All dates shown are based on the Pacific time zone in the United States.
July 28, 2023:
Added a review of the Tecsun
PL-320, a new radio released in 2023, including an extensive discussion
of many of its features. Also revised the
Sangean DT-800 review
and updated or adjusted reviews of the
Sony SRF-AX15 AM stereo/FM stereo radio
and the Digitech AR-1780 and
XHDATA D-808 AM/FM/shortwave radios.
I also should (belatedly) note that this site reached its 25th anniversary
in 2023. Even as hobby websites such as this one are becoming more and
more rare, this site has kept going. I plan major changes later this
year or early in 2024. Likely these changes will involve reducing the
number of subjects covered by this site and transitioning what remains
to a platform that doesn't require me to hand-craft every web page. The
pages on road signs and highways, in particular, are likely to be scaled
back or eliminated altogether. For now, it's actually less work to
keep the site going in its relatively stable state than it is to
scale things back. But I'm going to have to face up to it eventually,
which I will be able to do once a major change in my life is completed.
September 7, 2021: Revised the
Sangean DT-250 and
Sangean DT-400W reviews;
also updated the Sangean HDR-14/SG-108
review, confirming that those two models are identical except for cabinet
color.
August 10, 2021: With the purchase of a newer version of the
Sangean DT-400W AM/FM/weather band radio,
I replaced the previous DT-400W review with a newly written
article to report on the greatly improved performance of the newer model.
Also revised the review of the
Sangean DT-250 (not sold in North
America) to indicate that it is a DSP-based radio. The DT-400W may
now also be a DSP-based radio, based on observing its much-improved
performance.
July 27, 2021: The
Sangean DT-250 is the European/Australian cousin to the Sangean
DT-400W and DT-200VX. The resemblance, though, turns out to be skin-deep.
Also updated the Retekess TR103 review
to report that this model is no longer available, at least in the United
States.
May 9, 2021: Is the number "108" significant for radios? It seems to be
getting that way. I've updated two reviews in
Radios I Have Known with information
about near-identical models: the Sangean
HDR-14 AM/FM HD radio now has a twin in the Sangean model SG-108, while
the Chinese company behind the Radiwow R-108
has also been selling it as the Sihuadon R-108. Also: I've linked to
Gary DeBock's in-depth reviews for five radio models (four of which I've
also reviewed) in his 2021 Ultralight Radio Shootout. Thanks, Gary, for granting
me permission to link to this amazing resource!
March 4, 2021: This year, we're actually marking the 23rd anniversary of
this site on time! I was late in noting something else: I restored the
Missouri Highways site after President Biden's inauguration January 20.
One minor change: the development system (not that there's
been much development lately, but that's another story) has been
updated to Fedora 33.
December 28, 2020: Added review of the Tecsun ICR-110 AM-FM radio/media player/recorder, a sibling of the
Tecsun ICR-100 reviewed earlier
in the year.
November 26, 2020: Revised the Sangean HDR-14
review with updated information on the October 2020 approval of all-digital
AM-band broadcasting in the United States, using HD radio without an
in-band analog signal. Also made minor fixes to the
Tecsun ICR-100 review.
October 5, 2020: Added review of the Rolton
E500 Bluetooth speaker/FM radio/media player/recorder, with great sound
but a middling FM radio and yet another "brickwall" filter used by the
recorder to limit high-frequency response.
September 8, 2020: Added review of the Tecsun ICR-100
FM radio/media player/recorder and updated the
Radiwow R-108
review with a mention of the nearly identical Sihuadon R-108, which
became available in the summer of 2020.
August 29, 2020: Expanded the Tivdio V-115
review with more information on its audio recording and playback capabilities,
including the discovery of a low-pass "brickwall" filter that limits
the unit's frequency response when recording. As an aside, this is the first
site update using the new development system.
August 8, 2020: No changes to the content of the site, but noting
on the Site Information page that I
have migrated development to a new server running Fedora 32 (Linux).
July 30, 2020: Added review of the Prunus
J-125 AM/FM radio, an extraordinarily inexpensive DSP-based model.
July 18, 2020: Finally solved the mystery of the original phone exchange
names in the Centralia, Mo. area, which all
were changed in 1971, including
the move of two nearby small towns into a different area code.
