Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Mark Hirst, who writes:
I’m re-watching Person of Interest, which reappeared on Netflix recently, and spotted a Grundig radio (logo obscured) in one of the episodes.
Can anyone ID this model? I owned one of these at some point and gave it to a family member who was interested in shortwave. I recall it had great audio.
By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM
My friend Andy, who is an expert medium wave DXer, calls it his “weapon of choice” and a “DX machine.” In fact, just a night ago, using a YouLoop passive antenna hanging from a birdfeeder on his porch in upstate New York, he snagged a couple of tiny Mexican stations above 1600 kHz at a distance of over 2000 miles. He was surprised the stations were there, and it was a bit of a hunt on the internet to find their livestreams and ID them.
The radio that made hearing these diminutive stations possible is the Deepelec DP-666, a radio based on the high-sensitivity, high-selectivity TEF6686 chip which is used in automotive radios. The DP-666 measures 5 inches wide (excluding knobs) by 3 1/8 inches high by 1 1/8 inch deep. On the front panel are a speaker grill, a 2.8-inch color display, and 15 buttons for various radio functions (including a full numeric keypad for direct frequency entry) and a red power button. On the right side are tuning and volume knobs. On the bottom panel is a master switch for power. On the left panel are a 1/8-inch headphone socket and a USB-C port for a communication interface and for charging the 5000 mAh rechargeable battery, which is not user-accessible.
The DP-666 can receive FM (from 65-108 MHz with various frequency ranges selectable for different parts of the world and over a dozen different bandwidths), SW (from 1700-27000 kHz), MW (522-1791 kHz, 9 kHz steps; 520-1720 kHz, 10 kHz steps) and LW 144-513 kHz. In AM mode, 3/4/6/8 kHz bandwidths are available. The DP-666 does not offer single-sideband reception.
You won’t hear anything, however, unless you connect an antenna to the standard SMA female connector on the top panel of the radio, because the DP-666 has no internal antenna. The DP-666 comes with a 29 ½ inch whip antenna that does a yeoman job of receiving MW and FM. For MW DXing, Andy prefers the passive YouLoop, and he uses the DP-666/YouLoop combo frequently. “It’s quiet,” he says.
For MW reception, I like a direct cable connection between the DP-666 and a Terk AM Advantage, which is an un-amplified loop antenna with capacitive tuning. I can hold the Terk antenna in my left hand (which allows me to rotate it from side to side and even tilt it for improved reception), and with my thumb, I can rotate the antenna’s tuning wheel for peak reception. At the same time, I hold the DP-666 in my right hand and operate the tuning knob with my thumb and forefinger. It looks a little weird, but works really well.
For FM reception, I use a scanner antenna, a Comet W100RX extended to about 31 inches. The DP-666 display offers a full complement of RDS information if transmitted by the FM station. I am not, by any means, an expert FM DXer, but it seems to be a “hot” receiver.
For SW reception, the DP-666 also works pretty well with the whip antenna that comes with it. When connected to my 50-foot indoor horizontal room loop antenna, it detected a lot of shortwave stations on auto-scan. My guess is that dedicated shortwave DXers will be pleased with this pocket-sized radio.
In addition to its excellent electrical performance on MW, SW, and FM (I did not test LW), there are a couple of things about the DP-666 that I really love. The first is that, straight out of the box, the DP-666 is easy to use without consulting the manual. However, if you want tons, and tons, and TONS of customizability, press and hold the MODE button to access the MENU screens, where you can “fiddle the bits” to your heart’s delight. I have never used any of these settings, but they are there if you want them. (I think I consulted the manual just once to learn how to store stations in memory.) The well-written manual can be downloaded in PDF format here: https://deepelec.com/files/dp-666/DP-666_Product_Manual_EN.pdf .
The second thing that delights me about the DP-666 is that it is a quiet radio to operate. The clicks from the buttons are soft, and the tuning knob has detents that are felt, not heard. With headphones on, I can seek distant stations without disturbing others in the room.
Bottom line, the Deepelec DP-666 is a sensitive and easy to use radio that delivers pleasing results on MW, SW, and FM. I would be delighted to hear from others who have used it, particularly with high-performance antennas.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Terry (N5RTC), who shares the following schedules for Texas Radio Shortwave (click images to enlarge, and see note below):
Terry notes that they will have a complete April schedule once they receive the new A-26 schedule for all broadcasters. We will post updates on the SWLing Post when available.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Paul Jamet who shares this article from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty about a Persian-language numbers station that has recently appeared on shortwave:
https://www.rferl.org/a/mystery-numbers-station-persian-signal-iran-war/33700659.html
Long-time shortwave listeners know that numbers stations often seem to surface during periods of geopolitical tension. With the recent U.S. attack on Iran drawing global attention, it’s not surprising that this signal has also caught the eye of the press. Whether or not it’s connected to intelligence activity, it’s a reminder that shortwave radio still quietly plays a role in the background of world events.
