(paid links below) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There are no additional costs to you. ▶ The New D-109WB Weather Alert Shortwave Radio at Amazon USA: amzn.to/3vg0OsL ▶ The Original D-109 Shortwave Radio at Amazon USA: amzn.to/3K6qZpO

Mine just arrived after a 10 day trip, from XHData in China. The outer box was in better shape than some items I've had shipped in state by well known carriers. The battery came half charged. This has to be the value radio of the century. Was expecting a tin can sounding speaker but was majorly surprised that it has a little bass and isn't too tinny like similar sized radios. It's not an AM DX monster but pulls in 400 mi. NYC stations with ease from Western NY. Also doesn't overload on blow torches like zoomer radio 740, 70 mi. across Lake Ontario. FM is not too far off from the CCR3 as far as pulling around 80 stations. The weather bands are strong, just like the CCR3. This is my first short wave radio and I foresee fun for hours with this band alone. Thanks for the great video as always. You're the best on YT for radio videos.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

Thank you. Yes, this is a value leader in digital shortwave radios.

Thank you for taking the time to make and post this excellent review of the *XHDATA D-109WB* Radio... LM

I just ordered this radio, thanks to your video. Thanks for the thorough walk-through on how to use it.

Was looking for a shortwave with weather band that also had earphone jack. Looks like this checks all the buttons. Thanks Todderbert!

Todd, love, love, love your videos, so soothing and relaxing listening to you! The only bad thing is that you make me buy radios :)

Great review. That little radio is a powerhouse with lots of bells and whistles.Very sensitive and sound is amazing.Convinced me to get one.Many tnx again.

I just came across your channel and I absolutely love it! Your reviews are so informative and well laid out. I really appreciate all that you do and I’m impressed with your in depth knowledge. I have a renewed interest in the hobby as of late and I’m now shopping for a new radio! Thank you and I look forward to more content from you in the future

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

I release a video every two days :) Glad to have you as a viewer. Let me know how your radio shopping goes.

Nice informative videos ! The man with a master plan

Thanks for the review! It's a good value, even if just for the NOAA weather alerts (something every home should have). Just ordered it for $46, including shipping.

Cool review, Todd! I already have the D-109, so I just might upgrade to the D-109WB because of the great weather band. Keep it up! 👍🏾

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

The WB is a decent upgrade. More changes need to be made to be perfect :)

Excellent content as usual. You really should do a video about the strangest channels / signals you've come across and the strangest things you've heard 🤔‼️

Just got the radio and I love it. My new favorite. All radios should have WB

@NTPTM

7 ай бұрын

Hej i agree with you but i don't have the weather band service here in Sweden but would love to have a Swedish version but yes, it very nice to have the weather band service in a radio and weather alerts and nice to have when travel to the US or Canada take care and have a lovely day.

Gonna order one next Friday

Its sound is excellent.

Seems like a very good little rig.

Got em both call them the twins.

Great video, as always! I received this radio today. I like it so far with a couple of exceptions. 1. The fast/slow tuning is definitely a pain. 2. I wish the display had an annunciator that indicates when you are in memory versus frequency tuning mode. 3. The display washes out and is completely unreadable when viewing the radio from above (even just slightly above). Reference @19:01 in this video where Todderbert tilts the radio to connect his long wire antenna. Note how the display fades completely away. I can't view the radio display with it sitting upright on the table in front of me. I can view the display with the radio tilted back with it resting on the rear tilt-out stand. But then, the telescopic antenna doesn't clear the case completely and can't be positioned in a straight up and down orientation. A better LCD display with a wider viewing angle range would be an improvement. Cheers!

I'm over here now after your suggestion for what to get to pick up number stations. Thatnk for tnfo and review. I think that these days, with the way things are in general, it's good to have an emergency radio, anyways. It's amazing how much you get for $70 (that's what I found on Amaon). I will be getting a SW Radio from a friend locally, but I'm thinking at some point I'll get this one for all it's extra bells and whistles., ala the MP3, alarms, etc.

I’m still good with my delete the time had this for two years now and I love it been taking with me outside on battery and I do have it right now against my headboard near my bed. I’m getting pretty good content during the night and some during the day on the other band. Eleate eton!

