Angelo Reviews the Bigsos DH-919 Portable Radio

I recently discovered Bigsos radios on E-Bay and purchased my first, the diminutive DH-919.  Though it's small, it has useful features such as an alarm clock function and the shortwave band.  Price, shipping from Taiwan included, was just over $20.00.  I didn't know quite what to expect----but was happy to find that for the money, it has a decent quality weight and feel to it----and a nice little protective carry pouch.  It's packed in a gift box, not one of those lousy and annoying peg hangers with an impossible to open plastic clamshell.  It's a good presentation.  Performance?  Solid on AM-FM.  It gets all the local stations with ease and clarity and even manages to chase down some of the distant AM channels and lock in on them.  Nice.  I tried the shortwave band last night and can report that it performed better than similarly priced, similarly sized radios I've tried in the past----a cheap Kaide comes to mind.  The Kaide was pretty deaf on SW----missing all but the most powerful broadcasts.  In contrast, this Bigsos grabs most of what some of my more expensive radios can----though not quite as "smooth and steady."  I reviewed a Shou-You shortwave radio here a few months ago----and that one performs better.  It holds some shortwave stations more impressively, making it more listenable for long periods.  But it also cost twice as much as the Bigsos.  The Bigsos gets many of these signals---but with more fade. Still, I was impressed overall with its ability on SW.  For a weekend jaunt, you could throw it in your pocket or glove compartment and have a shortwave radio when you arrive.  Not bad. The Bigsos also features a tone switch----high or low.  No, it's not as nice as having separate bass and treble controls, but again, for it's size and price, I was happy to have ANY tone control.  My only complaint thus far, and yes, it's significant-----is that the little silver buttons must be pressed hard to make contact.  These control clock/alarm functions, switching from AM to FM, etc.  For a little radio that otherwise seems to offer strong quality for it's price----this is a disappointment.  Will this improve over time as things get broken in and "loosen up" so to speak?  Or, will things get worse as the contacts become more finicky?  Time will tell.  Slide controls like the On-Off button and tone control seem to be so much more fluid and reliable----I wish they could move away from the tiny buttons that are so ubiquitous on this style of radio and replace them with the better performing slide conrols.  But that must be a cost concern. In any event, I give this one a thumbs up.  I already have my eyes on another Bigsos----a retro styled AM-FM pocket radio.  Check out their offerings on www.bigsos.com and then look on E-Bay for what can be shipped to the States.  Angelo

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Comments

[owl]

Seems to be a re-badged KK-939b, made by the "king of cheap radio" Kchibo

http://www.kailong-kchibo.com/?thread-168-113.html

[Keith Beesley]

Thanks for the review, Angelo. I'm surprised the Bigsos is actually a decent performer at such a low price.

There is a new ShouYu now for only $15. (!) from ebay seller "bigbargainonline." Has AM, FM, SW and USB input for playing Mp3s. http://tinyurl.com/mmqomft

[StarHalo]

I had one of these little ana-digi cheapies years ago, on the JWin brand; I'd take the cable from my roof mounted television antenna and attach it to the whip, listen to Vatican Radio in Southern California on this dinky little $15 radio, fun stuff. It was the band selector slide switch that eventually proved to be the weak point on that copy - the indents become worn over time and the radio becomes less able to hold the band/frequency you're trying to select. The only other issue was the speaker, which could reproduce the fingernails-on-chalkboard background whistles and whines with annoying clarity, glad to see they've since thought to include a "dog whistle off" tone switch..

[Gary]

Angelo - Some radios need their buttons to be pressed longer than normal to activate. The CCRadio-SW (Redsun RP2100) is one example. I guess this is due to the timing in the radio's software. You might try just pressing the buttons longer rather than harder on your new radio to see what happens.

[Angelo]

Gary: I will try that. I've been keeping the radio in my office but brought it home to try shortwave and forgot to bring it in this morning. I'll try the button trick tonight.

[Angelo]

Keith: Is this $50.00 Shou-Yu similar at twice the price???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-RARE-AM-FM-SHORTWAVE-DSP-WORLD-BAND-RADIO-RECEIVER-WITH-MP3-PLAYER-/111081947792?pt=US_Portable_AM_FM_Radios&hash=item19dd000290#ht_2791wt_1183