N9EWO Reviews : "Tecsun PL-360" (top of page) "CountyComm GP-5 / SSB / Tecsun PL-365" (mid page) "Tecsun PL-380" (bottom of page) FM Stereo / LW / MW / SW DSP Receivers |
The Tecsun PL-360 Pocket DSP Receiver. Size reminds one of a TV remote control. Performance is better over the Degen DE1123 , DE1125, DE1126 and the DE1127, four other Silicon Labs Si4734 DSP based pocket sets we tested. We also tested the "CountyComm GP-5/SSB and PL-380 variants (see mid and dead bottom of this page). Performance and features are identical to the PL-360, except that the PL-380 has direct frequency entry, 4 bandwidth selections, and a larger display. The GP-5/SSB Gen2 / Gen3 (Tecsun PL-365) has SSB mode operation and FULL SW coverage (also uses the Si4735 not the Si4734), review located mid way down this page . (N9EWO Photo)
N9EWO’s Review of the “Tecsun PL-360" FM Stereo
/ LW / MW / SW DSP Receiver
(also was sold as the CountyComm GP-5 / DSP.)
Approx
serial number of PL-360 test sample : 356201000xx
Country of origin : China
The
Tecsun PL-360 DSP Pocket Receiver – A Totally Different Size
The Tecsun PL-360 size and shape reminds one of a TV remote control.
But at 6 1/4 x 2 x 3/4 inches with careful control choices and layout
makes for a radio that can be pulled from a shirt pocket and held and
used totally in one hand. Yes, it sits taller than most other pocket
sets, so it will stick out on top a bit more than normal.
It is sold in black or silver case versions . The general construction
feels solid with its spray painted plastic cabinet. But does not appear
that it would handle a whack to the floor very well.
Display / Excellent Included Caring Case / Controls / Lock
Function / Uses 3 AA Batteries
LCD is back lit with a single “orange” color LED, with more
than enough brightness (in fact it's excellent back lighting, better
than in the PL-380). Contrast is also excellent. The backlight operates
in a timed fashion and there is no way to toggle it on full time.
It indicates frequency in the more standard XXXXX kHz format on SW. On
the right side we have a "Tuning Encoder" thumb wheel control with
dentents (rotates ok with no slop or play, but is not real smooth
either), an old fashioned analog volume control (not the dreaded
detented type encoder control with the tested PL-380), equal left and
right levels on headphones too. Also a mini USB socket for charging the
batteries or for operation with the RIGHT AC adapter (see bottom of
this page). On the top there is a standard jack for headphones and
another for the the included LW/AM loop antenna.
In the box is a very nice lightly padded carrying case. It has clever
belt loop that allows for horizontal or vertical use. Unlike other
portables we have tested in the past, this case did not smell like
recycled tires or a railroad yard full of creosote. The only down side
is the sides of this case are made out of some very thin material.
Additionally a plastic belt clip that snaps onto the body of the
receiver is included, but we see little practical use (we would never
trust it) , the included case works better and with protection to boot.
The 18 inch (from the top of the cabinet) telescopic whip antenna
appears a bit more robust than most. However it does not swivel or
rotate. Bottom thickest part of the antenna pulls out hard and inserts
back quite hard too .
Lock feature is offered and as it should be also defeats the power
button.
The odd number 3 AA battery scheme is used. The battery cover fits
good, and all 3 cells insert and remove normally with no tight or loose
fitting issues. Good old battery springs are used and none of the bent
metal type battery contacts as seen on Uniden scanners.
Clock / Timer / Sleep Functions
The battery-backed clock is in the 24-hour format (no seconds).
Single TIMER function allows for the set to come alive with a preset
radio station. The ON time can be set between 1 to 90 minutes. There is
no beeper that can be selected.
SLEEP feature is in the automatically set at 30 minutes out of the box
(short press of the power button, this
is NOT valid on the GP-5/SSB
variant which is default OFF). To defeat this nasty, just a long
pres the power button (on power up) and then rotate the tuning wheel to
select “ON” in the LCD. It will stay this way until the batteries are
removed and clock reset occurs.
