Shortwave Radio Receiver

When I took this amazing radio out of the box it lit up and I gasped with amazement. It is almost like a living thing! The sound is superb, and the illumination is fantastic. It also has a cool morse code sound effect when you switch it on. It is so eye-catching that anyone who sees it will be bowled over with delight.

If you're considering the Retekess 113 Multi Band Radio with Bluetooth hoping to get an all-in-one device that actually delivers on its promises, save yourself the disappointment. This radio is the textbook definition of "jack of all trades, master of none." Let’s start with the battery life. Fresh out of the box, fully charged, and treated like royalty—and still, it barely lasts a single day Without being plugged in to power. A “portable” radio that needs to be plugged in constantly isn’t portable at all. Now let’s talk reception. FM comes in okay. Weather band? Also decent. But as for the shortwave, AM, and other multi-band options? Completely useless. I’ve hooked this thing up to a whip antenna, a loop antenna, and the built-in telescoping one—all at once. Still, nothing. To make things even more ridiculous, the radio is placed right next to a window—you would think that would at least help it pull in a few stations. But no. Even that doesn’t help. This thing seems allergic to reception. The sad irony is this radio tries to be everything: shortwave receiver, AM/FM, NOAA weather alert, MP3 player, Bluetooth speaker, alarm clock, and more. But like the old saying goes, when something tries to do too much, it ends up doing none of it well. Bluetooth connects, sure, but that’s the bare minimum you’d expect from a device in this price range. In short, this radio isn’t worth the price of shipping, let alone the $200+ that is the actual cost. If you want a shortwave radio that works very well, does less, but does it better, skip this overhyped paperweight and get yourself the Grundig Satellit 700 World Shortwave Radio. It costs the same—or maybe a little more than the Retekess 113—but unlike the Retekess, it's actually worth the price. Sadly, this Retekess is not.

It works well, but is not very intuitive to use, and the instruction booklet that came with it is not much help. I also own an large shelf-type iCom 5000 radio that can get am/fm/vhf/uhf/aviation/marine/ham/first-responder frequencies, and that's a lot easier to figure out than this little portable thing. That said, this little guy is good for outdoor use, and does have a good frequency range it can pick up. Reception is good. Sound quality is good.

My husband is an amateur radio licensed person. He loves this radio.

FM and AM broadcast radio sound fine as well as the weather band, all other bands are useless. Recording FM and AM broadcast works well. Way too pricey for what you get

This is an outstanding radio with many different modes. I really like it, except it does not seem to hold a charge.

Seems weak made but very difficult to operate. Directions are poor and I couldn't figure them out so I sent it back.

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