Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Three of the five contenders: The Degen DE32, Degen DE321 and Tecsun R-2010D (Click to enlarge)

Following is my premiere shortwave radio column for the January 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor digital magazine.  It takes the form of a review–or “shoot-out,” if you will–of a few select mechanically-tuned DSP radios I’ve tested over the years.

While I’m a big fan of print publications, digital publications like TSM offer me flexibility that I can’t get in traditional print: namely, shorter time to publication (thus more up-to-date information) and especially, the ability to embed links and audio as I do here on The SWLing Post. In this case, I’m able to include audio clips which the reader can utilize to compare the radios firsthand (embedded here, as well).

Note: This being my first contribution to a brand new magazine, I thought it would be fitting to begin by explaining why I still believe in shortwave radio…I mean, how could I resist? I guess I’ll always be a shortwave evangelist at heart.

Hope you enjoy.

First:  why I still believe in shortwave

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.While I’ve been blogging about shortwave for several years now, I simply can’t tell you how many times I’ve received an email asking doubtfully, “This seems like a fun hobby, but isn’t shortwave radio dead?”

My response?  No way!  Here’s why.

I once had the truly good fortune to be interviewed by Gareth Mitchell, host of the BBC World Service technology program Click. For once, I made a point of listening to this interview that featured me––always a bit embarrassing––but after all, this was the BBC World Service!

But Gareth’s lead-in to our segment about my shortwave radio-based charity, Ears To Our World (ETOW), truly surprised me:  our non-profit, he said, “distributes portable battery powered devices that can stream audio in real time, all via an intuitive touch interface.”

Wow…how true.  And since that interview, this is exactly how I see shortwave radio, too: not as a forgotten relic of the past century, but as a medium at home in the future with a unique, highly accessible, and yet global reach.  Shortwave radio, after all, requires no apps, no subscriptions, and no mobile phone or Internet connection to deliver information worldwide at the speed of light.

All you need––in short––is a radio.

Shortwave lives!

This column exists to prove to the doubtful that shortwave radio––indeed, radio in general––is not only alive and well, but loud and clear in urban as well as rural settings the world over.   Here, you’ll find in-depth articles that reflect the changing state of shortwave radio:  the technologies, the techniques, and the vast array of content currently available across the shortwave radio spectrum. Best yet, because SWLing (shortwave listening) is what you make of it, you can be part of it:  share your input, so that I can cover (and uncover) shortwave topics you wish to discuss.

So I begin this first column with a little comparison––a shootout––between five newly-popular analog DSP radios.  Let’s find out who’s left standing.

The contenders

We’ll be pitting five models against each other here: the Degen DE321, the Degen DE32, the Tecsun R-2010D, the Kchibo KK9803 and the ShouYu SY-X5. With the exception of the ShouYu SY-X5, all of these manufacturers have in the past produced at least one portable with truly notable performance (the Degen DE1102, 1103, Kchibo D96L and an array of Tecsuns, including the PL 310, 380, 390, 600 and 660).

Moreover––so that you can hear the difference for yourself!––I’ve included linked audio clips for each model. They were all tuned to the same frequency, same broadcast and within seconds of one another.

But first, what is a DSP radio? And why do we need them?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Silicon Labs DSP chip found in many of these radios.

Mechanically-tuned DSP

Radio is no longer just your granddad’s medium.  Several years ago, the digital signal processing chip manufacturer, Silicon Labs (SiLabs), altered the entire radio landscape with one little chip. Indeed, most new digital shortwave/AM/FM radios on the market use a SiLabs (or other manufacturer’s) DSP chip as the centerpiece of their receiver architecture.

Using a DSP chip in a fully digital radio makes sense: after all, you have a digital display, digital buttons, and digital encoder. But using a digital chip with a traditional analog display––a mechanically-tuned DSP radio––does that make sense?

SiLabs and a growing number of radio manufacturers and retailers believe the answer is a resounding “yes.” In truth, there are concrete benefits to making this addition; among them:

• Decreasing production cost of radios by as much as 80%
• Decreasing R&D costs of new radios dramatically
• Digital signal processing with the simplicity of analog radio design
• Reduced power consumption when compared with digital display radios
• An avenue to make radios more affordable––especially to listeners living in poverty, such as those in developing world settings, who make up a large subgroup of listeners

When I first learned about the implementation of a DSP chip with a mechanically-tuned radio in 2010, I felt like it might be “the” way to make quality receiver performance available and accessible to many.  Now, four years later, several manufacturers have produced mechanically-tuned DSP shortwave radios.  All are available from sellers at a price of under $40 USD. Not bad…

Common review points for mechanically-tuned DSP radios

I’ve now reviewed enough mechanically-tuned DSP-based radios that I’m beginning to note performance commonalities that can only be attributed to the design of the DSP chipset itself, regardless of how these are implemented in each model. So, before the shooting starts, let’s take a quick look at some common review points of the contenders.

Tuning: not quite an analog radio…

I’ve got to begin with the most obvious common review point: namely, tuning.

For those of us accustomed to analog tuning, the DSP/analog combination is, well, completely different and a little quirky. Tuning a traditional analog radio is a fluid process which allows for a certain amount of play; you need not be precisely on a frequency to hear a station, and often you hear a station fade as another pops into the band pass. But when tuning analog DSP, you hear stations and static pass by in comparatively coarse 5 kHz chunks. Especially in radios with tiny analog frequency dials, it makes tuning feel somewhat “sticky” or finicky, and ironically, rather imprecise. You feel like you’re skipping over stations while band-scanning.  And for those accustomed to digital tuning, instead of using buttons to tune in these 5 kHz increments, you’re using a tuning wheel, with no customary “step” response.  Not what you would expect from either digital or analog radio.

But of course, you can locate your station with this method.  It takes a little practice––and a measure of patience––but you’ll adjust to this different method of tuning.  Note that much of this awkwardness may disappear if SiLabs produces a chip with more precise tuning increments, such as 1 kHz steps with decreased muting.

Automatic Gain Control

In all the models I’ve tested so far, the Auto Gain Control (AGC) is a little too overactive when listening to weak AM/SW stations. This results in a “pumping” sound and serious listening fatigue when set on weaker stations. However, on strong stations, all models perform quite well.

Conformity

Since all of these radios are based on the same chip family from SiLabs, you can expect eight shortwave bands: two FM bands, one AM (medium wave) band, and eight shortwave bands. The frequency ranges available to the manufacturer in all bands are identical.

FM

FM performance on each of these radios is above average, and the coverage quite wide––from 64 MHz to 108 MHZ in two FM bands. If you like listening to FM radio, you’ll be pleased with any of these inexpensive models.

And now for some action!

Now, we’ll pit these five radios against each other in an listener’s challenge that will leave the losers in the dust…and the winners clear.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Degen DE321 – Current retail:  $21.00 USD

The DE321 was the first analog DSP shortwave radio on the market. The DE321 is small, slim, über-simple, and fits nicely in the hand. The analog tuning dial takes up more than half of the front face of the radio––a good thing, as the larger the dial, the easier the tuning. Performance-wise, the DE321 holds its own in this crowd; it’s quite reasonable in both sensitivity and selectivity. The DE321 is the most bare-bones radio among the five described here.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Degen DE32 – Current retail: $27.00 USD

The DE32 is the smallest radio of the five. Unlike the DE321, the DE32 is not “just” a radio; it also sports a simple MP3 audio player and a small white LED flashlight. The DE32 has a small built-in speaker which delivers tinny and rather cheap audio, but is okay for a single listener, and fine for spoken-word broadcasts. Audio fidelity is greatly improved with headphones. Performance-wise, the DE321 is slightly better than the DE32 on shortwave.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Tecsun R-2010D – Current retail: $39.00 USD

When I first held the R-2010D, I initially assumed I had found the holy grail among analog/DSP radios:  while the R-2010D is the largest of the five radios, measuring nearly equivalent to my Sony ICF-SW7600GR (not a pocket-sized portable like the others) it nonetheless has a beautiful large analog display (a major plus!), an amply-sized speaker for great portable audio, and a fluid tuning mechanism. To top it off, the R-2010D has a small digital frequency display so that you can verify your frequency. The R-2010D’s AGC circuit handles strong stations well, but clips on weak stations. But the promising R-2010D has one major flaw: terrible selectivity. Indeed, the selectivity is so sloppy, that you will not be able to delineate two strong signals spaced 10 kHz apart from each other.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The ShouYu SY-X5 – Current retail:  $27.00 USD

The SY-X5 surprised me: what makes this model stand out is the fact that it can be powered by either a rechargeable slim battery pack (found in the DE32) or three standard AA batteries.  It also has a built-in MP3 player that, like the Degen DE32, uses a standard microSD card for media storage. Unlike the DE32, the SY-X5 has a bright red LED display that helps in navigating MP3 files. The SY-X5 also has surprisingly good audio from its built-in speaker, rivaling the much larger Tecsun R-2010D. The negative here? Though the SY-X5 has a fluid tuning mechanism, it is prone to drifting when trying to adjust the analog tuning needle to frequency.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.The Kchibo KK9803 – Current retail:  $16.00 USD

When I first wrote this review, I didn’t even include the KK9803. Why? Because, frankly, it’s one of the worst performing radios I’ve ever owned, and I would strongly discourage you from even considering it. My primary criticism of this radio is that the tuning is barely functional:  the shortwave band segments are far too close to one another on the dial, hence the digital tuning steps are too narrowly-spaced to offer any sort of tuning accuracy whatsoever. Barely moving the tuning wheel, one may pass over even a strong station…undetectably. The only hint of the station’s existence may be an occasional quick blip or audio buzz. I must confess that the experience of band-scanning (tuning) this radio offers is the worst I’ve ever known in any radio. Don’t buy it. In our shootout, it’s bitten the dust before it even aims, because let’s face it:  this radio just can’t.

Audio comparisons

Click on each radio model to hear a short comparison audio clips. Note that I added an audio sample of the Tecsun PL-660 to the weak signal DX examples as a benchmark.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Tecsun R-2010D (left) produces excellent audio from its large internal speaker. The Degen DE32 (right) produces “tinny” audio via its tiny built in speaker.

Local AM Comparison (1350 AM)
Degen DE321
Degen DE32
ShouYu SY-X5
Tecsun R-2010D

Weak Signal Shortwave Comparison (KBS 9,805 kHz)
Degen DE321
Degen DE32
ShouYu SY-X5
Tecsun R-2010D

Tecsun PL-660 (AM and Sync)

Strong Signal Shortwave Comparison (WINB 9,265 kHz)

Degen DE321
Degen DE32
ShouYu SY-X5
Tecsun R-2010D

The Winners

All of these radios share similar qualities.  After all, they’re brothers of a sort, built around the same family of DSP chips. If you’ve read the summaries above, then you won’t be disappointed by any of these that follow–especially at this modest price point. Still, I reach for different radios based on their strengths, and to help you choose, here’s a “best of” list:

Most versatile: ShouYu SY-X5

Best Audio: Tecsun R-2010D and ShouYu SY-X5

Best sensitivity: Tecsun R-2010D

Best value: Degen DE321

Best overall?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The ShouYu SY-X5

If I had to choose just one of these radios, it might just be the ShouYu SY-X5. It offers the most value and versatility for the performance. I think its audio is brilliant for a pocket radio, and I love the fact it has an LED display to help me navigate through the MP3 files loaded on my microSD card. However, as with any of these low-cost contenders, don’t expect to try any weak-signal DXing with the SY-X5.

By the way, if the Tecsun R-2010D simply had better selectivity and weak signal gain control, it would win this contest, hands down. In fact, I actually sent feedback to Tecsun engineering regarding the R-2010D selectivity shortcoming in the hope that they’ll fix this problem in future production runs.  You might do the same.

In conclusion, mechanically-tuned DSP portables may not pack DXer-grade performance, but they are priced so that everyone can afford to experiment. And for your buck, that’s pretty good radio bang!

This article was previously published in The Spectrum Monitor.

Resources

Click on the radio model to read full reviews of each radio on the SWLing Post–I’ve also provided links to eBay:

• Degen DE321 - search eBay for the DE321Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• Degen DE32 - search eBay for the DE32Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• Tecsun R-2010D - search eBay for the R-2010DImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• Kchibo KK9803 - search eBay for the KK9803Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• ShouYu SY-X5 - search eBay for the SY-X5Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.SWLing Post reader, Dietmar, writes:

“I recently saw a YouTube video that demonstrated that the new Tecsun PL-310ET has better reception than the previous PL-310 that you reviewed [see video below].

I purchased the PL-310ET for $50 (incl. shipping) from Anon-CoImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. and received it from Hong Kong in less than two weeks. Anon listed the PL-310ET as their #1 selling item at the time of purchase (PL-660 was #3).

The PL-310ET now has the very useful ETM. I am quite impressed with the radio’s reception. Basically, I could listen to the same radio stations that I could get with my 20+ year old ICOM R-71A. However, the Tecsun’s sound quality was considerably better. The ICOM had a slight edge with interfering stations in a few cases.

When comparing radios, I used the Tecsun with its telescope antenna and the ICOM with an indoor Palomar shortwave loop antenna with range from 5000 KHz to approx. 17000 kHz.

The PL-310ET also has external antenna input and can charge NiMH batteries.

I consider the Tecsun a great bargain considering what I once paid for the ICOM.”

Many thanks for your thoughts on the PL-310ET, Dietmar! I may just pull the trigger on a new PL-310ET. Perhaps it could replace my PL-380 as a travel radio. I’m curious if its dimensions are any smaller than the PL-380 and if it mutes between frequencies when band scanning.

Anyone else have thoughts about the PL-310ET?

I believe this is the comparison video Dietmar was referencing:

Click here to search eBay for the Tecsun PL-310ET.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Professor, over at The Radio Kitchen, has just published an excellent review of the new Tecsun ICR-110: an AM/FM radio with built-in MP3 recorder and player. While the ICR-110 is a little quirky, those of you looking for an affordable AM/FM recorder may find the ICR-110 a cost-effective tool. The price on eBay is $46 US shipped from Hong Kong.

While The Professor is kindly sharing his full review below, I would strongly encourage you to hop over to The Radio Kitchen to read this review, then browse his extensive collection of archived articles. I’m especially fond of his AM radio articles, bandscan recordings and the lost/found sounds he features on The Audio Kitchen. Thanks, Prof!

A Review of the Tecsun ICR-110 Radio Recorder

In a number of ways, the Tecsun ICR-110 is unlike any radio I’ve experienced. The operation is almost too simple. It’s idiot-proof in a way that will please some and frustrate others. At the same time it’s an innovative multifunctional device that works very well. For less than fifty bucks (including shipping from China) you get a sensitive AM/FM radio, an MP3 player and recorder, an amplified hi-fi speaker for your phone or laptop and an external sound card for your computer. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Not bad, right?

