Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.
Carlos notes:
NHK: In Ishikawa Prefecture, rice paddies belonging to farmers who protect the Japanese crested ibis have sustained extensive damage due to record-breaking heavy rain.
by Robert Gulley K4PKM
The D-226 is one of the newest portable radios in the XHDATA stable. The company contacted me about doing a review of the radio, and as I have reviewed several of their radios, I was interested to see how this one faired.
Some basics about the radio from the company’s description:
Specifications
| Brand | XHDATA |
| Model | D-226 |
| Radio Bands | AM / FM / SW, 11 Bands |
| FM Frequency | 64–108MHz |
| AM Frequency | 520–1730kHz, 9k/10k |
| SW Frequency | 4.75–22MHz |
| Built-in Battery | 1200mAh rechargeable lithium battery |
| External Battery Option | Supports AA batteries |
| Charging Input | Type-C DC 5V IN |
| Power Selection | AA / 3.7V power switch |
| Other Functions | Telescopic antenna, flashlight, headphone jack, charging indicator, power indicator |
Dual Power
Several features make this radio stand out from previous models. First, and most impressive to me, is the dual power option. The radio has a lithium rechargeable battery built in (non-replaceable except for possibly the most adventurous of our readers!), and AA battery power by inserting 2 AA batteries and throwing the switch by the battery cover from 3.7 to AA.
This is an excellent feature which means you do not have to go without the radio should the built-in battery need recharging. Pop in two AA batteries and you are ready to go! This also means that when the built-in battery is no longer rechargeable, the radio does not become a paperweight.
I tested both power sources and there was no discernable difference in volume, etc. I also used the radio with both power sources available as I installed the two AA batteries and switched between them. I was not able to find any precaution against having the AA batteries in while using the built-in battery, either in the instruction manual or on the company website.
The second handy feature is a built-in flashlight. My phone has a light, I carry a small flashlight, and having one built in to this portable is just another option for light. While it is not going to light up the night, it is useful for nearby things, and brighter than I would have expected. If you are like me and enjoy sitting outside in the cool of the evening listening to AM broadcasts at night or SW stations, the light can illuminate the ground ahead as I walk back to the house, locate my keys, or other simple uses.
Band selection and headphone jack on the left, flashlight switch and light on the top.
Listening Review
Summertime is always a bit of a challenge to test AM broadcast and SW bands due to storms, solar activity, etc. This summer has been no different! To give the radio a fair shot, I have tried to test it when the atmosphere was reasonably calm, and storms were at least many miles from me locally.
Medium Wave (AM) Reception
AM reception is reasonable, but it is definitely not a powerhouse on AM. While many stations come in at night, for some reason the clarity is not quite there. They are listenable, but only the strongest stations come in with good audio. Some of this is no doubt due to the seasonal issues, but some is simply due to sensitivity. While the radio will work fine for your local stations, I definitely would not expect to use this as a DX radio, at least not without headphones to help with hearing the audio more clearly.
FM Reception
FM reception is excellent as we have come to expect from modern radios. There are so many stations coming into my rural area, one might think I lived near a big city. Scrolling across the dial brings in one station right after another. There are no dead spots to be found! Audio clarity is excellent, the tuning, while firm, is still able to easily land on a desired station when turned carefully, and the strong telescopic antenna is more than sufficient for pulling them in.
The headphone jack is not a stereo jack – both sides are used, but both are mono and the sound meets in the center. When using headphones, there is a slight hiss that can be heard between songs, pauses etc. It’s not an issue to me, but if you are sensitive to that kind of thing, I mention it.
SW Reception
Shortwave radio on any small pocket portable radio like this is, as they say, what it is. No small radio like this of which I am aware, has an antenna sufficient to pull in lower power or weaker stations very well. Obviously, all the usual factors apply to SW reception; static, local interference, distant interference, time of day, season of the year, sunspot cycle, and more. My take on the D-226 is that it falls right in the middle of other similar radios. Not better, not worse. If I want to go DX hunting for shortwave I do not do it with pocket radios, or, for the most part, larger but still portable radios with the built-in antenna. On radios that can handle the stronger signal, I am going to use a long wire, external antenna, or something which either boosts or bypasses the relatively short telescopic whip antenna of a portable radio.
