Raddy RF919 Wideband Receiver Review

--By Jay Allen

The Raddy RF919 packs a world of reception into an arrestingly handsome and solid instrument. Build quality seems high. It not only covers standard FM/MW/LW and SW (including SSB modes) but in addition covers Weather Band, Air Band, a dedicated CB band, VHF from 30 – 250 MHZ and UHF from 250 – 999 MHz with 1600 memories along with ATS Scan Memory Setting.

Tuning is by Keypad with direct frequency input, Fast and Slow Tuning knobs or Up/Down buttons and bandwidth options are extensive depending on band modes. It also features unusually complete external antenna inputs including a special 1/8” jack on top for loop antennas (a rotating MW/LW ferrite rod is now included but there is also an internal ferrite rod), an SMA jack for a VHF/UHF/Air rubber duckie and a rear panel 1/8” jack for traditional external antennas. The whip antenna measures 39 inches and is very sturdy. In addition to the included ferrite rod which swivels atop the radio the extensive manual gives the inductances this jack needs to see if you care to construct your own loops for LW/MW and SW…this is something I have never seen before and I suspect many hobbyists will go wild over this feature. There are also extensive antenna switching and tuning options which give more user control over antennas than usual, along with a side knob which helps tune external antennas for best match if you elect to do so manually.

There are two brilliantly illuminated displays and illuminated buttons. There is a fairly standard setup menu and once you get used to the layout of things operation is not very complicated, but you will need to sit down with the manual when you start out. There are also Bluetooth and 10 EQ settings depending on mode with sound quality that is full and pleasing with a high-tech speaker and a bass port at the rear…this is a nice sounding set…and a Smartphone App you can use to control the radio from your phone…a great feature.

And there’s more…the Raddy not only plays audio from SD cards but can also record… a truly useful feature sorely lacking on most SD card-capable radios. The radio is powered by two paralleled 18650 batteries for long play time between charges via the USB C port. That USB port also lets the Raddy act as an SD card player to feed to a computer or as a PC’s external speaker and there is an Aux input jack as well. There are just so many features and capabilities I can’t list them all here…again, the manual is your friend.

There is a condensed printed manual supplied with the radio but it is too small for easy reading. There are so many features and capabilities I can’t cover them in enough detail here, but Raddy provides an extended 63-page manual which I strongly recommend you download and if you can, print out for reference. To download that manual go to https://www.radioddity.com/pages/raddy-download

The RF919 now comes with a plug-in rotating Loop Antenna. Although the manual specifies different inductances for MW, LW and SW loops their tech team sent me this info on the provided loop which may have been designed as a compromise to work with both MW and LW.

“The new antenna offers enhanced reception with a 3-5dB gain boost for MW: 520-1710MHz and LW: 153-522kHz ranges.” I have little LW in my location but on MW I could discern no difference either on the signal meter or audibly between the plug in swiveling loop and the internal ferrite loop.

The RF919 is clearly aimed at radio enthusiasts who are willing to learn the ins and outs of a receiver which covers more bands and handles more antennas than any radio I have tested previously. I sat with the radio and went through the entire 63-page manual setting options as I went. After this most things fell into place and made sense. There is a shoulder length carry strap provided but I have never carried a radio this way so I cut off a shorter length of it to make it into a carrying handle, but I soon dispensed with the strap completely because it somewhat interfered with the rotating loop on top of the radio, plus there is nice opening on the back which provides a very secure carry handle…gripping that along with the top of the front panel is a very secure way to carry the radio.

As you can see in the various pictures the displays are attention getting and attractive and I soon settled on the light blue color as my favorite. There are options to control the lighting duration of the two displays independently which seems unnecessary…I would say one control for both displays would make more sense. And it would be nice if the Constant On selection would turn the lighting off when the radio is turned off but come back on full time when the radio is turned back on, but it seems most of today’s multiband radios are not set up this way. I set the displays for 30 second duration which seemed like the best option.

