By Robert Gulley K4PKM
The SIHUADON R-108 is a compact, inexpensive and capable radio with many features radio hobbyists have come to expect. While I no longer have one of my earliest AM transistor radios, it is comparable in size, but not much else!! Being a radio “old-timer”, I never cease to be amazed at what can be fit into a jacket pocket these days!
For those who have seen, or own, a CCrane Skywave, the radios at first blush look very similar. Size and weight are almost identical. While they are indeed quite similar, they also have some significant differences, and so I will simply say even if you already own one or the other, having both in your radio arsenal can be easily justified given the prices involved.
With all of that as preface, the usual disclaimer applies – I was asked by XHDATA to review the SIHUADON R-108 with the complete understanding that I give fair and honest reviews, good or bad. Like all radios, the R-108 has a few nits I will pick at, but the short answer to the question of value and capabilities is: this is an excellent portable/travel radio which works great in the arm chair, as well as on the road or in far off locations.
We will start with the usual specifications according to the manufacturer:
Frequency Range:
- FM: 64 ~ 108 MHz
- Russia: 64 ~ 108 MHz
- Japan: 76 ~ 108MHz
- EU, USA:87.5 ~ 108MHz
- SW: 1711 ~ 29999 kHz
- MW: 522~ 1620 kHz
- USA: 520-1710kHz
- LW: 150 ~ 450kHz
- AIR: 118-137MHz
Features
- Speaker: 5W / 4Ohm
- Earphone Jack: 35mm,Stereo type
- 500 Memories
- Power supply : USB 5V/250mA external adaptor (not included), BL-5C battery
- External Antenna Connection
Unit Size:
- 120(L)×70(W)×30(H)mm
- Weight: ~190g (Battery not included)
Package includes:
- 1 x SIHUADON R-108 Radio
- 1 x USB charge cable
- 1 x BL-5C lithium battery
- External Wire Antenna
- 1 x User Manual
Ergonomics
The R-108 has very good ergonomics for its size – even with rather large fingers the controls are easy to operate. There are a few multi-purpose buttons but these do not get in the way of typical operation, as most of them are designed to be used in the secondary function while the radio is off, such as setting the FM starting frequency for different parts of the world, or setting the MW bandwidth setting or clock function.
Tuning knob changes between Fast, Slow, and Stop with a press.
One feature I particularly like is the multifunction tuning knob. Rotating the knob does as one would expect in changing frequencies, and pushing the knob in switches between fast and slow tuning depending on the band. But a third option is “Stop”, which locks on to the frequency such that turning the knob will not change the current frequency. For a portable radio one is likely to be holding in the hands often, I find this a nice feature.
Direct keyboard entry is always a useful feature, one which I use quite regularly. With the R-108 you simply press the Frequency button and enter in the frequency based on the band – LW, MW, etc. There is no need to press a separate “enter” key when finished, as the frequency setting is complete with the last digit press.
The radio features a robust 19-inch telescoping antenna, and while any antenna is able to be bent or broken if enough force is applied, this antenna should easily last the life of the radio if handled reasonably. The screen is bright and easy to read, and the radio features a flip out stand on the back and a replaceable battery.
Bright Screen and External Antenna Jack
There is also an external antenna jack for the included wire antenna, and one could certainly build a longer wire antenna or adapt an existing external antenna with the appropriate plug. I only tested the included wire antenna and did not find that it overloaded the front-end of the radio, but the performance of the wire antenna was less than desirable (see Cons below). However, your mileage may vary, as they say, whether due to location or by using a different external antenna.
One of the more obvious design intentions for this radio is an appeal to a world-wide audience, as evidenced both by the variable FM frequency range options and the inclusion of the LW band. Depending on your location, the time of year, and listening conditions, this can be a nice addition. I cannot speak to the effectiveness of this radio’s implementation of the band in that there are few longwave signals I have been able to receive on my desktop radios, even with external long-wire antennas at my current location.
Bandwidth tuning is variable for SW/LW/MW/AIR with options of 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 kHz.
In testing the radio’s reception, I have compared it with the CCRANE SKYWAVE and it’s larger sibling, the XHDATA D-808, with some interesting results. On shortwave bands and FM I have found the three radios to be basically comparable in reception. Now, this deserves a bit of a deeper dive into performance. I say basically comparable because there are some differences in the SW reception.
