| SMAUG |
Rating:      |
2013-06-19 | |
| Speakers lack bass, line in function is limited, but still good |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought this instead of the PL-380 because of the line input (1/8" mini phono jack) and external antenna jack. I also liked that it includes a carrying case, external antenna, and ear buds.
The carrying case is a thin neoprene job of decent quality. It probably will not protect the radio from impacts, but will protect it against scratches. The case is big enough to accommodate the included accessories; it even has a gusseted zip-open expandable area in the bottom to make sure of it. This is nice; I HATE it when a provided case cannot be made to work after the initial factory packing.
The speakers have no bass. When you see the size of the radio, it will not be surprising to you. Normally, I would not give much weight to this, but since it actually has two speakers, for stereo sound, the expectations are a bit higher. Not a deal killer, as the radio is still pretty compact. It's just that when I compare it to my Sangean ATS-505, it sounds pitiful in comparison when music is played from a clear FM station. If you'll be using this primarily to listen to talk, it's a non issue. Also not an issue if you will use it as an external receiver for your hi-fi A/V sound system at home. Not a biggy, but worth mentioning. This is the price of a small radio!
Now, regarding the issue with the line-in jack: I went with the -390 instead of the -380, figuring that if I don't like or can't receive much shortwave, I could always use it as a set of amplified speakers for my smart phone's MP3 player. The problem with this is that the jack is monitored by the radio's microprocessor. When it doesn't detect a signal, it stops 'listening' to that input. The issue arises between songs from the smart phone, when the signal drops for an instant. Then, the connection is lost, and you have to unplug the phone and re-plug each time. The result is that this is useless as external speakers for an MP3 player, but could still be used with a Discman or Walkman or something.
Now, onto the meat of the radio.
The Easy Tuning Mode (ETM) feature is WONDERFUL. It is so much less time-consuming to find stations this way. I find that I use this mode 90% of the time, instead of manual tuning or manual scanning. (both of which this radio also supports) It scans the band or bands (in the case of shortwave, it scans all bands right after each other) and stores the stations with an audible signal in a temporary memory bank. Then, just scroll through them one station at a time with the ratcheted tuning knob.
If you like to manually tune with a knob, this is not really the best radio. the knob has ratcheted detents, and tunes digitally: each click is x Hz. Turn faster, and the increments are larger. It sounds ideal, but in practice, it is not as easy as an old fashioned analog style knob. Don't let this dissuade you, as the ETM mode is so good it pretty much makes manual tuning obsolete. You only need to tune manually to move away from the broadcast in tiny increments, to make those weak signals easier to hear.
The sensitivity of this radio is great, as is selectivity; on par with my Sangean ATS-505. The amount of memories is more than adequate, especially when you remember that shortwave conditions change night by night.
Another reason I chose this over the PL-380 was that the telescopic whip antenna and internal ferrite antenna are longer, and should give slightly better reception. I'm not sure if that is the case in reality. Keep in mind that with broadcast FM, your local stations will be so strong that it won't be an issue. With shortwave, reception is SO much better with an external antenna, you may not do too much listening with the whip anyway, except when you're up on a hill. Even then, you'll probably bring the included external wire atenna with you and REALLY try to bring in the distant stations!
The other features on the radio are also appreciated. For instance, the alarm clock works great. Good radio reception, along with independence from AC power make it idea for this use.
The thermometer is also handy. I use it to see how cold my apartment is, when the landlord is being cheap with the heat. You could also use it to see the temperature when you're listening outside. When you change the AM tuning step from 10 kHz to 9 kHz, it also change the thermometer units from °F to °C. Nice.
The signal strength is displayed in digital numbers, which I don't consider to be as good as a bar graph. Still, it's nice to have.
The built-in clock is quite accurate. The intelligent backlight works great and intuitively. It can also be controlled manually.
The band buttons on the top front right of the radio, are quite hard to press. I wonder why they take more effort than all the other buttons? No biggy.
The three buttons on the upper-left of the face are ETM (previously described, Variable Memory mode, and Variable Frequency mode. In Variable Memory Mode, one can enter the memory number one wants to go to directly, but must enter all three digits. For example, Memory 1 would be entered as '001' not just '1'. Variable Frequency mode allows us to directly enter the frequency to jump to. A long press on any of these three buttons scans in that mode. For example, a long press on VM would scan through your saved memories, waiting on each one for 8 seconds. A long press on VF would scan the whole band, stopping for 8 seconds (or until the tuning knob is turned manually) on each station with a signal.
