Pocket-Sized DX: Mark’s Roberts Sports 995 Review

Impressive Pocket Performance!

‘Shirt pocket’ radios are one of my favourite aspects of the hobby. For me, nothing quite beats the enjoyment of cruising the MW band (and a little SWLing on radios that allow), with a tiny, generally inexpensive unit and pushing the boundaries of what is possible with these receivers and their mini-sized internal ferrite bars. I think there should be another subsection of the ultralight category to accommodate such radios – “super ultralight”!

Both radios are of ‘ultralight’ status, but note the size difference.

A couple of days ago, the mail arrived and with it, brought another ‘shirt pocket’ radio for my ever-growing collection – a Roberts Sports 995, which I believe to be a rebadged Sangean DT-120 for the UK market.

Two AAA batteries brought it to life, and a quick glance at the manual told me how to set the clock. I plugged in my headphones and confirmed all was working before waiting patiently for the dark hours to arrive.

I live in a rural location just outside of Edinburgh, Scotland and my band scan was done indoors ‘barefoot’ – with no passive MW loops or suchlike, anywhere in sight.

I settled in with the new radio around 12:30 am and began to scan the medium wave frequencies.

I have omitted the strong daytime stations from this list. Here are my results;

648 kHz – Radio Caroline, Orford Ness, Suffolk, 4kW

327 miles

882kHz – BBC Radio Wales, Washford, Somerset, 10kW

324 miles

972kHz – Sunrise Radio, Southall, London, 1.6kW

323 miles

999kHz – Cadena COPE, Madrid, Spain, 50kW

1067 miles

1035kHz – Lyca Gold, Southall, London, 2.5kW

323 miles

1116kHz – BBC Radio Derby, Burnaston Lane, Derby, 1kW

217 miles

1170kHz – unable to ID foreign station

1260kHz – unable to ID foreign station

1296kHz – Radio XL, Birmingham, 10kW

239 miles

1305kHz – Premier Christian Radio, Chingford, London, 0.5kW

322 miles

1368kHz – Manx Radio, Foxdale, Isle of Man, 20kW

129 miles

1386kHz – Radio Baltic Waves International, Viesintos, Lithuania, 75kW

1093 miles

1458kHz – BBC Asian Network, Birmingham, 5kW

239 miles

1467 kHz – TWR Europe, Roumoules, France, 1000 kW

930 miles

1557kHz – Radio Letna, Kaunas, Lithuania, 50kW

1064 miles

1602kHz – unable to ID foreign station

I am fortunate enough to own a number of this style of radio, and this is without doubt the best performance I’ve experienced with one of these. The Roberts Sports 995 truly is, in my opinion, a tiny DX machine, which will only improve further with an MW loop. I know of no better performing “super ultralight” in this price category (RRP £39.99). It is well worth considering if you happen to enjoy this area of the radio hobby as much as I do.

Best 73’s

Mark

M7MHY

Patrizio Shares His “BCL-SWL Radio Logbook Pro” Project

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of CGTN (July 3, 2026)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report of a recent CGTN broadcast.

Carlos notes:

CGTN Radio full news bulletin, 11770 kHz, July 3, 2026, 20h00 UTC

I notice that climate change—and now the expectation of an even more devastating El Niño—has been making headlines. In this bulletin from the Chinese broadcaster CGTN Radio dated July 3, we can see that out of the 11 news items presented, six cover topics related to the environment.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Hackaday Spotlights a Clever DIY Si5351 Radio Project

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura who notes that Hackaday recently featured a clever DIY receiver project based on the Si5351 and ESP32 that covers shortwave, mediumwave, and more. It has a nice retro look, plenty of modern features, and even includes an SDR mode for use with a computer.

If you enjoy homebrew radio projects, this is well worth a look:

DIY SI5351 Radio Tunes In SW, MW, And More

AM Innovation and Radio’s Reach in EVs

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Photo by Brock Wegner on Unsplash

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura, who shares the following two articles that may be of interest to readers:

The first, from Radio World, highlights a new broadband AM antenna system designed for the upper end of the mediumwave band. The compact design promises easier installation, lower infrastructure requirements, and could offer broadcasters a practical solution where traditional AM tower installations are impractical or prohibitively expensive:
https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/products/new-antenna-for-upper-am-band-nears-readiness

Dennis also points to a recent Westwood One analysis examining the listening habits of Tesla drivers. Despite Tesla’s increasingly streaming-focused infotainment systems, the data suggests AM/FM radio remains the dominant source of ad-supported in-car audio among Tesla owners:
https://www.westwoodone.com/blog/2026/06/29/reach-future-tesla-buyers-on-am-fm-radio-the-medium-tesla-drivers-listen-to-most/

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of CGTN (June 29, 2026)

Radio Nacional da Amazônia Announces Temporary Shortwave Schedule Changes

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following:

The shortwave transmitter site NW of Brasilia, operated by the national public broadcaster Empresa Brasil de Comunicacao for the Radio Nacional de Amazonia service, has had to make a change to its SW operating schedule.

EBC’s Radio Engineering Manager Manoel Caetano tells me, “Due to technical problems and energy costs, the Radio Nacional de Amazonias service will have reduced operating hours through at least the end of the year”

11780kHz will operate weekdays from 0745UTC to 2000UTC and 6180kHz will operate weekdays from 2000 to 0300UTC.

On weekends, 11780kHz will operate from 0900UTC to 1800UTC, while the 6180kHz frequency will remain off-air.