It’s cool. But hardly perfect. The built-in MP3 player/recorder interface is as primitive as anything I’ve seen. But it does make nice radio recordings. People who gather podcasts online or archive radio shows on their own could find the ICR-110 quite useful. For me it was an affordable impulse buy, but others may find this shiny box practical for any number of reasons. One thought I had: the 110 could easily upgrade or replace someone’s aging AM/FM cassette recorder.

It looks just a bit like the new Tecsun PL-880, but it’s not in the same league. And it’s lighter. Less oblong. While the more advanced electronics in the 880 add heft, both radios beat with the heart of a high-performance DSP radio chip. Don’t expect any of the bells and whistles of the 880 on this one, yet the raw medium wave reception is almost comparable. And they both have a surprisingly warm and rich sound. When you play music at room volume on the ICR-110 the sound is impressive in your hands. It’s more hollow than the 880 and you can really feel it throb with signal.

After playing with this radio for over a week, I like it. I’d even say it’s kinda cute. The display says “HI” when you turn it on, and it comes in three colors. I opted for red. Despite the lack of English on the radio or in the manual, after a little trial and error I felt like I had mastered most of the functionality. And the more familiar I get with the ICR-110, the more I’m starting to think we may eventually see more radios with a similar feature set. And that might not be such a bad thing.

New Toys from the Far East

Through my adventures in translating Chinese web sites, I’ve concluded that the ICR-110 is just one example of a new generation of radios and media players they’re building over there. Most aren’t packaged or marketed for the rest of the world (at least not yet) and Tecsun is only one of many brands in the game. The Tecsun PL-880 seemed to kind of come out of nowhere for many of us in North America, but after taking a look at all of these brightly colored radios and media players being sold overseas it puts some of the wonders of the PL-880 in context.

The 880 quickly earned street cred in the greater SWL community for good reason. It’s a nice machine. Specifically built as the flagship radio of the Tecsun line, the PL-880 is like a greatest hits package of features that have impressed many of us who have handled Tecsun winners like the PL-660 or any of their DSP family of ultralights. With the addition of some contemporary technological frosting, Tecsun has come up with a reasonably priced super radio of sorts for shortwave listeners all over the world. Like anything these days, opinions will vary, but considering the current price tag of just over a hundred and fifty dollars, I challenge anyone to come up with a new shortwave radio in that price range that’s a better deal than the PL-880, or more fun to use.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.This creative streak in Chinese electronics is the result of a rash of consumer devices being created to take advantage of the “radio on an IC chip” technology pioneered by Silicon Labs here in the U.S. The development of these DSP processors has made it possible to include excellent radio reception on all sizes and shapes of radios and media players at a low cost.

As the price of flash memory continues to drop, it’s a nice bonus that so many of these new Chinese devices also play MP3 files from storage you slide into an SD card slot. And having the ability to play high fidelity music is greatly enhanced by the trend to integrate an innovative audio chamber into many of these things. Looking through the little holes in the speaker plate, you might notice Mylar diaphragm with a front vent mounted alongside the speaker. First seen on these shores on the Meloson M7, this setup provides a fuller bass and treble response in a small package, with audio that’s less mid-rangy than most portables.

While the PL-880 display is a little brighter and more yellow than the black on orange display we’ve seen on recent Tecsun radios, most of the new ones reverse that color scheme. The ICR-110 and other new Tecsun products sport dark black displays, with all the reception information provided in bright orange text and symbols. Perhaps you heard that Eton here in America is giving their line of shortwave portables a makeover of sorts. Part of their new look will include changing over to this same orange on black display. And no surprise, those radios will be coming from China.

Most radios from that part of the world seem to come with a USB port lately. And although there are more interesting options these ports could provide, so far most are rigged as simple power inputs for charging batteries inside the radio (using either your computer’s USB port or an external AC charger). Instead of using traditional AA cells, a lot of this new gadgetry is powered by Li-Ion batteries, either flat cellphone batteries or those beefy 18650 cells. Many laptops are powered by a few of these, but the ICR-110 and the PL-880 just need one. (Inside the battery pack for the Tesla Model S you’ll find seven-thousand of those things packed together!) Many believe the 18650 will become the standard for the next generation of electronic products. But they’re not your mama’s D cells. If you’re not familiar with these batteries, it’s good to learn their quirks and to know how to avoid having bad things happen. And don’t buy the really cheap ones on eBay.

Good Radio, Weird Tuner

When it comes to purchasing an ICR-110 you don’t have a lot of options. Unless you live in China. At the time of this writing, there’s only one overseas eBay dealer offering it for sale. It wasn’t a vendor I’ve used before, and while the radio did arrive here safe and sound, a few of the pitfalls of buying from China were part of the deal. The English in the emails was a bit mangled. The online tracking was dysfunctional. And it took almost a month to get here.

For a while now, I’ve gotten great service and fast shipping from Anon-Co in Hong Kong. Over the years, I’ve had problem-free transactions with any number of Asian eBay dealers as well, but it’s always smart to do some research and check ratings and feedback before you buy goods on eBay. It seems that most vendors avoid selling Chinese-text radios internationally. But a representative at Anon-Co told me you can inquire via email (at this address) if you’d like to order an ICR-110 directly from them. And they say they’re working on an English language manual for the 110 as well.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.On the eBay page where I found the ICR-110, the description combined real specs with a sloppy copy-and-paste job from the description of another radio. Despite what I read there, there is no “power/volume knob” on the 110. More significantly, it doesn’t have a “tuning wheel” either. (Come to think of it, you don’t see those power/volume knobs much these days.) The 110 has a power switch on the right side. And all volume adjustments happen via two buttons on the lower right corner on the face of the radio. But oddly there are no tuning controls – only scanning buttons. And a keypad.

It’s not all Chinese on the radio case. The switch marked “AM/FM” is easy enough to figure out. But if you press and hold that button for a second or so, Tecsun’s ATS (auto tuning storage) will kick in and the 110 will scan the band for signals and store them as presets. It works well, most of the time. Using it at night on the AM band, I was impressed by how many Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.fringe stations it found. But it often misses one or two. Once ol’ ATS skipped over the monstrous fifty-thousand watts of Radio Disney, which pollutes a swath of the AM band from just a few miles away. Maybe the radio includes some artificial intelligence chip as well.

Under the display, there are five round buttons which primarily control the MP3 player/recorder. However, the rewind and fast-forward buttons also serve as scanning controls. A simple push will nudge the tuner over to the next (or the previous) frequency caught by the last ATS grab (labeling them as CH:01, CH:02…). And if you only punch in one or two digits, the radio will automatically take you to that “channel” in the ATS database. Holding either button down a little longer the radio will scan anew for the next signal strong enough to trigger it to stop searching. But that’s all it will do. Unlike other scanning functions I’ve used, this one has a mind of its own. It may not stop at your favorite weak station it passes along the way. If you are determined to tune to a particular frequency, the keypad will always get you there. Just type in the numbers and you’re listening to it instantly.  Nonetheless, taking away the art of tuning will probably turn off many in the DX crowd, despite the fact that it pulls in a lot of signal.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.There are a couple of settings you can actually change. A pair of buttons with Chinese text above the AM/FM button adjust each band for international use . Press the left button while in radio mode and it will toggle to expand the FM band down to 64 MHz (for Russia and Japan) or back to the standard FM band for the rest of the world (starting at 87 MHz). The button on the right changes the MW scanning step. When I got the radio the first ATS scan barely found any stations. Then I realized it was because the step was set at 9 kHz. After an extended session of button pushing I finally figured out how to change the step to 10 kHz, the North American standard. Despite the Chinese characters everywhere, this was probably the only thing about the ICR-110 that wasn’t immediately easy.

A Bare Bones MP3 Recorder and Player

Since the golden age of the radio/cassette boombox, I’ve always been attracted to radios that let you keep what you hear. And there are plenty of digital recorders with built-in FM radios to choose from nowadays. But AM? Not so much. In close quarters, digital audio circuitry tends to broadcast a little noise on medium wave. So in order for the old and new technologies to get along, you need some shielding, or something. For the most part, Tecsun seems to have gotten this right. I’ve gotten nice, clear, AM radio recordings from the ICR-110′s tuner– I’d prefer to be able to set recording levels, but the ALC seems to work well.

After extensive experimenting, I did hear a bit of noise introduced into the ICR-110 while recording weak AM signals. Like a bad spot on a vinyl record, I heard a brief “phhhht” sound come around about every twelve seconds. I’m guessing it might be the sound of data packets being arranged on the memory card. In retrospect, this might have been related to having a low battery. I’ve only heard it happen a couple of times.

While there don’t seem to be any settings for the recording feature, I was really happy to see that it creates MP3 files at a reasonable bitrate (for radio recordings), and not those horrible low-sample rate .wav files or in some annoying and proprietary nonstandard format. (Oh, it’s not an Apple product so we don’t have to worry about that..) It fills the micro SD card with 128kbps stereo MP3 files (which I think are actually dual mono files). Considering that this radio doesn’t seem to tune in stereo, it’s a shame that the recording isn’t mono by default. It encodes using a non-standard sampling rate of 32kHz (instead of 44.1kHz), but that’s not something you’ll notice on a radio recording. Another funny thing, since there’s no way to set the date or time on the ICR-110, you’ll notice when you pull the flash card up on your computer that the MP3 files you’ve recorded have no date stamp. So, if you need to recall when you were making a particular recording you might wanna write yourself a note.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.In some ways, the ICR-110 is like a slightly larger version of the Meloson M7 or M8, except it also records. Like the Meloson, it gives you a lot of boom in a small box. But it’s a measure bigger so it sounds even better. And like the Meloson, the MP3 playback display is super primitive. All you see is the assigned sequential number for the track playing. But what makes the Meloson a formidable little music player (especially for travel) is that you can fill a flash card up with a few hundred or a few thousand songs and shuffle the whole lot of them for many hours of random fun. As far as I can tell, the 110 will ONLY play the files in order, period. For that reason I think it’s more practical for playback of podcasts or radio shows, unless you have some songs you want to listen to in alphabetical order for some reason.

When you’re listening to an MP3 file and then switch to the radio or shut the thing off, and then resume MP3 playback at a later time, it will start playing the file where you left off. This is a nice feature if you’re in the middle of an hours-long MP3 file (and holding down that fast forward or rewind button to find your place will take forever).

There are other quirks as well. When you’re recording from the radio you can change stations, but only by clicking through the ATS presents. While recording you cannot scan the band up to the next station by holding down the button. And you can’t change bands either. Of course, if you’re recording through the line input you can do whatever you want. And when you stop the recording it immediately starts playing it back to you. And the recording is noticeably louder than when you heard it the first time. It’s almost jarring. When you hit stop, playback ceases and it resumes playing the radio (or the line source audio) at the previous volume.

The ICR-110 treats the files you import onto the flash card differently than the ones you record. When you turn it on or switch to MP3 mode it automatically starts playing the last imported file played. Unless I’ve missed some setting, it appears that no matter what folder structure you’ve established on the card the 110 will simply play through each file on the card in alphanumeric order by path and name. But the recordings made with the radio are stored in a system folder the radio creates named “RECORD0″ (at least that what it’s called on my card). The pair of Chinese text buttons that change the parameters of AM and FM will also switch the MP3 player’s focus from the folders you’ve made on the SD card to the system RECORD0 folder, and back again. When in either mode you can move through the files in those folders by pressing the rewind and fast forward button once. However, when holding those buttons down the player will actually rewind or fast forward (silently) through the file at hand.

I also own another AM/FM radio recorder, the CC Witness. And while they do some of the same things, they’re very different gadgets. The CC Witness is a much smaller and more complex thing. And you’ll pay a lot more for that. You can program it to record up to 20 different radio programs on AM or FM throughout the week, and encode them at bitrates you choose. But the line recording input doesn’t have ALC like the Tecsun. When recording via the line input with the CC Witness, I’ve found it’s better to dampen the Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.incoming audio with a headphone volume control adapter to avoid distorted recordings. Of course the CC Witness is nice, but everything about it feels very 2003. Not that I mind that at all, but the CC Witness is overdue for an update. My biggest complaint about the CC Witness has been the tuner. They could start there.

The CC Witness came into being when C. Crane smartly transformed a language learning tool called the TalkMaster Slim in Asia into an AM/FM VCR-like tool for all of us. And after spending some time with the ICR-110 I think this radio might have been engineered for a similar purpose.

Apparently in Japan (and probably other countries) language lessons are commonly broadcast on medium wave. A digital AM radio recorder would make a lot of sense for somebody learning a language that way, but if you shop around you’ll discover that there are very few digital devices that include an AM radio, let alone offer you the ability to record AM radio programs. So it’s not surprising that the few gadgets that offer this option might cater to language students. Like the CC Witness, the ICR-110 also has a looping feature.  While playing an MP3 file, you can press the button at the bottom left corner of the keyboard to select the beginning and ending of a chunk of audio and the radio will play it back ad infinitum, for pronunciation practice or mind control. Whatever works. But it’s not like the voices in your head. When you press the stop button, the repetition ends. Once I discovered this feature, it made me think that the odd instant feature (when you stop an ongoing recording) is probably related to language acquisition as well.

A Radio, A Sound Box

And lastly, the ICR-110 is a fine speaker for your phone or your laptop, or anything really. It’s certainly portable and has a warm, full sound. All it takes is a 3.5mm patch cord inserted into the outlet above the headphone jack. The display will read “LINE’ and the speaker will emit any audio coming through that cable. However, like some of the other new Tecsun radios, the ICR-110 is different than radios we’ve seen before. When you connect the radio with the Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.USB port on your computer it does more than just charge the battery. You’ve also probably just added an external sound card to your computer. When this is occurring you’ll see “PC” on the display.

I didn’t have much trouble navigating this, but depending on how your computer is set up (and your understanding of how it is set up), suddenly having another sound card may be problematic. I’ve used any number of external sound cards with computers over the years and when you attach and detach those things you may temporarily lose sound or change some settings. But if you were to use the ICR-110 as your primary computer speaker this could be an ideal scenario once you get it set up, with just one cable between the radio and the computer providing both the sound and power to the speaker.

I must say, other than that I haven’t really figured out what real advantages there might be to having the ICR-110 become a separate USB audio device when you plug it in. One thing I did notice: when connected to the computer USB, I hit record on the radio, and much to my surprise it recorded me. I don’t know where the microphone is hidden on this thing, but it’s there somewhere. Again, this feature may be related to using the 110 as a learning tool.

Perhaps there are more hidden settings on this thing, like all the easter eggs found on PL-880. But I kind of doubt it. I’ve tried holding down numbers of the keyboard and such, but nothing special seems to happen. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.And I wouldn’t be surprised to see the MP3 playback and recording features of the ICR-110 added to a future version of the PL-880.