It is great that all of the buttons are illuminated and It is interesting that the CB frequencies can be accessed not only on the traditional SW band but also in a dedicated CB band…very nice. Finally, a sturdy flip out back stand lets the radio sit at a convenient angle for easy operation.

I could wish for a better manual. Although at 63 pages it is certainly exhaustive, some directions are unclear, particularly those that describe Antenna Routing through different circuits (Auto vs Manual Antenna Tuning, Gain Settings and their control).

The Turn On procedure needs some explanation but quickly becomes intuitive. The manual tells you to first press the Volume Up or Down Button “just to light up the display”, then Quick Press the Sleep button to turn the radio on. In reality you can hit any button first or even just hit Sleep twice to turn it on. (I do have other radios which require multiple presses of the On button to initially turn the radio on although this is never mentioned in the manuals for them). Again, after you get used to this you stop thinking about it. You do have to hold the button for a second or so to turn the radio off…a quick press won’t do it.

Muting While Tuning is something that should by now have been eliminated from all high end portables but many radios still suffer from this. In the early days of digital radios such muting was designed to cover loud digital noises these radios created while tuning. Nowadays most of these noises have been eliminated but I suppose designers still use muting out of habit or to silence any sounds occurring while tuning. Generally though it is easier to tune a radio when you can hear things as you tune.

There are other issues which may affect only my sample of the RF919 or could be general design problems. I have been trying to find out from Raddy if my findings are unusual to see if I should seek a replacement unit. On my unit there are three main issues:

First: the Antenna Tuning Knob on the side has absolutely no effect with any antenna I’ve tried and in any Antenna mode. Nothing.

Second: Unusual interference on MW which sounds like a hum but is evident even on fairly strong signals although it is worse at some frequencies than others. This noise is completely absent on other radios I compared it with. I though it might be coming from the display so I experimented by using the rotating loop with a short extension cable moving it several feet from the radio but that had no effect. Also, it is the same with the internal ferrite or the rotating loop so it would appear the noise is being picked up internally.

Third: Several of the set-up selections shown in the manual are not available on my radio. There are many such settings based on what band you are on and I have checked each of them carefully…they just aren’t there on my radio. For example, the bottom half of Page 31 of the manual describes settings which do not appear on my radio. Raddy suggested a reset but that made no difference.

I also updated the Firmware from the original V1-689 to the newest as of August 2024 V1-706 just to be sure the radio was as up to date as possible.

If I can get any guidance from Raddy on this I will definitely update this article because this is an exciting radio and it seems these problems could be worked out.

Here the rules change slightly. After a period of use I began to understand that the RF919 is aimed at those who want the extremely wide band coverage this radio provides along with the capability to handle any kind of external antenna you may have, from rubber duckie VHF/UHF antennas to loops, dipoles and random or long wires and all sorts of other antennas. Indeed, the radio really shines with external antennas and although it is not referenced in the manual the rear antenna input does work for FM althogh it does not disconnect the whip. With the built-in antennas this is not the most sensitive AM/FM portable I’ve tested…it is reasonable on these bands but there is a bit of internal noise on MW and some unwanted images on FM. On SW whip sensitivity was OK but again it is best with external antennas. It’s not a game ender but there are many portables which outperform the RF919 in this mode. It was however very sensitive on Weather and Air Bands and its VHF and UHF coverage set it apart from every other radio I have tested. And as I mentioned earlier the sound is both powerful and pleasing…this is one great sounding box.

The Raddy RF919 has good performance on most broadcast bands except for that noise I heard on AM, but its real strengths are its extremely wide band coverage and unusual antenna flexibility. So while I would not recommend it to friends who simply want a good and easy to use AM/FM/SW portable, I will recommend it to radio enthusiasts who value its unusual band coverage and external antenna capability but also enjoy a decidedly hands-on experience. And if Raddy can eliminate some of the issues it would appeal to even more users.

Conditionally Recommended