The SIHUADON R-108 and the CCRANE are very similar, but the XHDATA D-808, even though it has a larger antenna (7-inches longer), did not receive signals as well as the R-108. There are likely two reasons for this. First, the most likely overall is a bit of a difference in design sensitivity. But what was more noticeable, and the secondary reason for the difference in reception, was the interference factor. The D-808 was simply more susceptible to electrical interference. There were several birdies present on portions of the SW bands which were not present on either of the two smaller radios.
This also brings up another interesting find: the audio out of the R-108 was noticeably better than the CCRANE or the D-808, even with the D-808’s larger speaker. This was a nice surprise as listening to MW and SW was much more pleasant to the ear. When connected to headphones the stereo audio quality was pretty much the same between the three units as one would expect.
This R-108, branded under “RADIWOW R-108”, was reviewed by Thomas a while back and exhibited some birdies on the MW band. This seems to have been corrected in my copy of the radio, but would be worth checking into to make sure if purchasing a new unit.
As a side note, the radio was also included in the excellent 2021 Ultralight Radio Shootout by Gary DeBock.
Replaceable Battery and Kick Stand
The radio has an ATS function which works quite well. The basic operation is like most radios with this feature in terms of scanning, but using the stored stations is not always easy with some radios, involving multiple button presses, “pages” or menu settings.
In the case of the R-108, once stations have been scanned on a particular band using the long press of the ATS key, selecting them becomes quite simple. For example, with the FM band selected, a press of the VM/VF key switches you from standard frequency tuning to your presets. This is indicated both by a change in the display to show the current preset selected, as well as a double beep, convenient for those who might be visually impaired. When in Preset mode you can tune the presets manually with the tuning knob, or make use of the U/D arrows to either fine tune or manually tune through the band. A long press on either the up or down arrows starts a scan of the preset stations, pausing for 5 seconds on each stored station for that band. Stopping the scan is done by pressing once again on the up or down arrows.
Below are a list of Pros and Cons, as well as my final thoughts on the radio.
Pros:
USB-C connector
Strong Antenna
External antenna jack
Bright backlit display
LW band inclusion
Superior Audio as compared to other portables of its size (and even larger)
Good battery life and convenient charging connection, replaceable battery
ATS function implemented well
Price
Cons:
Soft muting is present and the recovery time is a bit longer than most radios I have used
No WX band (For a travel radio in the U.S. this is a feature that will be missed)
External Antenna created more noise on SW signals with no boost in sensitivity for weak stations, and stronger stations were made less strong due to induced noise
Conclusion
As we so often say, no radio is perfect, and no radio will please everyone, or even fit everyone’s needs. I do not travel much, so a small portable radio that can be packed easily and not add a lot of weight to my luggage is not as important to me as it is to, say, our venerable leader Thomas, who travels a lot and loves a good compact radio.
I however do like to sit in my recliner and listen to AM DX, Shortwave, and the occasional classical music FM station or local AM station. I think Jock and I have a lot in common that way. For serious Amateur DX, Utility and serious DXing of almost any sort, I rely on my desktop radios and tie in my radios to my computer and external antennas. But I often like to just relax with a radio, and this is a great radio with which to do just that.
I have already mentioned the excellent audio which makes listening more enjoyable on all modes, and the ergonomics fit me quite well. The sensitivity of the radio is quite good, the range of reception band options is impressive, and the memory station tuning is a breeze.
What is most impressive in some ways is the price for which such excellent features may be found.
And speaking of price, XHDATA has offered a special coupon offer for a limited time for SWLing Blog readers:
From XHDATA: We’d like to provide you with a stackable 20% discount code.
Here are the exclusive discount codes:R108 (Black & Gray): 20R108forSWL
Effective time: From 2025-2-6 To 2025-2-9 Pacific Standard Time
R108:
– Black: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XVVCP9L
– Gray: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HCYYW88
I have tested the codes and they are working for Amazon America purchases. Stackable means in addition to the 10% coupon offered on the Amazon site, you can add the above code during the checkout process to get an additional 20% off, making the price with tax ~$45! This code is for SWLing Blog readers only!
(Follow the tag Radiwow R-108 for additional posts.)