As I mentioned, the ICR-110 is just one example from a new wave of Tecsun radios and media players. You can find this radio’s FM-only little brother, the ICR-100, on eBay, but you can take a look at the family of new Tecsuns here and here. And if twenty years of Tecsun radios has shown one consistent trend, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll see some of their new line of gadgets re-branded (and perhaps transformed a bit) for international distribution, and ultimately bearing logos like Eton, Kaito, C. Crane or Roberts. Or maybe some Radio Shack nameplate.

Bottom line, many of these new Chinese gadgets offer great sound and decent radio reception at a good price. They’re fun to carry around and I don’t remember portables ever sounding this good. The ubiquitous flash card slot and MP3 playback seems like something that’s been a long time coming. As flash memory gets cheaper every day, one of these players and a packed memory card offers a world of high-fidelity music that fits easily in a knapsack, or even a pocket, at a price a pauper might afford. But the MP3 interface has got to get better. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.The displayed information and the choice of settings for these MP3 players (and recorders) on these devices is a far cry from all the playback options and ID3 tag information you see on devices from Apple or SanDisk, or with almost any contemporary digital audio player.

I’m a big fan of Rockbox, the open source alternative firmware for digital audio players. Over the years I’ve installed it on dozens of MP3 players, making them more versatile and more fun to use. And if the idea of being able to tweak and perfect your player beyond the stock settings sounds appealing, you might wanna check out their site and see if they’ve adapted Rockbox for your device. A few years ago SanDisk famously sent some Rockbox developers one of their new players at the time to help them reverse engineer their hardware. I wish Tecsun would do the same thing. A marriage of the Rockbox firmware, with over a decade of creating a highly stable and adaptable audio playback firmware, together with these handsome and innovative radios, would be a real technological game changer. And who knows? Maybe some of those old and tired electronics titans like Sony or Panasonic might actually wake up and start making innovative radios for this century for a change.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.The predictions of the demise of over-the-air broadcast radio have always seemed a bit overblown to me. Maybe once they give every paper clip and bone in your body a URL, we can just surrender to that surging internet everywhere spirit and do everything online. Until then, the old AM/FM technology works fine (and it’s nice to consume media without logging in). This DSP technology paves the way to keep terrestrial radio around as one choice of many in our media landscape for a while. Sure, there are good arguments to be made that the programming on AM and FM is overdue for new thinking, but there’s plenty of dreck streaming on the web as well.

The truth remains– the old technology is stable, practical and proven. Why not improve it and make it more available, instead of trashing it? And why not include SD card slots on every kind of media player out there? Years ago when technology was in flux, we bought converters to dock to our radios and televisions so we could receive FM in our cars and UHF stations in our homes. But soon all those tuning options were built in. So after over a dozen years of fastening iPods and smart phones to the stereo, isn’t it time that our listening experiences have to include docking little gadgets to bigger ones?

And perhaps, in between listening to their favorite songs and podcasts, people might turn the radio back on every once in a while. Just for fun.

(This review originally appeared at the Radio Kitchen)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Many thanks to Mehmet Burk of ReliefAnalysis.com for sharing his most positive review of the Kaito KA550Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. self-powered shortwave radio.

[Note: I've updated this post to link to the Kaito KA550. I initially linked to the older KA500 by mistake. Apologies!]

Click here to read his full review:
http://www.reliefanalysis.com/2014/03/review-katio-ka550-terrific.html

The Kaito KA550 currently retails for about $59.00 US shipped.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor Magazine.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

With spring around the corner, my thoughts drift toward the outdoors…and especially, toward travel. Those who know me know that I love travelling, anywhere and everywhere–and that I prefer to travel light, with only one bag. In fact, I can easily live for two weeks out of a convertible shoulderbag/backpack (the Timbuk2 WingmanImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.) that’s so compact, I can fit it under the the seat of even the smallest, most restrictive aircraft. I never have to check luggage unless the nature of my travel requires extra supplies (I run Ears To Our World, a non-profit that donates radios and other technologies to powerless regions in the developing world).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

My Timbuk2 Small Wingman is very compact, yet holds everything I need for two weeks (or more!) of travel.

So, why not pack everything you could possibly ever want on a journey?  While this remains an option, travelling light has many advantages over the take-it-all traveler’s method. First, it gives one incredible freedom, especially when travelling by air or train.  I never have to worry about being among the first to be seated in an aircraft, nor do I worry about my luggage not making a connection when I do.  Second, it’s kinder on the back and shoulders, and easier to maneuver wherever I go–no wheels required–whether in a busy first-world airport or bustling third-world street market.  Third, I always have my most important gear right there with me.  And finally (I must admit) I find light travel to be fun, an entertaining challenge; the looks on friends’ faces when they meet me at the airport to “help” with my luggage is, frankly, priceless.  Seeing me hop off a flight with my small shoulder bag, friends ask in bewilderment, “Where’s your stuff?” It’s music to my ears.

You would think that having such self-imposed restrictions on travel–carrying a small, light bag–would make it nearly impossible to travel with radio. On the contrary!  Radio is requisite, in my book–er, bag.  I carry a surprising amount of gear in my small bag:  once at an airport security checkpoint, an inspector commented, “It’s like you have the contents of a Radio Shack in here–!” But more significantly, each piece–and radio–is carefully selected to give me the best performance, durability, versatility, and reliability.

So what do I look for in a travel radio? Let’s take a closer look.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Travel Radio Features

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The CountyComm GP5DSP has three different ways of auto tuning stations quickly, an alarm function and the display will even indicate the current temperature. Its unique vertical, thin body might be easier to pack at times, depending on your travel gear.

In a travel shortwave radio, I search for features I wouldn’t necessarily pick for home use, where I’m mainly concerned with raw performance. I don’t want to carry an expensive receiver while traveling, either: $100.00 US is usually my maximum. This way, if I accidently break the radio (or my gear gets stolen), I won’t feel like I’m out very much money.  I also prioritize features that benefit a traveler, of course; here are some that I look for:

• Small size: Naturally, it’s sensible to look for a travel radio that’s small for its receiver class for ease in packing.
• Overall sturdy chassis: Any travel radio should have a sturdy body case that can withstand the rigors of travel.
• Built-in Alarm/Sleep Timer functions: While my iPhone works as an alarm, I hate to miss an early flight or connection, so it’s extra security when I can set a back-up alarm.
• Powered by AA batteries: While the newer lithium ion battery packs are fairly efficient, I still prefer the AA battery standard, which allows me to obtain batteries as needed in most settings; a fresh set of alkaline (or freshly-charged) batteries will power most portables for hours on end.
• Standard USB charging cable: If I can charge batteries internally, a USB charging cable can simply plug into my smart phone’s USB power adapter or the USB port on my laptop; no extra “wall wart” equals less weight and less annoyance.
• ETM: Many new digital portables have an ETM function which allow auto-scanning of a radio band (AM/FM/SW), saving what it finds in temporary memory locations–a great way to get a quick overview of stations.  (As this function typically takes several minutes to complete on shortwave, I usually set it before unpacking or taking a shower. When I return to my radio, it’s ready to browse.)
• Single-Side Band: While I rarely listen to SSB broadcasts when traveling, I still like to pack an SSB-capable receiver when travelling for an extended time.
• RDS: Though an RDS (Radio Data System) is FM-only, it’s a great feature for identifying station call signs and genre (i.e., public radio, rock, pop, country, jazz, classical, etc.)
• External antenna jack: I like to carry a reel-type or clip-on wire external antenna if I plan to spend serious time SWLing. Having a built-in external jack means that the connection is easy, no need to bother with wire and an alligator clip to the telescoping whip.
• Tuning wheel/knob: Since I spend a lot of time band-scanning while travelling, I prefer a tactile wheel or knob for tuning my travel radio.
• Key lock: Most radios have a key lock to prevent accidentally turning a radio on in transit–but with a travel radio, it’s especially important to have a key lock that can’t be accidentally disengaged.
• LED flashlight: Few radios have this, but it’s handy to have when travelling.
• Temperature display: Many DSP-based radios have a built-in thermometer and temperature display; I like this when I travel anytime, but especially when I’m camping.

While I don’t have a portable that meets 100% of the above travel radio wish-list, I do have several that score very highly.  I also rank my travel radios by size, as sometimes limited space will force me to select a smaller radio.

Here are a few of the radios I’ve used and/or evaluated for travel–I’ll break them down by size. Note that all portable radios have alarm/timer functions, unless noted otherwise.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I often grab the Tecsun PL-380 for travel. It’s an ultra-portable that truly performs and even has a selection of six AM bandwidths.

Ultra-portable:

• Tecsun PL-380 • Pros: Adjustable bandwidth, great sensitivity/selectivity; • Cons: No SSB (check out this review)
• Tecsun PL-310ET • Pros: Similar to PL-380, side mounted tuning knob; • Cons: No SSB
• Grundig G6  • Pros: SSB, full-featured, tuning wheel; • Cons: No longer on the market, although some used models are available (check out our review)
• Degen DE1102/Kaito KA1102 • Pros: SSB; good sensitivity• Cons: No tuning knob, poor ergonomics
• Grundig G8 Traveller II • Pros: Sensitive for price class; • Cons: No SSB, no longer produced, but has been replaced by the Eton Traveller III (which features RDS)
• C. Crane CCRadio SWP • Pros: Great sensitivity, very compact; • Cons: No SSB
• CountyComm GP-5 DSP • Pros: ETM and other scan functions; • Cons: No SSB, separate medium wave (AM) antenna

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Full-Featured Portable:

• Tecsun PL-600 • Pros: Excellent performance for the price; • Cons: no sync detector
• Tecsun PL-660 • Pros: Benchmark performance in the full-featured portable class
• Tecsun PL-880 • Pros: Excellent performance, fantastic audio; • Cons: firmware needs some refinement, pricey (check out our full review)
• Grundig G3 • Pros: Good performance, RDS; • Cons: rubberized body (which turns sticky over time), no longer produced (check out our full review)
• Degen DE1103/Kaito KA1103 • Pros: Smaller size, good performance; • Cons: no sync detector
• Sangean ATS-909X • Pros: Good performance, RDS, nice display; • Cons: priciest of the full-featured radios
• Sony ICF-SW7600GR • Pros: Study chassis, great performace • Cons: no tuning knob, poor ergonomics

I have also been known to travel with an SDR (software defined radio), especially if travelling to an RF-quiet location where I could make spectrum recordings. While SDRs all require a computer (laptop) to operate, those best suited for travel derive their power from the same USB cable plugged into the PC. Neither of the SDR models below require a power source other than what’s provided by their USB cable.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The RadioJet is an excellent travel radio: it’s an excellent performer, über-rugged and is powered by one USB cable.

“Black box” radios (SDRs & PC-controlled radios):

• RFSpace SDR-IQ • Pros: Small size, works on multiple operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux) • Cons: front end can overload if close to strong signals
• Bonito RadioJet • Pros: Great performance, low noise floor, good audio, flexible graphic interface; • Cons: Windows only, limited bandwidth on IF recordings, no third-party applications (note that the RadioJet is technically an IF receiver). Check out our full review.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The CommRadio CR-1

Tabletop:

Seriously? A travel-ready, full-featured tabletop–? Until last year, I would have argued that it was impossible to travel lightly with a full-featured desktop radio in tow.

My view changed when I got my hands on the CommRadio CR-1 tabletop SDR. Indeed, other than it being pricey ($600, as compared with $100 portables) this rig is ideally suited to travel!

The CR-1 has an array of features–most everything you’d expect from a tabletop radio–and even covers some VHF/UHF frequencies. Its built-in rechargeable battery not only powers it for hours at a time, but meets the strict airline standards for battery safety. The CR-1 can also be powered and charged via a common USB cable. It’s also engineered to be tough and is almost identical in size to the Tecsun PL-880.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Though I’ve never needed to do so, you can even remove its resin feet to save still more space. Its only less than travel-friendly feature is the fact that it’s quite possible to accidently power up the CR-1 by bumping the volume button during travel–a problem easily remedied, however, by simply twisting an insulated wire around the stem of the volume knob (see photo).

The importance of a Go-Bag

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Spec-Ops Pack-Rat

I keep a dedicated “go-bag” with radio and supplies–specifically, the Spec-Ops Brand Pack-RatImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.–packed and ready to travel, at the drop of a hat. Why? First of all, I know exactly what I’ll be taking, no need to ponder if I have everything.

Inside the bag, everything has its place: my portable SW radio, my Android tablet, my D-Star Icon ID-51a HT, DVAP (DV Access Point Dongle), my Zoom H2n Handy RecorderImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view., earphones, charging cables, batteries, small notebook, clip-on wire antenna, etc.

If something’s missing, there’s an obvious blank spot in my bag. I also know exactly where and how it fits into my carry-on bag, so if it’s missing, it’s conspicuously missing. Since I’ve been using this go-bag, I’ve never left anything from my pack behind. Incidentally, this is how I pack the rest of my bag, as well: everything has its place, and any gap will draw my attention to exactly what’s missing.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

There’s another benefit to having a dedicated go-bag: when flying, before I place my carry-on under the seat in front of me or in an overhead compartment, I can pull the go-bag out of my carry-on and have my Android tablet close at hand with other electronics.  As an added bonus, when going through airport security, all of my electronics can be easily removed from my flight bag by taking out just this kit.

 Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I’ve had many versions of the Go-Bag over the years, and they’ve all done a great job. What I love about the Spec-Ops Brand Pack-RatImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view., though, is the fact that it’s military grade–very durable–opens with all of the main storage pockets on the inside, has a bright yellow interior which makes it easy to see the contents (even in the dimness of a night flight), and it’s just the right size to hold my usual travel gear. The Spec-Ops Brand Pack-RatImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. also carries a lifetime, no-matter-what, guarantee.

There are thousands of similar packs on the market, and you may already have one, but you should look for something with multiple storage pockets. Small packs I’ve used in the past that only had one or two main compartments made it easy to leave something out when packing.

Radio travels

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The travel radios I reach for most often. Top Row (L to R, Top to Bottom) Tecsun PL-380, Sony 7600GR, CommRadio GP-5DSP, Grundig G6, Tecsun PL-660, and the CommRadio CR-1 (Click to enlarge)

When I spent a year in France during my undergraduate studies in the early 1990s, shortwave radio was my link with home. I would listen to the VOA–the only source of English I permitted myself to hear–like clockwork, each week. Today, although I travel with a smartphone which can tune in thousands of stations, I always choose to listen to radio. Besides, if the Internet goes down or if–heaven forbid!–your trip takes you into a natural disaster, it’s radio that you will turn to to stay safe and informed.

