SIHUADON R108 Portable Radio AM FM SW LW Airband Full Band DSP Radio Battery Operated with Headphone Antenna Jack Sleep Time and Alarm Clock 500 Memory Preset for Parents by RADIWOW (Black)

Exactly what I needed to pick up a few stations living in a little coastal town. Even my car can't pick up any stations with clarity. But, this little guy has no issues. I am not listening to stations at work, I didn't even know existed!Well worth the price!

This (R-108) is a small pocket radio but punches well above its weight class. I will be comparing it against my RadioShack DX 375 and my Sangean 818. Sensitivity and Selectivity is measurably better than the DX-375, which is well traveled older radio, probably a $50.00 class radio back in the 80’s. The Sangean is a high end SSB all band SW radio with better than most in class selectivity and rejection, with narrow filters and a good front end for receiving.I like the audio on all bands and its band width is adjustable on MW and SW. It has squelch too.The air band actually is useful and works.500 memories are great and they are divided between the bands. The buttons are good and the tiny radio even has rubber pads to keep it in place on slick surfaces.Scanning frequencies will take practice and only use the Auto Tune System once per band, as it will erase previous stored memory. This is documented in the well written instructions.** Hidden preset scan function for SW was found by experimenting. When in a SW band press the 0 (zero) button to jump to the next higher SW international band. Once there press and hold the up arrow button to begin scanning through all the frequencies allocated to SW stations. This is a great time saver and the radio is fairly fast.This is a quality radio, not a scanner and I have enjoyed getting to know it and listening to some far and near stations. I don’t have any need for the LW band so I have left it deactivated.I want to thank the previous detailed reviews, many from hams and SWL’ers like myself. It helped me make a purchase decision.73,Tim

By 'market segment' I mean 3"x5" (index-card-sized) 1" deep AM/FM/Shortwave portable radios. By 'market segment leader' I am referring to the 'C.Crane CC Skywave,' introduced in 2014. The Sihuadon R-108 is manufactured by XHData (Dongguan XinHuaide Electronic Commerce), founded in 2015. The company currently uses XHData, Radiwow and Sihuadon as brand names. (Tecsun, also based in Dongguan, appears to be a different company.)From a shortwave-noobie shopper's perspective, there's just not a whole lot of difference between the R-108 & the Skywave:* R-108: Time is 24-hour 'military' format only. Skywave: 12-hour option and 24-hour option for time-formatting.* R-108: (1) BL-5C (a rectangular, old school Nokia phone Lithium battery), 3.7v, 1020 mAh (included). Skywave: (2) AA batteries (not included).* R-108: Micro-USB charging port. Skywave: Mini-USB charging port.* R-108: Battery run time, about 10-12 hours. Skywave: Battery run time, about 60-70 hours.* R-108: Full-sounding, robust speaker. Skywave: Tinny speaker.* R-108: Bright, orange/amber display. Skywave: Dim lime-green display.* R-108: No weather bands. Skywave: Has 7 weather bands.* R-108: No carry case or earbuds. Skywave: Carry case & earbuds included.* R-108: Shortwave range is 1711-29999 kHz. Skywave: Shortwave range is 2300-26100 kHz.* R-108: 500 total presets available. Skywave: 400 total presets available.Of course those with expertise in shortwave radios can surely list a ton of other technical differences, many of which might not even matter to beginning shortwave users. One might be more interested, however, in their comparisons in terms of gain, sensitivity & overall performance.Included accessories: 9' external wire antenna with 3.5mm jack, a 24" micro-USB charging cable, a paper Operation Manual in (pretty good) English & (1) BL-5C 3.7v 1020 mAh battery.The MAJOR COMPLAINT about the Sihuadon R-108, gauged by the statements of other reviewers, revolves around the R-108's RECHARGEABLE BATTERY. That the battery doesn't last long; reviewers reporting that it is completely drained after about 5-8 hours of use. Also that the battery trickles-down to dead pretty quickly when the radio is powered-down. Because the screen's time display stays on anyway. And reviewers report re-charging can be very slow. If the battery dies, btw, the presets will hold, but the clock time is lost. (And the time is also immediately lost when you change-out the battery.) These battery issues comprise the one-star ding.One solution, what I am doing, is to keep a couple of charged-up spare batteries at-the-ready. The BL-5C is a common size and easy to find; XHData vends its own-branded (larger-capacity) 1500 mAh version, a 2-pak, here on Amazon (B0796LK6GY) for just $9 and it has excellent reviews. And I was able to snag a REALLY cheap external BL-5C charger cradle off feeBay.Or I suppose you could just get in the habit of popping-out the battery when the radio is not in use. Either way, one would have good cause to wonder why Sihuadon did not go with AA batteries in the first place. Because in wilderness, emergency and/or survival scenarios, the ability to charge will be at a premium.There are four different brands of retractable/'reel' wire 20'+ external FM/SW antennas available here on Amazon (Kaito T-1, XHData AN-80, Sangean ANT-60, C.Crane) that all look pretty much the same. Reviewers complained about all of them, that they are nearly impossible to retract. So I stopped by Home Depot. I bought 20' of 14 gauge stranded black wire off their by-the-foot reel for $0.41/foot. Plus a 2-pack of small crimp-end alligator clips. Total cost was $11.15 before tax.I found, through another reviewer, that the Amazon-listed GLCON GL-03 Hard Carry Case (B01E70SBB8) is a perfect fit for the R-108. I bought one and it holds the radio, the 9' external antenna, the micro-USB charging cable and even the two spare XHData 1500mAh BL-5C batteries.Happy motoring!

There aren't as many countries broadcasting via shortwave as there used to be, but this radio clearly picks up the ones that still do. I like that it's rechargeable and lasts quite a while on a single charge. Great AM and FM reception, which would be expected. It feels a liiiiittle pricey for the size but it does what it's supposed to so what difference does it make? Great product!

A few years has passed since purchasing. Still works like new. Able to pick up radio stations and listen on aircraft frequencies.