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Reviews For: TECSUN PL-600

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : TECSUN PL-600
Reviews: 36MSRP: 85.00
Description:
FM STEREO/AM/SW/LW SSB DIGITAL WORLD BAND RECEIVER WITH 600 MEMORY PRESETS
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.tecsun.com.cn/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
15364.3
WOODWEASEL Rating: 2013-04-06
A really nice unit! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Although overshadowed by the new PL-660, the PL-600 is a really a wonderful unit. The lack of signal noise is a welcome surprise, and the lack of SYNC is hardly an issue. The SSB works well, and is helpful at times. Included accessories only sweetens the deal. I've dump the rechargables, as I prefer the "Ultimate Lithiums" instead. Fit and finish are very good, and the ergometrics are natural. I truely enjoy this radio, and at the closeout prices, a real bargain. This is a late build, high serial number direct from Electronnix (Kaito) California via Amazon.
M5RFD Rating: 2013-03-27
Excellent for a portable receiver Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I purchased this receiver back in 2012 as a replacement for a rather inferior Roberts. I have not been disappointed with my purchase apart from the following points.
1. If the extension antenna is used it does have a tendency to overload.
2. The audio easily distorts.
3. It eats batteries
Apart from these points it is an excellent receiver for what it is. Broadcast listening is a pleasure and Amateur stations can be resolved with judicious use of the BFO. No its not a communications receiver, just a very good all band portable. I have not used it on MW/LW so cannot comment on these bands. FM broadcasts are received very well and clear.
GW3PLB Rating: 2012-08-05
poor on short wave Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Had this radio for about 2 months now.
works fine on M/W.Fm and Lw
Not so good on shortwave no gain at all
even with the wire ant just noise.
Not as good as thr ETON G6 radio
a waste of mony here don't buy one,
going to dump it !!!
EI4GMB Rating: 2012-04-26
Very sensitive receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just an update on my earlier review posted below. Contrary to my previous comments about SSB being distorted on this radio.
This is indeed the case when used via the plug in wall charger. However when operated using the NiMH batteries SSB is in fact superb.
The radio is also more sensitive than any of my other portables costing up to 3 times the price.
I guess I just needed to play with the radio a bit longer.
Apologies to the folks at Tecsun! Thanks for a great product guys!!!
KI6WDZ Rating: 2012-04-12
My "go-to" Shortwave Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I own several good radios, the Sony ICF-7600GR, a new Kaito KA1103 and the Tecsun PL-660. There's not a bad radio among them, but I've found that I almost always pull the Tecsun out first for a listening session. The controls are intuitive, the memory and scanning functions easy to operate and the listening quality is good. (I have found however that I really prefer to listen with my Bose headphones on each of the radios - less interuption to others at home.) I also like the fact that it will recharge NiMh batteries when using the "wall-wart". I use a long-wire antenna with mine and even with its relatively poor placement am able to pick up lots of interesting stations. It's a great radio and I'm glad I bought it. If I had to choose one of my three, this would be the one.
K8DXX Rating: 2011-10-18
Recent units won't charge batteries Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Like most have said, the fit, finish, smoothness of the controls, apparent sturdiness of the whip antenna are better than expected. The wall wart is very nicely made. The display is not up to the calibre of even a cheap ($600) entry level ham rig but it is more than adequate. The tuning meter seems to give meaningful indications of relative signal strength but only on short wave. On AM and FM, it seems relatively useless, so far.

Tecsun apparently has corrected the audio distortion on strong signals. AM sounds great. FM and FM Stereo are also very good. Short wave and SSB/CW reception is a mixed bag but mainly good. The PL-600 is amazingly sensitive even up on 10 meters. On just the whip antenna, I was able to copy SSB signals on 10, 15, 17, 20, 40 and 80 meters. Under today's conditions, our Degen 1102 is almost deaf(using the whip). The Degen also overloads worse when an external antenna is connected. I was surprised but WWV on 15 MHz seemed to overload the radio just a bit; the attenuator seemed to help. The only strange part is how the synthesizer seems to make those 1 Khz steps. There is no chuffing or switching sound when tuning AM signals. However the receive frequency seems to jitter when going up or down each KHz, making it difficult to tune SSB with the main tuning dial. The BFO in most cases allows you to tune the signal in.