If you take anything away from this reading, I hope it’s that even when you’re presented with travel restrictions, you won’t hesitate to take your hobby, in the form of a portable radio and a few accessories along. It contributes measurably to the fun of travel, as I’ve discovered when I’m able to tune in local and international stations so different from those I hear at home.  Or sometimes, it’s just the opposite–it’s the chance to pick up a favorite broadcaster or program while you’re on the road.

After all, for me and other travelers like me, the world’s familiar voice is radio.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

A smartphone app that I find quite useful is Shortwave Broadcast Schedules by Chris Smolinski at Black Cat Systems.

Chris has just announced an update which adds features like the ability to enable schedule reminders as well as keep track of your favorite broadcasts.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.I’ve been using this app for a year and have noticed frequent schedule updates–indeed, A14 schedules were ready at the beginning of the season.

It’s an ideal app to use for one bag travel–indeed, you don’t even need an Internet connection to browse the listings. Admittedly, the typical smartphone screen is fairly small to display such a large amount of broadcast data, but Back Cat’s interface is designed with this in mind. I find the app easy to use and very useful while I’m on the go.

I have only used the iOS version on my iPhone. Black Cat also offers an iPad version which, I believe, would be ideal. I have not tested the Android version of the app.

Shortwave Broadcast Schedules is available on the iPhone/iPad ($2.99) and Android ($0.99) devices.

Click here to check out our comprehensive, frequently updated list of radio apps.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I’m in the process of reviewing a number of shortwave portables and pitting them against each other. Sometimes, it can be very difficult to decide which radio is better–especially if you have more than two radios to compare at a time.

What I’ll often do to help level the playing field is to make an in-line recording of each radio (via my Zoom H2N handy recorder) with the mic and volume levels equal. I then tune to the same frequency with similar filter settings (wide, maximum RX gain, antennas fully extended, etc.).

I also like comparing radios while listening to weak signals and/or when conditions are less favorable. Those were exactly the circumstances yesterday when I pitted four radios against each other: the Sangean ATS-909X, Tecsun PL-660, Tecsun PL-880 and the Sony ICF SW7600GR.

I found a weak signal from Radio Romania International on 11,975 kHz. Normally, the signal would have been stronger, but propagation was rough and QSB (fading) was pronounced at times. Under these conditions you get the opportunity to hear how the AGC circuit handles fading and troughs, how the noise floor sounds as conditions change and note the overall sensitivity.

While I give priority to a receiver’s sensitivity and selectivity, there’s more to evaluate–for example, sometimes the more sensitive radio may be less pleasing to listen to.

Below are three recordings of Radio Romania International made from three of the four radios tested (I did not include one of the four radios that was notably less sensitive). These are audio snapshots, but represent what a listener would hear via headphones during similar conditions. All recordings were made within a four minute period of time.

Which of the three recordings do you prefer? Which radio do you find handles these unfavorable conditions best? Why do you prefer one over the others?

Sample 1:

Sample 2:

Sample 3:

Please add your comment below, or contact me via email with your favorite and any comments. I’m also very interested in which one you believe is second best. I’ll tally up the results in one week and will reveal which radio came out on top!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Thanks to all who participated in our shoot-out!  Last week, I posted three recordings of a weak shortwave broadcast in an attempt to evaluate which recording–thus which radio–our listeners prefer. The test was “blind” in that, though four radios were evaluated, only three recordings were posted, merely labeled, “Sample #1,” “Sample #2,” and “Sample #3,” respectively.

The radios tested were not just average radios. Rather, they represent the best of the truly portable radios currently on the market, namely: the Sangean ATS-909X, the Tecsun PL-880, the Tecsun-PL660 and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR.

Indeed, the most popular question I receive from SWLing Post readers is about two or more of these models, asking,”which is best?”

The samples

To refresh your memory, I’ve embedded the audio samples below–but if you haven’t yet, I would encourage you to read our previous post (and the great reader comments following!) before proceeding.

The recordings in our samples are of Radio Romania International on 11,975 kHz. Normally, the signal would have been stronger, but propagation was rough, and QSB (fading) was pronounced at times. Note that I recorded all of these samples with my Zoom H2N digital recorder via a line-in connection, using the radio’s headphone jack. Since not all of the radios have a line-out jack, I used the headphone jack each time and simply set the volume and line-in gain to the same level.

Sample 1:

Sample 2:

Sample 3:

And now, here is the sample I intentionally left out in my previous post…Sample #4. I didn’t include it in the evaluation because, frankly, it was such a weak performer compared with the other three; I knew it would take last place:

Sample 4:

With that in mind, we’ll start with the radio behind Sample 4:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Sangean ATS-909X ($200-250 US)

Many readers guessed rightly that the Sangean ATS-909X was the radio omitted. Evidently, it is known for its lack of sensitivity when only employing its telescoping whip antenna. You’ll notice that, most of the time, the RRI broadcast is lost in the static.

Frankly, I was somewhat surprised that the ATS-909X didn’t perform better. It has a loyal following amongst SWLing Post readers and has been a popular radio on the market for the past three years or so. While I’ve used the ATS-909X in the past, I have never owned one, and had never done a side-by-side comparison.

To perform this test, I borrowed the 909X from a friend who usually has it hooked up to an external antenna. In fact, this is when I learned that the 909X performs admirably when hooked up to an external antenna.

In my tests, however, I didn’t want to hook up external antennas.  I believe that for a radio to be evaluated as a portable, it must be judged on its ability to receive signals from its telescopic whip antenna as a base line.

But let’s move on to the radios you did hear in our weak signal evaluation…

Let’s take a look at the radio behind Sample #3, the radio our readers voted to take last place in terms of weak-signal listening:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Tecsun PL-880: Sample 3 ($150-160 US)

With the exception of three votes (out of more than seventy), Sample #3–the Tecsun PL-880–was overwhelmingly voted worst in this weak-signal shoot-out.

The bulk of your criticisms focused on the fact that the PL-880 did not handle fading as well as the other radios. When the signal was at a peak, it sounded great, but in QSB troughs, the signal became unintelligible and you could hear DSP artifacts and distortion.

But is the PL-880 a “bad” radio? Absolutely not. Indeed, I gave it pretty high marks when I reviewed it last year. It’s just not the best choice for weak-signal listening–at least in its current firmware version.  Note to Tecsun:  I do believe it may be possible to tweak this portable’s AGC circuit so that it handles fading better…

But let’s move on to the other contestants. Here’s our second-place portable:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Tecsun PL-660: Sample 2 ($110-130 US)

During the first day of voting, the Tecsun PL-660 actually had a noticeable lead on the other radios. I’m not surprised. The sensitivity was better than the rest of the contestants, in my opinion. The received audio was clear and seemed to pop out of the static better than the others.

Overwhelmingly, those who didn’t vote the PL-660 as best, voted it as second. Their main criticism was that the PL-660′s AGC was a little too active and less stable than the radio which actually took first place.

And with no further ado, here’s our winner:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Sony ICF-SW7600GR: Sample 1 ($130-150 US)

Surprised?  I was!

After I evaluated the blind test myself, I was certain the PL-660 would be the winner with its stronger sensitivity. But the result–and reader comments–proved me wrong. More of you placed a value on the Sony’s rock-solid AGC circuit which handles the peaks and troughs of fading better than the other contenders.

Commenters noted that the Sony’s audio and stability lent itself to easier, less fatiguing, listening. Keep in mind, though, that many of these same commenters mentioned that the PL-660 (Sample #2) would be their preference for identifying a station in under weak signal conditions.

Now let’s look at the raw data, and then discuss what it all means.

The data

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR was voted:

• first place 41 times,
• second place 2o times, and
• third place once

The Tecsun PL-660 was voted:

• first place 23 times,
• second place 33 times, and
• third place twice

The Tecsun PL-880 was voted:

• first place never,
• second place three times, and
• third place 53 times

I’ve attempted to place this data into a bar graph to make it a little easier to visualize: Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.If you noticed that these numbers don’t completely add up, it’s because responses were inconsistent.

Most survey participants listed their preferences in order (i.e., first, second, and third place). Some respondents only listed their favorite of the three, while others only listed the one they didn’t like. No one responded with a tie between the radios, all had an opinion.

Another way of reading the results

SWLing Post reader “Radio Flynn” helped me with some additional data interpretation this morning. He put together this analysis (download as a PDF), and commented:

“[A]lthough a majority of people choose sample #1, nearly everyone ranked either sample #1 or sample #2 as preferred, and the average ranks are very close, closer than the raw percentages would indicate. I have not done a statistical analysis so I don’t know if the difference in mean rank between #1 and #2 is significant (in other words, I don’t know if there is a significant preference for #1), but you can say that either sample 1 or sample 2 would be acceptable to almost everyone, and sample 3 clearly last choice.”

Radio Flynn also pointed out that next time I do this sort of test (and I will be doing another!) that I should keep votes consistent by asking everyone to rank their preference. Excellent suggestion; I’ll be sure to do so.

So the Sony ICF-SW7600GR is the best radio…right?

Not exactly.

Herein lies the difficulty of suggesting the “best” radio for any particular listener.

This test only evaluated weak signal sensitivity under rather rough conditions. The Sony was “the winner” in this respect.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.But this doesn’t tell the whole story.

I’ve had my Sony ’7600GR longer than any of the other portables in this contest and it is invariably the radio I reach for when I want to make a field recording. I prefer the Sony because it has good sensitivity, a stable AGC, excellent single-sideband selectable sync detection and it can handle being connected to a long external antenna. Indeed, it was the Sony I packed when I spent the summer of 2012 in an off-grid cabin in the Canadian maritimes. In short: my Sony ICF-SW7600GR is my “old faithful.”

But frankly, when I travel, I reach for the PL-660 more often than not. Why?  Yes, the Sony has great receiver characteristics, but its ergonomics leave a lot to be desired. I use my Sony when I plan to key in a frequency and leave it there. The PL-660 is a joy to operate, has simple direct-frequency entry, an excellent auto-tune feature, not to mention, a stable sync detector.

If I want to identify a signal buried in the static, I reach for the PL-660.

If I want to do casual listening and am less concerned with DXing, I reach for the PL-880. It’s a solid radio and has a quality feel to it (running neck-and-neck with the ATS-909X in this respect). Of this bunch, it has by far, the best audio from its internal speaker. If I want armchair listening, I reach for the PL-880. It’s also an excellent SSB receiver–one of the best in this group–and offers more filter selections.

In summary, it’s not always easy to suggest which radio is best…I must ask in response, “Best for what?” The data from this test proves this, as our readers who ranked their favorites backed up their choices with consistent and valid comments.

What do you think?

Before long, I plan to pit these radios (and perhaps another?) against each other in terms of their synchronous detectors in another blind test.  It may take a while to work this up. Your enthusiastic responses, however, completely justify it.

Stay tuned!

Resources:

• Sony ICF-SW7600GR
  • On the SW Radio Index
  • Retailers:
    • Universal Radio
    • Amazon.com
    • eBay
• Tecsun PL-660
  • On the SW Radio Index
  • Retailers:
    • Universal Radio
    • Amazon.com
    • eBay
• Tecsun PL-880
  • On the SW Radio Index
  • Retailers:
    • Universal Radio
    • Amazon.com
    • eBay
• Sangean ATS-909X
  • On the SW Radio Index
  • Retailers:
    • Universal Radio
    • Amazon.com
    • eBay

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I recently purchased the KX3 helper from Steve (W1SFR) and can report that I’ve been very pleased with this uber-simple, affordable, non-slip tilt pad.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

While I like the built-in tilt legs on the Elecraft KX3, I prefer slightly more angle for operation on my desktop.  The KX3 helper allows you to chose a number of positions and angles for the KX3.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

What I love most is the fact that it will not slip while you’re tuning or making adjustments to the KX3 (even if inserting Mic or Key plugs).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The little shelf on the back of the KX3 helper is the perfect place to hold your microphone when not in use.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Though Steve produces a number of non-slip wedges (and many other accessories), I find the size of the KX3 helper to be ideal for many of my portable shortwave radios as well. Here’s the Tecsun PL-600 for example:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

At $13.45 US shipped, I believe the KX3 helper is a true bargain. Plus, you’re buying from a fellow radio hobbyist who does this sort of thing out of his passion for radio.  Check out all of Steve’s radio accessories by clicking here.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Two weeks ago, I posted a virtual challenge for SWLing Post readers:  I asked you to imagine you were placed on a one-year research assignment on one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands, namely, Tristan Da Cunha, in the South Atlantic.

Your goal was to assemble the best shortwave listening set-up possible for your virtual budget of $200 US. You were tasked to track down a radio kit that would keep you in touch with the world, and potentially afford you some very unique DX. [If you haven't read the full virtual radio challenge, including all of the limitations you might face, I encourage you to check out this post before continuing.]

Your Reader Responses

And, wow, what great responses–!  First, I want to thank all who participated in this challenge. No two responses were identical.  Some truly surprised me…I must say, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this exercise as much as I enjoyed reading what you’ve sent to the SWLing Post!  

Below you will find ten responses from readers, representing remarkable diversity in radio set-ups. Note that my comments follow; they are italicized and in bold.

Now, with no further ado…I welcome you to radio DX on Tristan de Cunha!

from Frank Holden

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.First up, Frank Holden, who submitted his entry at 3:00 AM–prior to leaving on a 6:40 AM flight. Obviously, travel was on this Post reader’s mind.

Frank writes:

Based on both my own experience and recent swling.com research I would choose a:

• Tecsun 660 from Anon-coImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. (making sure I got one with a UK type 240v charger and plug ) $120
• USB charging cable for radio $6
• One set Sanyo Eneloop AA batts. Chuck the original Tecsun ones. $27
• 7 metre Squidpole and stake $42
• Duct tape (for securing joints on Squidpole and taping top of ant to top of Squidpole) $2
• 20 metres of wire for antenna with fitted plug. $10
• Cable ties for securing Squidpole to stake. $1
• Coil 3mm diam polyester line for stays $10
• One dozen big tent pegs. $12
• Big hammer [Available locally!]

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Squidpole Antenna (Photo courtesy of http://www.perite.com/)

Total is $210 Australian, so you will get change out of $200 US.

Some notes:

• Feed antenna up inside the Squidpole and tape at the top…. The rubber ‘bobble’ is removeable.
• Maybe run a short length of coax from radio to base of Squidpole.
• Make sure the Squidpole is well stayed. My experience in VP8land and Tierra del Fuego is that the constant flexing in high winds will lead to squid pole failure. Mine were secured to the taffrail on my boat… i.e. at the base and 50cm up from base…. Failed at the 50 cm point. I have also had a 5 metre high quality (marine grade) alloy whip fail in the same manner.
• Utilise rest of baggage allowance with warm clothes, rum (power outages… for use during), etc.

