▶ The Digitech AR-1780 at eBay: bit.ly/DigiTechAR1780 ▶ The XHDATA D-808 at eBay: ebay.to/2EMK9jE (paid links) As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase. There are no additional costs to you.

@yardleybottles6025

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, where indeed can I find this? Is the Techbrand 1733 the same thing?

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

@@yardleybottles6025 I checked that out, looks like a small CC Skywave.

@j3ngel

3 жыл бұрын

Jaycar has been selling this for years.

Hi Todderbert, I am in the market for a nice little and reliable shortwave rxer. I am 47 now and still recall when I was 12 and found an old shortwave radio in the garage that ran on D-size batteries. For the next 10 years I was in love with this radio, I setup a longwire outside my bedroom window and each night would tune into the world in amazement of all these far away signals reaching my little old radio. This love for radio, running DX across the planet, chatting to voices with my SSB radio stayed for many more years until one day...........the INTERNET arrived and the stole the romance from my radio world. Goodbye amateur radio, running DX and listening to shortwave. Last week, the young boy in me resurfaced, the glimmer of radio and listening to far away stations has become alluring. I have been hunting for a recent receiver and this radio is on my list. Forgive the long winded post, I am just happy to go back in time to once again enjoy radio. Thank you for the video, it was well worth the watch. Cheers from Australia.

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

I can relate, I'm the same age :)

@GTRaZoR22

4 жыл бұрын

Walking Man Video i enjoyed reading the experience you had. I got into radio at a late age but i do enjoy it. I have 2 tecsuns but I’m also looking into this radio as well.

@jimgraham6722

3 жыл бұрын

If you don't have space for a long wire or should it be too noisy, short wave on this little radio works quite well with one of the inexpensive tunable loop antennas, eg Wonder loop.

@grantt6573

2 жыл бұрын

I know exactly what you mean I was very active listening in the 1980s got my ham licence in the 1990s. Got sick of that , was active on c.w qrp. I still do a little shortwave listening but there's not much left in English and you are right internet has ruined it

Great radio , I live in Tasmania and listen to the airband and also receive melbourne tower with this radio with the external antenna , sounds great on FM as well as SSB 5 Stars all the way , Great review ..

When I first saw a video of this radio almost 2 years ago - I called Australia and had one shipped. What impresses me most is the sound of that on-board speaker. Excellent balance on all bands. It does perform quite well, but it hasn't replaced my Skywave (I bring them both!) I wrote a detailed review over at SWL and while you've covered most here - couple of things I noticed. There are a few birdies on SW. The buttons chirp, beep & burp (even on a Skywave if you hold them close enough), so filtering is poor. If you put the radio in stereo, only one channel plays through the speaker ...and if you use the lock button, the light will still come on! But NO regrets buying this. One of my favorite portables. I'd give it 5 stars as well!

Another fine review from a true radio lover!

The radio looks neat! A Nice premium radio! & a well explained review as always!👍

I like the 1780 over the 808. Here in Australia we don't have Weather Band and MW is 9khz, which counts out some radios. Nice review as always Mr T !! 👍

Excellent review. Thanks! ⭐️👍

A great review of a hard-to-get radio, unfortunately. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but have a hard time accepting the premise that plastic is more durable than metal (speaker grill). I also prefer 18650 batteries over four AA's - smaller, lighter weight, more power available - especially for use in a portable device. Again, thanks for another terrific review.

Just ordered an AR-1780. Looking forward to its arrival.

Sweet radio from Digitech. I might buy one for my collection.👍🏼

Great review the digitech ar 1780 makes for a great Covid 19, 2020, stay at home companion! THX Todd, 73

You have to remember that a 1/4 wave antenna for AM 1000 would need to be aprox 250 feet long so a much longer wire antenna just might improve AM reception using the external antenna. It would be interesting to test it. I know you don`t have the space there. But even using a 100ft wire antenna you can use an inductive coil/loop connected to it and just place it near the radio. A dipole long wire antenna I rigged up improves my AM reception at night plugged in to the external antenna input on my Grundig G6 but not much during the day. I don`t know, maybe I`m doing it wrong. Still learning after all these years. I don`t have room at the moment to try longer antennas either.

