ZHIWHISShortwave Radio with Bluetooth and APP Control, AIR AM FM VHF SW WB Portable Receiver, Super Bass/5 Types of Light Effects/6 EQ/Recording Rechargeable Stereo Emergency Radios Player ZWS-A320

I'm a cybersecurity researcher and I've recently started researching data transmissions across radio frequencies. I purchased this radio for part of my research, and am extremely impressed.The Good:-Sound is crystal clear, and the ability to record is extremely helpful for my research.-Multiple frequency bands to choose from, all of which are searchable, including VHF,SW,MW,FM,WB,AIR.-SD Card recording and playback works fantastic-Bluetooth and USB connection options for audio from phone or computer, works great-Carrying case provides great place to store the radio and its accessories-Manual dials allow fine-tuning of reception-Flashlight is BRIGHT and a nice added bonus-Long battery life-Had a usage question and answer from the seller was extremely fast and helpfulWhat needs improved:-Built-in antenna is very fragile-Carrying case does only has a handle, not a carrying strap-Android app is sketchy - have to sideload an app downloaded from a website in China-Having to double press the lock button to start recording does not seem very intuitive-It would be great if this also supported CB/UHF. I'll probably just purchase a separate radio with those bands and use the line-in to record.An additional comment - the "mood lighting" on the back of the unit is completely unnecessary.Overall, I still give this 5 stars just because of how much power is built into this tiny package.

First things first. You will see this radio labeled by several different company’s . They are all the same! One company makes it and several other companies put their names on it. Wanted to check it out so started watching YouTube vids. My recommendation would be a video by “ ElectroBanana”. This guy knows his stuff. He bought it, opened it, unscrewed it, and took it apart. This guy went through this radio like it was a UFO being back engineered at Area 51! He knew what everything was and it’s specs, and all the components are Chinese! And when he was finished he only had 2 things he did not like about the radio. The fact that it comes with a brush? And that there is a metal cube inside that’s only purpose was to add weight. I can tell you why they did that. When you hold this radio it feels money. It has that nice weight that makes you feel like you got your money’s worth. Other than that A GREAT LITTLE MULTIFUNCTIONAL RADIO! He has another video where he adds a external antenna jack for better shortwave signal. So after all that, I bought one....and. He was spot on....Great radio. Great value for the money, hours of fun sorting all the functions and last but not least ....It looks great, with its funky little light show. One satisfied customer!

I have only had this little radio for a week and I love it. Its a bit of a learning curve to operate, but just play with it. There are a couple of videos on You tube that are helpful also. As a HAM radio operator I like to have radios with me on the go. This little baby gives me the resources of a typical shortwave unit in a VERY compact unit. WX, SW, VHF and more. And don't worry, the little speaker sounds great and carries a nice bass tone. Unit seems well built and is rechargeable. Also recording on a memory card is a nice touch. I could go on, but I'll just say :try it, you'll like it!"

My unit had a defective antenna that wouldn't extend all the way; two joints were frozen together. Zhiwhis support via email (their address is on the box) was responsive and told me to return the unit to Amazon, which I did along with a reorder. The replacement arrived and it only had one joint frozen together. I don't need this kind of aggravation, so I'm sending the second one back, without a reorder.I can excuse one defective item, but not TWO IN A ROW.The review below is the one I would have written, but for the fact that they send out defective merchandise.I'm an experienced radio user, having owned over 100 of them over 55 years. My product reviews are informed by what is on the market and what I had to pay for the item; price and competition set expectations. The ZWS-A320 was on sale with a coupon making the price $69 plus tax. This radio is also sold as the HanRongDa HRD-A320 and as the Raddy RF320. (Note: the Zhiwhis has a green backlight and the Raddy is orange.)Hits:The elephant in the room is the speaker. Five Watts is huge for a portable radio that I could actually cram into my old man pants pocket. It takes input from radio, music files on a Micro SD card, a computer via USB, an AUX cable and Bluetooth. It sounds fantastic. It easily paired with a Windows 11 desktop.The second distinction is the app that lets a phone or tablet user control the radio / music player. It provides direct numeric frequency/song number entry, and displays the file name of music files played. It can set the radio's clock from the phone with a single button tap (I really like this feature), or start the radio recording what it receives. The app works well and is responsive. The same app works with the Zhiwhis ZWS-787.The radio function has remarkable frequency coverage: AM/MW, FM, Shortwave, VHF, AIR and weather band with weather alerts. It has 199 preset memories for each band (except weather) with automatic tune storage (ATS) in addition to manual scanning for the next station. Shortwave coverage is between 3.20-21.95 MHz, so you won't get the 120m international broadcast frequencies, the 11m broadcast and US Citizens Band, nor the 10m amateur radio band. One feature I particularly like is the front panel tuning knob that reminds one of analog radios with tuning dials. It allows you to quickly scan a band or sub band with a single rotation of the knob. The side tuning knob (called the "shuttle" in the manual) just tunes up and down with many rotations for a single band.Misses:The antenna is short, thin and easy to damage. It does not swivel. There's no obvious way to replace the antenna without opening the radio, a risky proposition even if you could get a replacement. The 18650 battery was remarkably difficult to insert, and I would have preferred a battery cover that didn't require a screwdriver (included) to remove.FM selectivity isn't all that sharp with a really strong station bleeding onto two adjacent channels on either side. The radio is not particularly sensitive on AM/MW -- sort of average. FM is above average. Shortwave is fairly good, but not on par with the kind of radio marketed specifically to shortwave listeners; you would get a much better performing shortwave radio with something like a Tecsun PL-320, but you wouldn't get the music player, app, mood lighting, weather, air and the long list of other features. By the way, turn off the mood lighting; you can barely see it anyway. I tested the weather band and got the same station that all my other ones get. I didn't test VHF or AIR bands.The radio is somewhat complicated, with some of its buttons performing as many as 6 different functions depending on context. You will need the manual to figure put some things, and that is another weak point: the 33-page manual appears complete, but the translation into English leaves a lot to be desired. Some words are peculiar, and some descriptions really don't make sense.Summary:It's a fun radio to play with, and the audio quality is top notch. AM/MW will work in a strong signal area, or at night. FM should satisfy. A serious shortwave listener would be better served by a radio that focuses on that area instead of trying to do everything like the Zhiwhis does.It's a shame that in two tries they couldn't ship me a defect-free item.