RETEKESS V-115 AM / FM / SW Review (Hear the sound quality)

[@cheshirecat1595]

Bought one and love it. Wish I had got two. Mine cost £18.79 within days they jumped up to £23. Thanks for your review Fred.

[@johnbeckham1483]

Line in recording delivers excellent fidelity sound if there is such a thing in a small radio as this Retekess V-115 AM/FM/SW!

[@globofgreen]

There’s actually a dedicated slot for the little stand. It’s on the back near the top. Great radio.

[@KrissDucky95]

I will give you my point of view on this radio because I have tried a few in my life. At the level of the loudspeaker, it is a very clean sound with a lot of bass. There is also this function reading and recording in MP3 which is revolutionary. It is still quite pleasant in terms of handling and settings. On the other hand, if you are like me passionate about picking up fairly distant radio stations in AM and especially in FM, you will be super disappointed. In this radio, there are several problems. The LCD part gives a lot of noise on a device with a very average signal. Moreover, by dismantling the radio in function and removing the LCD, you can see it. Another problem for FM is the length of the antenna, which is really very short and too much in my opinion for correct fm wave reception. I also tried to extend it with another antenna of the same type placed end to end and you immediately notice the difference. I also think that the AM ferrite antenna is of poor quality, not to mention the SW reception which is frankly pretty bad. We can not compare for example with my tecsun PL990 but it is ten times the price it is also true. I, who found a lot of faults with the XHDATA D808 which I just got rid of, there it is worse. Imagine that I made the mistake of buying the Prunus J-401 today because I had read in the com that it had an improvement! well it's even worse because nothing in AM on this one and FM a disaster. I would like to have answers and especially your opinion but for me it is a nice radio for the MP3 side but for the rest nothing to hope for extraordinary

[@Zerpentsa6598]

Look, it's a radio for people working in the shed or sitting on a river bank waiting for a bite. If you want great sound, buy a proper DAB or good FM box. This is only $12, and that's less than a pizza.

[@IbukiMiodaa24]

idk if it's because i live in a very flat area but this radio is able to receive WBAP 820 AM located in Dallas Texas at night all the way in North Dakota

[@alanlee2751]

Cheers Fred. I’m just looking for a cheap, chuck-in-a-pocket, radio with reasonable sound. Looks like this would fit the bill, so thanks for such a helpful summary.

[@donkoslov8720]

I have the same radio. Its has a few cool features for a small and cheap radio. Good for beginners SWL as well as those who are on a tight budget.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Totally agree Don

[@robc8468]

Fantastic radio for the money I have 3 of them, highly recommended for a digital pocket radio a solid 4.5 star out of 5. purchase.

[@richardmillican7733]

Another Retekess radio worthy of a look at is the HR11W. I keep one in my fishing tackle box! It's effectively a "self powering" radio, using the same BL 5C lithium cell, but has a solar charge and hand crank charge to! The sound quality is pretty good considering its size, and it's sensitivity is reasonable too!

[@DonzLockz]

Brilliant Fred. I want it mainly for the line-in record but other record functions and radio is just a bonus! Cheers!🍻👍🤠

[@gingerphil619]

Hi Fred I received a TIDRADIO wireless programmer BL-1 for baofeng uv5r and its great to use no computers no wires all you need is your smartphone or iPhone

[@VK2YG]

Great review, Thanks. I was looking to pick one of these up!

[@michaelbellinger3540]

Hold down the middle button (at bottom) on AM/FM or Shortwave, and it searches all available stations that it finds, and memorizes them. Anything you don't want (too weak or all static, ect) just hold down delete on that one, and it is removed. Then you use search to get close to ones you want to explore, and manual tune from there, or just do a new memorization of available channels.

[@ditto1958]

I know this is an old video, but this radio is still going strong, and is still less than $20 on Amazon. I need to decide if I want to start collecting radios, because if so, this one is on my shortlist. I would buy it for the recording feature.

[@americaswayout4489]

Very GOOD review process much better details than most KZbin reviews. Nice, little radio, I could have used it after Hurricane Michael when our AC was off for over two weeks. Maybe I missed it, but on AM what is the tuning step. Your area is 9 kcs, ours is different so I am curious if it's steps on tuning. Too much to expect for the price bur SSB would have been nice also. Does the brand have any more models, maybe one with SSB? Also with the USB plug, I suspect any CELL phone external battery might work with it. Again, very good job on the review and including the links to buy it!! Thanks

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Thanks. You get a lot of features for your money

[@retekessradio1714]

AM stepping for V115? You can long press "MENU" in the AM band, there are options for AM step setting. Also, we don't have an SSB radio yet.

[@stighenningjohansen]

Fiddly , but after a few minutes testing how it works, its a nice cassette radio replacement. Very clear and loud sound, Listen to FM/AM/SW radio, and very good recordings and playbacks from your cassette (SD)

[@bobyoung241]

there is all so a slot in the top screw hole that the odd little bit of plastic fits in as well. a bit more stable. and doesn't brake your battery cover

[@richardmillican7733]

Cheers Fred, I consider myself a bit of a "prepper" just ordered one! It's a bit like my trusty Sangean 803 but in "mini-me" form!