So, another question from me lol, why would they have an on off for the lw instead of just having it on to toggle thru mw, sw, and lw ? Just curious

A lot to like on that one. Great buy at $89.

I got mine. It's excellent.

Hi sir, How is AIR band , SW and FM on this radio, is it better than d-808? And which one is easier to tune, this radio or the d-808? Cheers

G'day Todderbert, Digitech brand is a brand from a company called Jaycar. Its probably the closest thing to Tandy / Radio Shack. They are no longer in Australia, I use to love our local Tandy store. But anyhow Digitech make alsort of thins at a reasonable cost and quality.. I enjoy your videos. I have been a shortwaver for 60 years back in the valve days. All the best.

So i own this radio and use it mainly for sw, ssb, and im pretty happy with it, in your opinion is there a better radio for sw than this, just curious ?

Nice review. I wish this radio had a tone knob.

I prefer AR-1780 over XHDATA and Grundig; I like AA batteries and the AMBER backlight that you can keep it on (Tecsun I own can't do that). I owned that Grundig, and it's chunky more like a table top and eats up batteries. Skywave SSB that I had sounded weak and it is expensive. Grundig sounded "warmer" particularly during talk shows (due to speaker size). So, AR-1780 seems to provide very well balance of features while one can grab and go casually without thinking too much about size/weight.

DIGITECH ! WoW. I used to use Digitech for my rack mount guitar processors. I am looking for a small radio that receives sw w ssb, that scans favorite saved memory channels. Any ideas?

Thanks for the awesome video.

I can't get my radio to switch to 64MHz to 86 MHz. Could it be locked? I bought it in Germany on Amazon.

Seems a very nice radio.how does it compare to the Pl880 which costs a lot more?

I love your thorough reviews alot but my one and only critique is that you speak rather quietly but blast the volume on the radio you are testing!😮👍🤷‍♂️😁

I hope KZread is monetizing you handsomely because they have a ton of Ads in your reviews. It's not just your reviews though, KZread is out of control. Nice review and much appreciated. 😎👍📻

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

Most of the channels revenue comes through people supporting me through my affiliate links to the radios. Without that money this channel would not be moving forward ;) Patrons over on Patreon are a huge help with the channel as well.

@ricktemmen6272

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert I hope you didn't take my comments as a criticism of your channel. I appreciate your channel. My beef is with KZread. Keep up the great reviews and again, thank you.

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

@@ricktemmen6272 no offense taken at all. I am not happy with what KZread has been doing lately.

@ricktemmen6272

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert Google's greed has no bounds

Do you know of any portable radio like this that will pickup ametuer radio ?

Where can i buy external adaptor? Jaycar doesnt stock them.

Impresionante sonido , casi parece de válvulas termoiónicas . Muchas gracias .Spain

Lovely Radio

It would have been nice had you shown how it performs on short wave using only the whip antenna.

What external antenna can i use?

I like this radio and another nice review to make me want it more but sadly only sellers seem to be is AU, I hate ordering from such distances, I see now delivery times well over 2 Months, also prices are way up now with huge shipping cost so I will Great review as always by you. have to pass on this.

Good review I have two of these which when not used for general coverage and portable use are used as beacon monitors. Their performance is really very good for the money but menuing is a bit complicated and requires getting used to. If loaded with NimH batteries they can be recharged in situ using a 7V plug pack. Dedicated 7V plug packs are rare but there are several selectable voltage plug packs that can do the job. If you look carefully at the LCD display, there is an unlit mode indicator for DAB+. Perhaps a future not yet released feature?

