Retekess
$23.99 Price may change
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Retekess V115
Retekess V115P Portable Shortwave Radio,Rechargeable AM FM SW WB Radio
walter choi
I purchased this in Mar 2024 specifically because it covers the 72-76 Mhz band for assistive listening devices / auditory assistance devices. To make it work - you have to go into the menu - go to "FM band set" - and then select "64-108 Mhz".
Also it only charges with a usb A to C cord not a C to C cord.
AnaCaro
I love it, it’s size, i cam take it anywhere
Hooligan
This radio is no good for shortwave unfortunately for me. I scanned and tried to get some things working on any and all of the SW bands and got nothing. Which was a bummer I would have loved to get anything.
FM radio works great which is a major plus. It's direct program the scanning works a little bit but you need to know your frequencies. Just program anything you plan to actually listen to.
I didn't try the additional micro SD media option.
Battery charges with type C. It's small and sounds decent. I wish the SW worked better I would have given it 5 stars.
Customer
Literally this is the best pocket size radio that I seen. Although it's construction is plastic it feels goon on hand. The sound is very good and loud with good bass and the battery is good for normal use. Literally in my opinion, there are not bad things to say about this radio. Simply really good
Paul Tate
UPDATE: 1 star to 3 stars. I got another radio of the same model, or so i thought. It appears they've updated it. It no longer has a micro USB port, but instead a USBC port. It seems to be built better. Hopefully no issues going forward.
I never leave reviews, but feel i should this time.
I bought this in Aug of 2022. I only used it a few times and it worked well. I used it this past weekend and the battery was low. I plugged it into the charger and a few minutes later it made a popping sound and then a puff of smoke.
I contact the vendor for a warranty replacement, but the stated radios are only covered for 1 year.
Charly
Jeez Louise, guess everyone loves to be a critic - such high expectations in some of these reviews. This is a wonderful radio/recorder/MP3 player, a real bargain for a Jackson. Treat it like the precision device it is and you shouldn't have any problems with durability.
I really like the sound it puts out of the front speaker and back bass speaker. Quite remarkable for such a small device. John Coltrane never sounded better....
Note that the sd card needs to be 32mb or less, formatted in FAT32 and containing only mp3/wma files that are named beginning with a letter - not a number. Fully charge and fully discharge the battery the first few cylcles.
hbgbdhst
I bought mine March 2021. The battery is still working well. I live in a city suburb. Audio is inline with an analog radio this compact, a little thin sounding as a small mono speaker, but the small bass speaker on back beefs it up a bit, and speaker is reasonably loud for such a small radio... about what you'd expect, maybe somewhat better. Very light, easy to carry in a jacket pocket or such. AM/FM reception is good. You can catch some SW with just the equipped antenna, and some SW stations during daylight hours (if scheduled) and if the broadcast is strong enough. All in all, I'm happy with my radio.
H. Arnold
This radio is so darn cute and I think it sounds fantastic for a radio only a little bigger then a deck of cards. I can't understand why anyone is giving this radio a bad review. There is nothing to complain about. This is a fun radio to own and to use. It receives AM and FM great. I haven't found any SW stations but don't really care. Some have complained of the battery not being a standard battery. No big deal, it is the same battery used in many cordless phones and cameras. It is easy to buy a replacement if you ever need one. The interface is intuitive. I haven't tried the SD card recording but based on other reviews, I'm sure it works if you need it.
Godfadda
This portable radio has it all. Even though I don’t plan on using the SW recording feature or sleep mode, the fact that the has both AM/FM and TF card with push buttons makes this a winner. There are many features and the sound is clean and clear. It may not be boombox sounding but better than other portables I had owned.
I own the Retekess PR12 portable radio which sounds good for a portable radio and also has a TF card slot. The downfall is there are no buttons to manually key in radio stations or pick a certain folder or song on the memory card.
This is where the V115 comes in. You get a backlit display that you can adjust the time it stays lit. All the FM stations I listen to scanned in with no static. There was no need to go outside with the antenna fully extended to do the scan. It was easy done inside the house. You can also delete specific stations scanned that you don’t listen to or are has static.