There are plenty of stations that come in during the evening and overnight, as well as a decent amount in the morning before the sun really gets going. During the day, you will only hear the strongest stations on a radio like this. I do not consider this a failing of the radio, but rather a physical limitation of any radio based on size, antenna, and filters with which to make audio more comprehensible.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Cons
Conclusions
For the price point this radio has good features, good build, two nice extras not typically found in this class of radio, and sufficient reception when expectations are reasonable. I often see people in comments on purchase sites or on the internet in general complain about what a radio doesn’t have – i.e. “It doesn’t have weather alert” or “It doesn’t have the aviation bands” or similar. We should know what a radio does and doesn’t have if we are thinking of buying it before we put our money down. And if we own it, judge the radio on its merits and features, not what we wish it had.
This radio can use a rechargeable battery saving money and waste, but still run if needed when not around a charging port. The flashlight can be useful for a number of things, not the least of which is shining a light into dark recesses to find that quarter you dropped in the car at night at the drive-thru going for your late-night snack! Or is that just me?!
Amazon Discount Code for SWLing Blog Readers
As XHDATA has done in the past, they are offering SWLing Blog readers a special discount through Amazon, this time with the inclusion of our European readers. Enter the promo code below during checkout at the “payment” page on Amazon, when asked for “gift cards . . . promo code”
For the U.S.:
Regular Price: $24.99
Discount: 40% OFF
Final Price: $14.99
For Europe:
Regular Price: €26.99
Discount: 40% OFF
Final Price: €16.19
Promo Code: NSP7ZTA7
Valid: September 1–15
(The same promo code works for both the U.S. and European offers.)
Thanks to XHDATA for supporting the readers of Thomas’ blog!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Helmut Matt, who shares the following article, which originally appeared on his website:
by Helmut Matt
SDR without a PC? Is that even possible? Even with a spectrum display? With the MLite-880, Elecevolve presents a world receiver that is as unusual as it is powerful—and truly one of a kind. A radio you can actually look at! What was previously possible mainly on a computer screen can now be enjoyed on this small, handy radio from Hong Kong in southern China—without any additional hardware—and with truly remarkable reception capabilities.
The Malachit MLite-880 was designed and developed by Russian reception experts and amateur radio operators Georgy Yatsuk (RC9CIM) and Vadim Burlakov (R6DCY). The company Elecevolve, which has long specialized in building extraordinary radio equipment, manufactured the radio and is also responsible for its particularly beautiful design.
The enclosed functional description is in English. Here is a German translation: To the manual
At first glance, the MLite-880 is simply a small, handy world receiver. What lies behind its 14.5 × 10 × 2 cm dimensions, however, is all the more surprising. In addition to a continuous AM frequency range from 130 kHz to 30 MHz and an extended FM range from 65 MHz to 108 MHz, it also covers the entire airband frequency range (108 MHz – 136 MHz) and the 2-meter band (144 MHz to 148 MHz), which is used by North American NOAA weather stations. The fact that the radio supports LSB, USB, and CW modulation modes is sure to delight amateur radio enthusiasts in particular. It also supports DSB, AM, SAM, NFM, and WFM. All of these settings can be customized individually.
The fold-out feature on the back of the device is very practical. The small tab—which allows the radio to be tilted into a DXer-friendly angle—also displays key information, including the frequency spectrum, modulation types, battery status, and more.
RDS information is recognized and displayed exceptionally quickly: both station names and information about the programs currently being broadcast appear on the display, if available.
On the top of the device is a slot for a mini-SD card. With the MLite-880, you can record music tracks or even entire programs up to a maximum of 16 GB—and listen to them again at any time later. The recording function is available for all frequency bands and all reception modes, making the device not only a radio and world receiver but also a full-fledged recorder.
The display is very clear and context-sensitive—meaning it adapts depending on the mode the radio is currently in. Particularly striking and, in my opinion, truly appealing is the visual representation of the currently received stations in a dynamic spectrum display.
The MLite with a waterfall display. On FM, it also features an RDS display.
The user can enter the desired frequency directly at any time, or adjust it using the rotary knob after selecting the desired frequency range. The step size for station search can also be customized. The rotary knob in the upper right corner has a dual function. By pressing it once, the user can switch between station search and volume control.
There’s also an equalizer that lets you adjust the sound profile. Whether it’s voice, pop, jazz, or much more—everyone can configure the radio to suit their own taste.
If you plug headphones into the designated jack—provided the signal is strong enough—you can enjoy FM stations in beautiful stereo sound. This is also possible with compatible Bluetooth headphones; the necessary functionality is built in. However, the MLite-880’s Bluetooth is not (yet) compatible with the iPhone or similar devices.
In the following, I would like to discuss the various features in detail.
