XHDATAD-808 Professional Portable Radio | FM Stereo/SW/MW/LW/Air Band Coverage with SSB RDS | High Sensitivity, External Antenna 2000mAh Rechargeable Battery | Dual Alarm Clock, Sleep Timer & Squelch

This radio is amazing. The amount of features included in such a small package is astounding.I bought this as a DSP alternative to an analog Tecsun so I can listen to specific shortwave shows and am blown away by quality.I've seen a lot of reviews complaining about weaker stations being too quiet but this is most likely due to the bandwidth being set correctly. I find opening the bandwidth to max until I find a station I like solves that problem. No need to filter a station until you've found it.The ability to key in frequencies is a welcome addition as rolling an analog dial can get tiring after a while.The SSB is great and I've spent several nights tuning into Ham radio conversation and am very impressed with the level of reception.The battery life is equally as impressive. After one charge, I've run this radio regularly in the day and throughout the night for 3 days and it's still going. My only caveat would be the slightly non standard battery but these are readily available online as are mobile phone batteries so it's a non-issue really.If you have an interest in shortwave, radio or even air traffic control listening, this is an excellent radio which serves all in a uniquely small form factor.Similarly, if you're looking for a decent, small FM/AM radio for listening in a workshop or home, this radio provides fantastic sound quality and features for a very reasonable price.

I haven't used a shortwave receiver for about 15 years - my previous receiver was a Sangean ATS-803A, which is a well-regarded receiver I had owned since the "golden years" of shortwave broadcasting. I only sold it because it no longer received anything at all on SW (though moving to a block of flats may have contributed).I am well aware that many countries no longer make international broadcasts on shortwave. However, I have been reading up on this recently, and I felt that it was worth trying one of the new DSP/SDR receivers which are now available at reasonable prices.The supplied "long wire" isn't really long enough, but works reasonably well. Using the XHDATA long wire antenna I purchased separately makes a big difference. So far, I have listened to English broadcasts from the USA, China, Turkey, Vatican City and Romania, and I have also heard Spanish and Indian broadcasts as well, all in acceptable sound quality.There are many other stations available, in various languages.Within this price range, I wasn't expecting much. Continuous tuning from 150 KHz to 30000 KHz would have been better (without this, it's not possible to receive e.g. numbers stations or VOLMET broadcasts); likewise, SSB would have been better if it had separate swithes for LSB/USB, and a BFO would have helped as well. However, SSB is of lesser importance to me than the broadcast bands are.Judging by reports online, it appears that the manual has been rewritten recently, and is apparently much easier to folow. I had no problems with setup, but I am an experienced SWLer - beginners may still find it a little confusing.Overall, I recommend this receiver, with some reservations. I think it's a good starter receiver, and I am already researching antennae/receivers with more advanced features. So it looks like SW never went away after all!

The XHDATA -808 is overall an exceptional radio. FM is amazing, as is the RDS. Short Wave is responsive and catches loads of far off distant stations. This morning, from my Co. Tipperary home I picked up stations from Russia, Romania, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and others, even a Christian channel from the US!The AB (air band) is a real plus, I was listening to pilots flying overhead, heard them as clear as day for a few moments so can only imagine how good it would be if I was nearer to an airport.The sidebands work well and are a real bonus. In fact, better than expected.Of course, no radio is perfect but XHDATA D-808 is the closest I have come across in this price range.However, there are a few drawbacks.There's no backlight for the buttons, making it a little difficult to navigate through in the dark. But you soon get used to where everything is.The LCD light is strong, perhaps too strong on the eyes at night and there's no way of dimming it I have seen.The supplied rechargeable battery is the 18650, unusual size and isn't as easy to come by in an emergency as AAs or AAAs. In fairness, the 18650s are becoming more popular and can be got handily enough online when needed. Keep in mind, the supplied battery is well made and will likely last a long, long time before it needs replacing.Aside from all that, this little radio is simply outstanding. The size is perfect, takes up no space, and feels pure quality both in the hand, and to look at.One last thing to note is XHDATA UK's customer service is the best.

A brilliant little radio. Takes some getting used to in how to use it to its fullest extent if you’re not used to these kind of radios ie how to use SW/air and etc. I found the instructions supplied a little lacking but a quick look on UTube sorted me out. Well made little unit with a great sound tone. Bags of volume and great FM reception with RDS when available.