Like most AM stations, you may get some static but the antenna can be extended and also swivels to get the best position.
The option to use a memory card is great and the device’s features will not disappoint. I am using a 32 GB card that has about 200 songs loaded.
I have 4 folders with different types of music like Smooth Jazz, Motown Classics, etc. The V115 allows you access each folder separately (see photo) and also enter specific song numbers. This is a huge plus so you won’t have to scroll through all the songs.
When in TF card mode you can press the play/pause button to access option like choose the folders (under Root), whether to play randomly or not and the preset equalizer mode.
When listening to a song on the memory card, the song title shows on the screen.
The hand strap has a small plastic piece that you can insert in the back of the device to lay the radio on an angle for viewing.
For those who wish this had Bluetooth to listen to wireless headphones/earbuds or even connect to a Bluetooth speaker, there is a way.
Plug it in the earphone jack, put it in pairing mode as well place your headphones/speaker in pairing mode. It may take a short time, but they will pair. I have been able to pair 2 sets of different, off-brand earbuds and a JBL portable speakers ( see video). I also have a 3.5 mm Bluetooth receiver. I connected the receiver to the line in of the radio and paired the receiver to my iPhone and was able to use the V115 and a Bluetooth speaker. The best of both Bluetooth worlds. Now I need to get a combo 3.5mm transmitter/receiver.
I am definitely happy that I found this radio and recommend it highly.
Dave E.
It’s easy to set up it very loud the only thing you is I wish it came with a case or a spare battery and speaking for battery life it last a good 10-12 hours with volume at 12-15 max volume is 32. DOES NOT have Bluetooth so if your looking for that this is not for you another thing the charger is a type c and the wire is short also need a charging block or charge off pc laptop
Apollonius
Comparing to a free 20 year old promotional AM radio the Retekess has a lot to say. The Retekess has crisp clear speakers suitable for music and sound effects. Though they aren't the best for listening to AM i.e. talk radio -- too much bass and in need of treble control. The free one wins here. The 2 AAA batteries running the Promo radio last for more than a month. After a couple of weeks the rechargeable in the Retekess is half way down. Again, the old stand by Promo has the upper hand. The Retekess is superior in that it has shortwave and TD card reader which the Promo doesn't. Unfortunately, the Retekess shortwave needs a miracle to get a signal and be of any real value. Then, the TD card reader has had real difficulty reading a number of SD card mp3 and WMA files. All cards were formatted and functional on multiple PCs and tablets. Both the Retekess and the Promo are solidly, well built radios. In conclusion, my 20 year old free, promotional radio was and continues to be a great value and a real keeper.
simona ivanov
Ronald L Hampton
I spent allot of time shopping for a radio to keep me company during my graveyard shifts. All the features worked exactly as the description indicated. I was able to find and listen to my favorite stations right out of the packaging. The recording feature was a surprise bonus which provides me an extra layer of protection or audio note for reports. The pause feature is really helpful instead of fumbling trying to raise and lower the volume. Everything works! The onboard battery charges nicely and the unit is small enough to carry in my pants pocket without being an encumbrance.
Reddon
James Clerk
I had a little pocket transistor radio that saw me through college. I paid $4.49 for it in 1969.
This V115 exceeds my expectation. It comes with a rechargeable battery, so I don't have to fuzz with disposables.
It's small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. But a very pleasant sound despite its small size.
It programs in a breeze after I read Chuck's review.
I have to pull out the antenna, but both AM and FM stations come in clear and static free.
Everything I need from a pocket radio.
LardBeast
I didn't expect the record to sdcard function! that's a nice feature! I haven't had a radio this small with that ability since the 80's. It gets a very nice signal on an FM station I listen to here in my town that doesn't seem to come in that nicely on my other radios. as far as the shortwave goes I only managed to pickup the atomic clock station and a few ham dudes around here but I have very little experience to compare to. I mainly bought this because it dawned on me it's been over 20 years since I've had a working one and I wanted to see if the clock is still broadcasting. I used to sit up on the barn roof and listen to that thing for hours when I was young. It was hypnotic! LOL. uses a rechargeable BL-5C battery! Nice! so many rechargeable things have a non replaceable battery these days it drives me mad that society has just accepted that! so it great to see this is replaceable!