The FM frequency spectrum ranges from 64 MHz to 108 MHz. It can receive both the OIRT band (65.9 MHz – 74 MHz) and the standard FM band (87.5 MHz – 108 MHz)—as well as all frequencies between 74 MHz and 87.5 MHz.
Even when first turned on in the predefined standard mode, this small device sounds full and clear. Even more impressive is its excellent reception performance, which a Grundig Satellit 700 or a Sony ICF 7600GR cannot match in a direct comparison. At best, only newer devices such as the Choyong LC90, the Qodosen DX-286, or the Deepelec DP-666 offer comparable reception performance.
Both on FM and across all other frequency ranges, there are manual search and automatic scan options. On FM, both methods work very well; on shortwave, however, I would recommend manual search—especially for weaker signals—because weaker stations can easily be skipped during an automatic search. Of course, direct frequency entry is also possible anytime and anywhere.
Stations you particularly enjoy and listen to frequently can be saved in the memo section—again, regardless of the frequency band. Up to 500 stations can be saved this way.
The “WFM” (Wide FM) mode is the default for listening to FM stations. However, for very weak signals, you can switch to “NFM” (Narrow FM). Both settings can be adjusted individually in the audio menu. The bandwidth can also be freely configured, but in my tests, the “Auto” mode has proven to work exceptionally well, so I haven’t often needed to use the manual settings, even with weaker stations.
In addition to the built-in telescopic antenna, the MLite-880 also allows you to connect an external antenna. There is a built-in jack socket for this purpose. A jack-to-SMA adapter is also included in the package, so you can certainly connect a Yagi or other antenna for FM. This feature is particularly useful in the AM band, where my rotatable Wellbrook Loop roof antenna has performed very well and produced amazing results.
Long-wave reception is particularly susceptible to external influences. It is becoming increasingly rare to find rooms that are truly free of interference. However, when such a room is available, reception with the built-in antennas is relatively good—even compared to other world receivers. In this regard, the use of an external loop antenna has proven particularly effective. This morning, with the roof antenna connected, I was able to receive the XEPPM station from Mexico on 6185 kHz. However, the station could not be heard using the built-in telescopic antenna. On longwave here in southwestern Germany, for example, the BBC signal on 198 kHz could be heard very clearly. It’s worth noting that the longwave band on the MLite-880 starts at 130 kHz, making it easy to receive DWD weather signals as well.
The back cover
The MLite-880’s noise reduction is truly impressive. The volume of the noise-reduction function can be adjusted individually, but even with the device’s default setting, you can listen to heavily noisy AM signals with virtually no interference. The usual crackling and chirping, familiar from earlier models, is also largely a thing of the past. For example, today Channel 292 at 6070 kHz was relatively weak, with a SINPO rating of 35333. After pressing the “NR” (Noise Reduction) button, virtually none of the noise was audible anymore.
Noise Reduction on the MLite-880
It’s certainly worth mentioning the distinction between amateur bands and broadcasting bands. When a specific band is selected, the corresponding reception mode (LSB, USB, AM, etc.) is already preset. Of course, the frequencies and modes can also be changed manually [1]—as can the step size [2].
Frequencies above the FM band can also be received. However, the NOAA weather service is only available in the United States. Overall, the frequencies from 108 MHz to 165 MHz are available without interruption, so that aviation radio can also be monitored, provided you are within range or in the reception area of an airport.
A microSD card with up to 16 GB of capacity can be inserted into the designated slot. You can record quite a lot on a card like that. The files are saved in WAV format and can then be played back either on the MLite-800 itself or on another device, such as a PC. This allows you to record entire programs—or even individual tracks. With tools like “Audacity,” you can easily cut, edit, and convert the recordings. Unfortunately, scheduling recordings in advance is not yet possible—at least, I haven’t found a corresponding feature so far. Hopefully, this can be implemented with a future firmware update. By the way, such updates can be found on the Elecevolve website under the “Downloads” menu item. Updating the firmware is very easy using the Windows Updater (also available there).
So they’ve thought of that, too: From time to time, Elecevolve provides its customers with firmware updates that fix potential vulnerabilities and add new features. These are available for free at https://www.elecevolve.com/download/. To update the firmware, you’ll need the Windows Helper, which you can also find there. Using the search function, the “Helper” automatically finds the latest version. However, you should make sure the device has sufficient battery power before updating. You may see a warning or error message when installing the “Windows Helper” on your PC for the first time. If you downloaded it from the official website, you can ignore this message and install the program without concern.