I have two of the old ones and never had MW breakthrough, so it’d take a heck of a sale to get a 3rd. WB I have on a lot of others. I have had SW breakthrough with a good ext ant. Ext atten helps but of course kills weak signals too. For the size I prefer the D808, with SSB, but then I’ve had occasion to use BT on this and the Eton Field so that’s a nice feature . Also works great as a BT receiver for speakers that only have aux in, like the clear plastic cube electronics kit ones.

Hej Todderbert thanks for the review of the upgraded version of the XHDATA D-109 with weather band i have the original XHDATA D-109 but gonna buy this one also even if i can't use the weather band here in Sweden. But wanna test here where i live and yes i am also a radio collector, so it will be nice to own the the new XHDATA D-109 but yes the XHDATA D-109 is a very good radio take care Todderbert and have a nice radio wednesday.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

It has a few improvements, not perfect yet, but getting closer.

@NTPTM

7 ай бұрын

@@todderbert Hej Todderbert yes the XHDATA D-109 needs to be improved but idon't have the AM breakthrough to the shortwave bands problem with the original XHDATA D-109 but of course that's because, in Sweden we don't have any local AM broadcasts anymore Sweden stopped broadcasting AM radio in 2010. But I can get one or a few sometimes from an am station from abroad but basically the am band is silent in Sweden but yes me a radio lover and radio collector so yes gonna order the new XHDATA D-109 but right now i have flashlight on my mind take care Todderbert and have a nice day. P.s yes i stay warm but it has came a lot of snow and in combination with snowstorm but the weather has calmed down now.

It has weather?! Sick!

Came for the Ironman appearance, stayed for the killer radio features and scans.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

I AM IRONMAN........add what you want here......ROCKING HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE MAN. :)

@williamcarrington61

6 ай бұрын

​@@todderbertExcellent coverage, many thanks, listening from England U.K. Wishing You a Happy New Year.

@todderbert

6 ай бұрын

@@williamcarrington61 Happy New Year William!

I have the version without the WB. AM sensitivity is good. FM sensitivity sux. SW sensitivity is beyond A+. Great Radio!!!

The SOS alarm on this radio annoys my cat. The speaker does sound really good. No sound at all when it's turned all the way down. The upgrade 18650 batteries you mention ship free within the US from XHDATA at a good price.

I thought the speaker looked a little under nourished. But no, plenty good. And even BT conectivity. Great band coverage, performance and memorys. Whats not to like.

I’m from Chicago. So your band comparisons really work for me. WFMT_FM is the best station for checking sound quality (98.7 MHz). For local SW, Radio Havana Cuba.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

I listen to WFMT every day. Great to test for Highs/Lows on the Speaker.

Cool review. As usual with these non-pll types the muting sucks, throwing in bt and sd cards is ok but doesnt compensate.

I was going to ask if there were any newer models. I purchased the d-109 after seeing your review done 2 years ago. So are there any other options that you might do a review for? Thanks for this one.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

Not many in this category. The Tecsun PL-320 is in the future.

Thanks so much for your help in the radio arena - SUPER HELPFUL. I have a question - what would be your pick between the CC Crane Pocket Radio and the XHDATA D109WB? Also - do any of these small radios use AC too? If so, which brands and models? THANK YOU!!!

@todderbert

3 ай бұрын

for size I would pick the Sangean DT-400W atm. the new CC Pocket has hissing on the headphones, and is noticeable on the speaker as well. C.Crane changed the vol/amp circuit, and it is not as good as the Sangean's. If size isn't an issue the 109WB is an obvious choice.

@thelindseyman

3 ай бұрын

@@todderbert Thank you, again!!

Is there a way to get the WB to play as your alarm clock? I imagine it would be a really nice thing to wake up to… but it looks like this device doesn’t save WB stations to memory, so it isn’t able to set WB as an alarm option :(

Qual. Diferença D 109 com o D 109 wb muito bom seus vídeos

I have the Tecsun PL380. Would you say that this radio is better or comparable to the PL380? It is interesting to have the weather band feature.

@todderbert

6 ай бұрын

I prefer this radio. Sounds great, full SW coverage, and Weather Band. 18650 battery is nice, though this radio is larger.