DSP (Reception) MUCH Improved Over The Degen DE1123 / DE1125 /
DE1126 / DE1127 Models / Plug In MW Loopstick
The signal chopping, clicks, crackles, fizzing and other
strange sounds that completely overwhelm the Degen DE1123 , DE1125
(same as the Kaito KA1123, KA800 / KA801) and the DE1126 / DE1127 sets
even on strong SW stations are for the most part absent on the Tecsun
PL-360. Is very much improved when compared to the elder Degen made
pocket disasters.
The PL-360 uses the Silicon
Labs Si4734 receiver DSP IC as does the Degen DE1123 / DE1125 /
DE1126 / DE1127. It is just that Tecsun did better job of interfacing
it with this model.
First take the sensitivity on short wave. It is quite good and I can
connect an outdoor or other wire antenna to its collapsed telescopic
whip (it lacks a jack for a SW external antenna however) and is most
usable with no real overloading issues. With the Degen or Kaito pocket
sets …forget it. With those that is just about impossible, at least
with any real success.
Good news too is that when especially connected to a better antenna, no
images or MW break thru was observed. There is no attenuator to be
found on the PL-360.
Sensitivity on MW is decent with it is included “top mounted” 2.7 inch
plug in loopstick antenna. Yes, it has some directional null trait to
it. I’m sure this will not please any MW Dx’ers on either the
sensitivity or selectivity fronts. But for most casual or normal use,
it will be more than adequate. Without the loopstick plugged in it, the
sensitivity decreases by a very noticeable margin, but still OK for
more local signals (it must have a very small internal MW
antenna of some kind?). By the way the antenna jack on top is just for
the AM loopstick and not for any external MW or SW wire aerial.
Another huge plus is the selectivity is not as narrow as the Degen
DE1123 or 1125 receivers. So the audio quality is MUCH better with the
wider bandwidth.
Alas…once in awhile there is still a tad of signal clipping (chopping
and maybe a wash out in and out) with weaker signals (all bands), but
is much more tolerable over the Degen’s. I can actually hear semi-weaker
SW stations on this set and without it chopping in and out. Separation
of co-channel signals is still very respectable even with the lone
“wider” bandwidth filter being used.
However weak FM sensitivity is only average using its attached whip.
Excellent selectivity even in tight area’s of the band. But with the
so-so sensitivity, FM performance will not bring any roars of
excitement. We found that attaching the included wire antenna also
improved FM as well (in fact sometimes it helped greatly).
It sounds good on headphones in Stereo and has a indicator . In fact
the audio amplifier is free from any hiss or other strange sounds that
the PL-380 suffers from (on one of
our test samples...see it's review below) . But considering the
size of its speaker, the audio quality is adequate and quite loud. It
does lack ANY bass response. The headphone output also lacks any low
end and its audio is not as punchy. I had to increase the volume when
going from the speaker TO headphones to hear it at all.
The
included 2.7 inch "LW / MW Loopstick" antenna plugs on the top on the
set.
Improves performance in these bands (including null effect), but don't
expect super DX either.
(N9EWO
photo)
Very Good
SW Coverage / FM has Three Coverage Options / FM Stereo / No Audio Line
Output Jack / Uses 5 volt mini USB jack for Charging Only
Just as it is with other receivers that use the si4734 DSP IC, coverage
on the Short Wave part of the spectrum is between 2300 to 21950 kHz in
one band (no gaps).
On FM one can have it as 87.5 to 108 MHz, 76 to 108 MHz, or 87 to 108
MHz. A long press of the FM mode button when off toggles this selection.
Of course FM Stereo with headphones/earbuds is possible. It even has a
Stereo indicator on the LCD even and works even if you don’t have
headphones plugged in (unlike other sets). One can also very easily
toggle the stereo on/off using a front panel button.
At as it usually is with Tecsun receivers there is no audio “fixed”
line output jack to be found (a loud sigh).
The charge jack is a mini USB type. So a computer USB port can be
used to charge its 3 AA Ni-Mh batteries using the PL-360’s internal
smart charging circuit (thankfully is not a timer type circuit). There
is a toggle to select the use of rechargeable batteries. The charging
circuit worked well in our testing.