Thanks, Frank! I love the idea of the Squidpole as it can give you a little height when trees are absent. I have used a similar telescoping pole for Ham Radio QRP operations: a Jackite poleImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.. I’ve broken the tip section twice already due to my own clumsiness–fortunately, the tip can be purchased separately. As you suggest, I bet the winds on Tristan Da Cunha would give the Squidpole a run for its money!

from AB3RU

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Ham It Up v1.2 – NooElec RF Upconverter converts your RTL-SDR dongle into an HF receiver.

AB3RU writes:

I propose using my current setup, since a laptop is a freebie here. I use the following in my setup:

1) RTL-SDR dongle for the laptop ($15)
2) Ham it up upconverter ($40)
3) AlphaDelta SWL sloper, MFJ 1020B (eBay, got ‘em for $102)

That’s $157. That leaves $43 for a 25? length of coax and two MCX adapters. Coax run is $15 (at $0.39/ft for RG-8X.) I forgot how much the adapters were, but less than the $28 left over after buying the coax run.

Downside? I have no pole to support this, and houses on the island are only one story structures. I’ll have to attach the high end of the sloper to the peak of the home where I’m staying, and I’m sure that height is less than the 25? recommended by AlphaDelta. In addition, I’ll have to plant a stake at the lower end of the sloper to keep that end the recommended 8? above ground. I also made no provision for extra power if a power outage exceeded the amount of juice in my laptop battery.

If push came to shove, I would drop the MFJ 1020B for an extra $50 to buy supports or an extra battery.

Thanks, AB3RU! I’m willing to bet that you might find something on the island to support one end of your sloping antenna. It might be a challenge to meet the 25′ recommended height, as you stated. Still, this is an innovative and quite portable option!

from Tudor

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.“Tudor” comments:

Here are my choices:

• A 50-100m wire to be used as an antenna for SW and MW. I imagine I’ll be able to catch a few MW stations from South America or Africa. As for choosing a radio…
• I’ll need a good radio which allows using an external antenna not only for SW (all of them do) but also for MW (few of them do). I think there is only one radio which fits this requirement within the budget: the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, available on Amazon.com at prices around $140. My other choice would be a Sangean ATS-909X which works very well with external antennas, but it’s more expensive.
• I’ll also need two packs of 4 AA rechargeable batteries and a charger.

Thanks, Tudor! I believe your choice of the Sony ICF-SW7600GR is a very good one, as the Sony is a solid performer. It would be a challenge to find a new Sangean ATS-909X within your $200 budget–you would need to track down a used one, most likely. With the PL-660 in tow, you would then have a full $60 to purchase batteries, charger, and your antenna wire. Very workable!

from KK6AYC

KK6AYC suggests using the MFJ Model MFJ-8100:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-8100W

It is through hole soldered so replacing parts is easy. Bring a bag of spare parts and a couple batteries. Get two headphones so that you and a friend can listen at the same time.

Thanks, KK6AYC! At $110 US, you would certainly have enough budget for spare parts, batteries, and antenna wire. While a regen receiver may not be for everyone, these do provide excellent sensitivity once you pass this rig’s learning curve for tuning. If the winds blow your external antenna around, you might have to ride that regen control! Great alternative to the typical portable–!

from John Treager

Next, John Treager, who writes:

Neat thought experiment! I’ve recently got back into SW listening after years away. I’ve been hitting your sites for two or three months and your weak station comparison really grabbed my attention but this one has lit the fire again.

[...]I’m a contract engineer who lives away from my primary residence most of the time so this challenge kind of strikes a chord. And, as I’m getting back into SWL, you’ve given me a reason to research (something engineers love to do!).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Based on the weak station article and discussion, I like what I’ve seen in the Tecsun PL-660 (although I don’t own it yet). [...]Found in silver on eBay for $100.99 from kaito-electronics-incImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.. Seriously, what’s the fascination with black? Black is $20 more…

If I’m renting a room with a family on the island, headphones are a must. I’m cheap and traveling light so let’s go with Sony MDRZX100 headphones. I’ve used them for quite a while and like them. I find them comfortable for at least a couple of hours. Currently $15.09 on Amazon.

I enjoy the challenge of simplicity so, as far as an antenna goes, I would choose a simple long wire. Either a reel or one I build, $10-15. I get as much enjoyment from fussing with antennas as I do from turning knobs and dials. If my simple wire antenna doesn’t work when I get on location, then investigating and tinkering with antenna design and construction will fill the hours!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.By the rules of the challenge, power is available but somewhat unreliable it sounds like. To meet that, I’m going with rechargeable batteries and enough to last for a while. AmazonBasics AA NiMH Rechargeable batteries (16 pack, 2000 mAh). Not the newest version, but should suffice for one year and 16 batteries should be enough for extended periods of no power. And, this may be a bit of a cheat, but I use AA batteries for everything, so I already have a charger!
Next, some sort of reference. I usually use either my laptop or a phone/tablet for frequencies/times from various sources, but given that there is no internet access in the residence and power may be occasionally spotty, let’s go with the World Radio/TV Handbook as a backup (I do miss Passport to World Band Radio!). I found WRTH on eBay (new, 2014 edition) for $27.24Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view..

I assume I will have notebooks and pens for other reasons, so not included in the total.

So, all told…

• Radio: Tecsun PL-660 (sliver) $100.99
• Headphones: Sony MDR-ZX100 $15.09
• Batteries: AmazonBasics 16-pack AA rechargeables $24.35
• Antenna: Home-brew $15
• Reference: 2014 WRTH Handbook $27.24

Total: $182.67

With the remaining difference, I may get a Kaito KA321, which I have found to be a great deal of fun. [...]Being a budget DXer, and given the performance of this little radio, I would almost have to have one along. I would love to see what it did in the South Atlantic!

Thanks, John! That should be enough AA batteries to keep you going well over a week with no power. Packing a WRTH makes a lot of sense. Via the island’s library Internet–however variable–you could download WRTH updates, as well.

from London Shortwave

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Global AT-2000 (Photo: RadioPics.com)

London Shortwave sent his suggestion in by tweet–a simple, proven combo: 

• The Tecsun PL-660
• Global AT-2000 (search eBay)
• And 20 meters of Nevada FWPVC010

Thanks, London Shortwave!  While the Global AT-2000 is a little difficult to find these days, London Shortwave has had excellent success with this antenna coupler. There should be enough room in his budget for rechargeable batteries, as well.  

from Princehifi

“Princehifi” comments:

If a laptop was coming along, I would have to use an SDR.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I would get the Afedri SDR USB-only model [see AFEDRI SDR-USB-HS above] for $159 (board only, I’d have to mount it in a sardine can). I would then use the remaining $41 for a cheap used antenna tuner and a random wire for an antenna. I think this kit would make for an excellent listening post.

Backup power would be a concern with the outages, so I am contemplating a 6-volt battery backup power system to power my Phillips 4-port USB hub (6 volt DC in requirement). From there the USB-hub will power/charge a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet (the laptop), the Afedri SDR and maybe a USB-powered speaker? Would have to test out this backup power scheme before boarding the boat!

I think I could do all of the above for $250 including the backup power system. Although it would likely push $300 when wires, cables etc are all in (does not include the tablet/laptop).

Thanks, Princehifi! So you’re a little over the $200 budget with all of the accessories, but if you already have a laptop and tablet, I think you could tweak your set-up to meet the budget goal. I did not realize that there was a USB only version of the Afedri SDR–I might have to get one of those myself!

from Rob

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Rob comments:

Here’s my list. Where can’t get it locally and I don’t have a firm shipping cost, I’ve estimated it as an additional 20%. Stuff I can get locally (Radio Shack, etc.) I haven’t added any shipping or sales tax.

• Tecsun PL660 (eBay/Anon Co): $85 + $16 shipping = $101
• 100′ roll of 22 gauge stranded copper wire (Amazon): $9.41 + 20% = $11 (good long random wire)
• 25′ RG58 (Universal Radio price $0.25/ft): $6 + 20% = $7 (use the coax to get wire antenna out and away from the house; wrap it on an old jar (free!) to make an ugly balun to keep household noise from creeping up the outside of the shield)
• 1/8″ phono plugs for antenna port (Radio Shack): $3.50
• Koss Earbuds (Radio Shack): $5 (these really cut down on battery drain and make for a better house guest)
• Eneloop charger & 4xAA batt combo (Battery Junction): $16 + 20% = $19.20 (the 660 comes with one set of AA’s, this gives another and an away-from-radio charger to cut down on noise)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.OK, that totals to $147 for the basics. Now I want to add two more things:

• Tecsun AN200 MW loop antenna (eBay/Anon Co): $16 + $10 shipping = $26 (MW DX out in the middle of the Atlantic? I’d like to try!)
• Degen 321 AM/FM/SW radio (eBay/Anon Co): $12 + $7 shipping = $19

(That’s right, a spare radio. Because middle of nowhere.)

Grand total: $192

Now if I’m allowed to scrounge in the parts bin for stuff like 22 gauge antenna wire, RG58, and earbuds, there might be enough left over for a SECOND spare radio and 4 more Eneloops!

Thanks, Rob–you have a plan, indeed! Well thought through! I, too, would be very curious what sort of medium wave DX I could hear in the South Atlantic, especially since you know there would be no local blow-torch stations around. I have the Grundig version of the Tecsun AN200 and find it an essential antenna for portable MW DXing.

from Michael C. Fortner

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Michael C. Fortner’s list includes:

Radio: Tecsun PL-600 (I have one and am comfortable with it’s operation) – $43.35

Antenna: 500′ spool red 18 gauge wire (you can’t have too much wire in case of wind damage, animals, people, etc.) – $29.07

2 two packs of 1/8 mono phone jacks (again, backups are good) – $4.49 x 2 = $8.98

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Batteries: 16 AA NiMH batteries – $25.86

Charger: Solar battery charger (backup to mains power that charges batteries in radio): $19.99

Headphones: Koss KSC-75 headphones x2 (good dynamic range for the price and I have two pair that I use): $14.82 x 2 = $29.64

Grand total: $156.89 (all qualify for free shipping)

I’d guess I would save the rest for repair costs in case the radio acts up. Of course, I’d take the one I already have as a spare. When in remote locations, backups are essential so I probably bought more than most people think I need. And as far as the battery charger, rapid chargers are bad for most NiMH batteries so I went with a slower charger. And don’t forget that the Tecsun can charge the batteries in the radio when not in use.

Thanks, Michael! You are erring on the side of having extra batteries and more than enough wire for antennas; there’s no way you’ll run out in your one-year stay. On Tristan, I know that locals often trade supplies: those extra batteries may turn into an antenna support!    

from Kenny B

 Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Kenny B writes:

I love your site, I’m there everyday and almost forgot to enter so here it is:

1. Kaito 1102, I have had good luck with it and it has ssb, second choice would be a Tecsun PL-380, I really love this radio and it’s a great little dxing machine but no ssb.
The Kaito is 64.95 on Amazon, free shipping.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Sundance Solar DIY battery charger

2. A Sundance Solar- build it yourself battery charger for AA and AAAs: $40.00 plus 9.99 shipping

3. Scotts Electronics 384pf air variable capacitor, $13.95 plus $4.95 shipping, this if for my shortwave magnetic loop I will build, I’m pretty sure I can procure the wood for crossbeams or something to make a loop can be had on the island.

4. 6ft RG-58, Wal-Mart, $4.95

5. 50ft speaker wire, Home Depot, split it gives me 100ft, can also be used to make a dipole or longwire, $9.99

6. Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteriess, AA, 3rd generation, 2000mah, 8 pack $26.40, Amazon, free shipping

7. Travelproducts.com, 1600 watt voltage converter, 19.99, free shipping

8. Radio Shack 1/8th inch miniplug for end of coax, $4.00

Wow! Thanks, Kenny B! Other than the KA1102, your complete kit is DIY–I like it! You could build the battery charger and antenna prior to leaving. 

from Anil

Anil writes:

1. Receiver: Wandel & Goltermann FE-8 Spy Radio Receiver (US$ 120 at a Hamfest)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Wandel & Goltermann FE-8 Spy Radio Receiver from the cold war (mine was manufactured in 1963. I bought it at a Hamfest in Sweden a month ago for the equivalent of US$ 120.[...]

For ruggedness there is nothing else like it. It is completely sealed and constructed from a single piece of die-cast machined aluminium and stainless steel. Just the thing for wet and rainy Atlantic islands! Covers 2.5 – 24 MHz and only needs 6 Volts at 8mA. A pack of twelve AAs will fit in my pocket and last at least a year with about three hours of listening every day. No adapter, no charger. The razor sharp 3.1 kHz Collins Mechanical Filter is not ideal for music but hard to beat for general news and SSB utility listening. Like the famous Collins R390 it uses a mechanical “digital” dial accurate to 1 kHz which also glows in the dark. [...]It is smaller that a Tecsun 660 though it weighs a lot more. More about this radio here http://www.cryptomuseum.com/spy/sp15/fe8.htm

2. Antenna & Earth (US$ 15 in any electrical store)

Random length PVC insulated wires with a banana plugs- total 50 meters. The radio has a hi-impedance input and is sensitive enough to do a great job with just 20 m of wire. The rest is spare.

3. Headphones (US$ 25 on eBay)

Lightweight Telex Aviation Headset with 1500 Ohms impedance can be worn for long periods with no fatigue. The audio response is tailored for voice.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

4. The latest  WRTH Handbook (US$ 30 online)

I’m all set for the trip now with $10 to spend on a supply of chewing gum. I know that this radio setup can easily deal with whatever is thrown at it… the question is if I can!

Thanks, Anil!  Wow…I never saw that spy radio coming! It does look like an ideal radio for prolonged use and for pretty much any environmental conditions. I hope you realize that I will be bugging you (okay, pun intended!) to provide us with a few broadcast recordings from the FE-8. It’s certainly got my interest piqued!

Now, that was fun! Thank you all…

I know this sort of challenge may not appeal to everyone, but I really enjoy it. This sort of exercise forces you (though safely) outside the comfort-zone of a home radio set-up. Your responses are truly innovative. I only wish the Post could actually send our participants to Tristan de Cunha to try their set-ups out first-hand! I, for one, would love to come along…

Thanks, again, for your participation! If your response wasn’t included above, or I didn’t respond to you directly, please let me know: it’s possible I skipped over yours by mistake as there were quite a few responses to collate, and my email is managed by a rather discriminating SPAM filter.

Meanwhile, if you think of an alternative set-up–or would like to add your own to this post–please comment below!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.SWLing Post reader, Mehmet Burk, has apprised me of reviews he has published of the Degen DE660 and DE1126.

Until reading Mehmet’s review, I was not aware of the Degen DE660 (FM/Blutooth/MP3 player). He states the DE660, “will fill a room or vehicle with outstanding sound quality.”

