I don't normally buy stuff from Ebay. But when I do, it's a XHDATA D-808 that
isn't legally sold in North America. Cost $ AUD 118 including shipping from
Australia via Singapore. It arrived by Canada Post on Friday, less than 2
weeks after I ordered it. It's a little bigger than the C Crane Skywave, so
the C Crane will still be my go-to radio for road trips and for travel
where every cubic millimeter of backpack space is crucial. The Skywave also
has the Weather band, which is good to have for traveling, and runs on AA
batteries, which are sold virtually everywhere. Jury is still out on the
D-808's lithium battery. I have no idea how long the it will last, how
often it will need to be recharged (so far, it doesn't seem like it will
need to be plugged in every night like my phone) and how many recharges it
can handle before it craps out and needs to be replaced. I don't think
lithium batteries like the one in the D-808 are easy to find or are even
sold in North America.

The D-808's user manual is written in pretty poor Chinglish. But this is
non unusual with many made-in-China products. It doesn't come with
headphones or a charger. Only a USB charging cable.

So far, after using it only a couple days, the D-808 has a slight edge over
the C Crane on AM, a bigger edge on SW. But neither will beat my 1978
Panasonic RF-2200.

73

Mike Brooker
Toronto, ON