@pennyc7064

6 ай бұрын

@@todderbertI received the radio yesterday and I'm happy with it. The WB, shortwave and the BT feature is great. Thanks for the excellent review! Happy holidays!🎄

Radio jay Allen states this new model has low volume drop off problems above 1000khz on the medium wave band. You can still hear those stations but you have to do an annoying volume knob compensation thing to equal the same vol of those below 1000khz stations. Anybody experience this?

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

I do not experience this on my example.

Just ordered this, $73 in Canada. Can you tell us how the sd card handles more than one file? Plan to use it for my nightstand radio running through a Bose Mini on Bluetooth. Sleep function will be utilized. Thanks for the review, ordered before I saw the review. Seems like a good choice.

@terrancezachary531

6 ай бұрын

How do you like your radio?

@fredhinck9685

6 ай бұрын

@@terrancezachary531 Doesn't seem to like the Bose. Radio is a great little bit of kit. Like the weather band. Sounds ok for it's size. Bought this to replace an aging Eaton 350. Will do everything in a much smaller package. Also got a power bank to go with it.

I have a few questions about the radio

The 18650 battery in the Eton Elite Executive and the Tecsun PL-880 entirely deplete in three days to zero when the radio is turned off. Perhaps this is due to saving settings and memories when the radio is not in use or plugged in. Removing the battery between uses results in loss of memories. In contrast, the 18650 battery in the CCrane Solar radio does not so deplete when the radio is turned off and not plugged in. In your reviews please note whether batteries deplete quickly when the radio is turned off. Your reviews are otherwise quite helpful.

@todderbert

3 ай бұрын

I would mention this, since I test the radios for months at a time. I also do followups if something needs attention. The Eton uses AAs, and they do not dump fast. Same with the 880, never had an issue there. But I did upgrade from the stock battery to a more high capacity one. The only issue I had was with a Tecsun PL-606 where the batteries dumped every two days..there was a power drain issue somewhere, like the radio wasn't told to power down.

Just picked one up for $40.00 on Amazon

@todderbert

19 күн бұрын

Smart buy. A great radio for the money. I have two sitting on my bench.

What is the microphone for ?

@huntercarver1851

20 күн бұрын

Talking on the phone 📱 in Bluetooth mode

Can you play thru BT headphones? This was ne of my reasons for buying. I have a grandson that has to wear noise canceling headphones because he can't handle loud noises around him.

@huntercarver1851

19 күн бұрын

No it only receives Bluetooth signals

Better than the R-108!?

Hello Todderbert What frequency do the CB'ers hang out on

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

27MHz and up. You can download a chart from a google search.

@radellaf

7 ай бұрын

@@todderbertnow if only any SW radio would have the channels on a band setting vs poking around the freqs. yeah you can use presets

Are the audio bugs of the D-109 are fixed or still there in this radio?

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

Not sure, since I don't use BT much...that seems to be where people had trouble in the past. There are a few birdies on the MW band, but not excessive.

@bininurlaub5680

7 ай бұрын

@@todderbert Thanks for your reply! I mean the distorted sound on a specific lower audio level and the jumping audio level if you raise the volume from low level. I made 3 videos about it and uploaded them on my channel.

They should add a record feature to record a radio show to SD cars

@todderbert

4 ай бұрын

Probably in the next versions. XHDATA listens to what the customers want.

in comparison with D808,which do you prefer Sir?

@todderbert

4 ай бұрын

I would still pick up the D-808. Having SSB on SW is a nice option. Giving up Weather Alert can be an issue, but most agree a local news station is good for weather updates as well.

@faridelmasry5899

4 ай бұрын

​@todderbert thanks, I have already d808,and I liked the voice of 109,so I'm going to buy it. plz😂could you stop reviewing Radios,I buy every one which do Review.

Seen the no WB version on Amazon for $45 and there's a $12 coupon.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

They recently had it discounted to $30 for Black Friday...watch for close out sales if you want that model.

How would you compare the D-109wb to the tecsun pl-368

@todderbert

4 ай бұрын

I really couldn't. Two different radios entirely. Comes down to portability, power, and band options. If you need NOAA Weather, pick this one, if you need SSB the 368, though the PL-330 , will be easier to use.

