Seems like every few weeks, a new Tecsun model comes out. Are any of them better than the PL-390 for AM DX with the built in antenna? I've had 2 Tecsuns and while the AM is good, it pales in comparison to my now 31 year old GE Superadio II. Some of the new models boast synchronous AM detection but if the small loop isn't pulling in signals at least as well as a good car radio, I'm not sure how helpful that would be.
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Tecsun
- Thread starter BobOnTheJob
- Start date
A year ago, I bought a Tecsun PL-606 for about $50 on Amazon and am amazed with the AM AND FM performance. It went to Europe with me last fall followed by a sailing trip across the Atlantic giving amazing AM performance. Sensitivity and Selectivity far exceed my GE Super-Radio. The radio itself is only slightly larger than a pack of cigs and also offers excellent SW and LW reception.
Going to give one of these a try... My old Sony ICF2002 I think as been in contact with the floor on too many occasions...KR4BD said:A year ago, I bought a Tecsun PL-606 for about $50 on Amazon and am amazed with the AM AND FM performance. It went to Europe with me last fall followed by a sailing trip across the Atlantic giving amazing AM performance. Sensitivity and Selectivity far exceed my GE Super-Radio. The radio itself is only slightly larger than a pack of cigs and also offers excellent SW and LW reception.
Many thanks,
wh.
de K4WRF
I bought a PL-390 with the larger rod expecting better performance than the smaller PL-310. The 310 was better...the 390 has a fairly high noise floor on AM. I had the 310 in Charleston,IL a year ago showing it off to Andy Bolin. We walked into a wooded area well away from power lines. WSM was quite listenable on the SR II but on the 310, I could just tell what song was playing (255 air miles). If the 606 far exceeds the SR on AM, then it is radically better than the 310, which from my experience is better than the 390. Please, let the conversation continue...I want to hear as many opinions about as many Tecsun models as possible. Part of what justifies interest in another radio to carry in the car is that the newer ones cover CB freqs...and when you hit a traffic stoppage, channel 19 will tell you more than any broadcast traffic report. I want to kill 2 birds with this stone.spunker88 said:Any of their PL-3xx series radios and possibly others use the same Si4734 DSP chip. You'll get better AM on the physically larger models like the PL-390 since they house a larger ferrite rod antenna.
The FM on these will blow you away from a selectivity and sensitivity standpoint--unless you are within a mile or two of an FM transmitter. While there's now a class A very close to me, before it was here, I could sit on the front porch and listen to Owensboro,KY on 92.5 (140 air miles on the whip antenna) with grandfathered WTTS 92.3 (37KW at 1050' HAAT) just 12 miles from here...no slop. There is no intermod on the radio near strong signals...the AGC just reduces the RF gain. The FM on these is truly outstanding. Wish I could experience equally impressive AM results.
Bob
My PL-606 is only marginally more sensitive than my SR on AM but IS LIGHT YEARS BETTER in the selectivity department. The FM is unbelievable. I can regularly hear WAKY-103.5 (SW of Louisville) here in SW Lexington with the short whip. I am many, many miles outside their outter coverage line according to Radio-Locator. What makes this even more impressive to me is that I have a local on 103.3 about 4 miles away PLUS 3 Class As just 2 miles away on a common tower (95.3, 102.5 and 107.1). There's no overloading and no slopover on adjacent FM frequencies EVEN from the strongest locals. The SW reception is also impressive for the size of the antenna. On AM, I can null out WHAS and hear WKNR-850 during mid-day from Cleveland. It's not crystal clear, but I can hear it.
I bought this radio mainly for travel use due to its small size and outstanding performance. In the not to distant future, I will be cruising the Pacific and hope to have some interesting DX reports...
My PL-606 is only marginally more sensitive than my SR on AM but IS LIGHT YEARS BETTER in the selectivity department. The FM is unbelievable. I can regularly hear WAKY-103.5 (SW of Louisville) here in SW Lexington with the short whip. I am many, many miles outside their outter coverage line according to Radio-Locator. What makes this even more impressive to me is that I have a local on 103.3 about 4 miles away PLUS 3 Class As just 2 miles away on a common tower (95.3, 102.5 and 107.1). There's no overloading and no slopover on adjacent FM frequencies EVEN from the strongest locals. The SW reception is also impressive for the size of the antenna. On AM, I can null out WHAS and hear WKNR-850 during mid-day from Cleveland. It's not crystal clear, but I can hear it.
I bought this radio mainly for travel use due to its small size and outstanding performance. In the not to distant future, I will be cruising the Pacific and hope to have some interesting DX reports...
REALLY! I am about 14 miles closer to WKNR 850 than you are and with the 400' longwire, WKNR is there on the Drake R8 at a similar or maybe slightly better listening quality to what you're getting on the Tecsun. Just to clarify...you hear WKNR on the 606 with the built in antenna? That amazes me!KR4BD said:Bob
On AM, I can null out WHAS and hear WKNR-850 during mid-day from Cleveland. It's not crystal clear, but I can hear it.
I know that Watt is reading this...you wouldn't believe how clear WSM is up here (80 miles north of Louisville) on the longwire. I also hear the TN 4KW on 540 everyday in reasonably listenable quality and WQZQ Nashville's 2KW on 830 identifiable but not listenable. Farthest thing I hear every day is 5KW WMT 600 Cedar Rapids,IA at 352 air miles.
