Hi Peter
This is the page I use. Change the currency to Pounds and make sure whatever you're looking for is available to ship from UK. Tap the word Product to get a menu. 

https://xhdata.com.cn/
Drifter

Thanks for that Drifter. Some items ship from the UK, including the R-108.
Presumably  VAT is included.
 There prices are significantly lower than Amazon UK. 
Peter

Hi Peter and all

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

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

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

Sorry to hear that Drifter.
Warning noted. 
Peter

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)

  

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

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 
 

I do of course have to agree with you Gary. 

Drifter

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

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

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

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

And having replied with an explanation to the above, I received the following within five minutes:

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

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

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