New arrival Sihuadon R-108


dwight richardson
 

Why don’t you send them a video of you fixing it with a ball pein hammer?  Might as well because you just waiting your time with these guys. Consider it therapy. 
--
Bob Richardson


FenDrifter
 

It was the D-808 I got confused with originally, I bought it and then sold it, can't remember why. I think you and Michael are both lucky living so far west, and having much better chance of T/A. My first challenge in that area is 1010, you'll be the first to know if I get it although my hopes are not high here in East Anglia!

Drifter


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

You're  welcome  Drifter.
THE XHDATA D-808 is far louder for pops, especially changing from AM to SSB.


FenDrifter
 

Hi Peter

Yes, re the translation apps, I think we've probably all come across some absolute crackers! Anyway, most importantly I've got to thank you for solving my problem! I suspected it might be something simple, but like a lot of men I hate reading manuals 😊. Apart from that I'm still in the process of learning how to drive this wee beastie. Generally speaking I'm impressed with the feel of the thing, with only one minor niggle so far, and that's changing bands with headphones on, there's a painful crack! My next experiments will entail trying antennas, my tuned loop and a wire. But, for the price, and ignoring the initial problem 😡 I'm very pleased with what it does. 

Drifter


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

I wasn't serious about the use of customers.
They probably  use a translation app.
When the radio is on, give the VM/VF button a short press. This toggles between memory mode (VM) and frequency mode (VF).
Peter


FenDrifter
 

You could well be right Peter, but then it could possibly be somebody who isn't a native speaker? But Peter, I've got a question, when I turn this set on, it's always in memory mode? Let's say I've got it set to 'slow' then when I turn it on and go to tune with the knob it just cycles through any stations I've stored, it doesn't start tuning? Is this a fault or have I got something wrong? The only way I can get out of it is change the bandwidth which is a pain. 

Drifter


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

Customers? How many of you were complaining? ;)
Obviously they have had complaints before and switched to the paper insert I got. 


FenDrifter
 

And having replied with an explanation to the above, I received the following within five minutes:
Dear customers,
If you encounter such a problem, we are very sorry, and will feedback this problem to our factory. If there is any problem later, please contact us in time, thank you for your reply.


FenDrifter
 
Edited

Would you believe it? I've just received the following reply from XHDATA:

Dear customers,
We received your message, but we were not able to reply in time. We are very sorry for this. Could you make a video of your problem and send it to our mailbox, which will help us solve your problem encountered a problem, but we did not see the video you sent

This came after I'd written to them saying I would tell all to an ultralight forum I belonged to 🤔
Drifter


FenDrifter
 

Hi Peter
Yes, it looks as though they have. It's thick and springy which is why I had to press it down with my fingernail, you can see the crease where it bent. I still can't quite visualise what happened. 

Drifter


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

Hello Drifter and all.
Glad you sorted it out with DIY.
I suspect they changed the safety insert, as mine is made of thin paper, which wouldn't damage anything,
Peter


FenDrifter
 

I do of course have to agree with you Gary. 

Drifter


Gary DeBock
 

On Sat, Sep 24, 2022 at 06:57 AM, FenDrifter wrote:

Hi Peter, Gary and all
SORTED!! Having tried the reset button and removing and replacing the battery I decided to take the back off and see if I could see anything obvious. Initially I was going to remove the battery and wait a couple of days, but impatience got the better of of me. I sat and mulled over the odd things that had been happening and was of the opinion that there was either a short or broken connection. Well, I'd removed three screws from the back, and opened the battery compartment to see if there were any in there, and then I saw it. Of the three terminals that contact the battery, two of them were bent down! I was able to get my fingernail under them and gently ease them up. I then carefully inserted the battery, the screen came to life and bingo all was working!! Seeing that the battery was about two thirds charged I connected a power pack and as hoped the the oscillating three bars indicated it was charging; I was extremely pleased! The question is of course how they come to be bent down in the first place? The thought I had was that the 'safety insert' that's there to insulate these terminals from the battery between manufacture and purchase had possibly done the damage when pushed home, it is rather thick. The only other thing really is that it was done on assembly. Either way, you can all make your own decision as to whether or not go this route of purchase. 