@deandaniels203

4 ай бұрын

@@todderbert which is the better for receiving short wave or are they about the same.

@todderbert

4 ай бұрын

@@deandaniels203 Similar, but the Tecsun has the advantage of Time Categories, and SSB Operation.

Need to get a vintage Radio for DX....a Sony or a National?!!!

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

Both are good, but I would lean towards a RF-2200

Silicone membrane momentary contact switches have been the life-limiter on my devices. They eventually weep silicone and lose the conductive pad. Unless there are metal-to-metal contacts behind these switches that's a hard pass for me.

Not having the Specific Area Message Encoding feature is a deal killer for me. I can’t use a weather band radio that’s going to give me all alerts in the 3 different counties in my area where NOAA stations can be received from. Other similarly priced radios have that feature.

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

True, think of the Weather Band as an extra add on to a full shortwave band coverage, excellent FM, and MW reception with the ability to run external antennas. BT/MP3 are extras as well. I usually tune to my local NOAA channel, and listen for upcoming weather updates when I look outside and see trouble.

@radellaf

7 ай бұрын

what similarly priced radios have SW and WB with SAME? If I want same, far as I know I gotta get a dedicated Midland… which I would have if it wasn’t for smartphone wx alerts.

@huntercarver1851

19 күн бұрын

No radios in this price range will have all those features ​@@radellaf

Beep don't bother me. 😊 Let her speak hi hi

SSB would have been nice.

@todderbert

4 ай бұрын

Since they have the D-808, I can see why it wasn't added yet. Maybe we will get an upgrade to that model as well.

My version has a glitch where it produces a repeating 1 second self-oscillation burst in the background of faint medium wave stations. The work around is to just press the DPY/Lock button once to get rid of the annoyance. If you have a lot of weak stations or do a lot of DX scanning- it can be a PITA. Never experienced the radio jay allen vol drop off bug he mentioned. If it weren't for this bug, this radio would be a skywave killer imo.

@todderbert

6 ай бұрын

does it go away if only the local time is displayed? I have had these on other radios such as an Eton Traveler. Corresponding to the updating Signal Strength reading.

@fredfarkel2990

6 ай бұрын

@@todderbert Yes, the noise goes away when getting off the signal strength display. Doesn't appear to be any way to get it to power up with anything BUT the s/s displayed right at power up. I'd exchange it but it takes 10 days to ship to China and another 10 to get a new one back. Not worth it for a 40 buck radio. Yours doesn't have this flaw?

@todderbert

6 ай бұрын

@@fredfarkel2990 The two I own do not have this issue. Might be a few of these that have this issue. I have a few birdies on the dial, but not enough to worry about. I would contact them directly through their site and see what they can work out with you.

@fredfarkel2990

5 ай бұрын

@@todderbert After a few weeks they finally credited my card after they made me send a video via email of the problem and then shipping the radio to some guy in Kentucky to verify the problem. Weird policies indeed. Ordered a new one off Amazon since if the new one is also screwed up, I'd have an easier 'no hassle' return policy. The new one is perfect. Thanks for encouraging me to not just eat the cost of the old one from China but to return it. I should have waited for it to become available on Amazon rather than get it direct from China.🙂

🤗🤗🤗🤗😍😍🥰🥰🥰☺️☺️🤗🤗🥰🥰😍

micro sd card?

@todderbert

7 ай бұрын

On the Bottom.

@oldcarnocar

7 ай бұрын

@@todderbert nice, thanks!

@charlesleonard9459

7 ай бұрын

SD or micro sd

remove the mp3 and put in the ssb function, way better...if you need mp3, the smartphone is always there...bluetooth transmit to your bluetooth earphone is better...

@todderbert

5 ай бұрын

I'm stuck in the old school lane with my wired headphones.

@markr.1984

3 ай бұрын

Agreed, I have many other devices and radios besides my smartphone that can play MP3s, including a few of those tiny MP3 players that used to be popular. And who can't play Mp3s on their desktop or laptop PCs? I can play Mp3s in both of my cars until they go to the junkyard. So who cares about Mp3? I also like SSB and no SW radio I own is without SSB capability.