Yes, It Has LW, but Only in MW 9 KHz Step Selection only /
Extended MW Coverage / Frequency Step via Speed / Some Chuffing and
Muting
The PL-360 indeed has “long wave” coverage. That is from 150
kHz up. However this is only possible if the 9 kHz MW tuning steps are
used otherwise it is not available. Of course the channel spacing is at
either 9 or 1 kHz steps in this mode.
Also when you select the MW 9 kHz steps, the built in thermometer
reverts to Celsius with no way around the limitation. This is done by
pressing and holding down the “DEL” key for second with the radio
off. Display will show 9 or 10 indicating the new value.
Equally the set covers the extended MW band as used in North America
(up to 1710 kHz). But this happens only when the 10 kHz steps are in
use.
The tuning step using the rotary thumb wheel automatically adjusts
depending on how fast you rotate it. For example on LW / MW and SW it
is 5 KHz in fast (9 or 10 on MW) and slow is 1 kHz. It takes a bit to
get used to, but overall it was well implemented and works. This is
improved over the scheme in the Tecsun PL-380 which is hard to control.
Some chuffing (muting) was noted as one moves up and down with the
tuning wheel, and can get annoying after awhile. As the set scans up
the bands (features we cover more below), muting is present.
All of the square front panel buttons are extremely tiny but have great
tactile feedback (with the exception of the longer power button that is
loose feeling) .
Tuning Methods – ATS - ETM, Scanning, Manual “Wheel” Tuning /
Excellent Digital Signal Indicator / 450 Total Memories (non-volatile)
Of course there is no direct entry keyboard to be found on a radio
this small. The usual “up-down” SW band presets are featured. There is
no real “manual” up-down frequency slewing (via buttons) either. One
can say that the tuning wheel does the manual tuning function and that
indeed that does get the job done nicely.
One can scan the SW band presets (push and hold the VM button for a
second) and like a car radio will seek and sit on a station for about 5
seconds before it heads UP or DOWN the band to look for another
(direction it goes will be the last direction the tuning knob was
used). This works extremely well and functions on all bands not just on
SW. The only gremlin is that the scan speed here is very s-l-o-w.
There are 450 total memory channels provided. 100 are for LW / MW, 100
for FM and the last 250 for SW. The 3 AA cells do not back these up
(flash memory).
2 auto scan-memory storage methods are provided. One is the old school
ATS (Auto Tuning Storage). Automatically finds station and stores these
in the REGULAR memory channels. As it goes with ATS, duplicated
frequencies can happen. On SW you have the option of searching all
meter bands or just one band.
The other automatic radio tuning is called ETM (Easy Tuning Mode).
Storage of these found stations are done in a special bank and not
within the regular memory channels. 100 for LW/MW and FM and 250 for
SW. With our early PL-360 test sample ETM did not allow duplicate
frequencies with additional "fresh" scans, however with later and
current production samples this has changed to where it does clear
existing (previous scans) frequencies (this is also valid for the GP-5
/ SSB and PL-380) . An excellent idea and works well.
In general these 2 auto tune modes work as advertised. Yes, one can
manually enter “memory channels” as well.
Located in the upper right hand corner of the LCD we find 4 numbers. 2
are for the signals strength (in dbu) and to the right of those 2 is a
signal to noise ratio (in db). This again was well done and displayed
properly.
The Degen DE1123 and DE1125 do display digital signal strength as well,
but disappears in a couple of seconds once the station is tuned in.
A Nice Mini Portable
To wrap up the Tecsun PL-360 is a most worthy pocket portable
for the money. Proper implementation of the si4734 DSP chip and ease of operation makes for a
pleasant experience in an unusual package .
Downsides are the so-so weak signal FM sensitivity with it's attached
whip and still the AGC issues on LW/MW/SW still rears its ugly head.
Both of these bugs are improved with the PL-380 cousin model, (see
below)...but it has it's own issues . But the PL-360 is a bit handier
with its very unique size and it works reasonably well.