A very happy man
Drifter

Drifter,

Thanks for the update, and I'm happy that your R-108 model is now working after the battery terminals have been connected.

Despite this, the complete lack of communication from XHDATA regarding your inoperative model is still good reason for others to be wary of this company, and their unreliable "warranty."

Gary 
 


keith beesley
 

Congratulations, Drifter! Sometimes DIY is the way to go. 

Keith Beesley
Seattle USA


On Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 06:57:59 AM PDT, FenDrifter via groups.io <essexmarshman@...> wrote:


Hi Peter, Gary and all
SORTED!! Having tried the reset button and removing and replacing the battery I decided to take the back off and see if I could see anything obvious. Initially I was going to remove the battery and wait a couple of days, but impatience got the better of of me. I sat and mulled over the odd things that had been happening and was of the opinion that there was either a short or broken connection. Well, I'd removed three screws from the back, and opened the battery compartment to see if there were any in there, and then I saw it. Of the three terminals that contact the battery, two of them were bent down! I was able to get my fingernail under them and gently ease them up. I then carefully inserted the battery, the screen came to life and bingo all was working!! Seeing that the battery was about two thirds charged I connected a power pack and as hoped the the oscillating three bars indicated it was charging; I was extremely pleased! The question is of course how they come to be bent down in the first place? The thought I had was that the 'safety insert' that's there to insulate these terminals from the battery between manufacture and purchase had possibly done the damage when pushed home, it is rather thick. The only other thing really is that it was done on assembly. Either way, you can all make your own decision as to whether or not go this route of purchase. 

A very happy man
Drifter


FenDrifter
 

Hi Peter, Gary and all
SORTED!! Having tried the reset button and removing and replacing the battery I decided to take the back off and see if I could see anything obvious. Initially I was going to remove the battery and wait a couple of days, but impatience got the better of of me. I sat and mulled over the odd things that had been happening and was of the opinion that there was either a short or broken connection. Well, I'd removed three screws from the back, and opened the battery compartment to see if there were any in there, and then I saw it. Of the three terminals that contact the battery, two of them were bent down! I was able to get my fingernail under them and gently ease them up. I then carefully inserted the battery, the screen came to life and bingo all was working!! Seeing that the battery was about two thirds charged I connected a power pack and as hoped the the oscillating three bars indicated it was charging; I was extremely pleased! The question is of course how they come to be bent down in the first place? The thought I had was that the 'safety insert' that's there to insulate these terminals from the battery between manufacture and purchase had possibly done the damage when pushed home, it is rather thick. The only other thing really is that it was done on assembly. Either way, you can all make your own decision as to whether or not go this route of purchase. 

A very happy man
Drifter


Gary DeBock
 

On Fri, Sep 23, 2022 at 03:11 AM, FenDrifter wrote:
Hi again Peter and all
Well it looks as though my hopes have come to nought, because despite four emails the only reply I got was to confirm that the original faulty unit had been dispatched. So the moral of this story is DO NOT buy directly from XHDATA!
Drifter
Drifter and Peter,

During the drafting of the 2021 Ultralight Radio Shootout I often wondered about how trustworthy the "warranty" offered by XHDATA (a.k.a. Radiwow/ Sihuadon) on their models was. Drifter has now apparently answered this question for all of us.

Never purchase these models without a reliable warranty offered by a trustworthy seller in your own home country.

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

  


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

Sorry to hear that Drifter.
Warning noted. 
Peter


FenDrifter
 

Hi again Peter and all
Well it looks as though my hopes have come to nought, because despite four emails the only reply I got was to confirm that the original faulty unit had been dispatched. So the moral of this story is DO NOT buy directly from XHDATA!
Drifter


FenDrifter
 

Might be an idea to hold fast on that for now Peter 😊

Sent from the sunny hills of obscurity 

On 20 Sep 2022, at 09:19, Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...> wrote:

Oh dear, sorry about that Drifter.
I was thinking about returning my R-108 and ordering  the £33 one. A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush springs to mind.
Peter


Peter 1956 <pe1etr@...>
 

Oh dear, sorry about that Drifter.
I was thinking about returning my R-108 and ordering  the £33 one. A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush springs to mind.
Peter