Sochilt
Excelente calidad bien práctico y comodo
Stephen L.
This is a fantastic little device. The sound is very loud for its size. Reception is good for local AM/FM stations. Shortwave is kinda weak but I’m usually able to pick up some Mexican stations in the late evenings. A 32gb microSD card ($8) loaded with 1000+ mp3’s is great for remote/rural listening. Also, it has a voice recording function as well! It uses an older model rechargeable flat flip phone style battery that you can find for less than $10/pair. You really can’t go wrong with this radio. It fits in your hand, has a ton of options and it is fairly simple to use and program once you get the hang of it. If you want a case for it, get a rigid external USB hard drive clam shell case, it fits perfectly with two spare batteries, microSD adapter, charging cable, and a desiccant pack. Highly recommended for EDC or bugout bags. Buy it, you won’t regret it!
Phil S.
This little guy is very inexpensive at around 16 bucks but paired with a little bit of an antenna it can reach out pretty well at night. It's pretty easy to find your way around the controls and it's rechargeable with the same plug that fits most of our cellphones.
There's plenty of space to store frequencies you want to hit again and it will take a microSB card for listening ir recording- if that's your thing.
Unortunately, one feature this radio lacks is the capability to tune frequency by frequency. But you can scan for channels or tune directly by typing in the frequency you're after. Then you can store them to a decent size bank of memory slots, as I mentioned before
The build is inexpensive but it does not seem fragile. That's important because you won't feel a need to baby this radio. It's lightweight and completely along for the ride- and that is part of what makes carrying a radio more fun than you might think. Plus, it fits like a charm in a shirt or jacket pocket- or in the bib of your most comfortable overalls.
Get you one. 😊
PS One problem has developed recently. There seems to be a short in the jack used to recharge my radio.
perucho99
The Radio is ok and i checking the radio i got to 14 frecuency channel radio stations in the SW mode, the stations in the FM Radio sounds superb, the only disappointment is the AM Radio Stations, but the rest of the Radio is ok.
David H. Aragon
I loved it because of it's features at this price. FM stations are clear, even weak stations 40 miles away is great. Shortwave is good, picks up stations OK. Keeps saved stations even after the batteries have been removed from my use of 15 minutes. Also extremely tiny and uses AA batteries and they last a very long time.
AM is lousy, the internal antenna is too small and too close to the loud speaker to hear anything besides near 1 kW stations. The buttons have to pressed in the correct duration to get the right function. Easily overriding the saved stations.
It is recommended to save the stations you want to listen to before your program starts and to set the clock to UTC time as an easy reminder of what time it is to listen to your shortwave station. If you want to improve your AM listening, buy an external passive loop antenna, or make a new antenna and put it outside the case to reduce background noise as seen in the photo.
Ghettofinger
50 hours of listen time WHAT👀
And the speakers are beyond words good yes it has 2 the other is bass and it thumps🐰
Shortwave MP3 Player
Retekess V115💯
FM Radio Frequency.
FM:87-108MHz; AM: 522-1710KHz (9k); 520-1710KHz (10k) SW: 4.75-21.85MHz.
I've added a few demo vids for you to check out for sure going to add a clip on type antenna for SW. For $25 and with Prime free next day delivery you can go wrong. 73 KG7POU
Eddie T
buy this. with absolutely no tools you can use it as a spirit box. get the radio, turn it on, put it on am/fm or MW - go press the scan button. it will begin scanning the stations in order to add them to favorites, it will hit and then continue, the volume will disappear. In order to bring the volume back and here that white noise stack all ghost hunters are accustomed to hearing you will press and hold the volume and down buttons at the same time. you should be able to do that with your thumb. that's it - hold the radio and put your thumb on both volume up and down.