Dave N9EWO
© N9EWO, all rights reserved
Ver 4.2
N9EWO
Review : “CountyComm” GP-5 / SSB Gen2 / Gen3 (Tecsun PL-365)" FM Stereo / LW / MW / SW DSP Receiver |
Tecsun
PL-360 (GP-5 / DSP) with 4 Main Differences
Theoretically the CountyComm GP-5/SSB "Gen 2" and the tested
later "Gen 3" version (Tecsun PL-365) are a near Tecsun
manufactured PL-360 (or CountyComm GP-5/DSP) but with 4 differences.
No
Fancy Box
The County Comm versions arrived in a “Plain Jane” brown box with no
markings on it at all (except one green dot sticker). The Tecsun PL-365
is packed in a fancy box with the usual markings. It includes the
same accessories as with the PL-360 : Plug in ferrite loop stick
antenna, removable plastic belt clip (which I would never trust) , soft
carrying case with belt loop, some mediocre earbuds, short “clip on the
whip” long wire antenna and printed instructions that give you enough
information to get started. Batteries are not included at all (still
takes 3 AA’s) and it does allow one to still internally recharge
optional ni-mh cells with an optional
USB power supply or connection to a personal Computer USB jack. We are
pleased to see the continued use of AA cells and not some lithium ion
battery pack, which seems to be the norm these days.
More Tuning Steps / More Memory Channels / Some
SSB Mode Warbling / Good Manual ECSS
Number of tuning steps has been
increased to accommodate the SSB modes. Instead of only 1 and 5 KHz, in
addition on SSB modes we also have, 50, 20 and 10 hz steps available
(selected with the radio OFF). In practice this is takes a bit to tune
around and its quirky and limited button count on the front panel, but
it works. The top of the LCD display will indicate L or U for the mode
and then an xx number after that. This marked in the manual to be
the hz display (a tad off in our tests, but not too bad).
Good news is when the SSB modes are engaged; the auto-tuning step is
disabled (fixed at 1 kHz). Then when you hit the SSB to fine tune, it’s
at 50, 20 or 10 hz steps (this is set with the radio OFF, default is 50
hz and is the best setting in our view for easy use in our testing).
The auto tuning steps with the thumb wheel tuning control
(1 and 5 Khz for SW) are still finicky to make-work but are less touchy
and more usable than the more difficult tuning on the PL-380 (review
below). However with no keypad, one better make use of the memory
channels to create other preset starting points to tune from.There are
SW band presets (and separate ones for SSB "Ham Bands" too, be sure to
be in SSB mode to access) and are useful , but maybe not so close where
you want to be either ?
The GP5/SSB has 550 memory
channels, that is 100 more over the Tecsun PL-360 and CountyComm
GP-5/DSP models. 100 are for LW/MW, 100 for FM, 250 for SW (AM Mode),
and the new 100 are for SSB mode. Yes...once in the SSB mode you have
100 separate memory channels . It even stores LSB or USB and the fine
tune setting . Of course all of memory channels are stored with
the MEM key while in VFO (VF)
mode.
It’s SSB-BFO is generally stable , however tapping (or even some hand movements) on the rear of the cabinet; we did detect some some disconcerting warbling. Even without tapping the rear of the case there was some warbling present. Just keep your hand way from the rear panel and avoid any cabinet vibrations and is OK with SSB modes. With this OK stable BFO, super fine tuning steps, SSB bandwidth filtering and offset rejection (you can't resolve USB signals in LSB etc.) , manual ECSS is quite good on the GP-5/SSB. So be it with the one narrow bandwidth filter on SSB modes and AGC distortion.
In our view it actually tunes SSB
better and easier (and with LSB and USB selection to boot) over the
old and discontinued Grundig G6, which was a royal pain to
use in comparison .
Two Bandwidth Filters / Sensitivity
Unlike the PL-380 and PL-880 models (to name 2)
we still have the "one" lone fixed fairly wide AM mode bandwidth (6
kHz) with no selection capability of other values that the DSP chip can
provide. It works adequately just as with the PL-360 and not too narrow
. However, when one selects the SSB mode the bandwidth appears to sound
much more narrow (3 kHz ?) and proper for SSB use. Selectivity is
excellent . So in our testing it appears like is decreasing the
bandwidth selection for SSB modes and is very good news , I can
strongly say that 2 bandwidths are being used with the GP-5/SSB .
