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Tecsun PL390

Finally received the PL390 on Saturday, but didn't have time to play with it until today. Spent about an hour this morning operating it. The DSP is awesome on it; it really knocks some of the noise out compared to my Kaito 1102. In the near future I'll do a scan of AM/FM/SW and put it on YT. Think I'm going to like this little bugger. :D

BTW, has anyone gotten a wallwart power supply for it?

@Spunker88....
I have found that the AN-200 Loop Antenna has little improvement for signals on the PL390 (the receive is great on it)...however the loop greatly improve signals on my KA-1102, as well as a Sony ICF-SW30 I've got. Wondering if you have had the same results?
 
n2wds said:
BTW, has anyone gotten a wallwart power supply for it?

@Spunker88....
I have found that the AN-200 Loop Antenna has little improvement for signals on the PL390 (the receive is great on it)...however the loop greatly improve signals on my KA-1102, as well as a Sony ICF-SW30 I've got. Wondering if you have had the same results?
Click to expand...

There is some improvement maybe 10dbu but it has to do with the fact that the Tecsun already has a nice big ferrite rod in it. I found it does a nice job improving AM radios with small ferrite rod antennas or by hooking it directly to my Sony XDR-F1HD via the wired connection.

This unit uses a mini-USB plug so any charger that uses this plug will work since its a standardized 5v plug. You can find many chargers for cell phones and MP3 players that use this plug. It says on the back that is uses 200ma and most mini-USB chargers should provide this much or more so you'll be fine for current. I tested this using a mini-USB charger and it worked fine. It can also recharge batteries this way. But I'll have to see how long alkaline batteries last before I consider rechargeables.
 
As far as wall warts, stay with the old fashion transformer type. Radio Shack now seems to sell the switching type that throw out a lot of RF noise. Those tiny USB AC cubes are switching type & I've found them to be excessively noisy.
 
boiseengineer said:
As far as wall warts, stay with the old fashion transformer type. Radio Shack now seems to sell the switching type that throw out a lot of RF noise. Those tiny USB AC cubes are switching type & I've found them to be excessively noisy.
Click to expand...

If you can find one that puts out 5v at at least 200ma then that would probably be better. I've found that some of those transformer AC to DC adapters will put out a higher voltage if they have a lower current draw then what they are rated. I'm sure all of the mini-USB chargers out there are the smaller switching type since this plug style is fairly new.
 
boiseengineer said:
As far as wall warts, stay with the old fashion transformer type. Radio Shack now seems to sell the switching type that throw out a lot of RF noise. Those tiny USB AC cubes are switching type & I've found them to be excessively noisy.
Click to expand...

This is why I use batteries.
 
ddsparxx said:
boiseengineer said:
As far as wall warts, stay with the old fashion transformer type. Radio Shack now seems to sell the switching type that throw out a lot of RF noise. Those tiny USB AC cubes are switching type & I've found them to be excessively noisy.
Click to expand...

This is why I use batteries.
Click to expand...

I just tried a switching type USB AC adapter and it produces way too much noise. My laptop actually produces cleaner USB power. I'm just going to use alkaline batteries for now. If I find it going through too many I may switch to rechargeable batteries since this unit can be set to recharge them via the mini-USB jack.
 
Not the PL390....no, I wound up with a Tecsun DR920

I've heard how good the Tecsuns were. And I found one for super cheap. Just $16.95 plus $5.00 shipping.

Cool deal huh?

Not quite. Not by a LONG shot.

First, the dial was digital, but the tuning was analog. With no presets to save to. The speaker was of your typical transistor radio size and quality, but it offered a stereo headset compatible jack. Which all in all, was the only nice thing I can say about it.

The AM/FM reception was just barely average (and I say that loosely.) Not as horrible as anything J-WIN makes (they can't even seem to make an analog radio dial that corresponds remotely with the frequency you're listening to.) It's definitely nothing to write home about. The real headache was the tuning often drifts off-frequency. I set it for KOMO 1000 AM and five minutes later, it's on 997 kHz. Or 1003 kHz. The FM was slightly better at this, but still drifted after an hour of listening.

The real reason I picked up this thing was for the shortwave. And I hate to say it, but I got ripped off TOTALLY. Almost NOTHING came in beyond Radio Cuba on 6.000 MHz, the WWV time clock on 5 and 10 MHz. And the usual high powered religious crap.

I know you get what you pay for, but THIS is a black eye for Tecsun IMHO.

I think I'll just stick to my trusty AWA Radiola........
 
ddsparxx said:
"What's the best Radio for FM around $15??"

Probably the Sony SRF-59, for around $20.
Click to expand...

disagree. AFC on SRF-39/59 is ridiculously overdone and impossible to disable. you'll go crazy trying to tune in a weak station between two strong ones, even when the strong ones are a full MHz away

also it is almost impossible to achieve full-quieting, rotating your body around with the headphone cord 'antenna'.

the DSP radio in a typical mp3 player is much better for selectivity, and isnt plagued with AFC issues
 
Bongwater said:
The real reason I picked up this thing was for the shortwave. And I hate to say it, but I got ripped off TOTALLY. Almost NOTHING came in beyond Radio Cuba on 6.000 MHz, the WWV time clock on 5 and 10 MHz
Click to expand...

i can vouch for Eton/Grundig Mini 300's shortwave. for a 10 dollar radio it is pretty decent. find a spare capacitor and make a kr1st and place it inside it for even better reception
 
The Tecsun PL-310 I had for about a year gave up the ghost. It is being replaced by a new Tecsun PL-606 which is coming to my home soon.
 
man, this radio is too amazing for words. last week i heard north carolina here in altamonte like it was a local station. it was 100.7 the river. also i had arazona on am as well. freaking amazing!!!!!!!!! i love this radio. i'm sticking with tecson.
 
austingrace said:
man, this radio is too amazing for words. last week i heard north carolina here in altamonte like it was a local station. it was 100.7 the river. also i had arazona on am as well. freaking amazing!!!!!!!!! i love this radio. i'm sticking with tecson.
Click to expand...

Who did you get from Arizona??? I've hear 1580, but that was over 20 years ago!! You have a 660 there, so it couldn't be KTNN.........could it????

cd
 
My 390 arrived today and I LIKE IT!!!!! The FM selectivity is amazing and the AM section is just as nice. The best part is the 390 fits in nicely in my computer bag.
 
MarioMania said:
Is there Radio's like Tecsun PL-390 under $20?
Click to expand...

No. Unless someone sells you a used one on ebay - and I would be very wary of those.

That sort of technology will run you about $50, give or take. Which really is a bargain when you consider just how well these radios do. Under $20 basically gets you an analog portable such as the Sony ICF-38, Sony ICF-S10MK2, Sony SRF-59 (all three have gotten decent reviews) or a piece of crap from Coby which can be obtained at your local drug store.

Even the best $20 radio is not going to give you the sort of FM reception that you'll see with the likes of a Tecsun PL390. AM is a bit more debatable because I've read some raves about the AM reception on the SRF-59. The FM isn't going to impress. I have a couple of ICF-S10MK2s. They're great for the price, but really basic. My Tecsun PL310, PL606 or Grundig G8 will clobber it in any reception contest (especially FM). But they cost 4 times as much. So, the Sonys do seem to offer good value for the money.

I'd stay the heck away from anything with the Coby brand plastered on it.
 
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