very happy with this radio. don't care about short wave functions. i am a courier that drives a step van with rattling doors and a loud diesel engine. needed a portable radio that was loud enough to listen to talk radio over all the noise. the speaker strength is definitely loud enough. chose cause only uses 4 D size batteries. bought charger and batteries at radio shack.looks n feels light, plastic-y, n cheap. the batteries weighs it down a bit. have had for 4 months, carrying and banging it around: holding up pretty well so far.last radio plastic knobs broke off; these knobs stick way out;have to be careful not to bang it n break knobs off.few cons: no presets; when switching between am and fm, doesn't save previous station. handle is an adjustable strap; i like it short, but keeps stretching on it own; have to adjust every so often.bottom line: strong quality sound from a compact portable radio.