I've made mention before of Richard Wagoner, a California-based radio writer who covers both the local medium down there as well as radio stories in general. 

I read him all the time, with his columns appearing every Monday in various local papers across that state. 

But now I'm wondering if he's reading you, too. 

This appeared in Monday's column:

------------------------------
"I happened to be lurking on one of the social media boards dedicated to radio, and mention was made of a brand I had never heard of: Qodosen.

At first, I figured it was a Chinese brand that I’d not heard of, but this one is different. The radio in question is model DX-286, and is apparently designed around one of the most sensitive tuning chips currently available: a TEF668, making it a software-defined portable radio. It’s available in two versions, one without a battery and another with two batteries, both rechargeable via a USB cable, and available for about $80 and $90, respectively.

 It features AM, FM, long-wave and medium-wave bands, includes special digital signal processing to reduce interference and improve reception and fidelity, and supports external antennas for all bands. Reviews are almost universally positive, based primarily on what is described as stellar reception … one of the best you can buy.

 I have not purchased one, but it is very tempting! I’ll let you know."
------------------------------

This traces back to a thread that's still attracting comments here, in which a link was made to a shortwave radio site that featured the radio in question. But that column was put out last January and our thread became active this week. So I can't help but wonder if the great Mr. Wagoner happened across SOWNY, and it inspired the above paragraph. 

If so, welcome Mr. Wagoner. Hope you visit often. This place is about Canadian radio while yours is about L.A. and area. But the medium is the message and if you are coming by, we're happy to have you!

Here's the column in question:

Why the quality of radio may be improving without using an actual radio