[@airmojo]

This is a great little radio... bought a few of them for gifts. I mainly play MP3 songs that I extract from my iTunes library, into a special folder on my PC, that I copy to the SD card... I keep adding favorite songs to it... currently have about 400 songs on the 32GB micro SD card. The only issue that I have is that it does NOT retain the "Play Mode" setting when turned off and back on... I like keeping the play mode on "Random (Shuffle)", and would prefer not to keep setting it. I wonder if the Hanrongda K-603 retains the play mode ?

[@QUADBOYification]

Great review, I'd like to know if you reloaded the MP3 (Radio/Line-In) recorded files from card back in to a PC to check if it actually records in Stereo? It's the main reason I didn't buy it yet. The option to change bitrate is up-and-coming though. Let me know, please?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi. No did not upload the MP3

[@johnbeckham1483]

The Retekess V-115 does record in stereo through the Aux Line!

[@bobbyleggins3900]

Loved the review, bought two!

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Its a good little radio

[@du7ch384]

Any idea how long the battery would last listening to the am or fm radio Fred? Would it be alright for a day's listening while decorating for instance or does it eat through the battery power?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

I ran it all day testing and it still showed full bars so i think it would last a while.

[@du7ch384]

@@CB-RADIO-UK Thanks for the response Fred I was on the shelf about it as i wanted something to use while out doing odd jobs and as an occasional radio to listen to in the background for a good few hours at a time, so this sound ideal I'll get one ordered Thanks again

[@FrancoDX]

Can’t go wrong for £15 quid. Good entry level SWL radio.

[@andrewmcphee8965]

I already have a Tecsun PL-880 (awesome radio btw) for swl but am looking for a cheap pocketable am radio with good sound quality. Your review was excellent, thank you, just hit the buy button…

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Good choice!

[@LFTRnow]

Thanks! I was looking for find out if the headphones were stereo. So many of these radios are mono headphones which is just yuck. @11:30

[@edwardfletcher7790]

You bought the wrong one mate, the original factory model is the Hanrongda K-603, it's exactly the same but cheaper and has Bluetooth.

[@agoraphobicadam1171]

Looks like a cracking little radio.

[@markkane5176]

Nice review Fred👍 very informative as always, not bad spec for the price 👌🍀👍

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@KrissDucky95]

for people who bought this radio, you will notice that there is a problem on the Fm. Indeed the frequencies 103.9/ 104.0/104.1 are inaudible and are mute. Try it out

[@heinzbronner3482]

Excellent little radio. Frequency display on my sample is inaccurate. (Quality conrtol is not a concept in China.) It is 6 kHz low on AM. On FM and SW it is accurate though. Excellent value for money, but I wish it had longwave.

[@ashab1]

I was going to get this great speaker and MP3 however I chose the more expensive Sihuadon r-108 glad I did it's awesome really pulls in the stations on SW I scanned and got 76 on the plug in antenna that comes with it and clarity on FM is amazing picking up on air band and MW is good too once I changed the setting to 9khz.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Yes the sound impressed me with this radio. Ive tested a few cheap radios and they normally distort when you crank them up but this one stays clear.

[@vadermasktruth]

I have two, I love it!

[@abhijitbose1761]

While playing music using SD card, whether selecting folder and particular song is feasible and digital display of the folder name and song' s title is visible!!?

[@gerrysantos724]

Hi, may I ask, can the Retekess V-115 be operated when being charged? Thank you

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Sorry i did not test that.

[@rodinglis1539]

Iv got one and it’s grate. 👍

[@johnbeckham1483]

Check out the HanRongDa K-603 as it is very similar in design but records mp3s at 320 bits which is better than the Retekess V-115 which records at 128 bits! The K-603 has BT & manual tuning also.

[@dannygaines1352]

A good sounding radio to listen to "Brother Stair".

[@j7ndominica051]

You can use a bigger 2 kilo radio in an emergency also on battery. The Nokia battery is good, but there are no commercial chargers for it. Tecsun doesn't have recording. It's a shame that it records in low bitrate MP3. SD cards are big enough that it could record in PCM (mono on AM). No tuning knob and chuffing is a big deal. Is it imporant for the wire to be single core? Can I use a common electric cable two wires?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Ive never tried 2 core cable but i guess it will work. You could feed out 2 core than split the cable and make a dipole.

[@happyhusband312]

i love they chose the nokia battery, it's so frequent and cheap. every simple gamepad uses it, and talkies too. i've got a charger for it from a dead talkie. you can buy it for just 2$.

[@640amthemix]

Great Video. I had high hopes for this radio. Worked great on AM and FM broadcast bands but suffered harmonics on the shortwave band from AM broadcasts. I wonder if you have had similar issues with your radio. In the end I sent the radio back.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

I did not notice any MW bleed over using the tele antenna. Some times a long wire can overload a radio without an RF control

[@americaswayout4489]

A preselector would remedy, but that adds a cost. A cheap antenna tuner also might work being a radio person, I have acquired several over the years so I have one to put between the radio and any wire attached to the internal antenna. I have had that go away if the external wire is pretuned some.