The only problem I've had is that the current production run of PL600s appears to have battery charging problems. So far, I've had two shipped to me and both will not charge. Three other reviewers on Amazon report the same problem. I hope Tecsun can provide me with a properly functioning unit.

All things considered, this is a great radio for $60.88 delivered. Fit, finish, sound, display, wall wart are far superior to the Degen 1102. Sensitivity, particularly on short wave seems much better (ability to easily hear signals on the upper HF ham bands). SSB reception although not ideal is much easier than on the Degen. In terms of performance, I'd say this radio is about equal to my old Heathkit Mohawk receiver from the early 1960's (aside from selectivity). It weights under a pound. The Mohawk must have weighed 75!
ZACH0000 Rating: 2011-10-06
The good is even better but .... Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
PL 600
This is the latest newcomer in my Chinese radios collection bought this year 2011 Jul from a local importer of Dx material which originally seems imported form Portugal !! . I dunno but the radio is possibly modified by the Portuguese importer as the filters and the audio is not the same with PL 550 and some ... are added to the original PL600
The radio except from its typical MW SW FM bands includes LW , AIR and SSB operation that are not available in the 550 model . Tough the design is the very same with 550 it is a completely different model in characteristics and operation
As for example:
550 - 600 freq dialing : 600 requires dialing execution after numbers are dialed . 550 requires enter before and after freq is dialed
Attenuator works also for MW on 550 . IN 600 att does not work
Earphones of 600 are very narrow filtered good only for talk (at 2,5 kHz ) . 550 ears are better (>6 kHz )
Freq step for 550 is 1 kHz for AM , 50 kHz for FM . For 600 are 1kHz and 10 kHz respectively
FM bandwidth on 600 is possibly narrower than 550 . (below 180??) . and surely quite narrower than 200 . May DX station are heard in clear , while on 200 are under severe QRM in overcrowded reception points as mine . IN several occasions FM stereo stations are heard in mono .....
PL600 has also LW and AIR bands enabled by the system but I really can't hear anything!!!!
So my verdict is : 5 for MW FM 1 or AIR and LW total rating 4 !
VE3LNY Rating: 2011-08-23
Nice little radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine for about a year now. Rather than repeat what's already been written, let me just note what I like and dislike about it:

Like
1. Has a tuning knob. This is the reason I bought it, having used a YB400 before and wore down my fingers pushing the tune buttons.
2. Built-in charger. The battery condition is clearly shown on the display. Batteries last a long time, and don't need to be removed to be charged.
3. Good reception on AM and FM.
4. Great price.

Dislike
1. Was shipped without a manual. I had to download it.
2. Picks up some intermod on mid-SW bands, when a good antenna is connected. This sounds like 2 strong stations being received at the same time here and there on the band.
3. Setting the time is a nuisance (but no worse than the YB400). Why can't I do it while receiving WWV? The clock doesn't keep particularly good time.

Overall I am very happy with this radio.
K4YAB Rating: 2011-08-03
The best Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased mine new for $54.95 in July 2011. The same day I bought mine they went up to $69.95 The radio performs great. Very sensitive even on low bands. THE AUDIO ON THE BROADCAST BAND IS EXCELLANT...some have said that the sound is poor. BUT IT IS WHAT I LIKE, JUST LIKE THE GREAT OLD SOUND OF THE 1930-1940S RADIOS ON AM.
Once the SSB BFO is set I can tune to another ssb freq (Example on 40 meters and the bfo stays right on frequency to decode the signal.
Nicely built, high quality, good quality Telscoping antenna ...not some cheap breakable one. The Radio lay out looks great.
The only thing is The menu has a lot to remember how to use. The manual that came with mine was very poor.. but I found a Excelent manual online I downloaded. The website is www.fmuser.com.
KE5JDJ Rating: 2011-02-05
Interference Prone Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It is very suceptable to interference. I gave it a 3(+) for overall SW receiver and I look forward to the resistor modification to improve the sound. For it's price class it is 4.5+ rating. For the price, $75 shipped from eBay, it is worth purchasing again. I don't expect something to match my FRG-7, FT-107, or FT 857d etc. I think it is a great unit for camping, catastrophe', etc. and I appreciate the rechargeable batteries that came with it and ability to plug in a wire (short one included). The SSB control selection is not intuitive. I would purchase again for the niche' it fills.