Well I bought this little beauty from China and I have to say - I'm dead chuffed with it!
I've been ignoring this radio (and its predecessors) because if I've wanted to throw a compact radio into my pocket when I go for a walk, I pick up my Belka DX, but I have to admit to growing a little tired of the Belka's ergonomics. Selecting bands and just general tuning is less than perfect, especially since the encoder has started to play up a little.
The ATS MINI V4 is much smaller than the Belka but has a much more informative screen - which is also colour! Despite its size (1.9"), it's extremely easy to read and there are options to change the display settings to suit your own personal preferences.
Apart from the On/Off slider on the left of the radio, there's just one multi-purpose rotary control which is used primarily for tuning and is then pushed to access the menu. I found the menu-system super easy to understand and navigate. If you're not quite happy with the V4's firmaware, you can actually flash an alternative onto it from H.J.Berndt which gives new features including a tiny panadapter and CW/RTTY decoding. Personally, I shan't be bothering.
The Mini V4 is offered in a plastic or aluminium case and I opted for the latter due to having a little bit of credit on my Bangood account. I sure am glad I went for the metal case because this thing feels real good in the hand. I guess it also gives the tiny rear-mounted speaker a firmer base to mount onto.
Generally speaking, the sound coming from the V4's speaker is thin, but it's also nice and clear and proper adjustment of bandwidth can really make a difference to the listening pleasure.
The reception of UK Broadcast Stations is almost as good as my Tecsun PL-990 using the supplied telescopic whip (which is quite short). Needless to say, the audio cannot compare to the Tecsun, but listening through a pair of headphones is a delight (and the radio uses the cable as an antenna). With a strong FM signal, the audio is perfect, but weaker signals seem to attract a feint clicking sound in the background - not sure why.
Switching to SSB provided great results and I could easily pick up a myriad operators on the ham bands while indoors at home. Connecting my little wire-reel antenna made things even better, but to be honest, when you're outdoors on top of a hill, reception is never really a problem and I've always been happy to use the telescopic whips on casual listening sessions.
There's also a mini loop-antenna provided with the V4 and at first, I thought it was going to be useless, but in all fairness, it works quite well on certain bands.
The battery life of the V4 is not the best, but it's certainly good enough (800mAh) to last a typical listening session, even on a long walk. Recharging is carried out using the USB-C connector.
Conclusion:
This is a cool little radio! It's cheap as chips and unlike many electronic goodies to come out of China's online superstores, the V4 is well worth the money. Even if you only used this for Broadcast Radio, it's worth buying. Absolute belter!
Shell Material: CNC Metal
Control Chip: ESP32-S3 + SI4732 DSP
Reception Modes: FM/AM/LSB/USB
Frequency Range:
LW/MW/SW: 150kHz - 30MHz
VHF: 64MHz - 108MHz
Display: 1.9-inch IPS HD Color Screen (Resolution: 170x320), adjustable brightness (32~255 levels)
Speaker: Built-in 1W speaker
Audio Output: 3.5mm stereo jack (three-segment type)
Antenna Connector: SMA-KE
Charging Interface: USB Type-C (not compatible with fast charging)
Battery: Built-in 800mAh rechargeable battery
Firmware Upgradeable: V1.01 latest firmware pre-installed
73, Tom, M7MCQ
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