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

That would be neat, though these radios are becoming hard to find atm.

hello the deshibo RD1860B and good is better than this radio?

Have a question, on the display, on the left there are indicators lw,mw,sw,fm,air,dab, and wb. What is dab and wb and how do you switch ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

DAB is Digital Audio for the European market. The WB probably means Weather Band, but is not implemented in this radio. Wish it was.

Comparing this product and the Xhdata / Sihuadon D-808, Ive noticed that this Digitech AR-1780 uses a wierd AC to DC adaptor (not supplied) of 7Volts... What about output current? confusing... Just a FYI. In the end, I think I prefer the Sihuadon D-808, cause its black, and able to be recharged via USB... YMMV

Need some help how do you switch to longwave, nothing happens when i push the mw/lw ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

With the power off on the radio, press and hold the LW/MW button. It will come up LW ON. Repeat the process to get LW OFF.

Hi all! I would like to ask something about Digitech AR1780. In terms of FM sound quailty and FM Dxing, which of those would be better choice? Tecsun PL-660 Digitech AR1780 XHDATA D-808 Thanks in advance!

@tech29X

4 жыл бұрын

PL-660; due to slightly better selectivity.

Nice.

How do I turn the alarm off

I’ve been watching this radio. Saw all the reviews. It used to be a big pain to order one of these. So it’s nice that someone is selling these to the U.S. market. Once a year (or two years) I try to get a more upscale radio. Last year was the Tecsun PL-660 (which had to be replaced [ with a PL-600](( long story)). I just ordered the XHData, so guess I will have to wait until next year on this one. I’m thinking the reason you may not have gotten the A/C adaptor: most of the world uses 220. We , here in the U.S. use 110 ( actually 120) volts. {Spoiler Alert}: I just ordered a radio that is non-U.S. spec. 220 volts A/C. (Although you can use a 110 volt Wall-Wart. - not included) So I’m thinking this might be the case but I don’t know what Australia uses. Looks like this is a good one. Would like a “shootout “ for MW, between the Digitech, and the XHData . 📻🙂

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

They seem very similar on MW. The D-808 may have a very tiny edge.

Would you choose the tecsun pl-660 or this one? They are about the same price shipped to my part of the world right now. Usually pl-660 is more expensive.

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

This radio is more portable and has better resolution on the SSB. The 660 has no mute on tuning and is a larger radio. Personally I would take the Digitech. I never use my 660 anymore. The airband is weak on it, and the frequency drifts on MW and SW which makes me have to re-calibrate it. The Digitech also has more bandwidth options for better filtering on SW/MW/SSB.

Just got one from jaycar and the ac in on mine says 6-7 volts not 7 volts. Much easier to get a 6v adapter.

Todd, do you think the AR-1733 and the ELPA from japan (is there another?) are clones of the non-ssb skywave?

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

I think the company that makes the Elpa ER-C57WR and 1733 is the same that makes the Skywave.

Nice radio. An AA equivalent to XHDATA D-808. But having in mind I already enjoy my D-808 I see no reason to duplicate my inventory :) And yes, D-808 came with a wall wart for a lower price. I have replaced its original 18650 cell with a 3600 mAh one and now it is close to perfect. If I need a better sound I pull out an Eton/Grundig Satellit 750 :P

I've had the xhdata d808 for some time, this is the same radio but way cheaper. This one $87 plus $44 for shipping ??! Er no thanks

No case to carry it in?

Excellent Travel radio.Very good on batteries,receiption on all bands with the telescopic antenna is very good and does not overload on an outside antenna.SSB is excellent as well and volume does not lessen when switched from AM to SSB.Tuneing does give a sh... sound when turning the tuneing knob on HF and when switching from AM to SSB it takes a second for the inbuilt computer to adjust,but no problems and this radio is very stable on SSB.For its size and very basic features and cheap price,you wont be disapointed.Jaycar Australia & NewZealand sell these fine little pocket size go anywhere radios.UHF Air band is a plus as well.Digitech have done well with this model.