The DE660 could be an inexpensive alternative to the ubiquitous Bluetooth speaker–one that also sports FM.

Mehmet also gives the DE1126 good marks.

Click here to read the DE660/DE1126 reviews on Mehmet’s website, ReliefAnalysis.com.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.The radio manufacturer, Melson, caught my attention a couple of years ago when it released the Melson M7–an AM/FM radio with a built-in MicroSD MP3 player. It wasn’t that an AM/FM/MP3 combo radio was that unique or novel, rather, what impressed me most was that the M7 delivered unexpectedly robust audio from its built-in speaker. I purchased an M7 last year and found that the little portable could easily fill the average-sized room with clear, rich audio, a truly superlative feature.

Other than its audio, however, the radio was fairly standard. My Melson M7 had good AM (medium wave) and FM sensitivity–well, at least on par with most other DSP portables in its price range. While the built-in MP3 player was basic, it was simple to use and functional. I loaded it with a MicroSD card filled with music and recordings, and put it to use as a mini-juke box of sorts. I didn’t expect more from that radio, or from its line.

Introducing the Melson S8

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Melson S8 sports the same “faux knobs” of the Melson M7

But when I discovered that the newest portable in the Melson line, the Melson S8, could receive shortwave radio, I ordered one immediately. This time, I didn’t have the radio in mind for personal use; I hoped it might serve our non-profit, Ears To Our World. At ETOW, we take information-delivery devices into parts of the world that currently lack access to the Internet. Shortwave radio is our usual medium, and most recently, we’ve put into service pre-recorded content loaded onto MicroSD cards–a simple way to give school children months of educational and musical programming. I had hoped the S8 might just support this need.

Overview

The Melson S8 resembles its sibling, the Melson M7, in every respect–down to the quirky “faux knobs” on the left side of the radio. Overall, the chassis feels sturdy and the buttons have a tactile response, with enough resistance to keep them from becoming accidentally pressed when, for example, the radio is packed in a suitcase. For shortwave and FM listening, the built-in antenna is rather short but sturdy.

Fortunately, the S8 also sports that amazing speaker found in the M7–a speaker that uses an acoustic chamber to achieve excellent audio. Since the S8 also has an AUX-in jack, it can be plugged into a laptop’s headphone jack, reinventing the S8 as an amplified portable speaker.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The S8 has a small digital display with backlighting that turns on or off depending upon the lighting level. For example, if it’s outside in the sun, the photosensor will turn off the blue backlighting.

The controls are on the right side of the radio: the tuning knob, volume control, power button, MicroSD card slot, DC power input (mini USB), headphone jack, and AUX-in.

Both the tuning and volume knobs work smoothly, but don’t feel quite as sturdy as I would like. I’m not sure how well they would hold up to years of daily use. When turning the tuning knob, the action is not seamless; you’ll detect slight incremental “bumps” or pauses that coincide with the receiver’s tuning steps on any given band. The volume control, however, is smooth, much as one would expect of a traditional analog radio.

The S8 utilizes the new slim rechargeable battery pack found in some Degen and Grundig models. While I’m not a great fan of these battery packs, they do seem to perform reasonably well and allow for a thinner radio.

Performance

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.When you first power up the Melson S8, if you have a MicroSD card inserted, it defaults to the MP3 playback mode and will begin playing the first MP3 on your card. You must press the light grey MODE button to cycle through the bands. The order is as follows: MP3 -> FM -> AM/MW -> SW1 -> SW2. I find this a bit annoying, since I’m primarily interested in the shortwave bands, thus must cycle through all the other modes before arriving at my selection. When powering up, I do wish Melson permitted the radio to default to the last mode used, a standard practice among portables.

Like the Melson M7, the Melson S8 has good AM (medium wave) and excellent FM sensitivity. If these are the two bands you listen to most, then you will be pleased with the excellent audio the S8 will deliver via its built-in speaker.

On shortwave, however, I’m disappointed by this radio. Most of the DSP radios I’ve tested have reasonable shortwave sensitivity and selectivity; I had hoped for the same from the S8. Unfortunately, the S8 generates internal noise that pollutes shortwave listening. While the noise is present on most bands, I find that it’s most pronounced on the popular 31 meter band.

There is the possibility that this noise might be specific to my particular unit. I spoke with a friend who didn’t notice the noise on his S8, but he lives in an area with a lot of RFI, which may have obscured the unit noise. So while I recognize that this might be a defect in my radio, I’m not interested enough in the S8 to order another for comparison. However, I would be curious if any SWLing Post readers have noticed this, and welcome your observations.

So that you’ll understand what I’m talking about with regards to the noise floor of the S8 (or at least my unit), below I include two audio clips of my Melson S8 and Tecsun PL-380, respectively, tuned to Radio Australia:

The Tecsun PL-380 on 9,580 kHz:

The Melson S8 on 9,580 kHz:

Note that the static crashes you hear in the recording are not due to performance shortcomings of either radio, but due to regional storms on the date of my recordings.

Summary

I took the following review notes of the Melson S8 from the moment I first turned it on…

Pros

• To prevent the unit from accidently being turned on, the S8 has a traditional key lock and one must press and hold the power button to power up or shut down
• ATS Auto tuning
• AUX in
• Good AM/FM performance
• Standard mini USB port for charging

Cons

• Noise (chirp) every ten seconds in MP3 mode via headphones
• Telescoping antenna swivel a little too loose
• MP3 fast-forward imprecise–upon stopping, it jumps ahead ?3 minutes on long recordings
• Pronounced muting between frequencies while tuning
• Tuning speed slow, cumbersome, not adaptive; 5 kHz steps only on shortwave
• Internally-generated noise throughout the shortwave bands, noticeable on all but blowtorch signals
• Non-standard MHz display on shortwave bands
• Controls often have sloppy responses; e.g., one fast-forward button press in MP3 mode can yield two skips forward. Tuning knob can have a similar response
• Back stand is a separate piece of plastic that can be easily lost
• Even with light use, one of the rubber feet on my S8 has begun separating from the body (may be repairable with adhesive?)

I’m sure you’ll note the number of cons in this list. As a result, I could not recommend purchasing the Melson S8, especially if you’re seeking a good shortwave receiver. There are many other radios in the same price range which offer excellent shortwave reception. I would suggest the Tecsun PL-380 or Tecsun PL-310ET, instead.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The tilt stand is removable (and I appear to have lost mine)

If, however, you’re looking for a portable AM/FM radio with a built-in MP3 player, you may be pleased with the S8. And as I suggested, I’ve also found the S8 useful in a pinch as a laptop speaker.

But if you already have a Melson M7, do keep it. It’s a good radio, and functions well for what it does. I feel like the Melson S8 is an “upgrade” that its engineers never actually tested. If they had, they would certainly hear the high noise floor on the S8 and realize that this radio can only detect the strongest of stations.

I purchased my Melson S8 on Amazon, where the Melson M7 is also sold.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, John, for sharing this video review of the DX Patrol SDR receiver.

The reviewer gives the DX Patrol high marks on shortwave performance, but admits that there is a significant learning curve in terms of software installation and tweaking settings for performance.

At 79 € ($110 US) the DX Patrol is certainly an inexpensive wide band SDR. Unlike the $20 RTL-SDR dongles, the DX PAtrol requires no external up-convertor.  

Click here to purchase the DX Patrol online, but keep in mind that the reviewer above noted a 6 week turn-around time for shipment. 

If you have experience with the DX Patrol SDR, please comment!

This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor Magazine.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Icom IC-7200 has an excellent general coverage receiver

Like many amateur radio operators, I became interested in HF radio because of my real passion for shortwave radio listening. During my first fifteen years as an SWL, I relied on portable receivers, in my case, the Zenith Transoceanic, Realistic DX-440, and Grundig YB 400. The Zenith was my home radio; I traveled with the DX-440 and YB400. I felt like I had the world at my fingertips.

In the mid 1990s, as an undergraduate, I decided that I would pursue my ham radio license–while on my student budget, I dreamed about upgrading to a proper tabletop receiver like a Kenwood, Icom, JRC or Drake. But when I found out the real cost of buying an HF transceiver (gasp!) I realized that all of my resources would go into a transceiver, and the receiver would just have to wait.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Icom IC-735 general coverage transceiver

Then, as I was studying for my license in 1997, ham buddy Eric McFadden (WD8RIF) invited me over to his house to test drive his Icom IC-735 transceiver. Eric, along with another friend/elmer, Mike (K8RAT) encouraged me to look for a used IC-735 for an affordable first HF radio.

I recall very well tuning around the ham bands at Eric’s QTH and being most impressed with how the IC-735 seemed to pull signals out of the static. It was my first time ever tuning a tabletop rig, and I was instantly hooked. Later, I asked Eric if the ’735 could also tune in shortwave radio broadcasters? His energetic response: “Sure! The ‘735 is general coverage,” then demonstrated by tuning to the 31M band.

Needless to say, I was absolutely amazed by the number of stations one could hear on this ham radio transceiver. Of course, its sensitivity surpassed anything I had ever owned, especially considering that the rig was hooked up to a proper outdoor wire antenna. I realized then that a ham radio transceiver and receiver–in the same radio–were within my financial grasp.

So, what is “general coverage”––?

A ham transceiver with “general coverage” means that the receiver portion of the radio is not limited to the ham bands only; these receivers typically receive between 100 kHz and 30 MHz (i.e., the full medium and shortwave radio spectrum). Many transceivers, starting in the 1980s, employed a general coverage design as a feature of the radio. Some radios implemented general coverage receiving better than others. In most cases, there was a compromise to performance when the receiver was opened to general coverage reception, so many manufactures held to a ham-band-only platform to optimize performance where hams sought it most. Today, receiver architecture can better accommodate general coverage without compromising sensitivity and selectivity on the ham bands.

Still, in 1997, my Icom IC-735 met all of my ham radio and SWLing expectations. For years, in fact, it was my main SWLing rig. Was the IC-735 as good as a proper tabletop receiver? No. The truth is that its filters and performance were most favorable for the ham radio bands. But as I mentioned, this compromise is much less profound in current transceiver design, and general coverage is status quo.

Benefits of general coverage

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Apps like Amateur Radio Exam Prep make exam practice easy and convenient

While the benefit of having a transceiver that can tune the full broadcast band may seem obvious, there are two reasons I always have at least one general coverage transceiver in my radio arsenal:

1. Since I like to travel and save space, a small general coverage transceiver (e.g., the Elecraft KX3) kills two birds with one (portable) stone;
2. If an emergency, such as a dire weather event were to occur, general coverage will allow me the ability to monitor international broadcasters and local AM (mediumwave) stations while still performing any emcomm (emergency communications) duties.

Another advantage to owning a proper HF transceiver is that, if you currently do not hold an amateur radio license, this may just be the push you need to get your ticket! All you’ll need to do is take two multiple choice tests (Technician and General) to unlock the full potential of your HF transceiver, and you’ll soon enjoy hamming it up with the rest of us.

Cons of general coverage

As I mentioned, general coverage transceivers can present something of a compromise in performance; after all, the rig’s main duty is to perform on the ham bands. Here are a few compromises to be aware of:

• With a few exceptions, purchasing a ham transceiver is pricier than purchasing a comparable dedicated broadcast receiver
• AM filters are often much narrower than broadcast receiver filters
• In many radios, you may be faced with a choice of optimizing filter selections for ham radio use (SSB or CW) or broadcast use (wide AM filters, etc.)
• Older general coverage transceivers (circa 1980s and 90s) may have somewhat compromised ham band receive performance
• Some general coverage transceivers may actually lack AM mode. All broadcast reception will basically be tuned via SSB (or better known as ECSS)
• General coverage transceivers typically lack synchronous detection

Another consideration: while anyone can purchase a general coverage ham radio transceiver, until you hold an amateur radio license with HF privileges, you cannot legally transmit using your radio. I doubt that any readers would consider doing this intentionally, but again your radio is designed to transmit, so this could be done accidently especially if you’re not familiar with transceiver functions. Transmitting unintentionally can have more than legal repercussions: 1) if you transmit with a mis-match between your transmitter and antenna, you could harm the finals in your transceiver; 2) you could damage your radio and/or antenna if using a receive-only antenna (like a mag loop); and 3) you could even receive RF burn. To avoid this, and make it foolproof, search the web for modifications to temporarily disable “transmit” on your radio if indeed you never intend to transmit.

A note about power supplies

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

My trusty Astron Power Supply

Unlike stand-alone receivers, most general coverage transceivers require an external DC power supply. If you do not have a power supply, you will need to fit this into your budget. Power supplies can be costly, but also an investment in longevity. With a little knowledge up front, you can be selective and save on your power supply purchase. As I have been using the same power supply (an Astron RS-35A) since 1997, I turned to my friend Fred Osterman, president and owner of Universal Radio, for suggestions on power supplies currently in production.

Fred pointed out that if your only goal is to power a transceiver for the receive function, there is no need to invest in an expensive power supply. He suggests a reliable, regulated power supply, such as their popular $35 (US) Pyramid PS-4KX: at 3.5 amps; indeed, the PS-4KX will be more than enough power for any transceiver in receive mode.

Of course, if you plan to transmit at full power–and unless you have a QRP radio–you will need a power supply that can handle the load. For this purpose, Fred suggests two excellent options:

• the affordable, portable and lightweight QJE PS23SWI 23 amp switching power supply ($79.95 US), or
• the Astron RS-35A 25 amp linear power supply ($179.95 US)

Again, I’ve had my trusty Astron RS-35A since 1997, so once you’ve invested in a good power supply, you should be all set for many years–and radios–to come.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

My old 1 amp regulated laptop power supply is more than adequate for SWLing on the Elecraft KX3

Transceivers: Good bets for $1,600 US or less

There are dozens of general coverage transceivers currently on the amateur radio market. Indeed, I don’t believe there are any rigs now in production that do not have a general coverage receiver, or at least the option to add it. Prices vary greatly, but I will assume that most SWLs that are considering the leap into amateur radio will want a radio that costs less than the price of a tabletop radio/transceiver combo. Just to keep things simple, we’ll limit our list to $1,600 US or less, beginning with the least expensive option.

Alinco DX-SR8T ($510 US)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Alinco DX-SR8 has a detachable face plate

The DX-SR8T ($510 US) is one of the most affordable general coverage transceivers on the market. To be clear, the DX-SR8T lacks many of the frills and features of pricier rigs, but it’s a surprisingly good transceiver and, of course, general coverage shortwave receiver. Indeed, Alinco actually markets a receive-only version of this radio (the DX-R8T, $450US); it is identical in every respect to the DX-SR8T, but simply has no transmit function.