I have the older micro USB version. It has travelled with me overseas to several countries and was very useful when I had COVID in Cambodia in 2020 laying in bed listening to the BBC WS. I use it primarily around Australia though. I have since misplaced/lost the wire antenna but it sounds like that wasn’t a big loss anyway. I have considered upgrading, and I’ve read and watched a few reviews on YouTube who all agree that the changes are basically the removal of the pop between bands (never bothered me), the display change from a bright blue to orange, and of course the charging port. The review was great but you didn’t mention the multi-function button can also activate a squelch function, perhaps not as useful on a radio that doesn’t do SSB. I am visiting Canada later this year and it’s a tough choice between taking the R-108, the D-808 or the C Crane Skywave (original) or Skywave 2. I think I will take one of the skywave’s as I might be able to hear some WX and I’ve never heard it in person before, and maybe the R-108. My only complaint with all of these radios is that they don’t tune up to 1710 in 9khtz steps, only to 1602/1620. My usual travel companion is the excellent Sangean PR-D19. Excellent reception and sound. We are spoilt for choice these days. The tecsun’s just sound tinny to me now, although on a weak signal that can be a good thing. Except for the Tecsun PL-880, that radio also has warm audio.
The biggest disappointment in radio purchases the last few years for me have to be the Sangean 909s. I ordered a 909×2 but it has a fault where it can no longer be used on batteries, only mains power (and no I didn’t try to charge alkalines in it). I had a 909 in white, that was a good radio for several years, it developed a fault where the whip antenna is connected to the circuit board, but I’m not good with a soldering iron. I also got a 909 in black, one day one of the battery terminals just snapped off when I was changing batteries and went flying, some aluminum foil scrunched up will make a good contact but it’s not a long term solution. The 909s are too hard to justify now not only because of the cost but also the girth/bulk of the radio. I’ve not had a good run with them anyway. The R-108 receives signals just as well and it’s significantly more compact. My radios do get frequent use in less than ideal environments. The best sangean’s I’ve had are the D19 and the H201 shower radio which is in use everyday. These 2 do tune up to 1710khz in 9khz increments which is great because I have locals on 1611 and 1629 (I’m in Adelaide). At night I can often DX 1701 Islamic Voice from Melbourne (not that I have a need to listen) and occasionally I get Voice of Charity radio from Sydney on the same frequency.
Correction, I had the R-108 with me overseas in 2022, I purchased it in 2021. I got the D-808 and the R-108 together as a bundle.
Whoever has bought the Sihuadon/Radiwow R-108 with the USB-C port (not micro USB) should consider themselves fortunate!
Many owners like myself who bought the older R-108 production model not only has to put up with the older micro USB charging port, but also the very annoying “pop” sound whenever the radio band is changed. It gets worse when earphones or headphones are used as that pop gets amplified even more.
When Sihuadon released the updated R-108 sometime in 2023, not only it replaced the charging port to the more modern USB-C; it also took care of the audible pop sound which was very much a negative point with the older batches. It appears that the speaker hasn’t changed – it’s a 3-watt 8 Ohm full range speaker with a bass response very much like the Retekess V-115 pocket radio.
The downside to having a higher rated speaker is that at louder volumes, the audio amplifier uses more battery power. The BL-5C’s limitation is that this battery model generally packs no more than 1200 mAH and current lithium ion battery technology hasn’t been able to get the very thin BL-5C format to squeeze in even a modest 2000 mAH worth of capacity. Beware of BL-5C advertisements claiming capacities over 1900 mAH – in most cases such claims are false.
Robert,
As always, an excellent review.
Am I right that this radio is actually smaller than a CCrane Skywave?
Cheers, Jock
Thanks Jock,
They are actually the same size (at least the Skywave I have, I do not have the newest version of the Skywave with which to compare). With the 2 AA batteries in the CCrane vs. the BL-5C of the R-108, the CCrane weighs 1/4-ounce more (7-3/4 vs 7-1/2 ounces)!
The Tecsun PL 660 is only $ 6 Dollars on Shoppee
…I have one now…working great here in Bali..
I’ve had this radio about a year now. It’s my favorite (at this time!) This radio is used as nightstand radio, late at night or early,early morning (AM only). I’m using with earbuds. The battery life seems quite long. I would prefer a radio with AAA or AA cells but that’s a minor matter for me.
If you haven’t purchased one yet, get one!
SSB?
Hi Don,
No this does not have SSB.
Cheers!
Hi Jeffrey,
Thank you for the kind comment. I was surprised myself! Both the CCrane Skywave and the D808 audio quality was basically the same. The r-108 just had a smoother, richer sound. Of course, that may have just been the radio I received, but I was impressed.
Cheers!!
Thank you. By chance have you ever compared the speaker sound between a Tecsun PL-660 and the PL-680? I have read the 680 is better, but I’d like to know how much better. Best.
Hi Jeffrey,
No I have not as I do not have either of those radios. Perhaps someone has and can comment?
Cheers! Robert
I happen to have the Tecsun PL-660 first and bought the PL-680 nearly two years later. The PL-660’s sound is more of midrange/treble, while the PL-680’s acoustics is more of bass/midrange.