Greetings all SWLing Post community. Imaginary Stations bring you a couple of new episodes of The Shortwave Music Library. The first is on Saturday 14th March at 1200 hrs UTC on 3975/6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 15th March at 1000/1400 UTC on 3975/6160 kHz and 2100 hrs on 3975 kHz (via the services of Shortwave Gold). Chief librarians DJ Frederick and DJ Marc sort through those shortwave shelves (and the dusty store cupboard) and pick out some wonderful music. Tune in your radio or online SDR next weekend and see what they pull out from the catalogues.
Both librarians will again be on late duty via WRMI for the second programme on Wednesday 18th March 2026 at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz. They will be on hand to do a deeper dive into their databases and those fiddly microfiche machines that needs a steady hand. Listen in again and renew your interest in the library. We here at Imaginary Stations recommend both shows without reservation!
For more information on all our shows, please write to us at [email protected] and check out our old shows at our Mixcloud page here.
FastRadioBurst23
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who notes:
Dear Thomas and friends of SWLing Post community,
As you all know, listening to Radio ELWA from Monrovia on shortwave has never been easy for me here in southern and southeastern Brazil, due to the transmitter power and propagation. The only way to listen to this station was via shortwave… until now!
The station director has just informed me that Radio ELWA can now be heard via streaming!
By Robert Gulley K4PKM
XHDATA recently contacted me about a new portable radio, the D-221, which will look very familiar, as it is based on the popular D-220 pocket radio. While not exactly listed as such, this is basically a radio intended for the American market with the inclusion of the NOAA weather radio coverage, and the elimination of the FM2 band geared toward a broader world-wide FM band coverage.
The D-220 (Left) and D-221 (Right) compared for size. (I like the Red!)
I was definitely interested in a weather band version of the D-220, especially since I was very impressed with the D-220 before the addition of this new feature. Within a few days I had a pre-release red(!) copy of the radio.
Here is how I described the D-220:
“The radio is small, 5” tall, 2-1/2 inches wide, and about 1 inch thick, very reminiscent of my first transistor radio in the (ahem) 1960s. It has an analog tuning dial, volume control, and slider switch to go between FM1/2, MW, and SW. It also has a headphone jack. It takes 2 AA batteries (very old school!), and, unlike my transistor radio of old, has a swing-out stand. That’s it. And, interestingly enough, that’s all it needs.”
The stand is a nice feature, and the AA battery makes a solid snap in place
As I already mentioned, the FM2 band has been replaced by the FM weather band, and reception quality is good. I am able to pick up three NOAA weather stations in my rural location, and that is quite acceptable. Any weather radio should be able to pick up at least two stations so that if one goes down, you can hear another station. Three stations or more is the gravy on top.
As with the D-220, the D-221 is simple to operate (no manual needed!), no menus, no bells and whistles, just the basics. Like its predecessor, for some, the tuning dial will be an aggravation as the tuning dial is very sensitive. It takes a light touch and has to be turned very slowly on the AM/FM/SW bands to avoid skipping over stations. I find it is still relatively easy to tune, even with my wide fingers. (The weather band is very easy to tune because of wide spacing between station frequencies.)
While the Tuning Dial is very sensitive, I had no problem selecting stations, just as with the D-220
Again, like its predecessor, the tuning dial is very firm and crisp tuning between stations, even on a very crowded FM band or on a tight SW band covering 5.6 to 22MHz.
AM and FM reception deliver a surprising number of stations, and even shortwave reception was better than I expected. The antenna is solid and unlikely to break except by rough handling, something many small radios overlook.
As for the sound, it remains very clear in this model, with the same oversized speaker producing loud but clear audio. As I have noted with other modern radios I have reviewed, one of their advantages is smaller components, which in turn, allows for bigger speakers.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
This is another solid little radio you can carry in a shirt pocket or jacket pocket easily, and is powered by the always available AA-sized batteries. The addition of the weather band really makes this a great carry around radio, especially if you live in parts of the country where it’s a good idea to keep abreast of what the weather is doing, as I do.
Here is a note I received today regarding the availability of the Radio on Amazon with a discount for Thomas’ readers (U.S. Amazon):
We’re excited to let you know that the new XHDATA D-221 Red is now available on Amazon US.
We’ve prepared an exclusive 20% discount code for your followers:
Discount Code: JYDB92HE
Promo Link:
A big thanks to XHDATA for supporting Thomas’ Blog and readers!
73, Robert K4PKM