WSM is very clear here day/night. I can hear the 540 from TN on my pickup radio (Bose system, but not clearly). WKNR is also identifiable on the Bose radio in my 2006 Silverado. For some reason, sensitivity on my PL-606 drops off below 650 kHz (probably due to compromised internal loop ant). When I lived in Indy, around 1970, WMT-600 was a very clear day/night "regular".
D
Darth_vader
Guest
Are the PL-6 series DSP radios like the PL-3s are? I'm looking for something to (hopefully) replace the Yacht Boy for FM and shortwave DX.
How do they stack up against the F1HD on FM, performance wise? I've known people to describe the 390 as being like a "portable F1HD". Thoughts?
How do they stack up against the F1HD on FM, performance wise? I've known people to describe the 390 as being like a "portable F1HD". Thoughts?
Darth_vader said:Are the PL-6 series DSP radios like the PL-3s are? I'm looking for something to (hopefully) replace the Yacht Boy for FM and shortwave DX.
How do they stack up against the F1HD on FM, performance wise? I've known people to describe the 390 as being like a "portable F1HD". Thoughts?
Compared with the XDR-F1HD the sensitivity of the PL-390 is very close if not better on pulling in weak signals. Adjacent selectivity is where the XDR-F1HD is a bit better, but the PL-390 is still better than most radios. Also since you can tune to the nearest 0.01mhz you can address adjacent selectivity issues by tuning slightly off frequency. For portable DXing the PL-3xx series radios are hard to beat.
Perhaps I can throw in a word about the Grundig G8, which is a rebranded Tecsun PL-300WT. The FM reception on this little thing is ridiculous...I don't know how it does it. In the house, or on my porch, it's nothing special. But, when I'm out in the back yard with it, it's better than my Luxman R-1070/(30FT high) AntennaCraft FM-6 combo. This is because, unlike my FM-6, there's nothing coming through the 'back end', making the little Grundig/Tecsun the best FM radio for selectivity, in my possession. SW is OK, as is MW, but given it's size, it could never stack up to my DX-440, or even the D5, as a MW DX machine...FM however, is it's real strength.
~BG
~BG
Picked up a ton of Seattle stations on the third floor of a motel near Gresham, OR in September, using the G8. KMPS was in right next to KPDQ local 93.9. I got KLWA 101.3 Westport numerous times in Auburn and Edmonds, with the blaster KPLZ right next to it. Plus it seems to be better getting out of the IBOC mess than others. I got KXJM 107.5 Portland, OR in Edmonds, WA with KNDD's IBOC right next to it.
-crainbebo
-crainbebo
Still hoping someone who's had a PL-6xx and a PL3xx can tell me if the 6 is any better on MW/AM. The bummer on these (and this extends to many receivers such as the Icom R1500) is that the AM appears to be dumbed down on purpose. The PL-390 specs show the sensitivity on SW to be less than 20uv while on MW it's less than 1000uv. Help me understand this..technology that gives us 20uv at 2mhz can only offer 1000uv at 1.7mhz? My pioneer car radio with a 30" whip blows any of these Tecsuns out of the water. Why they can't make a portable with a 30" whip for MW/AM and forget the small loopstick is beyond me.
Bob,
I am suspecting that quality control may be affecting these Chinese radios based on the PL-310 and what I read on an earlier post. I had a PL-310 that had some quality issues that included somewhat lower FM sensitivity and a tuning knob that kept falling off. My PL-606 is a better radio IMO...I also have a PL-390 that hears weak AMs a bit better than the two smaller radios (The 606 seems to be better than either 380 or 310), but about the same FM as the 606. And my 390 is rated a little below that of my GE SRII on AM. Hope this answers your question.
I am suspecting that quality control may be affecting these Chinese radios based on the PL-310 and what I read on an earlier post. I had a PL-310 that had some quality issues that included somewhat lower FM sensitivity and a tuning knob that kept falling off. My PL-606 is a better radio IMO...I also have a PL-390 that hears weak AMs a bit better than the two smaller radios (The 606 seems to be better than either 380 or 310), but about the same FM as the 606. And my 390 is rated a little below that of my GE SRII on AM. Hope this answers your question.
My PL-606 arrived last August. FM is easily the best of most portables- except my 'peaked' Crain EP.On AM, even using my 18 inch loop, it's still less sensitive than the orig. SR, SR-II, ,RF2200 and EP.
W/O the loop, I give it a 4 on a scale of 1-10.
Daytime groundwave reception is it's weak spot... night skywave is it's strength, and with the loop, is actually
quite good. But then I get slightly better results with the EP; and no loop needed. The 390 is noticeably better
on am, anytime.
W/O the loop, I give it a 4 on a scale of 1-10.
Daytime groundwave reception is it's weak spot... night skywave is it's strength, and with the loop, is actually
quite good. But then I get slightly better results with the EP; and no loop needed. The 390 is noticeably better
on am, anytime.
I have a Sangean PR-D5 and I find the AM reception to be superb. I know the Tecsun 606 is a much smaller radio, but is the AM reception similar? To have similar AM reception in a radio this small would be ideal. Also, how does the FM reception compare to the Sangean? I also have the Sangean PR-D7,and while the AM reception is not as sensitive as the PR-D5, I use that radio when I'm out on walks, due to it's smaller size.
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