Yes, it would have been better if it were user selectable bandwidths
independent of mode, but this scheme works well for what it is.
The CountyComm GP-5/SSB (Tecsun PL-365) is just as sensitive using it's
whip as the Tecsun PL-380 or Degen DE1128H (Si4734 receivers) in our
side by side tests. But count on adding a short length of wire clipped
to the whip (wire antenna as included) to have any decent reception
with any amateur radio signals .
Increased SW Frequency Coverage....At Both
Ends / Amateur Band Presets
With the PL-360 or GP-5/DSP models, the upper SW
frequency coverage stops at 21950 kHz. With the GP-5/SSB it has been
increased to 29999 kHz. So its coverage includes the 10-meter ham and
the 27 Mhz CB bands. Even better is the low frequency coverage is also
improved over most other Si4734 sets . It starts at 1711 kHz (and goes
right up to 29999 kHz) , so the 160 meter ham band is covered as well .
No gap coverage !!
Again (it's worth repeating) you
have the SW Broadcast Band "Presets" (using the SW "up and down"
buttons) just as with the PL-360 and other receivers. When the
BFO is in use (LSB or USB), these Up / Down buttons toggle through the
Amateur (Ham) bands instead . Downside is it does not shift the proper
mode for the band selected (say LSB on 80 meters and USB on 20 meters)
on these presets. Anyway this is most useful plus with the GP-5/SSB's
limited tuning methods .
The
Down Side…Audio "Clipping" Distortion…However No Hissy Amplifier
Just as with other Chinese receivers (like the
Tecsun PL-660 and PL-880 to name 2), we have annoying audio SSB
clipping distortion (and pumping) on all medium to strong strength
signals peaks (even appears on AM signals as well but is not as
annoying). You might be able to help control the amount of this
distortion to an extent by shorting the whip antenna. Again there is no
attenuator switch. But overall it is not a pleasant experience
listening to signals in the SSB mode for any long periods of time with
the GP-5/SSB for us. Not as bad when compared with the Tecsun PL-880
(what else is), but not great either.
OK , lets call the SSB mode usable and not a total nasty , but don't
look for tabletop audio either here. You are NOT able to view the
signal strength information in SSB mode.
See the above Tecsun PL-360 review for the “rest of the story” as the
general performance and features are a dead ringer to this GP-5/SSB
(Tecsun PL-365) model.
Yes, it still has the slight (and annoying) microprocessor muting while
rotating the tuning wheel. FM performance is still only average using
it's attached whip (nothing more). Really weak AM mode signals tend to
get washed out in the AGC. Headphone audio is a bit anemic (but the
speaker audio is killer loud) and lacks any hi-fi sound even on FM with
headphones...have to crank it up a bit for headphone use. So a WARNING
when going from headphones BACK to the speaker (so you don't blow it
out be sure and turn it down before you unplug any headphones).
Excellent news is it does NOT exhibit the hissy audio amplifier of
PL-380 (review below).
We
found with the "Gen 2" test sample, the internal speaker wires were
connected backwards (that is the + and - were reversed). Once
corrected the audio quality improved a bit (sorry did not help with the
SSB distortion issue) .
OK…But Go With Something A Bit Larger If You Need Better SSB /
Tecsun PL-365 version unavailable / "Gen 3" Version
If you MUST have SSB reception in the smallest “pocket” package
available, the GP-5/SSB (Tecsun PL-365) might be a usable set for you.
However for the best (but larger and more expensive) PORTABLE for much
improved SSB performance, one would be wise to go with a larger model.
The GP5/SSB (Tecsun PL-365) is a fun
package for what it is. Size is perfect for the "Bug Out" bag !! One
MUST make use of it's memory channels and ETM function etc., with it's
hostile ergonomics (including no direct keyboard frequency entry and
very tiny buttons).
Dave N9EWO
© N9EWO, all rights reserved
Ver 5.9