Todderbert, love your videos. I'd like to see a video exclusively on American made radios.Thanks for consideration.

@edcraig1214

3 жыл бұрын

I don't think there is anything made in USA anymore..

So this is basically the same thing as the $179.00 C Crane without the weather band. I love small radios like this.

@jkratoville

5 жыл бұрын

Basically yes - but without the filtering & other upgrades. Don't get me wrong, a great radio, but not built as well as the Skywave.

@namesurname4666

4 жыл бұрын

@@jkratoville what about xhdata d808?

Can you get digital radio on this? Are there any shortwave sets that also have dab? Just getting started on the hobby

@j3ngel

3 жыл бұрын

No. Not likely to find a WB radio that include DAB. Been looking for one myself for years.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. What's with the bizarre 7V DC? I gather it takes 4 x alkaline batteries (=6V) or 4 x NiMH batteries (=4.8V) so how on earth do we get to 7V? And there is no 7 volt adapter that I can find. Closest is 7.5V. Have you tried running it with a 6V adapter?

@tech29X

4 жыл бұрын

6-7v. is fine, you need slightly extra power if keeping the backlight on, fulltime and recharging batteries at the same time.

@TonyLing

2 жыл бұрын

You need 6.2V to charge four NiMH cells plus a bit of headroom to account for PSU forward voltage loss.

Hi, just received my new AR-1780 today. Just asking if there are detailed instructions on saving to 'Pages' along with pages over 10?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

Only 10 Pages per Band giving 100 presets on each.

@walkingmanvideo9455

4 жыл бұрын

todderbert thanks. Just got off the roof running a long wire. Fed into bedroom for a night of scanning the bands. Cheers from Australia

Hi there it is a great radio sound is good ssb is good to very good and am is excellent and it better on am band than some of the more expensive radios short wave is great with a good antenna and air band good l am from melbourne Australia

@Radio-bq5st

4 жыл бұрын

Raymond. Jones , Hi what do you think the choice be between this radio and XH DATA D808. I am also from Australia, Melbourne

Kindly also let me know whether it is available from any other seller.

@biggysground

5 жыл бұрын

Ebay shows others but price meets or exceeds a hundred dollars.

Have DigiTech AR-1780 for a year, via import from NZ; excellent self, etc radio, except the muting (any mod to fix mute?). Issue: w/in last week, he main rotary tuning knob won't turn. Anyone else experienced this, and is there a fix? Issue 2: Are there d/l instructions on using Page memories for the SR-1780? Thanks Richard in Louisiana SWLr for 50 years

@todderbert

2 жыл бұрын

See if you can remove the knob by pulling it straight off. Companies use tape, and other methods to secure it. A piece of it may have lodged near the encoders shaft, keeping it from turning. Just an idea.

hello, do you have RDS on this one ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

Yes it does.

I bought all 3 of them lol :)

I see music and voice at display, how to activate Voice/Music audio filter

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

not sure, I am unable to do the same on my radio.

Dear Todderbert, I’m afraid if I try ordering one I’ll actually only get the 1733… the ones I see listed don’t say SSB across the top like yours does… but look like they have the SSB button on the top fight corner of the keyboard… so idk what to do… I don’t want to pay the money for a 1780 only to get one without SSB… please help!!!

@todderbert

Жыл бұрын

Contacting the Seller is the only thing I can think of.

@scottbelcher9026

Жыл бұрын

@@todderbert ok thank you!

Were Made?

This radio seems to be a clone of the XHDATA 808 or vice versa. The positive side is that it uses AA batteries, which is a huge advantage over the 808. I ordered 2 18650, batteries for my 808, but they are not useable as they don't have the raised positive terminal and hence not suitable for the 808. One thing I would like to bring to your notice, that the ebay links you give in your videos, turn out with the message 'NO exact matches found'.

