Retekess TR629 Portable Shortwave Radios, Digital Radio AM FM Plug in with DSP, Support Backlight LCD Display, Digital Tuning and Preset, USB, Micro SD, Clock, Recorder

I had spare change to buy something for my belated birthday, so I bought this. This radio came the next day thanks to 1 day shipping, shipping was fast. I took it out of the box, and it came with a cord, and also took the D cell batteries out of an SW boombox that I hardly use. I powered it up for the first time using the cord, and set up was very easy. The AM Band (MW Band) is permanently set by default to tune from 522 kHz to 1620 kHz at 9 kHz increments. The AM reception is very clear, and I bet it will be very good too at night. To pick up distant stations you will need to use a tunable loop antenna and couple to the receiver or use a ferrite rod coupler for your active and passive antennas that is for the AM bands. Since it only tunes 9 kHz stations, you will have to enter the local / distant AM stations you want to hear and enjoy or take your time to slowly tune the tuning know at 1 kHz increments. It's a very good AM receiver to use on the bedside or anywhere day and night. The SW bands are great, and this receiver give you, the listener the ability to tune from 2.3 MHz (120 meters) to 21.195 MHz (15 meters) to hear the world such and international news, music and events, and sports. You will need to use the telescoping rod antenna for moderate the strong signals on the short wave bands, and a wire antenna indoors or outdoors for weak to moderate signals during the day and night. This radio is very easy to use, even for a beginner, and since it's digital tuning it should be much easier than using a analog dial. It does give you the ability to preset the memories as many as you need to through the ATS tuning or memory feature. I would recommend that you purchase also a reeled up wire antenna to use indoors and outdoors since there is no external antenna input jack. FM Band is great since it's able to tune from 76 MHz to 108 MHz which is likely you will hear TV NTSC channels 5 which is 81.75 MHz, and channel 6 for NTSC audio on 87.75 MHz, and also the entire FM broadcast band. If you happen to be around Japan when travelling, this radio is able to tune the local Japanese FM broadcast band from 76 MHz to 90 MHz, and the rest of the world from 88.1 MHz to 107.9 MHz. For best reception use the telescoping rod antenna and move away from noisy sources. Also you can still use a dipole antenna by clippng one lead to the telescoping rod antenna. It does have th ability to receive local and distant FM stations without the receiver overloading. The best time to listen to distant / remote FM stations is mostly during the late spring to early fall season. The Recording / Playback feature is a great addition which has the ability to use a up to a 32 GB micro card (not included, but required) to collect your local and distant radio programs and talk shows, and international short wave radio broadcasts and share your recordings with your friends and family. There is no settings required to change the bit rate or anything, so everything is set and ready to go already. It can playback MP3 and WAV files even from a USB WAV recorder that I used to plug in and tested the playback feature which most of the files on it were MP3 and WAV formatted. This radio is a very easy to use radio, and it will give someone started in short wave radio listening and eventually get prepared for bigger complex receivers with single side band and other modes, and eventually help prepare that short wave radio listener for to get on the air with a amateur radio license to talk and help support the world in need.

The Retekess TR618 is a modern version of the best budget priced portables of days gone by. It features an EXCELLENT 3 band DSP tuner. The dial pointer is precise and accurate. Tuning is easy and selectively brought in significantly more stations than expected. The FM antenna is extra long and high quality too. The SD/TF mp3 player works great too. Only small gripe is no rewind or fast forward oddly. The speaker sounds extremely clean on all modes. Sound is bright with crispy treble and decent bass thanks to a foam suspended speaker cone. The power/volume knob has a high quality feel to it. The whole radio feels well made! I love that it runs off regular A/C power with a cord. It also uses 3 D batteries so you can take it with you. This is an impressive portable with superb sound!

The RETEKESS TR618 FM radio reception is better than my two Sangean tabletop AM/FM radios with external antennas. Those are great radios but the Retekess reception is better. I would like the finish, The knobs and the bright bits to be a little more high-quality. I would've been willing to pay more than that. The labeling for the tune dial is ridiculously abbreviated to "TUN." (I think they had room for one more letter:) So far I have not noticed the FM reception strength red light. Perhaps, I have confused this with another model? A military grade version of this radio would be nice. In addition to some type of rubberized armor, it could have a rechargeable battery, instead of a D battery, and maybe it would have a more robust FM antenna. The antenna mount on this radio is the same as almost every other radio. It will loosen with regular use. Highly recommended for value and FM reception power. Just do not expect that small, weak college radio station over the hill to come in:) For me, that would've been receiving KZSC 88.1 FM, the University of California Santa Cruz radio station, in the San Jose area.

I picked up this Retekess TR629 expecting “pretty good.” What I got was a straight-up workhorse. The reception on this thing is ridiculous. MW, FM, SW it doesn’t matter. I’m pulling in channels loud and clean, including shortwave stations I’ve never been able to catch on any of my other radios. I’ve got a whole lineup now that I didn’t even know existed. The interface is simple and actually pleasant to use. Big display, clear buttons, and a tuning knob that feels solid instead of cheap and loose like a lot of radios in this price range. It scans quickly, it saves channels easily, and switching between bands is instant. There’s no learning curve with this one you pick it up and you’re off. The speaker surprised me the most. Even at low volume this thing kicks. Bright, full and way louder than I expected. I almost wish it had a half-volume setting because the quietest notch is still punching. Definitely not a bad problem to have. The build quality is solid. Nice weight, strong handle, good antenna, and nothing feels flimsy. It feels like something that’s going to survive road trips, garages, and late-night shortwave hunts. The backlight is clean and easy on the eyes and the battery indicator actually works, which is rare in radios at this price. I picked this up to replace an old radio that struggled with AM and shortwave and I ended up getting something way better. I’m already hearing stations from across the world that my other radios never touched. This thing is going to live at work with me and it’s absolutely earning its spot. If you want a radio that punches way above its price tag, pulls in stations like it’s showing off, and is just flat out fun to use, this one’s it. I’m genuinely impressed.

O rádio é excelente, capta bem as estações com som alto. Chegou antes da previsão. O único problema foi a tomada que não é compatível com o padrão brasileiro, mas com um adaptador ficou perfeito.

Som excelente, qto as estações , fiz uma "cola" com o nr delas , no próprio aparelho.

Som muito bom Sintonia digital muito boa Muito satisfeito com o produto.

Good Radio hai sound quality is good build quality is good 👍

excellent delivery time. you will need an American plug adapter for use in Australia