Pressing the 'DISPLAY' button cycles through what can be displayed on the upper right: Temperature, time of day, signal strength, or alarm time. A long press on that button locks all controls, so the radio is not turned on while in one's luggage. Another long press turns it off.
The AM tuning bandwidth can be changed between 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 kHz increments.
The red text by some buttons indicates the feature that can be changed by a long press on that button when radio is powered off.
I'm not sure what the wrist strap is for. This is not a radio you would walk around listening to with it in your hand; it's too bulky for that. But it seems to be a traditional feature for shortwave radios.
When the back stand is deployed, the whip atenna can't be vertical. The top of the enclosure gets in the way. It always has to be at a slight angle. This is a minor design flaw, but it prevents the radio from being put too close to a wall or from putting it on a windowsill when it is on the stand.
The viewing angle from the LCD is from a slight downward direction, not straight on, so the display is hard to see when the radio is standing up straight.
All in all, it is a great radio, but if I were to do it again, I would get either the PL-380. I would value the extra compactness, since the sound is not going to be great anyhow. The line-in jack is useless for MP3 players, so no value added there. I don't see reception being too much different either.
The Sangean ATS-505 has better sound quality enough bass that listening to FM broadcast music is better. I like the analog manual tuning and volume better on it. The antenna will go straight up when it is on the back stand. It has much fewer memories, but enough for the job at hand. It is twice as bulky though, and at the time of this writing, it cost $80 (Radio Shack version) instead of $55 like this Tecsun. The killer feature on these Tecsuns is the ETM modes, which isn't present on the affordable Sangeans. The scanning tuning of the Sangean doesn't hold a candle to the ETM of the Tecsuns. It's just not as modern and convenient.
It is worth noting that there is an iteration of the PL-390 with a built-in MP3 player, but it seems to be an afterthought, since the controls are on the back of the radio, where we can't see them most of the time.
All in all, this PL-390 is a great value, but probably not any better than the PL-380, when it comes right down to it. I give it a 5 star rating because the minor cons are not strong enough cancel out all the great things about it.
PROS:
+ Compact, yet feature-laden
+ ETM mode is AWESOME. Very useful and user-friendly
+ Great implementation of the backlight, and programmable too.
+ Includes a nice carrying case and external antenna.
+ Good sensitivity and selectivity; best in class for a radio in this size/price range.
CONS:
- Line input is monitored, and turns off between tracks from an external MP3 player; makes this feature all but useless
- Speakers have no bass, but this is to be expected from a radio of this size
- Antenna cannot go straight vertical when the radio is on its back stand. This would've been easy for them to address.
- Band buttons require a very hard press
BOTTOM LINE: Buy the PL-380 and save yourself $10. You'll end up with a more compact radio with the same sound quality. |
|
| TERRYW |
Rating:      |
2011-01-23 | |
| Big improvement over Grundig G8 |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Tecsun's PL-390 is a very nice implementation of the Si4734/35 integrated circuit. We've seen in the G8 how AM can go horribly wrong using that chip, and those problems are mostly fixed here.
Pros:
Easy Tuning Method (ETM) very good at finding current stations on FM/SW/MW/LW
ETM scans extended SW bands
five excellent filter sizes (6, 4, 3, 2, 1)
good copy on AM even using 1kHz filter
two speakers, with stereo FM
world clock, which can display when radio is on
very long whip (same length as G5)
very good sensitivity on all bands (though a hair less than G5 and E1)
excellent selectivity on FM (better than G5 and E1)
display light can remain on when using batteries
works well with random wire (though some image problems)
recharges batteries via adapter
good at handling fading distortion in AM
pouch has extra pocket for supplied external antenna, ear buds and USB recharge adapter
direct frequency tuning via keypad
plentiful memories (ETM uses its own bank)
Cons:
some image problems, but can be escaped by partially collapsing whip
no SSB
no synchronous detection
ETM takes 2.5 minutes to scan SW bands (several seconds on MW and FM)
best FM stereo experience is three inches from your nose
somewhat tinny and fatiguing sound, but not disastrous (as in G6 and YB300PE)
tinny sound even through good headphones
still some AGC flutter on AM, though minor
flimsy flip stand (very much like DX-398)
whip swivel impeded by body of radio
no included AC adapter
A very enjoyable small portable. The ETM consistently found 50 to 60 stations on SW using whip, even during early afternoon. Great bedside radio. Nice stereo FM with radio resting on your chest (just don't fall asleep!) SSB is still missed, and ECSS with 10 Hz fine tuning would be fantastic.
Considering the low price, this is a winner. |
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