July 14, 2020: Added review of the Sony
SRF-45W "Soundabout" AM/FM radio from the mid-1980s. Changed font for
"specialty text" (such as this part of the page) to Merriweather Sans,
which is the sans-serif version of Merriweather, the font used for the main
blocks of text on the site. See the
revised colophon
for details. Minor adjustments were required to some of the
Missouri highway history pages as a
result. Also revised the site history
and site information pages.
July 9, 2020: Improved and added pictures on the CD-3
page. Updated the page on radio station KPCR in
Bowling Green, Missouri (now WLIQ in Quincy, Illinois) for the first time
in more than 20 years. Improved the photos in the
Retekess TR103
radio review to be a bit less dark.
July 1, 2020:
While it's not a radio, added an article in
Radios I Have Known on the trailblazing
Sony Discman D-5 portable
CD player from 1985. Also revised one of the oldest articles
on this site, greatly improving historical information about the
short-lived CD-3 recording format. The
article, dating from 1996, has lived at least eight times longer
than the CD-3 format. Also rearranged elements on this page
for better navigation and layout. Also trimmed the list of updates
to those made in 2020.
June 25, 2020:
Revised the Sony SRF-S84 review
with additional results from experimentation with the Neutron MP media player
Android app to mimic the radio's "megabass" equalization curve
on other platforms.
June 7, 2020: Added a review of the tiny
Sony SRF-S84 AM/FM Walkman radio,
which has a "megabass" circuit that can make some earbuds sound
much better than they usually do.
May 24, 2020: In Radios I Have Known, added review of the tiny but mighty
Retekess TR103 radio and media player
and made minor corresponding revisions to the
Tivdio V-115 review, since the
same Chinese company made, or at least marketed, both of them.
May 17, 2020: In Radios I Have Known, revised the review of
Sony Walkman radios to
update information about the SRF-30W's performance, to note
its availability in a red case, and to add historical information
on the SRF-40W's introduction in 1981. Also revised the review of
the Sony SRF-A1 stereo AM/stereo FM
Walkman to correct the dates that it was produced and to update
information about AM stereo broadcasting from KVON in Napa, California.
May 10, 2020: In Radios I Have Known, extensively
revised the review of the
Westinghouse
RC42N38B AM/FM clock radio, including new pictures; updated
the Digitech AR-1780 and
XHDATA D-808 DSP radio
reviews regarding their stereo FM performance; updated the
Cambridge Soundworks Model 88"
AM/FM radio review regarding its AM performance; and removed the page
about audio streaming on mobile phones, because it didn't really say
anything meaningful.
May 5, 2020: Added a review of the
Sony ICF-38 AM/FM radio, modified for SCA
reception on FM. I've categorized it as a table radio, even though it's
also portable.
April 30, 2020: Added a review of the
Grundig Yacht Boy 400 AM/FM/shortwave radio,
one of the 1990's top travel radios. At the present time, I've categorized
it as a vintage radio.
April 19, 2020: Added a review of the
M-Audio Bass Traveler headphone amplifier to Radios I Have Known.
April 16, 2020: Added, temporarily, a summary box to Radios I Have Known relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also updated an external link in the Tivdio V-115 review.
March 30, 2020: Revised the Tecsun
PL-100 pocket FM radio review to include updated information about
the radio's performance and features.
March 29, 2020: Added a review of the legendary but fragile
Proton 100 pocket FM radio,
including extensive historical material.
March 7, 2020: A belated note, as has been the custom in recent years,
marking the site's 22nd anniversary on March 4. I guess I am persistent.
February 22, 2020: Added information about two additional models to the
Sony Walkman radio page.
Those models are the SRF-30W (very similar to the SRF-40W) and the SRF-35W,
which has a three-band graphic equalizer. Also updated
the Sony SRF-AX15 review.
January 20, 2020: Added a review of the Sangean DT-800 DSP-based AM/FM/weather-band pocket radio, in many ways
an updated version of the classic Sangean
DT-400W radio.
January 5, 2020: Restored the long-lost posts on
Sony Walkman radios,
combining them into one article and updating with performance
comparisons to DSP-based radios. Also made revisions to the
Sony SRF-A1 review, and
revised the home page for Radios I
Have Known.
