPro Headphones plugged in. I was really hoping I'd like it and that the little speaker would shine. I will probably return mine.

[@swlistening]

Thanks for your comment. A number of people have commented on the speaker sound, some seem to like it and some don't. I think speaker sound is quite a subjective matter, some people prefer more bass sound, others like it with more treble. It does help if you change the bandwidth settings when in the shortwave band. At 6 kHz and 8 kHz the sound becomes much clearer. I also use an external speaker on mine. On FM I find the sound very clear and very good.

[@AymanAli-vet]

You can try to pick Medi 1 Radio at 171 kHz one or two hours before sunrise with Longwire antenna

[@swlistening]

Thank you for the suggestion, I will try this.

[@youtubeaccount931]

This radio is great value. What is your favorite for SSB?

[@mooninthewater3705]

I like Tecsun PL880

[@youtubeaccount931]

@@mooninthewater3705 Thank you for your response. I had a PL660 that I thought was pretty good, but I gave it to a friend to get him into SWL.

[@swlistening]

I agree, for $79 it really is great value. I mostly use a Kenwood R1000 for SSB listening, and sometimes the XHDATA D-808 and the Tecsun PL-368.

[@F4LDT-Alain]

@@swlistening tell me where you've seen a PL-880 for $79 and I'd order it right away. Yes, I know that's not what you meant, but it's what I understood when I first read your reply to this thread 😁 My favourite for SSB is my PL-660, closely followed by my ATS-25 AMP which doesn't exactly match my definition of a portable radio, although it technically is one. The D-808 would come next. Then my PL-330, which could well be the best SSB receiver of these, but it's hampered by the absence of a BFO tuning wheel which makes tuning a pain.

[@StratmanII]

​@@F4LDT-AlainI think the ATS-25 AMP is the most feature rich SSB radio that I've tried. Other receivers give you either a BFO control or fine tuning for the VFO. The ATS-25 has a BFO resolution as fine as 1 Hz on top of the 10 Hz fine tuning. Can't get any better than that! 📻👍🏼

[@mcdeadsquirrel]

Many are waiting for SSB but that's another chip that has to be very stable. It's not that easy to do. from Upstate NY

[@swlistening]

Indeed. I think adding SSB to the TEF6686 chip is quite challenging, that's why it hasn't been done yet. Doesn't bother me too much though, I love this radio as it is. Having lots of fun with mine.

[@mcdeadsquirrel]

@@swlistening Agreed 100% !!!

[@pruebasytecnica]

Hello Andre,. I just received my DX-286 yesterday from Amazon USA, but I am not able to activate the antenna attenuator (?). According to the manual I try to press and hold PAGE+5 but I can't. The same thing happens to me when I try to deactivate the screen by simultaneously pressing the 1+3 keys. but nothing at all happens!. 😮 Does the same thing happen to you?...

[@BH3RQW]

Hi pruebasytecnica ,I think you may not have pressed both buttons at the same time, causing the ATT not to appear. You need to press + simultaneously for two seconds. You cannot press one after the other. The trick for me is to press with my left thumb and with my right thumb, then press them at the same time for about 2 seconds and the ATT will appear.

[@swlistening]

Thank you! I think this is it, the buttons must be pressed at exactly the same time, otherwise they don't work. Also for switching off the screen. It happened to me many times when I wanted to switch the antenna amp on and off. If I did not press the buttons at exactly the same time, it did not work.

[@pruebasytecnica]

@@BH3RQW Thanks a lot for your explanation!,.. I have got the trick now 😀

[@pruebasytecnica]

@@swlistening Thanks André... I came to think that either I was very stupid or that the radio was broken... fortunately neither of them has come to pass.! 🤣

[@swlistening]

@@pruebasytecnica Good to hear!

[@n1kkri]

Add SSB and Bluetooth for external speaker and it would be a winner

[@swlistening]

Maybe this will come, at some point in the future.

[@MarvinLucesisuga-gz4mc]

Tef 6686 chip it's my dream receiver silicon labs it's okay for am DX

[@swlistening]

Thanks Marvin, I think for MW the TEF6686 is really great, it work very well for MW DXing. Better than the Silicon Labs chips.

[@ArnieDXer]

22:43 why is Voice of Korea playing a Chinese New Year song?????? in June?????????? 😱😱

[@swlistening]

Very good question, Arnie, I also thought that song sounded strange. I checked several databases and they all list only VOK here, but maybe it's actually a Chinese station? Still a weird time to play a Chinese New Year song...

[@prasadasgoa]

From where did you buy this radio?

[@hammockdweller]

Amazon USA, it is one of his other video's.

[@swlistening]

Thanks!

[@user-ed7zd7lp5v]

你好，我怎么能联系到你，我想寄一个新款收音机，253，由你测试和评论相信我，它很有趣。

[@swlistening]

您好，感谢您的留言！我很想评论一下收音机！ 我无法在这里分享我的电子邮件地址，KZbin 将删除该评论。请在此处打开我的 KZbin 页面：kzbin.info/door/Xg0QTMjOVtXhiRAbUg7HIA 然后单击页面顶部显示 “更多” ("more") 的位置。我的个人资料将会出现，如果您向下滚动，会出现一个按钮，上面写着 “查看电子邮件地址” ("view email address")。如果您点击它，您将看到我的电子邮件地址 。

[@user-ed7zd7lp5v]

@@swlistening 感谢，我看到了

[@swlistening]

@@user-ed7zd7lp5v Thank you, I replied to your email.