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

Might be for US only, I'll check them. The 808 came out after the Digitech.

Completely radio clueless here.... I bought this radio for my husband to listen to a particular AM channel but I cant for the life of me find how to switch from FM to AM. Can you please help?? Ive lost the manual and cant find one to download.

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

Press the MW/LW button below the FM button. MW is the correct term for the AM broadcast band. The screen should say MW on the left hand side. If it says LW, press the same button again to switch it from Longwave to Mediumwave.

@isabellerose7405

3 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert thank you so much - after hours of messing around by myself, it took me just moments following your advice! :)

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

@@isabellerose7405 Glad to have helped :)

Sir would you please guide me which is best budget shortwave radio?

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

This one is close if you need Single Side Band on Shortwave. If you want a low price, decent performer the Tecsun PL-310ET is solid: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pYGOvKlxZ8y3fJc.html

@DonzLockz

2 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert I have the PL330, it costs more but is sync's well on SSB.

Just Bought a Tecsun 660 here in England . took it to Croatia Italy Spain. Nothing on SW bands. They have all moved on-line. ) China and Romania OK

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

Voice of Greece? Radio Exterior de Espana? those are a few I get from Spain and the Med.

A good radio, but a sliding on / off switch would make it excellent. It's difficult to transport without it switching itself on all the time.

@todderbert

3 жыл бұрын

There is the lockout feature.

16:15 I wish I could afford an FM transmitter with RDS. I wanna know what programming genre will the radio give for my station xD (wish they didn't called my station "Psychotic")

Que precio tiene

O teclado acende?

May I ask if the radio is good for FM Dxing?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

It is solid on FM, not sure on DX, but it is very selective. I imagine it will do fine during the Summer months when tropo and e-skips are occurring.

@wyim

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your advice！😁 The radio really fits my dream radio except without MP3 recording. However, I am still wish if I could get one outside Australia or US.

@wyim

4 жыл бұрын

Also, May I ask the length of the antenna when it is fully extended?

@wyim

4 жыл бұрын

@@turboturd7954 Thanks😁 I have purchased a Chinese variant of the Digitech AR1780. Perhaps it will arrived in the middle of Feburary. If the antenna is 65cm, I am afraid that it might be too short for FM Dxing.

Which is the better radio this one or the tecsun 660 ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

I would take this radio all day long over the new 660s. For some reason my 660 has crummy air band reception, and the calibration is off requiring me to recalibrate it every time I switch batteries. This affects FM and Shortwave. I love the fine tuning wheel on the Digitech and the XHData D-808(sister radio). Easier to carry. My 660 is in a box, while my Digitech and D-808 are always out on the bench.

@cmvb69

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert which one between those two ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

@@cmvb69 Up to you, the Digitech AR-1780 and the D-808 are identical in reception. Watch both videos to get an idea of the main differences. kzread.info/dash/bejne/o3Wgrtisl9PSado.html < D-808 ; kzread.info/dash/bejne/nGeIwcWhlcnMc5s.html < AR-1780

@cmvb69

4 жыл бұрын

Ordered this radio ,any idea on where to pick up a 7v power supply ?

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

@@cmvb69 from their company. that is an odd voltage. This adapter goes to 7.5V but you would have to ask them if it is safe to use. amzn.to/2ID94rL

If you set the unit to auto scan it will roll over at 26.100Mhz back to 2.300Mhz. You can manually scan up to 29.999 and it will roll over to 1.711Mhz. Strange CPU behaviour.

Todderbert, The AR - 1780 probably won’t be 5 stars for you, once you find out it won’t charge NiMH batteries as specified by the manual using the AC adaptor it requires separately. I had to send mine back and the problem happens in another identical radio and possibly likely all radios of this model. Please check if yours does the same.

@todderbert

Жыл бұрын

Don't have the adapter, I always pull the batteries out and charge them independently.