I posted video and a picture. In the pic I put a blue square on the scan button, and volume is clearly labeled.
I run this on shortwave rather than am or fm as I don't get any false hits from radio stations that way - I removed the antennae from mine as well, but you don't have to. I also removed the antenna on my actual sb-7 , its just an easy hack I do to stop false hits from radio interference.
Dean James
what the hell is sleep mode?! mines on 24/7! great for when the bt speaker planks! gotta love a wire somtimes.
Tom
As others have mention, I'll admit i'm a radio junkie,,, and I'm an old guy - I've been doing this a while. One of my all time favorite radios was the Sony ICF 5500 made back in the 1970s. But I've owned all types from Tivoli Model One to Radio Shack to Sears and Roebuck and shortwave tube radios.
To get the point this radio is outstanding for the price and size. But you can read that in many other reviews on this Retekess V115 radio. So what I want to point out is the great size. This radio will fit if you travel. It will, for example, fit in a small portable hard drive case. If you use a hard case with storage for SD cards you can fit the kick-stand in one of the SD card slots so it won't be rubbing and scratching the face of the radio. In addition you can store more micro SD cards in the adapters in the case. Even if you use a soft-case you can simple zipper the case shut and leave the kick-stand on the outside since it's tethered to the hand strap.
If you must know, the radio sounds amazing for the size. Shortwave works reasonable well, I even picked up the Atomic Clock, which I thought had been taken off line. I havn't tried it with the alligator-clip and wire to extend the antenna. I consider the Retekess superior in every way, although the Meloson sound is also very good, but doesn't handle micro SD cards or MP3 files as well. Finally I was able to find the user manual on line if you so choose to read up before purchased. You may see it listed as a Tivdio V115, rest assured it's the same radio.
Blue Collar Barista
I just recently purchased a few portable radios for a job I have been on for some time. With the nature of this job I need a small pocket sized radio.
The 1st one I bought was a Jameson analog. But it arrived damaged and looked like it had been used before... Before I returned it I installed 2 AA batteries just to test it out. I live about 35 minutes north of Los Angeles and this radio seemed to get most of the major radio station pretty well. The sound was ok for the pocket size of this unit...kind if hollow but not too tinny if that makes sense.
The second one I bought as a replacement was the Sony icf-p36. When it arrived my first impressions were the simple design. This is definitely a sleek simple radio. Since it was a Sony I expected more than this thing put out. The reception was ok...but the sound was worse. While it put out a clean crisp sound on a strong radio signal, the sound was hollow and tinny even more than the previous radio. The sound I predominantly vocal. In other words this radio would be better to listen to talk radio over music. The sound in my opinion fell short and left me wanting more...
Now the Tivdio..
I gotta say I read all the reviews on this product and the majority of these are correct. The sound is impressive for the size and price. Really! This radio totally blows the 2 previous radios away! The sound is a lot fuller. The music is not all vocal. There is depth to the sound of this little unit. Don't get me wrong it's nothing super crazy, but compared to the other radios this thing is impressive. It comes with a little tab that sticks in the back that allows it to be leaned back. This seriously sounds good in my kitchen. I can't wait to hear it on the jobsite. It has a bunch of cool functions that in my opinion make it fun to play with. Takes some fiddling and reading the instructions to figure it out. The reception is better too! SD card reader, Good reception, rechargeable... Plus you can buy extra batteries online for this unit cheap! It also has a passive radiator on the back which gives it more depth of sound...
For the price this thing is totally worth it. Now time will tell how durable it is. Very impressed with this little unit!
DistanceMan
Works really good, Sound great .
Line-in , while recording from a tape desk, it seem it has issues keeping up and it will freeze this cute little radio, i had to format the memory card to bring back my ability to record once again on my memory card.
It doesn't lockup when recording to the radio, i had tried using the line-in on another device and had know issue.
So im guessing it cant keep up recording a cassette desk sound.
It can recognize 64 gb micro card. I dont have anything bigger so i dont know it will support anything higher.
