How about this for a new hobby, short wave radio? For hobbyists it like exploring the wild west of radio waves, you can discover an exciting pirate radio station from anywhere in the world. The Raddy RF919 is a multiband radio aimed at listeners who want far more than standard FM or AM broadcasts. It offers an impressive list of bands including FM, AM, shortwave, single sideband, air band, CB, VHF and UHF. This makes it a very flexible choice for hobby listeners, travellers or anyone who enjoys exploring a wide range of signals.
The RF919 has a hefty 5000 mAh battery. It delivers long listening times and makes the radio suitable for day trips or extended sessions at home. The radio can also act as a music player thanks to support for Bluetooth, and it can play files directly from a micro SD card in common formats such as MP3, WAV, FLAC and APE.
Tuning feels very satisfying. There is one main tuning knob for quick scanning and a second finer control for precise adjustments, useful on shortwave and single sideband. You can save up to 1600 stations, which is more than enough for even the most prolific users. The screen layout is clear, with one main display for frequency information and a second display that shows time and signal strength.
The RF919 includes ports for external antennas, which can improve reception on weaker bands. Sound quality is strong too, with a 20w speaker and a small subwoofer that give the radio a full and warm tone.
There is also an app that allows you to tune and manage settings from a phone. You can even change the colour of the backlight to suit your taste. The Raddy RF919 offers so much from entertainment to life saving communications and world news. It is a super capable and versatile radio great for enjoying wide band listening. RRP $228.99
- Very wide band coverage across FM AM shortwave SSB VHF UHF CB and air
- Strong sound from the 20 watt speaker with a built in subwoofer
- Large 5000 mAh battery
- Radio CT app support
- Up to 1600 memory presets
- Three external antenna ports to boost reception
- Dual display with clear signal and frequency info
- Custom screen backlight colours
- Plays audio from micro SD card in common formats
- Soft muting when tuning can be distracting
- Battery can lose charge when left unused
- Fairly large unit so less portable than smaller sets
