Looking for a site proof radio? Then the Hitachi TRK-W540E Boombox could be music to your ears – quite literally as it happens.
Hitachi’s latest on-site music system is called the UR 18DSDL cordless radio, and believe you me, if music is your thing then you are going to welcome this addition to power tool maker’s range.
This ‘Job-Site radio’ really is site-proof. The unit features six ‘shock absorbers’ and a triangular frame, which makes it feel sturdy and allows it to be rested in almost any position (but the right way up will always look and sound the best).
What I liked about this unit is that the two speakers, situated on either side of the main face, are recessed behind the resin and rubber frame, protecting them from damage. The 7W speakers produced some very rich and crisp melodious sounds and this was enhanced by being able to adjust the bass and treble individually to my desired taste.
Setting it up was relatively straightforward – just press the power button and select your ‘Source’, with ‘Bluetooth’ and ‘DAB’ being amongst the options. I synced it up to my phone and in less than 30 seconds we were tapping our feet to the groovy beats.
You could also add the date, time, alarm, radio alarm, buzzer alarm, sleep and equalizer – quite a host of on-board 
gizmos if you ask me. Furthermore, most of the above could be stored in the internal memory and recalled when you power it up.
There is quite a selection of jobsite radios to choose from these days but this for me is one of the most stylish looking ones. One of the features I really liked was that you could open up the front cover and put your smart phone in it.
Inside the housing was a USB charging adaptor, allowing you to charge your phone on-site. Although, I did notice that if you turned the volume up too high then it stopped charging your phone (that’s one way to make sure that you don’t wake up the whole neighbourhood).
The Hitachi version I tested came with a 240V charger. However, as an optional extra you could purchase a battery and charger, making this sound machine totally cordless. Alas, the battery and charger don’t come as standard but I feel it should as most people on site would not have access to a 13 amp 240V socket outlets. Given that it is advertised as a site radio, maybe this is something that Hitachi could add to the standard kit.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
Battery-operated Audio system
High Quality Sound: Dynamic full range speaker with six pre-set equalizer settings.
High Sensitivity : Low-noise radio frequency amplifier digital signal processing/ receiving system
High durability : IPX4 water resistance
Built-in protection storage case for smartphone
AUX input terminal and an USB charging jack
Protection frame structure : Cushioning rubber + Special resin
Bluetooth ® wireless technology
DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting)
Audio playback & recharge function
www.hitachi–powertools.co.uk