A visual delight and technically sophisticated. That’s how I’d describe the MLite-880 from the Hong Kong-based company Elecevolve in a few words. Sure, there’s still room for optimization here and there. I expect there will be firmware updates, enhancements, and improvements in the future as well. Even now, I’d recommend buying this radio. It’s a lot of fun, and so far I haven’t found any other radio or world receiver where AM is this much fun. The variety of tuning and reception options is overwhelming. In my opinion, the noise reduction in particular is a huge success, and the beautiful waterfall display is a nice bonus.
The high-performance 21700 battery is included free of charge with the purchase of an MLite-880. It can now also be ordered from online retailers and specialty stores. A charging cable and an antenna adapter are also included in the package.
The most affordable way to purchase the MLite-880 right now is to order directly from the manufacturer. Elecevolve has also set up a download section on its website where all important manuals, firmware, and utilities can be downloaded for free.
SWLing Post readers: You can find Helmut’s original English review of the MLite-880 by clicking here. You can find the German version of his website by clicking here. Full disclosure: Elecevolve recently became a proud sponsor of the SWLing Post.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Carlos Latuff, who writes:
The following is a short animation created from NOAA weather chart images, received yesterday in Porto Alegre via radiofax from the USCG station in Honolulu, showing cyclone development in the Eastern Pacific over 24, 48, and 72 hours. Hurricane Karina (Cat 4) and Tropical Storm Maria are visible.
Hi to all our SWLing Post friends. Here’s the Imaginary Stations schedule for this week’s shortwave listening pleasure.
On WRMI on Wednesday 2nd September 2026, at 0200 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz we bring you another show in the WHFM – Herman’s Radio and Record Room series. This is a programme by DJ Frederick Moe in memory of his father Herman Moe (1919-2001) and features mid-century sounds including country, jazz, folk and easy listening.
Later that day at 1800 hrs UTC on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz via Shortwave Gold, we bring you more Skybird Soul on Shortwave. Expect the best Soul and soul related tracks for a Wednesday evening. It’s great to hear some soul on those shortwaves!
Then on Saturday 5th September at 1100 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 6th September at 1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and 2000 hrs UTC on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz via Shortwave Gold, we bring you a show about Fraternity Records out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Be prepared to listen and learn about this excellent record label and hear some wonderful cuts released on the label.
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
SWLing Post reader Nathan Woodruff is researching his late grandfather, a US Navy radio operator in WWII who later worked as a maritime radio operator for the United Fruit Company.
Family photos suggest his grandfather spent roughly six months, around 1947, working at the WBW coastal radio station in Burrwood, Louisiana — the former Tropical Radio Telegraph Company station that, according to most records, ceased operations decades earlier when United Fruit consolidated its coastal network.
Nathan’s key question: how long did WBW actually operate as a relay station? If WBW shut down in the 1920s or ’30s as records suggest, then either the family timeline is off, or a smaller facility carried on under that call sign (or a related one) into the post-war years. If you have any information about WBW, Burrwood, or Gulf Coast coastal stations operating into the 1940s, please leave a comment below. I’ll pass along anything useful to Nathan — and I’ve included the photo of the station from his grandfather’s album above.
By Don Moore
More of Don’s traveling DX stories can be found in his book Tales of a Vagabond DXer [SWLing Post affiliate link]. If you’ve already read his book and enjoyed it, do Don a favor and leave a review on Amazon.
When I first discovered shortwave radio way back in 1971, right from the start I was both a listener (looking for interesting content) and a DXer (trying to hear as many different places as possible). But my DXing had a problem in that I only spoke English. Sure, lots of countries had international broadcasters with programs in English. But how was I going to log the many that didn’t?
In July 1972, I ordered a sample copy of FRENDX, the bulletin of the North American Shortwave Association. It was the first time I had seen a DX bulletin, and I learned a lot. The most eye-opening thing I found out was that other North American DXers were routinely identifying and logging radio stations using languages that they didn’t themselves speak. I was genuinely surprised by this. But if they could do it, then I could, too.
I began by going after Spanish-language broadcasters. I had started studying Spanish in school, so I knew the pronunciation rules even if I didn’t yet understand much. Some station names, like Barquisimeto and Bucaramanga, were even fun to say. I soon branched out to DXing stations in Portuguese, Arabic, and French and eventually to other languages like Russian and Indonesian. One thing that helped was that in those days the World Radio TV Handbook included transcriptions of standard ID announcements from many stations, such as in the image below of Radiodiffusion Television Algerienne in the 1972 WRTH. But whatever the language, the difficulty was always the same. What my English-centered brain thought the words in a book should sound like didn’t always match how the native speakers of the language actually said it.
