Home > Consumer Reviews > Roberts SOLARDAB-W SolarDAB Solar Powered DAB Radio wth Rechargeable Battery Pack - White

I have mine sitting on a not-very-sunny windowsill in a bathroom, behind frosted glass. Apart from the first charge by the mains, I've never had to resort to that again. I use it maybe 15 minutes a day. I can confirm - both from the helpdesk prior to sale and personal experience after - that it does re-charge itself even when not turned on. So, in that department, it's completely satisfactory in that department.
Looks-wise, I don't think it's great. Ergonomics too are not perfect. Why is the on-off button, which one wants to use every day, the same size as the info button that one uses once (and then just to see what it does)?
Also I don't find the preset that great: you have to press the preset button, then twiddle the second knob, then press in the second knob. Hardly the work of a moment. I admit you see the channels as you move between the available presets but I'd far prefer 10 distinct buttons labelled 1-10 on which I could put radio 4 at number 4 etc - making changing channel a single click. Also tuning between presets isn't that fast - but maybe that's a characteristic of DAB.
Incidentally, for mine the line-in didn't work when powered off a small mp3 player. I think the output of the player wasn't enough. (It worked off other devices OK.)

Still, in spite of the above, highly recommended for avoiding the irritation of having to mess around with batteries.

This marvellous little radio solves the problem of receiving power-hungry DAB broadcasts in rooms where there is no power point. DAB radios are notoriously heavy on batteries but the Solardab solves this problem neatly.

I have had one on my bathroom windowsill for a couple of months now and the battery gauge has barely gone down more than one bar. The sound is excellent and you get all the advantages of a great range of stations. The radio will charge itself whether it is on or off but it does need natural sunlight - a south-facing window is ideal.

I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Neat package that is small and light. Definitely enjoy the convenience of rechargeable battery and solar top-up.

Good reception and don't need aerial out most of time.

But you do need bright sunlight to keep the battery fully charged and it can go down quite quickly (and would need to be plugged in to recharge fully).

Delighted with the radio. On receipt I plugged it in using the charger and let it charge overnight, then tuned it in - this was really simple. Have not needed to charge since and I use it every day. The sound is a small radio sound, not Hi-Fi, but everything is as you would expect and easy to use. The radio charges itself when not in use and also looks really neat.

I needed a radio for the smallest room and looked at various makes and models. It had to be battery operated for obvious reasons but then there is the consideration of recharging or replacing the batteries. Being solar assisted by means of a top mounted panel and sitting on the reasonably sunny window sill in the bathroom, I gave the radio an initial overnight charge six weeks ago and it is still going strong now with daily use. The charge will no doubt last less long in the winter but the solar panel is still a definite boon. Very pleased all round.