The volume level is extremely loud. It has a mega bass speak in the bottom back ,on the left side.
The battery life is outstanding. It uses universal standard plug
It has a button you can press and it will only bring up files you "just recorded " from your radio.
Nijia B
I ordered VITE 710s for myself.I like to listen to some music or story while I'm doing housework.
1.seller: The seller Angel is a nice person who respond my replacement request quickly. I will purchase in her store in the future as they truly care about the customer's experience.
2. Radio: The Radio does well with FM and SW reception. Pressing SW button multiple times reveals SW bands
3.Speaker: The Speaker gives reasonable performance. It can give clearly sound.
4.Files: This model has number buttons so I can search the file very quickly. And It also can search as folder. It can organize lots of files.It can recognize wma and mp3 files.
5.Record: I love the recording function. I can choose the quality of the file. The sound it record very clear.
6. Battery: I use the radio about 2 hours a day and I charge the battery once a week.
The reason I ordered VITE 710S is because of the following key specs: am/fm radio, digital entry and display, no need to buy batteries (uses chargeable cell phone battery + USB power), clear sounding speaker, memory for favorite stations, and recording capability.By the way, my son and my daughter have their own player. They like to listen to the songs and story when we drive.I am very pleased and so glad I got this. Highly recommend.
foghorn
I am truly impressed with the quality of this product. It has surpassed everything I was expecting.
PROS
1 - Most outstanding is the audio quality - this little radio is LOUD!! It has a powerful speaker with a good amplifier driving it. It will absolutely fill a large room with sound. And distortion is low at high volume
2a - Recording is really good. I particularly wanted a device that could record off the radio. And this product delivers just that. The recorded quality of the .mp3 file is excellent (I have it set to 128K.) No background hiss or clicks. One hour of recording consumes about 80 Mb on my 32 GB microSD card, so record time is outstanding. It records very well from the built-in microphone, also. I have not tried the line-in recording. The controls for managing recording are well-marked and intuitive.
2b - Recorded Files. Unit actually records onto a standard microSD card. You can use any of the standard adapters (microSD - USB) to plug the card into a PC for file transfer. System provides a separate folder for each audio source: Radio, Line, Mic. Files within the folder are named with sequential numbers (ie, MIC0001.mp3)
3 - FM Reception. Reasonably good; about the same as any good FM radio. The small antenna definitely helps. The auto-station seek function is very effective and easy to use. After you scan the first time, you can jump from station-station easily. You can also enter a channel number, and it will jump there directly. Or, you can enter the FM frequency directly. I have not used the AM band at all.
4- Battery. uses a popular Nokia cell-phone Li-ion battery. I have not run it down completely, but expect I could get 6-8 hours of recording time, or 10-15 hours of playback time. The battery is very easy to change, so I bought a low-cost spare, along with an inexpensive charger. Battery compartment is accessible from the back, so I can change batteries in less than 15 seconds.
5 - Controls. Clearly marked in English. Very intuitive - everything works just like you would expect. The only challenge I had was getting the menu to display in English instead of Chinese - that took a little trial and error.
6 - Size. Very small, compact. It is amazing to find this much functionality in such a small package. Will fit in a man's shirt pocket.
7 - Instruction manual is very clearly written in decent English. I was able to figure out everything needed to operate the radio from this manual. Beware: the type is VERY small - a magnifying glass may be helpful.
CONS
1 - SW reception is not too impressive. Maybe it is just because there are not many stations in the vicinity. Not a big deal to me... maybe in another locality it would do better.
I highly recommend this radio/recorder.
Cath
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 some various Grundig models. And I've had in the past various unimpressive GE, Radio Shack, and other "off brands" that are now long gone and forgotten. Currently I have a couple of old Sony table radios, a Sangean Clock Radio at my bedside, an old Sony "SPORTS" am/fm cassette getto blaster in the bathroom, and a Sony ICF SW30 that the am stopped working on, and ICF M410v that the digital display stopped working correctly, 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
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