The anecdote, of course, was experience. Over time I developed an ear for the various languages used by lots of DX stations. Even so, long words could still trip me up. Sure, my knowledge of Spanish made Barquisimeto and Bucaramanga easy. But words like Tanjungkarang and Manokwari in Indonesian and Itatiaia and Goiânia in Portuguese still gave me headaches.
In the late 1980s I went back to school to get a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics with the goal of teaching English as a Second Language. One of the first classes I had to take was phonetics – the study of how our mouths make the sounds that turn into words. It’s more complex than you might think. The International Phonetic Alphabet has 107 symbols for distinct vowel and consonant sounds. I had to learn to audibly recognize each of them. (Just don’t ask me to do it now.) Each of those sounds can be further modified in various ways, and it’s those sounds with modifications that produce the unique phonemes that make up each language. Standards of measurement vary, but the best estimates put the total number of phonemes in all the world’s languages at around eight hundred. Most languages only use around forty. English has 44 phonemes.
So that station name spelled out on a printed list may not only sound different than you expect, but it likely also contains sounds that you don’t even know. And when the sounds get chained into words, there’s the issue of which syllable gets the stress (consider photograph versus photography). Many languages help by using accent marks when stress differs from the standard. As words get chained into sentences, the connections also affect pronunciation, such as how “got to” becomes “gotta” in colloquial English. Other languages do the same thing. And I’m not even going to go into the use of tones in languages like Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Thai.
If you think English is an easy language, you are wrong. In terms of how the pronunciation of a word matches the spelling, English is one of the worst. There are historical reasons for the inconsistencies, but about 20% of English words are pronounced significantly differently from how they are spelled. And we don’t use accents or other diacritic marks to indicate when the sound differs from what’s standard. That makes English a difficult language to learn to speak and to understand. My linguistic DX heroes are any non-native English speakers DXing American medium wave stations. Local people do not pronounce places like Louisville (Kentucky) or DuBois (Pennsylvania) the way you would expect.
So there are all types of reasons why that station identification may not sound like we think it should sound.
I didn’t lead you all the way here just to complain about how complicated it all is. We now have a solution.
Text-to-speech is the process of presenting a computer program with a word or phrase and having it generate the sounds. For most of us, our first experience with this probably happened two or three decades ago when calling an automated phone system that used a mechanical voice to read back unique information that couldn’t be prerecorded by a human. It was pretty bad, and text-to-speech of the era deservedly got a bad reputation.
But the good news is that, like so much technology, text-to-speech has gotten a lot better. Some of it is so good that it’s become difficult to distinguish computer-generated speech from real human speech. Of course, the ways that can be misused also make it scary, but that’s a topic for other forums. Dozens of companies provide text-to-speech software in dozens of languages. And most of them have websites where you can try out their software for free.
I do a lot of DXing of stations in languages that I don’t understand or know well. And sometimes I hear what seems to be an ID but doesn’t match what I would expect from the spelling of any listed station. Then I go to one of those text-to-speech websites and plug in the station name to create a sample audio file. I compare that file with what is being said in my DX recording to see if they match.
I’ve been using this method for several years with Brazilian medium wave stations, Russian airports, and Indonesian marine stations, among others. I’ve confirmed numerous IDs this way that otherwise I wouldn’t have figured out, or at least not have been as comfortable that I had gotten the logging right. A couple of times it’s even saved me from making mis-logs on similarly spelled station names on the same frequency.
Most text-to-speech generators offer multiple voices, including both male and female. I always pick the gender that matches that of the ID I’m comparing to. For the most widely spoken languages, some companies offer multiple dialects, like Nigerian English or Argentine Spanish. So if you’re trying to ID a Colombian station, pick Colombian Spanish, not Argentine.
And, very important, be sure to use the correct spelling when pasting in the station name to check. That means including all the accent marks, tildes, umlauts, cedillas, etc. They are there to indicate how the word is pronounced, and if you omit them you will not get the right result. To make sure I have the correct spelling with all the proper diacritic marks, I usually copy/paste from Google Maps, a Wikipedia article, or some other webpage.
Finally, be aware that some local pronunciations are so unusual that the speech engines still may not get it right. I grew up near DuBois, Pennsylvania, and not one of the text-to-speech sites I tested said “DuBois, Pennsylvania” the way the people who live there do. They call their town “DO-boys.” To any native French speakers reading this, I sincerely apologize for what we Pennsylvanians have done to your language.
Links
A quick way to find a TTS engine is to do a web search for “<language name> text to speech”. Here are a few of the better ones.