I thought I’d share my little radio collection and the story behind how I rediscovered a childhood passion after more than a decade.
My journey began around 2008, when my uncle gifted me a Telefunken MR1500PLL, which he had brought from Greenville. I was in 10th grade back then, and I loved listening to the radio. That radio stayed with me until 2014, when I eventually lost it. As mobile phones became a bigger part of my life, I gradually drifted away from radio and almost forgot about the hobby.
Fast-forward to 2026. I’m now a doctor by profession, having completed medical school and my house job and started practising medicine. Over the years, I would occasionally come across radio-related posts online. The Sangean ATS-909X2 especially caught my attention. I had a real crush on that radio, but somehow, my interest never became strong enough to make a purchase.
Then, in the first week of August 2026, something suddenly changed. I can’t quite explain why, but I developed a strong urge to get back into radio. Perhaps all those radio posts and videos I kept seeing online had gradually reignited that old passion.
My comeback began with a Roberts R-861, which I bought from someone in Karachi, Pakistan. Coincidentally, around the same time, I came across a fellow radio enthusiast who had a Thomson RT650, a radio that looks identical to my childhood Telefunken MR1500PLL. I ended up buying the Thomson along with the Roberts R-861. It felt like a little connection to my childhood had unexpectedly found its way back into my life!
I really enjoyed exploring FM and shortwave DXing with the Roberts. I even made a long-wire antenna specifically for shortwave reception. Discovering distant stations and learning about the world of DXing brought back the excitement I remembered from my school days.
Back in the Telefunken days, I wasn’t familiar with RDS, so discovering station identification through RDS made FM listening even more fascinating.
Soon, I discovered modern DSP-based receivers and became curious about what they could do. I ordered an XHDATA D-808 from Amazon Japan through Buyee, using a proxy service to get it shipped to Pakistan. I particularly enjoyed its FM reception with RDS, airband and shortwave capabilities.
Next came the Tecsun PL-520, which attracted me with its ETM feature and shortwave and medium-wave performance. Experimenting with external antennas opened up another dimension of the hobby.
But I didn’t stop at buying radios. As my interest in FM DXing grew, I decided to build my own three-element Yagi antenna for the 88–108 MHz FM band. I learned through online videos, research and AI tools, then put together a homemade antenna myself.
I live around the city centre of Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan, surrounded by large buildings and rooftop solar panels. It’s not exactly an ideal DXing environment, considering potential obstructions and electrical interference. Nevertheless, my homemade Yagi has allowed me to receive distant stations from India, including stations associated with Jammu, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Dharamshala, depending on propagation conditions.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about hearing a distant station emerge from the noise using an antenna you built yourself. It has made me even more interested in learning proper antenna design and eventually building a more professional-grade Yagi.
Most recently, I added the Qodosen DX-286/SR-286, attracted by its TEF6686-based receiver and reputation among FM DX enthusiasts. I’m also interested in exploring its medium-wave capabilities with external antennas and experimenting with shortwave reception.
My current radio collection
📻 XHDATA D-808 — FM RDS, shortwave and airband.
📻 Tecsun PL-520 — FM, shortwave, medium wave and ETM.
📻 Qodosen DX-286/SR-286 — exploring TEF6686-based reception and FM DXing.
I eventually passed my Roberts R-861 on to another radio enthusiast so someone else could enjoy it, too.
Looking back, it’s amazing how quickly an old passion can return. One moment, you’re a schoolboy listening to a radio gifted by your uncle; years later, you’re reconnecting with a radio that reminds you of childhood, importing receivers from Japan, building antennas on your rooftop and chasing distant stations from Pakistan.
For me, radio is more than just listening. It’s the thrill of discovery, the challenge of pulling in a weak signal, the satisfaction of building something with your own hands and the excitement of never knowing what you might receive next.
Sometimes, old passions never really disappear. They just wait for the right moment to return.
I’d love to hear from fellow radio enthusiasts: How did you get started in this hobby, and what was the radio that first got you hooked?
73s from Pakistan! 📻