[@640amthemix]

@@CB-RADIO-UK Thanks for the tips. IMaybe I should have kept it just for the MP3 and record functions.

[@640amthemix]

@@americaswayout4489 Thanks for the tips. I ended up going for the County Comm GP5-SSB which is a rebadge of the Tecsun PL 365 or 368. No mp3 and record or memory but receiver is excellent on shortwave. I have a few videos posted on it. As well as the Retekess 105 same as the Han Rong Da HRD 737. Like Fred says we should have a pocket radio in the bag.

[@johnnymac26]

nice wee bit of kit.

[@youtubetv7000]

Super

[@Vietnam_trongtimtoi]

Can we select which mp3 to play via numpad buttons?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

No just forward and back. No programming.

[@mediamike693]

+++++++LOOKS A NICE RADIO AND REASONABLY PRICED+++++++$$$+++++++I WILL PURSUE 1+++++++

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Its got a great tone to the sound

[@pembalama1255]

What is the battery back up on full charge?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Months. Mine still fires up.

[@blusora]

Can you use the radio without battery just from USB port to power supply?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

No i dont think you can,

[@christophersmith1155]

IM IN THE MARKET FOR A SW RADIO. IT MUST HAVE AM.FM.SW1.SW2.SW3.SW4. SSB. I WISH TO HEAR HAM BANDS 70CM THROUGH 160M . THIS IS WHY SSB IS A MUST.

[@alanbourn4039]

Don't be tempted by the xh data radio, I have had two and both went faulty and sensitivity was poor in both too.

[@alexb8382]

@@alanbourn4039 What SW radio with SSB do you recommend?

[@joistein]

I have this radio but the mode button does not work, it's work to lock the radio but not to change mode to mic or line in?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Drop Retekess an email as they will help.

[@negolfman]

I heard this radio before does sound good, I heard from someone on KZbin, that This radio has an incredible secret, you can listen VHf and UHF, including air band try this first choose an OEM frequency for example 1225 KHZ press and hold record you must have a memory card inserted when it starts recording press FM slash AM and the mode keys that's all now tune it to 122.50 MHz it works by tuning shortwave as well the frequency is in kHz goes to VHF or UHF enjoy this night be only in the USA though?

[@Federico_A]

On my unit this trick doesn't work

[@negolfman]

@@Federico_A maybe the programming in the radio has changed since then.

[@Federico_A]

@@negolfman I have the latest version. Maybe exist another trick for the new firmware (2.3) 😕

[@negolfman]

​@@Federico_A it must only work on older versions, I bought a new version and it isn't doing it either.

[@sapridi3589]

yes I got this one. but I think signal quality is poor. I use 64 GB sdcard (must be partition to fat32 by rufus)

[@gearlab734]

It's alot for the money!

[@Sharki33]

How come this tiny thing gives this much better sound ? I own one.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

They use a speaker system with a 2nd radiator cone at the rear which uses wasted energy from the front driver.

[@KnugenMooMoo]

Get the wireless out for pop master Fred

[@ziauddinmunna.3823]

it does not work AM and SM properly, why?

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

SM ?

[@chrispike5773]

i wish these little radios had LW

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Iam not sure there is much on LW these days. Radio 4 maybe ?

[@chrispike5773]

@@CB-RADIO-UK hi Fred, test match special 😊

[@barrykelly2722]

Has anyone had success with receiving Air Band with this v115. I've heard there is a trick / hack.

[@johnpritchard7722]

The stand goes in the slot at the top on the back, not we're you had it !!

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Ah the slotted screw hole. Yes see that now. Mind you it will work in either.

[@dani196626]

В нём нет блютуз, поэтому выбрал HRD K603.

[@DivineMisterAdVentures]

There doesn't appear to be any way of manually saving any AM or FM stations - is that right? Nor any way of manually sweeping the dial. Kind of like a rowboat without oars or anything, not? Isn't that STUPID? Perhaps they didn't pay the engineer, and before he left, he deleted a section of code.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

You can save stations manually. Its only got seek and scan tuning.

[@DivineMisterAdVentures]

@@CB-RADIO-UK Still trying to save a station - ?? Is there a secret so unusual that it's undiscoverable??

[@michaelbaumgart7625]

@@DivineMisterAdVentures 1. Tune in the station you want to save/store and press & hold *5* until *CHxx* is blinking in the display. 2. Type the number of the storage place you want save/store the station. 3. Press Play/Pause 2 times. 4. Done

[@youtuba-mamyt-rahal]

This rubbish damages the sd card. Who knows how to flash it and where to get the firmware?

[@вікторАндрияшин]

Отличный плеер,как радио,-обычный китайский ширпотреб,не очень.

[@klausf5032]

there is no law on copy right yooou can play mp3 or radio signals come on man

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Hi Klaus. I notice your channel has zero content. Just try to upload it yourself on KZbin and see how you get on. Good luck :-)

[@ninod1502]

It may demonitize his video