Too Taxing: LiJiANi Rd908 Weather Radio

I received my LiJiANi Rd908 on time from Amazon, but there was some confusion about the weather alert feature. It didn’t work as the product description said, and the manual linked in the product description didn’t even mention an alert feature.

That was resolved by the LiJiANi seller through a revised manual: LiJiANi Version 1.5 User Manual, but their reply included this disturbing addition:

At present, the inventory in Amazon warehouse is sold out and no more will be purchased. Because the tariff is too high, the price will not sell well if it is increased, and it will lose money if it is not increased. We choose not to purchase. I’m very sorry.

Amazon shows their quantity in stock as 4 for the yellow version. I know some retailers have built up supply in anticipation of tariffs, but this is an early glimpse of what to expect unless US trade policy changes.

But on to the product review…

Performance

MW/FM

I ran my midday band scan at about 4 PM local time, but it’s springtime and that time is far from sunset. I expected poorer performance on MW as I do with many radios I test, but I would rate it as average, and it only got one station fewer than my Tecsun PL660 and PL-880 (neither stellar performers on MW). I consider the result adequate for my weak-signal area. FM performance was fairly good and it’s worth considering as an FM radio.

Weather

It provided excellent reception of my local NOAA weather station. I haven’t tested weather alerts yet. That will have to wait until next week.

It is possible to listen to the weather broadcast while the radio is charging from USB, opening up the possibility of leaving weather alerts turned on all the time without discharging the battery.

Searching for weather alerts is simply accomplished by a long press of the ATS/Band button when the weather band is selected. The display shows “ALE” in this mode.

Shortwave

It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t a new version, because it was planned to have a meter band jump on shortwave, providing a way to reach frequencies more efficiently; however, the user can press and hold the Tune up or down button for a fast scan, or continue to hold the button for an even faster scan.

I went out at 11 AM local time in Virginia and clipped on 18 ft of wire for an ATS band scan, storing 32 frequencies, a mixture of stations and noise. I wouldn’t expect much that time of day. ATS on this model scans all frequencies from 3.2 to 30 MHz in 5 kHz steps, not just within the international shortwave broadcast frequencies. The full SW scan took 11 minutes (it may have stopped prematurely due to filling up all the ATS memories).

I picked up some strong signals from WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida, about 750 miles from me. I was lucky to catch the Wave Scan broadcast, quite good with just the 18″ telescopic antenna.

ATS is somewhat limited on this radio with 32 station presets for each band (the manual is in error).

I haven’t tried the radio with my wire up a tree antenna (WUT) yet because the turtles were just having too fine a time sunning themselves nearby and I didn’t want to disturb them.

Later on, about 5:30 PM, the turtles had swum off to do their turtle thing and I hooked up the WUT antenna. I got a strong signal from WWV on 4.950 MHz. No, that’s not a typo and it’s not an inaccurate tuning display. There is no 5 MHz WWV signal audible that time of day. What we had on the LiJiANi was some sort of an image from one of the higher frequencies of WWV. I got stations with the WUT, including CFRX in Toronto, loud and clear, as well as CHU from Ottawa on 7850. The Rd908 generates its own share of RF noise that I observed on nearby radios as I was tuning it. Also the Rd908 picked up noise from its own display on MW.

The radio is reasonably sensitive, receiving shortwave stations with the telescopic antenna on appropriate frequencies, and it can be boosted by an external antenna clipped on, but given the images, internal noise, limited ATS presets, lack of a signal strength indicator, and the time it takes to tune a specific frequency, I wouldn’t suggest anyone buy this radio for the primary purpose of listening to shortwave stations.

Ergonomics

One thing I really like about this radio is its stability. It is octagonal in cross section, and when oriented vertically, there is a broad base for the radio to rest on (about 1.24″). It is not going to fall over. It also needs no kickstand because rotating the radio provides another broad flat platform; in this position one can plug in the USB-C cable for charging. Even in the upright position, the display is angled for easy viewing.

The integrated handle is a winner. Rather than something that flops around, or a strap that catches on things, the Rd908 is fully configured for grab and go, and the handle is perfectly positioned flashlight use. It has clips for a carrying strap that was to be included in a future version of the radio, but apparently that’s not going to happen at least for the US, so the first order of business with this radio is to remove the clips for the handle, easily accomplished using a pair of pliers without damage.

The radio is a bit chunky with a width of about 7.5″ and a thickness of 3″; there are smaller emergency radio options on the market if size is an issue. I like this one for its sturdiness and stability. This is just a well-designed product.

Audio

The Rd908 stands out in its ability to be turned up loud. I thought the sound was good, but my hearing is impaired, so your experience may differ. There is no deep bass, but the midrange was strong. I’d listen to music on it.

Power

Yes friends, you can run this radio on 3 AA batteries, you can run it on one or two 18650 flat top batteries (included), and you can run it on one 14500 battery. The internal charging options only apply to the 18650 and the 14500 batteries. Accessing the battery tray requires a screwdriver (included). In addition to the three types of batteries, there is also a hand crank and a small solar panel

Utility

It’s sold as an an emergency radio, and it checks the boxes in that category, adding weather alerts, SOS siren, flashlight, reading light, solar charging, crank charging, and flexible battery power to the usual radio functions. And it can be used to charge external devices, like a cell phone. The SOS siren is not as loud as some, and the flashlight is average (100 lumens), but serviceable

The compass was a total loser. It appears to be liquid filled based on the bubble I could see, but it doesn’t point north unless the radio points north. It appears to me as if there is some magnetic material in the radio that is deflecting the compass. In any case, the compass is only good for decoration.

An IP64 rating for dust and weather resistance is a plus. I actually believe the level 4 weather resistance rating on this one, meaning it’s splash resistant from any angle. The speaker is the only potential access point for water.

Disposition

This is a good weather radio, particularly considering its $35 price point. I already have a weather alert radio for daily use, the Zhiwhis ZWS-2415, that I keep bedside for weather forecasts and the clock. It looks like this one will go in my wife’s car for emergency use and just to listen to FM radio (her car doesn’t have a built-in radio).