Recently I received a shipment of a radio from the brand XHDATA model: D-109WB, so I immediately decided to test it and make a short review. My shipment arrived relatively quickly in less than two weeks, well packed and without any consequences of transportation. Inside is the original box containing the radio receiver, a USB type C cable for charging the battery, and English manuals.

First of all, let me describe the physical characteristics. I have previously purchased several radios from this brand, and all of them at first glance show solid and high-quality workmanship. Dimensions of the device are 150 x 80 x 30mm, and radio weighs is about 288g.  

   Let's start from the back, there is a support for placing the device in the appropriate position, and under it is a Lithium battery with a capacity of 2000 mah, branded by the manufacturer, which is a guarantee of its quality.

Then, on the front side, a large readable display with backlight and ergonomic buttons, including an intuitive circular part for easy controll the MP3 player and bluetooth speaker function, as well as a search function for the radio. The antenna is massive and relatively long about 50cm, which is a basic requirement for good reception. On the left side there are connectors for headphones and an external antenna, and on the right side there is a large button for searching stations. Below it is a discreetly placed mechanical potentiometer for volume regulation. I emphasize this as a positive detail because the digital volume control is very slow and impractical. Below is C-Type charging port. And, on the bottom side there is a reset button and a TF card slot.

   First I would like to explain the functions of all the buttons:

The Power button is red in color because it is used the most, so it is easily visible. Also, the SOS button is a different color than the others for the same reason. In the top row there are three buttons for setting the clock and alarms. Display/lock button, SW bandwidth/backlight button. With a long press on this button, the backlight remains permanently on, then voice/music control, DX/local reception mode, and view memories/view frequencies button. Next comes the Weatherband/Weatheralert button, the SW+, SW- band buttons, medium wave/long wave area and FM area button. This is a numeric keypad through which we can directly enter the requested frequency.  And, The round part of the keyboard primarily serves to control the Bluetooth speaker mode, and the .mp3 and other audio files player.

Video description at: https://youtu.be/K91vdO7m6J4

   Now let's see how the radio works: First I will test the FM band with the built in antenna. I work in a basement and specifically here the signal is very weak, but still I receive my favorite radio programs very well. On a well-received station, the sound is exceptionally clear and voluminous, and low frequencies are reproduced surprisingly well for a speaker of this size. The sound intensity is quite sufficient both for listening in a room and outside in an open space. The receiver is capable of memorizing 100 stations on the FM band. A big surprise for me was variable-speed tuning, which also works on shortwave bands. The slow tuning rate is 0.01 MHz, and it jumps to 0.1 MHz when the knob is turned quickly. I had not experienced variable-speed tuning in other radios before, so I think this is a "must have" feature in any digital portable radio.

   Now, let me briefly test the reception of the SW band. For this purpose I will use my external LOG (loop over ground) antenna and antenna splitter through which I will bring an identical signal to the portable radio and to this SDR radio which I will use for some kind of comparison. The reception on the medium wave range with the built-in ferrite antenna is also quite solid.

   The radio supports bluetooth and can be used to play audio from an external device through its bluetooth connection.

     It also have a TF card slot for a micro SD card, which can be loaded with music and played through the radio's audio system.  

   Unfortunately, there are no NOAA weather reports in my region, so I have no conditions to test this feature.

    As for the battery life, I can simply say that it is impressive. I've been running it using the speaker for several hours per day for nearly a week, and the battery still shows a full charge.

    And now, I can say for me the most interesting part, to look inside the radio. The rubber tabs on the bottom of the cabinet must be partially removed to disassemble the radio. In order to fully disassemble the radio it is necessary to push in  the locking claws from inside while pulling on the knob from the outside. 

 Obviously everything is well organized. А relatively large speaker in own box which is the reason for the good sound. I was very pleasantly surprised by the SI-4734 radio chip used. Namely, so far I have built several radios with chips from this family from the Skyworks brand which is controlled by a microcontroller, and I can tell you that they have excellent characteristics. You can check out these DIY radios on my channel. А ferrite antenna is large enough for good reception in the medium wave area.

Behind the metal armor is the display together with the control electronics. The metal serves to block the digital noise generated by the display on the radio reception. On the other side are placed the control buttons, the display, and a small buzzer and microphone. Now let's move on to the other half. It have a small lithium battery for saving the stored stations as well as the clock and alarms and other settings in the absence of the main battery. 

The audio section is located on second board and contains the D2668 chip capable of delivering 3W stereo output power. Other small chip is D4800 wich is a stereo headphones amplifier.

   And finally a short conclusion: The XHDATA D-109WB is a solid little radio of an overall good build. It feels more robust than some of its competitors of the same size. The radio has excellent sensitivity and selectivity on all bands thanks to the use of the advanced SI47xx family radio chip from Skyworks. It supports bluetooth and micro SD card, which can be loaded with music and played through the radio's audio system. In short I think that XHDATA D109WB currently represents a best value for money.