Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
When switching to SSB a “loading bar” shows up first, the entire process between hitting the “SSB” button and getting reception again takes 5 seconds. Actually, these radios basically consist of a “radio-on-a-chip” and a microcontroller so it really might be a loading bar we see there. This controller seems to be not exactly fast in the D-808 anyway, so even using the tuning knob comes with occasional hesitations – I advance the main tuning encoder one indention and the frequency changes only 1-2 seconds later. Changing bands is not exactly fast either but at least toggling between USB and LSB works instantaneously.
What I do not understand is why you would include a error-filled and unprofessional user manual with an otherwise excellent product. The manual is incomplete, it is sometimes incomprehensible, the English grammar is faulty, and in some cases the information is just wrong.The PL-660 is poor on LW and Deaf on MW great on SW and has great Sync Detection I wish other radios had, the wider filters can be an issue with SW DX’ing but changing to LSB/USB can make all the difference. FM stereo / MW / LW/ SW SSB and Air Band radio with high sensitivity, good selectivity, and user-operation friendly Battery life is a real pain in the ass. When I put a fully charged battery on it, (original or Panasonic ) in three days with no use at all it is dead. So you have to take battery out when not in use, or use an external battery always. Frequency coverage - longwave, mediumwave AM, shortwave WITH SSB and covering the "full" shortwave range, FM, and air band. There is much room for improvement though – for example the slightly borked control of the DSP, the chuffing/tuning and AGC issues on SSB let the D-808 miss the title “most stunning cheap little radio ever” by a hair.
Due to product quality problems within 1-3 months of receiving the product, we can replace it with a new one, but the customer pays for the logistics costs incurred. The gold/brassy coloured coils coils are (almost certainly) the FM tuning/osc coils. They’re not wound on a former so they’re easily de-tuned if they’re bumped, and the spacing / layout typically needs to be hand-adjusted at bit for final alignment anyway. The S-8800 is good on LW, MW and very good on SW. A nice radio, but the distortion on SSB at the beginning of a transmission is very annoying. I find most of the DSP radios noisier with a harsher sound than the PL-660. The XHDATA D-808 has a nice display which can show Time & Frequency together which is very convenient, along with additional options of Signal Strength/Signal to Noise Ratio, Temp (Fahrenheit or Centigrade), Alarm Set Time and Time which the radio defaults to when turned on. The signal readings are relative and can’t be directly related to typical S-Meter readings but nevertheless they provide interesting info about what you’re tuned to and can be a definite advantage while tuning or antenna aiming. Display Illumination is automatic or the Light Button will turn it on permanently if desired…another nice feature.Conclusion: The XHDATA D-808 certainly reflects the state of Chinese manufacturing today in both good and bad ways. However, had a D-808 existed at that time this would have been much easier because of the multiple bandwidths in both AM and SSB. I imagine a SONY ICF-SW7600GR would have done a good job as well, but it too does not have the multiple bandwidth options that a D-808 has. Hello. I received the XHDATA D-808 today. A nice little radio. I am however wondering if anybody out there knows how to deactivate the Alarm function? The instruction manual is vague regarding this. Great review. Would be interesting if you tested them both with a passive MW loop as I find that the xhdata is rejecting signals rather then enhancing them and raising the noise floor, whereas the Tecsun pl-880 will accept the tuned passive loop. Switchable Display: Time (Default), Signal Strength/Signal To Noise ratio, Temp (Fahrenheit or Centigrade) and Alarm Time.
Great Deal 
New Comment