While I have only used the DX-SR8T on a few occasions, I have spent a couple of years with the DX-R8T, and even reviewed it extensively in the SWLing Post. My DX-R8T began life as a review unit that I purchased––it was an early production unit, and even retained the transmit LED indicator found on its sibling, the DX-SR8T. Consider paying the extra $60 US for the DX-SR8T, and you’ll have a basic, full-featured transceiver.

You can purchase the IC-7200 from Universal Radio or other ham radio equipment retailers.

The Icom IC-7200 ($900 US)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Icom IC-7200

The IC-7200 delivers a lot of performance for a sub-$1,000 price. Its general coverage receiver will rival that of the venerable R75, and its AM filter can be widened to 6 kHz. Ergonomics are better than average. Plus, it has Icom’s twin passband tuning: the IC-7200’s general coverage receiver actually tunes from 30 kHz all the way to 60 MHz. The IC-7200 is a fantastic value.

You can purchase the IC-7200 from Universal Radio or other ham radio equipment retailers.

The Elecraft KX3 ($900 kit; $1,000 factory pre-assembled)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Elecraft KX3

The Elecraft KX3 is my general coverage transceiver of choice. There’s so much about this radio that I like: it’s nearly as compact as my portable shortwave radios, it’s a full-featured transceiver, it can operate on batteries, it has good ergonomics, and is made and supported by Elecraft, right here in the USA.

Its sensitivity and selectivity rival radios three times its price. The only negative I can point out about the KX3, in comparison with many other general coverage transceivers, is that its AM filter is limited to a width of 4.2 kHZ. When I first learned of this, I thought it would be a deal-killer for me. But I was wrong. The audio sounds much more robust and “wide” than I would ever have guessed. It’s excellent. Want more details? I made an extensive review of the Elecraft KX3 in the SWLing Post.

You can purchase the Elecraft KX3 directly from Elecraft.

Note: Elecraft tech support can instruct you in disabling “transmit” on the KX3, if you wish.

The Kenwood TS-590S ($1,500 US)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Kenwood 590S

The TS-590S has an excellent general coverage receiver and brilliant audio fidelity. With one of the lowest noise floors in the business, the 590S is well respected amongst amateur radio operators and shortwave radio listeners. If you doubt this, see how the TS-590S compares on Rob Sherwood’s receiver test data page.

You can purchase the Kenwood TS-590S from Universal Radio or other ham radio equipment retailers.

Looking to spend a little more?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Icom IC-7600

If you happen to be a ham looking to upgrade their transceiver for benchmark performance, you may be willing to dedicate more funds to your purchase. My buddy, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), a discriminating reviewer for the late great Passport To World Band Radio, is very pleased using his Icom IC-7600 for broadcast listening. He told me recently, “[The IC-7600 is] not perfect, of course, but does perform near excellent and also has a great display [with] a very useful spectrum scope.” Dave has a full review of the IC-7600 posted on his website.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Ten-Tec OMNI VII

I have also been impressed with the superb broadcast reception of the Ten-Tec OMNI VII ($2,800 US), Ten-Tec Eagle ($1,800 plus wide AM filter) and Orion series transceivers. While the OMNI VII and Orion II will set you back more than $2,000, used original Orions can be found for $1,800 and even less. Ten-Tec still services all of their radios at their headquarters in Sevierville, Tennessee.

Used transceivers

If you would like to save some money, consider searching the used market for one of the radios mentioned above. Alternatively, look for some of these select transceivers that are no longer in production, but are known to have capable general coverage receivers (do note that what follows is simply a selection, not a comprehensive list):

• Icom IC-706MKII, IC-703Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. (QRP version of the 706MKII), IC-7000Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., IC-735Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., and IC-745Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• Kenwood TS-570Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., TS-870Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., TS-930Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., and TS-940Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.
• Yaesu FT-840Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. (with optional AM filter), and FT-1000Image may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. series (very venerated series and still pricey even used)
• Ten-Tec OrionImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. and Orion IIImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., OMNI VIIImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view., EagleImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view. and JupiterImage may be NSFW.
  Clik here to view.

Keep in mind, when you purchase a quality used radio, you can get excellent value for the performance it will reward you. The flip side of this, though, is that if you purchase a radio that hasn’t been in production for over a decade, the chances of finding replacement parts become more difficult with each passing year.

For more hints on purchasing a used rig, check out our Marketplace page.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

With the option wide AM filter installed, the Ten-Tec Eagle makes from an amazing broadcast receiver. They are available new from Ten-Tec, but can also be found used.

Summary

If you plan on investing in a fine communications radio, it may be best to economize by investing in a good general coverage transceiver. For the prospective ham, the leap from a tabletop receiver to a fine general coverage transceiver may be less than $300. To prove my point, if an SWL planning to get a ham ticket asks about buying the venerable Icom R75, I would encourage spending $250 to get the Icom IC-7200, instead.

Indeed, with modern receiver architecture, there is little reason not to invest in a good general coverage receiver that you can also use to communicate all over the world when you get your ham ticket. And, need I add, it’s fantastic fun for the money.

If you would like to learn how to become a ham radio operator, check out this great introduction at the ARRL website.

Do you have a radio suggestion that I did not mention?  Please comment!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

On the advice of several SWLing Post readers, I have compiled a complete list of Tecsun PL-880 hidden features with how-to links:

Tecsun PL-880 Hidden Features:

• USB/LSB selectable synchronous detector
• Adjusting muting threshold
• Enabling DNR function
• Displaying firmware version
• Adjusting FM de-emphasis
• Changing line-out level
• Adding seconds display to clock 
• Calibrating medium wave
• Displaying date of manufacture
• Calibrating the Tecsun PL-880 for zero-beat operation
  • Alternate method: Calibrating the Tecsun PL-880 for zero-beat operation
• Forcing the Tecsun PL-880 to use an external antenna on MW/LW

If you notice a missing hidden feature or know of an alternate version, please contact me or comment on this post and I will add it. I will continue to add to this post over time. Many thanks!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.As a life-long student of the history of technology–radio or otherwise–I appreciate well-written, authoritative works of history on the subject. That is exactly what you’ll find in Jerome S. Berg’s The Early Shortwave Stations: A Broadcasting History Through 1945.  In these days during which shortwave is often viewed only as a legacy technology, it’s particularly fascinating to read about the days during which shortwave was new on the scene, exerting a disruptive influence, and threatening the established technology.

If you’re a shortwave radio enthusiast, you may already know of Jerome (Jerry) Berg; he is, without a doubt, one of the foremost historians of shortwave radio broadcasting and listening. His knowledge, moreover, grew out of his passion for the radio medium, and it shows in his writing. Berg has authored a series of history books on the subject on the subject of shortwave broadcast and listening, which this latest work joins:

• On the Short Waves, 1923-1945: Broadcast Listening in the Pioneer Days of Radio
• Listening on the Short Waves, 1945 to Today
• Broadcasting on the Short Waves, 1945 to Today

I’m not sure how Berg manages to convey his vast store of knowledge in such a readable form, but he does so, and very successfully. As with the other works in this series, The Early Shortwave Stations is chock full of details all entirely relevant, and Berg manages to weave this complex and multifaceted history into a very comprehensive, comprehensible, and rich story that the reader will enjoy.

Moreover, I like the manner in which Berg presents the chapters in The Early Shortwave Stations: the first chapter sets the stage, covering radio broadcasting up to the point of the invention of shortwave; the chapters then coincide with a decade-by-decade account of shortwave broadcasting, e.g., chapter 2 covers the 1920s, chapter 3 the 1930s, and chapter 4 covers 1940-1945 (where Berg’s Broadcasting on the Short Waves, 1945 to Today picks up). Furthermore, each decade and chapter is covered year by year. This obviously makes for easy future reference: should you like to know was happening in shortwave broadcasting in 1931, simply turn to chapter 3 (page 82) to find out.

Berg also draws insightful conclusions in his summary and in chapter 5, which only made me want to buy his next volume, Broadcasting on the Short Waves, 1945 to Today.

I can say that I learned an extraordinary amount of radio history from The Early Shortwave Stations, and have enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve had this book for a little while now, and it soon became my bedside reading.  Indeed, it’s been wonderful capping off each day (or even starting it) with early shortwave history. I find that it puts many of the changes that are happening in the industry currently into perspective.

And I would be negligent if I didn’t mention the numerous illustrations and stunning images in The Early Shortwave Stations: there are enough QSL cards, radio ads, and other print nostalgia within its pages to make for good coffee table reading, too. Although its pages are printed in black and white, the photos and illustrations are sharp and of high quality.

The publisher of Berg’s books, McFarland–a leader in publishing academic and non-fiction works–prints in relatively small quantities, hence the price tag per volume is about $45.00. But I assure you that it’s a bargain for a book which so completely encapsulates early shortwave broadcasting history.  It’s a book that you will likely want to reference, and (if you’re like me) not only read, but read again and again.

The real test? I’ve placed The Early Shortwave Stations on the same shelf with my WRTH.

The Early Shortwave Stations: A Broadcasting History Through 1945 can be purchased directly from the publisher, McFarland, by clicking here or by calling their order line (800-253-2187).  I’m pleased to say that The Early Shortwave Stations is also available via the Amazon Kindle format at $16.12 US, possibly the best purchasing option for those living outside North America.  Enjoy!

Jerry Berg also maintains the excellent website, On The Shortwaves.  This one’s been in our list of links for many years, do check it out if you haven’t already.

This article, which extensively reviews–and compares–the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, the Sangean ATS-909X, and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. Without a doubt, it’s my longest and most comprehensive review to date.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Summer:  time for travel–and for portable shortwave DXing. As I mentioned in the March TSM issue, I love combining travel with shortwave radio listening. But what radio should I pack?

This time of year, on the SWLing Post, I receive an increase in the number of queries asking some variation of the following, “What is the best, full-featured, portable shortwave radio on the market?” Oftentime it’s an upcoming trip, or just some time off work, that prompts the question, but without a doubt, this is the most-often-asked question from my readers. Typically, the reader has several models in mind and is curious how they compare. And since a good portable radio costs between $100 – $230 US, it’s not an impulse purchase decision for most of us.

In this month’s column, I hope to answer this question as thoroughly as possible so you can make an informed purchase decision that’s right for you. All four radios I mention in this article are what I would call “flagship portables” (generally, these are the best portables from any particular manufacturer). These were recently featured in a highly-energized reader survey on the SWLing Post, and are as follows: the Tecsun PL-660, the Tecsun PL-880, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, and the Sangean ATS-909X.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The price tags for these radios fluctuate, but all are generally available between $100-$230 US, and are actively in production right now.

Moreover, all these radios have a similar form factor: they are portable enough to be operated handheld, sport a direct-frequency entry keypad, a dedicated external antenna jack, and a generous backlit display. All of them also have SSB, and all but one have selectable sideband synchronous detection.

The competitors

With the exception of the Sangean ATS-909X–on loan from a friend for the purposes of this review–I have easily spent 40+ hours of listening time with each of these radios. I know their individual characteristics quite well and have used them in a variety of situations.

In case you’re not familiar with each of the contenders, a brief summary of each radio follows with an overview of the features that make it unique.

Sangean ATS-909X

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

If there was an award for the best-looking radio, I think the ATS-909X would win. The 909X designers put a great deal of thought behind the design and ergonomics of the 909X; for instance, there are two indentations on the back of the radio which allow it to fit nicely in your hands.  The 909X sports an internal speaker that produces excellent audio fidelity with a crisp response and even some distinct bass notes, especially notable if listening to an FM station. Of all of the radios listed here, the 909X has the the best variable receiver gain, tone control, largest display, and is the only radio with RDS (Radio Data System).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

While I like the position of the tuning wheel on the front of the radio, which is ideal for tuning with your thumb and reminiscent of the ICF-SW55, I don’t like the indents you feel as you tune. If you’re a listener that takes advantage of radio memory, the ATS-909X has a very appealing feature: alpha-numeric memory tags. When you store a Radio Australia frequency to memory, your 909X can display the full station name in large, easy-to-read characters.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

There is one omission from the 909X, though, that I find a bit surprising: it has no synchronous detection. While I don’t use a sync detector all of the time, it does come in handy when fading (QSB) and adjacent signal interference (if the sideband is selectable) are present.  For a radio that costs over $210 US, on average–the priciest on this list, by a long shot–I feel like sync should have been a given.

Sony ICF-SW7600GR

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR comes from a series of “7600” portables that date back to 1977. Though the ’7600GR has all of the modern features one would expect for a radio in its price class, it’s a bare-bones receiver in this particular crowd. It lacks the advance memory functions of the PL-880, PL-660 and, especially, the 909X. The display is smaller and more basic, although it does provide the most vital information.

I have traveled extensively with the ’7600GR, however, as it has rock-solid, reliable performance; it’s my work horse and go-to radio for field recordings because I find its AGC and sync detector remain among the best in this class of radio. It also has a dedicated, stable line-out jack. Important controls are all accessible, and I can easily engage the key lock without fear of accidentally pressing the wrong button during the recording.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

My main gripe about the ’7600GR, however, is its lack of a tuning knob and overall poor ergonomics.  My personal preference is to use a tuning knob for band-scanning, as pressing buttons just doesn’t give the same sense of responsiveness.  For casual tuning and band-scanning, I leave the ’7600GR in its case.  Nor is this radio intuitive–indeed, to learn all but the most obvious functions of the ’7600GR, you’ll need to reference the owner’s manual. Audio from the ’7600’s internal speaker is average/unremarkable.

Still, my Sony ’7600GR’s solidity makes it a friend I would never part with.  The real test? If it was ever lost or broken, I would promptly repair or replace this radio.

Tecsun PL-660

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Though I’m often an early adopter of new shortwave portables, I wasn’t for the Tecsun PL-660. When it came out, I figured it would be redundant, considering the many other portables I own with synchronous detection.

Long story short:  I was wrong.

Having at last acquired the Tecsun PL-660 last year, I now know it’s a pleasure to operate, and feature-rich for its price. The PL-660 is the bargain in this bunch of benchmark rigs, and significantly so: at an average price of $105 US currently, it is easily half the price of the ATS-909X.

The PL-660 is a pleasure to operate, and a true performer.  Its selectable synchronous detector is one of the best in this group of portables: it’s on par with the Sony ICF-SW7600GR. It locks onto a station and rarely loses that lock. Ergonomics are excellent on the PL-660, too–the buttons have a tactile response, are well marked, and all functions are simple to find. The right side-mounted tuning knob has a smooth action.

The Tecsun PL-660 has been on the market since 2011 and has a dedicated following amongst SWLs, many of whom favor it above anything else in its class.

Of course, the PL-660 isn’t perfect, however. It lacks a line-out jack, something I find essential for recording shortwave broadcasts. The audio from the internal speaker is okay, but not on par with the ATS-909X, or its cousin, the PL-880 (below). Still, at $105 US, the PL-660 is truly a steal.

