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Reviews For: Tecsun DR-920

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Tecsun DR-920
Reviews: 4MSRP: 30 or less inc. shipping from Ch
Description:
Compact, low-cost single-conversion portable radio with FM, MW (AM) and 10 SW bands (75, 60, 49, 41, 31, 25, 22, 19, 16 & 13m). Manual tuning with digital frequency readout. Alarm clock, night light, loud-speaker or headphone operation. Measures 4 1/2" X 3" X 1 1/8". Powered by 2 x AA batteries or 3v DC adaptor (not included). Sold in some countries as the Grundig G1100.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.tecsun.com.cn
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0043.5
KC9KEL Rating: 2022-01-19
OK- for local FM / AM. SW questionable. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
-First- go-round, in Chicago: massive QRM (internet, cable etc.) makes SW reception imp-possible, even outside. FM reception is just OK, MW/BC has no selectivity / sensitivity, audio present +/- ~400kc on local stations. *Extrmemely* 'hissy', touchy volume.

Net: cute. a bit heavy. nice lighted display, tuning knob responds well. lacks features like local/DX, scan, wide/narrow bandwidth, tone, memories, numeric entry... Does have alarm option! Well, I'm very alarmed..

By comparison, the TVIDIO V-115 AM/FM/SW is much more desireable, has much better rejection, numeric input, search, memory, scan, is rechargeable, can record on a microSD....feature-rich. Will attempt comparison further away from RF sources. Will also look up the other product mentioned here, the Coby CX-CB91 (thanks for the info).

....be nice if environmental conditions were supplied to help explain ZL2KE's 2015 comment; QRM is much worse these days it seems, and ouch! 5G is detestable.

Both of these were purchased for next to nothing, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too loudly.
ZL2KE Rating: 2015-04-02
Low cost, solid, performs well Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is a great little radio for the price. It is solidly built and does not feel cheap. For the low cost I cannot fault this radio. Reception, sensitivity, LCD dial, volume, sound quality are all very good. Of course it will not match the music audio of a larger or more expensive unit, but it is OK. Basically I agree with the comments of M0CQG below. For about double the price you can get a Tecsun radio with memories to store frequencies, but for my use I only got it mainly for listening to one FM radio station. It does pick up AM short wave stations, even with the whip antenna. If you want SSB or CW reception, or good fidelity, or memories, then this will not suit. For the low price you will not be disappointed if you want a radio for basic use or a spare radio.
N4TIO Rating: 2010-08-08
If it's lost or stolen, no biggie. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I wanted a small, inexpensive SW/MW/FM to take with me on trip. I would be gone for two months and living in the developing world, so I wanted something that wouldn't be a big loss if it were to disappear. I already had a Coby CX-CB91, and it would have served my purpose well. But being the overachiever that I am, I decided to try and one-up it. I bought a Tecsun DR-920. I paid $24.00 for the Tecsun, whereas the Coby cost me about $11.00, shipping included in the price of both radios.

The Coby wins hands down. I have no idea as to the technical specifications of either radio, and I don't care; they're $20.00 radios. But for double the price, the Tecsun is half the value. The Tecsun has a much harsher sound via the speaker and the earbuds, poorer selectivity, and it's just way too touchy-feely, reacting in all kinds of weird ways to every movement of the radio, even more so than your normal MW/ferrite directionality. I think the little radio has emotional issues!

If you want to go cheap, go really cheap and buy the Coby. It's a friendlier radio, and you can use your $13.00 savings to pay for three or four days of meals!

73, Don
N4TIO
M0CQG Rating: 2009-05-01
Great little portable for the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Tecsun makes a number of radios which are re-badged as Eton / Grundig. Whilst that's no guarantee of their quality, it should at least suggest they're of better than average build and finish. This little DR-920 feels solid and well built - not the typical flimsy rubbish you might expect at the price. The LCD screen is very clear (back-lighting is OK, but with some minor reflections from the bulb that leave an inconsistent lighting pattern), buttons are all very positive with tactile feedback, and the tuning knob is firm and smooth to operate.

Receiver performance is variable by band, and has been reported elsewhere as "only modest". My own experience has been more positive. On all bands, the radio and antenna are surpisingly directional - more so than other portables I have. But sensitivity is actually pretty decent, and selectivity is acceptable. I seem to get good FM performance (which other reviewers don't always seem to get), and the SW bands are great too. MW is only "OK", but finding the right position for the radio is everything on this band. Stability seems fine, with just a small amount of drift which is perfectly reasonable with this technology and price-point.

If I have one complaint about this radio, it's the rather thin, tinny audio which sounds harsh through the speaker, and only slightly better through 'phones. It's OK to for listening to news and talk shows, but music could sound a lot better.

It's great to have what appears to be a quite accurate digital frequency readout on a cheap analogue-tuned radio. Of course, a benefit of the analogue tuning is that the radio doesn't suffer from muting or "chuffing" while band-scanning.

Compared to other desktop and higher-end portables I've owned, the DR-920 only deserves a score of 2 or 3. But as I said before, it's all relative. It is very easy to buy this radio for between $22 and $30 shipped - just have a look at a very well known auction site and you'll see. At $30 all-in, this radio offers plenty of bang per buck. No, it'll never compete favourably with the Eton E5 / Grundig G5, or other radios in that class. But as a cheap radio to chuck in the suit-case and take on holiday, it's a winner, and easily worth the money in my opinion.