Retekess V115 on sale $18 (Record Your Station)

I had eyed these Retekess V115 AM/FM/SW radios before, it's been getting praised for about 10 years on its reception and sound quality and ruggedess for such a tiny radio, but the main reason I was interested is its built-in capability of recording your station in your choice of 64Kb/s 22.05KHz, 96Kb/s 44.1KHz or 128Kb/s 44.1KHz mp3 format that saves to a card. - That's a pretty handy capability to have should you want to post an example what your reception actually sounds like (or if you just want to record late night programming to listen to the next day). Plus it's USB rechargeable 1000mAH battery that's swappable should you want to upgrade to a larger battery. Apparently it also has sold as an Audiomax SRW-710S in the past, regardless of the branding they have been getting exceptional positive reviews for years

Anyway, they're usually about $25 but right now it's only $18 for a limited time on Amazon, so I went ahead and ordered one.

https://www.amazon.com/Retekess-Portable-Transistor-Shortwave-Recorder/dp/B01ARN28SQ

Below are excerpts of just two Amazon user reviews, I shortened it to post here (many of the reviews are really long and detailed,people seem to really love these radios)

Kath

5 out of 5 stars

Verified Purchase

Goodbye Sony

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2016

Style: AM FM SW

Just up front, I'm a radio junkie. In the past I've had all 3 models of GE Super Radios, I tried a C-Crane (CC) radio. Had a Tivoli Model One, and a Boston Acoustics look alike. I've also had.. Grundig models.. .. unimpressive GE, Radio Shack, .. a couple of old Sony table radios, a Sangean ...., and a Sony ICF SW30 ... and ICF M410v .. and an ICF34 that I use out in the yard. I needed a new portable for my "go bag" since my SW30 stopped working correctly. ... .. Let just say that I'm impressed with this little monster. It has great reception and locks in the stations plus this tiny radio has an incredible sound. It blows my mind how well this thing sounds. BTW it has passive radiator on the back that I think does the job, loud and strong. Just for grins I put in a mini SD card just to see what the MP3 feature sounded like and all I can say is "WoW". I threw on a pair of headphones and the sound was very good as well. You've got 5 EQ presets in the MP3 mode but alas not in the radio mode, not a deal breaker given the overall sound quality. A couple of things I would like to see from this company..... Maybe the EQ presets for the radio mode as well. Being able to preset the stations in the order that I'd like them in. But don't get me wrong the auto preset feature works great and hey if you want to get to your station fast, just punch in the frequency, BAM. Maybe an external antenna plug and an optional antenna kit. A carry case for this would be nice to have as well. This radio is a KEEPER for me. If your looking for a good little radio you won't go wrong with this one

Kyle

5 out of 5 stars

Verified Purchase

It's a real beast for the price

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2022

Style: AM FM SW

This is probably the best radio I've found under $25. .... First of all, the speaker in this thing gets surprisingly loud, and although not booming, the bass response is quite good for its size. It really is impressive for something so small it can fit into a pocket..... ... Radio reception is surprisingly good for such a small and inexpensive device. I couldn't figure out a way to tune the radio manually up or down a step, but being able to enter the frequency by number far outweighs that minor inconvenience, ...... It also doesn't receive any shortwave signals below 4.75MHz or above 21.85MHz, ...... ..The mp3 player is equally impressive, allowing dialing up the song I want to hear,... The recorder has 3 quality settings, 64Kb/s 22.05KHz, 96Kb/s 44.1KHz and 128Kb/s 44.1KHz, all mp3 format. Recording from radio and aux is fairly good quality. Mic recording also sounds fairly good, except that the audomatic level control is a bit too quick, so it is rather audible. I .... .I am pleasantly surprised by the sound card functionality in this little thing. .., .... Battery life is very good for a small and loud system like this. It's not using the usual AA or AAA batteries, but instead uses a rechargeable BL-5C lithium battery, the kind some Nokia phones used about 15 years back. This battery is quite easy to find, and I opted to purchase a 1500mAH replacement to use instead of the 1000mAH battery that ships with the radio. I seem to get about 8 to 10 hours continuous sound out of the original battery, and nearly 15 hours from the replacement I purchased. .... One of the best things about this radio is the fact that the buttons are very solid and stable. .... These click buttons cause one drawback in recording, since they make a clicking sound when pausing or stopping a mic recording, but this is definitely tolerable when considering that buttons like these will not break down easily over time.... Did I mention this thing is a beast? I have had this for nearly two years, and I take it out and about quite a bit. It has some battle scars from run-ins with pavement a time or two, but it still works, maybe better now even than it did when I purchased it two years ago. Overall, I highly recommend this radio/recorder/mp3 player/USB and line-in speaker. Nothing in this price range can touch it. Maybe it's not for the radio enthusiast, and it does have some issues, but it's quite good and feature-packed for anyone who is as price/value-conscious as myself. Definitely still a 5 out of 5 despite its little bugs.