I very much prefer the PL-680’s speaker sound but I think the PL-660 is the better looking of the two with its curvy case and Grundig-esque keypad design. In terms of ease of use, the PL-680’s larger buttons are easier to feel in the dark.
Not many people realize this, but the PL-660 has a silver background LED display, while the PL-680 has one with a golden hued background. The backlit illumination is also slightly dimmer on the PL-680.
The PL-660 is officially discontinued by Tecsun since 2024, while the PL-680 resumed production by the 4th quarter of last year when the factory was able to find alternative components. Production of the PL-680 temporarily halted in early 2024 as their regular supplier no longer made the integrated chips that the original PL-680 design required.
Anna of Anon-Co said that the performance characteristics of the “new” PL-680 is similar to the older one, but the alternative components unfortunately cost more which is then reflected by the revised pricing of the PL-680.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for the reply. It very much helps. I don’t need the improved speaker sound of the 680 as I have the 880 and 990, but I suspect I’ll buy the 680 for emotional reasons as most radio enthusiasts do. Best.
Thanks for the excellent review. I am mostly surprised that you’re getting speaker sound on the R-108 over the D-808. I guess ChatGPT can’t be trusted because I asked it to compare the radios and it claims, falsely perhaps, that the 808 has a richer speaker. I’d love to do a side by side myself.
Hey Jeff, I also have the R-108 and D-808 (Sihuadon and XHDATA). I can vouch that for whatever reason XHDATA chose to install a 1W speaker into the D-808, while the R-108 is endowed with a 3-watt speaker which sounds as rich and beefy as the Retekess V-115 and Qodosen DX-286.
The catch with the R-108 is that its higher wattage speaker also uses more power at loud volume levels and the BL-5C flat battery has a rather low capacity, which in turn means shorter run times. The worst sounding “cheap” shortwave radio that I’ve tried (and own) is the Clooblut/Lijiani RD-218 which comes with an extremely shrill and trebly sounding speaker.
I use both Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT to give me quick answers, but they both are known to have been giving conflicting and confusing answers. Sometimes it can be very frustrating and embarrassing if you post replies given by ChatGPT and/or Copilot and neither AI can agree on the same facts and figures.
If you are indeed knowledgeable about a subject that is dear to your heart, just give ChatGPT a quick test by asking it random questions and verify whether its facts match those that you already know. 🙂
That the 108 has 3 watts to the 808’s 1 watt confounds me. I’m happy with my Qodosen DX-286.
The D-808 is actually a shameless copy of the DigiTech AR-1780 receiver, which uses 4 AA batteries and endowed with backlit(!) keypad and buttons. I think whoever copied the AR-1780 in making the D-808 decided to follow the former’s specifications.
That is, if the AR-1780 originally used a 1W speaker, XHDATA followed its footsteps. That way it doesn’t have to redesign the audio amplifier stage to accommodate for a beefier speaker.
I don’t know much of the history of the R-108; it was already a “current” model when I took up shortwave listening again back in 2021. The XHDATA official store advertised the R-108 as having a 5-Watt speaker, but I found out from either YouTube or SWling blog that it really had a 3W speaker when the radio was opened up and inspected.
If I had to guess why Sihuadon put in a bass rich speaker that literally vibrates when playing low frequencies, it’s to impress customers who generally associate small, palm sized radios with tinny and squeaky sounding speakers. So far no reviewer of the R-108 has criticized its speaker – they all praised its sound quality.
I tried out a Retekess V115 once and was amazed how its diminutive speaker really belted the bass (on FM stations, obviously). I’m thrilled that the R-108 and the DX-286 also produces a pleasing low frequency response. Tecsun has not been known to put high quality, bass rich speakers in its models except for its larger portables like the PL-680, PL-880 and H-501 and S-8800.
The worst sounding Tecsun shortwave radio that I’ve tried is the vertical format PL-368. I usually listen to it with earphones rather than via its tinny speaker. However, the Lijiani/Clooblut R-218 pocket SW digital DSP radio fares even worse than the PL-368 with its shrieking and shrill sounding speaker. It doesn’t have variable bandwidth filters and its fixed IF filter makes shortwave stations treble heavy and a bit hard on the ears. 🙂
These Chinese DSP portables (SIHUADON, XHDATA, etc) do include the LW band, but it exists only on paper. The reality is that the LW sensitivity is abysmally low. Lots of noise even on a strong local station. Stay away if you’d like to tune in to LWBC or NDBs.