Tecsun PL-880

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Tecsun PL-880 only started shipping in November 2013. It was highly anticipated as the new flagship portable in the Tecsun line. The PL-880 is chock-full of features and without a doubt, is the most complicated portable I’ve ever reviewed.

The PL-880 feels like a quality piece of kit: its buttons have a highly-tactile response, the tuning/volume wheels are silky smooth, and feel well-engineered. Out of the four portables evaluated here, I find the PL-880 the most pleasurable to operate. One of my favorite features is its dedicated fine-tuning knob, just below the main tuning knob on the right side of the radio.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Unquestionably, the one feature which makes the PL-880 highly desirable is the amazing audio fidelity you’ll enjoy from its built-in speaker: it’s well-balanced, rich, and clear. I almost can’t emphasize this point enough–the PL-880’s speaker is capable of room-filling audio. It’s one of the few radios I’ve ever owned (other than some of my antique tube radios) that encourage listening to shortwave from across the room, with pleasing results.

The PL-880 also sports the most filter options of any other portable on the market. Indeed, in SSB mode, the filter can be narrowed all the way down to 500 hz, making this CW operator, at least, quite contented.

Cons? Yes, the PL-880 has some. First of all, I feel like its current firmware version leaves room for improvement. One of the first things I had to do after receiving my radio was adjust the muting threshold so that it wouldn’t engage. Many of the PL-880’s adjustments are mysteriously hidden, even undocumented in the manual. One such hidden feature is its synchronous detection, which is the least refined in this set of portables: it has difficulty maintaining a stable lock, thus audio is significantly compromised.

[Click here for our comprehensive (and growing) list of PL-880 hidden features.]

Changing settings often results in the radio “thinking” for a second or two, during which time it mutes the receiver. This phenomenon is most pronounced when changing modes (from AM to LSB, for example). I find it rather distracting.

Still, I do like the PL-880. Its audio and overall quality make up for any annoyances. I suspect it will have a long product life and a loyal following over the coming years.

Evaluating performance

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Since I’m listening to the shortwaves 90% of the time I’m listening to a radio, I’ve limited the scope of my assessment here to the shortwave bands. With that said, none of these radios will disappoint you on AM or FM. I did note in my simple home comparison that the Sangean ATS-909X seemed to be the leader on the FM band.  The Tecsuns were perhaps best on the AM (mediumwave) band.

But what about on shortwave? I like using recordings to evaluate shortwave radio performance, typically representative clips that are 25-60 seconds in length. Why? Anytime I have more than two radios to compare, it gets difficult to switch between radios, insuring that I give each one the same opportunity to receive a station. More importantly, with this method, I can listen to the audio clips on my computer, and flip between them quickly to determine characteristics I like in each.

Before recording, I set each radio in the same spot on a table, though I might change the orientation for optimal reception (since this can differ from one radio to another). I then extend the antennas fully and set all of the filters, gain controls, tone, volume levels, and frequencies to the same position on each rig.  This way, my comparison can be on an “apples-to-apples” basis.

Note that I do not use an external antenna in any of these tests. This because I believe, when considering portables, they should be able to function very well off of their built-in antennas–thus taking into account situations in which employing an external antenna is not practical.

So that you have an opportunity to evaluate each radio in a “blind” test, I’ll tag each audio sample with a number, the order of which will not necessarily be consistent in each consecutive test. After the clips, I’ll reveal which is which.

Strong Signals

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

When I evaluate relatively strong broadcasts I typically listen for the best audio fidelity and signal stability a radio can offer. Unless there’s an adjacent signal (and in this case, there was not), I open the filter as widely as possible.

One of the strongest stations in my part of the world is Radio Havana Cuba–not always the cleanest signal, but always at blowtorch power levels. In this sample clip, I tuned our four radios to RHC.

To be fair, propagation from this station was poor the day of recording, so you’ll hear a little fading that is not normally present. Additionally, you’ll want to listen to the full clip, as a portion of each contains RHC interviews that were recorded by telephone (thus “tinnier” sounding); you’ll also hear the typical RHC transmitter hum:

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

You’ll hear that all of these receivers–with the exception of Sample #3–are nearly identical. Sample #3 is less sensitive than the others, thus more prone to shallow fading and a slightly higher noise level. To my ears, Sample #4 has the best audio quality and receiver characteristics, followed by Sample 2 and Sample 1.

Now let’s reveal the radios behind the samples:

• Sample #1: the Tecsun PL-660
• Sample #2: the Sony ICF-SW7600GR,
• Sample #3: the Sangean ATS-909X, and
• Sample #4: the Tecsun PL-880.

Weak signal DX

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I like comparing radios while listening to weak signals and/or when conditions are less favorable. Since I often listen to weak signals (after all, so few broadcasts are actually directed to North America), it’s an important test.

I found a weak signal from Radio Romania International on 11,975 kHz. Normally, the signal would have been much stronger, but propagation was rough and QSB (fading) pronounced at times. Under these conditions, you get the opportunity to hear how the receiver’s AGC circuit handles fading and troughs, how the noise floor sounds as conditions change, and judge the overall sensitivity.

While I give priority to a receiver’s sensitivity and selectivity, there’s obviously more to evaluate here–for example, the more sensitive radio may be less pleasing to the ear.

If you like, jot down what you observe as you listen to each 50 second clip:

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

Obviously, the radio in Sample #4 is significantly less sensitive than the other radios–it truly struggled to hear the RRI signal under these conditions.

The other radios were able to hear RRI. Sample #3 sounded fine when there was no fading present, but in the fading troughs, there was a pronounced high-pitched noise–most likely a DSP-based noise. Sample #1 had pretty solid copy with stable AGC (automatic gain control). Sample #2 was the most sensitive of this bunch.

Now let’s reveal the radios behind the weak signal samples:

• Sample #1: the Sony ICF-SW7600GR,
• Sample #2: the Tecsun PL-660,
• Sample #3: the Tecsun PL-880, and
• Sample #4: the Sangean ATS-909X.

In this particular test, I was most impressed with the PL-660’s sensitivity, but given the choice, I would have chosen the Sony ICF-SW7600GR as the best overall. Why?

The Sony produced audio simply more pleasant to my ears due to the stability of the AGC.

Wondering if others would draw a similar conclusion, I posted the same clips above on my blog, the SWLing Post (http://wp.me/pn3uc-2pl).  I doubted whether many readers would take the time to listen, or to vote, in this blind test. Boy, was I wrong–!

I received about seventy responses by email and in the comments section of my post. All but a very few readers ranked the clips in order of preference. The Sony was the clear favorite, with a total of 40 votes as the best of the bunch. The Tecsun PL-660 was second, with a total of 23 votes as the best. No one voted the PL-880 as best. (Click here for full results: http://wp.me/pn3uc-2qH)

What became very clear from the results and the comments, however, was that people who prefer sensitivity, prefered the PL-660. People who preferred stability, preferred the ’7600GR. In a sense, both were “best,” simply depending on the listener’s preference and/or listening requirements.

Weak single-sideband (SSB)

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

To test the SSB performance of these radios, I tuned to W1AW as they worked a pile-up from Puerto Rico. You will hear some fading. For those of you not familiar with SSB listening, you should note that W1AW sounds a little “grainy” in all of these recordings; this is simply the audio processor on W1AW’s transceiver which is set to be most audible and punch through the static.

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Sample #4

W1AW is barely audible in Sample #1. In Sample #2, audio is well-balanced, with good audio, low noise, and a stable AGC. Sample #3 sounds more narrow (even though its filter, like all, was set to the widest setting), but the audio “pops out” of the static and is very intelligible. Sample #4 sounds much like Sample #2, perhaps slightly more sensitive but with slightly less stable AGC.

By now you may have guessed each radio behind these samples…Here’s the lowdown:

• Sample #1:  the Sangean ATS-909X,
• Sample #2:  the Sony ICF-SW7600GR,
• Sample #3:  the Tecsun PL-880, and
• Sample #4:  the Tecsun PL-660.

I believe the Tecsuns perform best in this category, even though the difference between the two models is pretty dramatic. The PL-880 has the best sensitivity in SSB–indeed, I could have probably lowered the gain on my recorder and made the background noise sound even less pronounced, but I wanted the levels to match the other receivers. I was somewhat surprised its 5 kHz filter sounded so narrow on SSB.

The Tecsun PL-660 had the most pleasant audio, but during QSB peaks, its audio would suffer a little distortion (you only hear this once in this sample, near the end of the recording). The Sony had slightly less sensitivity, but the most stable AGC.

Once again, the Sangean ATS-909X struggled to hear the signal, having the least sensitivity of the group.

A note about the Sangean ATS-909X

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Alas, the most disappointing radio in all of these tests is the Sangean ATS-909X.

To be fair, however, it’s worth noting that the Sangean performs admirably if connected to an external antenna. Again, I resisted connecting an external antenna in this particular series of tests because I believe a good portable radio’s performance should first be judged upon what it can receive with only its telescoping whip antenna, considering that, when traveling, it’s not always possible to use an external antenna.

Indeed, if you plan to buy a portable that will be hooked up to an external antenna more often than not, the Sangean ATS-909X may be a good choice for you. Its front end can handle external antennas better than most of the radios above (with the Sony as an exception, in my experience).

Syncronous detection

I did not test sync detection, as the Sangean ATS-909X lacks a sync detector and the Tecsun PL-880’s sync detector leaves much to be desired. But many hours of listening to the Sony ’7600GR and the Tecsun PL-660 leads me to conclude that their sync detectors are fairly comparable in performance.

So, how do you translate these results?

Although all of these receivers are considered best in the portable realm for a particular manufacturer, each has a character that suits individual listening skills or requirements.

Herein lies the difficulty offering advice on which portable to purchase. Because radio listening tends to be a solitary hobby, it comes down to personal preference–like choosing a friend. What one person values may matter very little to someone else.

For example, I rarely (if ever) save stations to memory on a permanent basis. Other than temporary auto-tuning memory features, I never give memory functions any weight when making a purchase decision (for myself, that is). Yet there are listeners who place a great deal of emphasis on memory functions.

To be perfectly honest, I think each one of these radios has an individual character that makes it a stand out for a particular type of listening.  While I often sort through my collection to give away radios that I seldom use, you won’t find me letting go of any of these rigs. The Sony ICF-SW7600GR is still my favorite portable for field recordings; its stable nature and robust front end mean that I can hook up long wire antennas if I wish. The PL-880 is the radio I reach for if want robust sound and armchair listening to shortwave and mediumwave–I also find it the best of the bunch to tune, a quality machine harkening back to the glory days of Panasonic and Sony. The PL-660 is my simple, bullet-proof performer–when in doubt of conditions, it’s the radio I reach for. If I owned the Sangean ATS-909X, it would probably become my bedside shortwave; its audio fidelity, large display, stable back stand, and ability to benefit from an external antenna make it very appealing for this purpose.

You can’t go wrong with any of these benchmark performers, so long as you know its weaknesses and strengths–which I hope this review has made clear.

If I had to choose just one of these radios…

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I’m forcing myself answer this question. While it’s difficult to answer, I believe if I could only have one of these radios for travel…I would chose the Tecsun PL-660. I find it the best overall performer, and a true bargain at its price point.

To be clear, if the Sony ICF-SW7600GR only had a tuning knob, it would be my choice, instead.  If the Tecsun PL-880 handled weak broadcast signals better, it might be my choice.

But this is my personal choice; you might have a completely different answer.  I guess that’s the point I made earlier–it all depends on the listener.

Now…which do you choose? 

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has posted reviews of the Tecsun PL-660, PL-880 and Sangean ATS-909X on his website. Dave even includes a review of the Radiolabs “ClearMod” version of the Sangean ATS-909X.  Click here to read the reviews (scroll down to view all).

Many thanks, Dave; I always value your reviews!

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Anil Raj, for sharing his review of the FiFi-SDR receiver kit 2.0:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The perfect radio for business travellers?

I travel regularly, or should I say commute between Europe and Asia, and have been on the lookout for a small receiver with good performance that would be easy to carry with me. I never travel without my laptop so an SDR would be the sensible thing to look for. A few weeks back the tiny FiFi SDR receiver caught my interest as I was browsing the website of Funkamateur http://www.box73.com/ the excellent German ham radio magazine. It looked promising as it had an impressive bank of filters covering all the way from LF to HF. Also, the front end is designed to emphasize sensitivity, so that it can work well with short wire antennas. It also had a built in sound card which would make interfacing to my computer a simple job.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The price was certainly right – $ 169. I ordered it, and it showed up in my mailbox a few days later. It is offered as a “kit” though in practice all that needs to be done is to solder a couple of connectors and sockets. All the surface SMD components are pre-soldered, and the rugged extruded case has die cut holes for the connectors and controls making the mechanical assembly very simple. The entire exercise took me about 20 minutes until the receiver was plugged in and powered up.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Since I use a Mac the choice of SDR software is a lot more restricted than that for Windows. I did however find free software called SDR Radio (http://dl2sdr.homepage.t-online.de/) developed by DL2SDR which does a great job of partnering with the FiFi and my Mac.

SDR Radio is still in development, so the UI can a bit rough at the edges at times. Also, configuring the Audio and MIDI settings on my Mac took a bit of work, but DL2SDR Sebastian was quick to reply to my mails requesting help when I got stuck.

So how does it all sound? While I am sure that there may be better performing SDR radios out there, what this little matchbox sized receiver does is simply amazing. Users running Windows will have access to much more sophisticated applications than the simple programs available for Mac and will be better able to compare this radio. However, it does an outstanding job of handling both AM broadcast as well as CW and SSB utility and Ham signals. While SDR Radio does not offer a lot of bells and whistles at present, the continuously variable bandwidth which can be dialled in to almost zero, and effective notch filter get the job done very well. In empirical testing and comparisons with the Palstar R30C, the FiFi easily outclassed the older analog radio (and the Palstar is no slouch, especially on the lower frequencies).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

In summary, this is going to be the radio that I will be taking with me on all my travels from now on. It is tiny, ruggedly built, and has excellent RF performance, especially at lower frequencies.

Many thanks for your review, Anil!

The FiFi SDR does indeed sound like an ideal SDR for travel. Like you, I am usually limited by the SDR applications available on the Mac OS. While I use a Windows 7 PC at home, on the road, I travel with the MacBook Air (a superb laptop!).

Click here to view details and purchase a FiFi SDR ($169 shipping included).

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Eton Traveler III

I just discovered that SWLing Post reader, Tom Stiles, has made a video review of the new Eton Traveller III:

Tom is a great fellow (usually posts as “Another Tom” in our comments!) and has an extensive collection of radio related videos on his YouTube channel. Thanks, Tom!