@christophermccartykiwichri682

Жыл бұрын

@@todderbert Ok, I just thought I’d warn you, the internal charging feature in the radio will most likely not work as it seems to be a “bug” they haven’t figured out in that particular radio, because I took it into the electronics store I brought it from and they confirmed my suspicions using a voltmeter across the NiMH batteries using an AC-DC plug pack connected to the radio. So, I’m awaiting to hear from the manufacturer what is exactly causing it. The store also checked another new exact same model radio and the same problem occurred with its supposed internal charging feature.

@todderbert

Жыл бұрын

@@christophermccartykiwichri682 Thank you for the information.

Digitech also has the AR-1733 (AKA C Crane Skywave), AR-1748, AR-1945 models. I am tempted to go for the 1945. See if you can get hand on it.

@tech29X

4 жыл бұрын

why dont you get your hand on that radio and send it to Tod for eval ;-)

No 64/76 Mhz on FM? Grundig and XHDATA can tune down FM down to 64 MHz and Tecsun PL-660 and Degen DE1103 tuned FM down to 76 MHz.

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

I show this at the 7 minute mark, check it out.

@MrSparks54

5 жыл бұрын

Very informative presentation Todd, thanks!

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY

5 жыл бұрын

I got this. Thanks.

wonder hy no one has a problem with apple stuff being made in china over the last 10 years

Heads up everyone in Oz, this is available now (Dec 2023) for AUD99, or about USD65.

Bought the baby sister. Not bad for what they are

No weather band, unfortunately. WHY? Why put air band when weather band is SO useful and more desired instead? I really prefer Tecsun but C.Crane Skywave SSB has ALL this has, plus Weather too.

@DonzLockz

2 жыл бұрын

I believe these radios are for the Australian market... we don't have a weather band like the US's NOAA. I would love it if we did have a weather band. Would also be good if this radio had DAB radio too. 🤷‍♂️

Mine exhausts a set of charged 2200 mAh batteries in 24-30 hours. When played for 6 hours and then turned off. If it used a standard usb voltage, the radio would be simpler to use.

@todderbert

5 жыл бұрын

That would be nice, also if they included the AC adapter.

@tech29X

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert USB puts out 5v only, I wish they included a power adapter considering 7v is an odd ball. Measure the current draw for the radio (I think it's 125mA) and connect a 15-Ohm resistor to a 9V power adapter in series and you have 7V.

@jimgraham6722

3 жыл бұрын

@@tech29X There are multivoltage plug packs that have a 7 or 7.5v option. I use 7.5, it seems to work fine and charge installed 2500mAh NimH batteries without problems.

You should do some band scans with this radio just for fun..

@todderbert

4 жыл бұрын

I did some Daytime/Evening MW scans. kzread.info/dash/bejne/eomVw6eMn5vYh5s.html , kzread.info/dash/bejne/fX2nxKt8csiWdag.html

@huntercarver1851

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert Thanks I missed those and was interested

@huntercarver1851

4 жыл бұрын

@@todderbert I finally ordered one. I think this is one of the top radios out right now. Shipping wasn't cheap from Australia but I have a feeling it will be worth it.. knock on wood

They want $194 shipped from Aust. at this time (65.00) shipping.....$125.00 radio. Ebay.

Just grabbed the last one for $88.00 on Ebay.....

Looks like a xhdata d808..probably made by the same company

This radio is nice but I’m not a fan of the deshibo 1860 b . It’s almost a duplicate but for the price and the way it sounds you’re better off with digitech and save money. No way this radio is in the eton elite and Tecsun sangean class. All 3 have good sound this radio I rate it average. It does have positive like external antenna Bluetooth and airband

Why are there so many Skywave clones out there and they are not overpriced and way better than the Skywave itself? Skywave doesn't come with a Ni-mh battery and expensive as hell. I'd rather buy Ocean Digital instead of buying CCrane Skywave radios