On a trip last fall visiting my parents in northern New Jersey, during the evening the I tuned around the AM dial and encountered some fascinatingly unique local stations. I wished I could record some airchecks but didn’t have any easy way to do so, and I couldn’t find any sort of online program archives.
That set me looking for a portable radio with recording capability, and I found the Tivdio V-115, which received some good reviews from other radio nerds, a number of which can be found at the SWLing Post. It turns out to be a powerhouse of a little radio, available for under $20 on Amazon here in the U.S.
Here is my video review, followed by my review summary:
Pros:
- Very compact and portable
- Receives AM, FM and Shortwave
- Digital tuning with DSP
- Fantastic sound for a small radio
- Records radio to MP3 on microSD cards
- Will function like an MP3 player with better speaker sound than most smartphones
- Rechargeable battery, powered by USB
- Sleep timer
Cons:
- Headphone sound is sub-par and doesn’t work with smartphone headphones that have an integrated microphone
- Buttons are stiff and make a loud click when pressed
- Only the strongest shortwave stations come in with the short built-in antenna
As mentioned in the video, here’s our podcast interview with Radio Jay Allen with his advice for improving your radio reception, and his FM radio recommendations: https://www.radiosurvivor.com/2017/03/14/podcast-84-improving-radio-reception/
