Tecsun PL-606 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black

I wanted to try out a DSP radio for MW, SW, and FM broadcasts without risking much, and, for $50, this thing's amazing.It's very small -- smaller than my hand and fits in any pocket. It's sensitive enough to hear *almost* anything my venerable Sony IC-2010 can hear. There's even a clip-on telescoping antenna extension, which I find clunky. I suspect it would overload here in Minnesota with a long-wire antenna (don't have one up yet), but this is a *portable*. I'm willing to take this places I wouldn't take the Sony. $50 isn't "disposable," but if I lost it I wouldn't be heartbroken.Tuning is intuitive enough. I can't expect a direct frequency keypad in a radio of this class. The ETM feature, where it scans the bands for strong stations and stores them, is actually quite convenient. In ETM mode the tuning dial moves between stored stations, or you can just manually have it move 1KHz at a time. My only gripe with manual tuning is that it's difficult to get it rapidly into fast tuning mode (5KHz per step) -- there seems to be some "feel" trick that I'm not good at. I'd like it more if there was a button for this. I've barely used the user memory mode yet so I can't comment. Though not documented in the sparse manual, this radio *does* cover LW starting at 150Khz. Hit "MW," wait for it to come up, and hit "MW" again. There's not much LW to listen to in the States, so I don't know how well it performs.Selectivity is excellent, as I'd expect in a DSP radio. Default is 3KHz, and the "BW" switch rotates through 2Khz, 1KHz, and up to 6Khz. The skirts are easily steep enough for an AM/SW broadcast environment (9-10Khz spacing).It does NOT do sideband or CW -- no BFO. Again, this would be a bit much to ask for it to be implemented well in a $50 portable.Audio quality is adequate through the speaker -- poor bass but that's what I want for intelligibility in an AM station. FM stereo sounds great with headphones.I've only had it for a couple of weeks, so I can't comment on durability. One reviewer noted that the tuning and volume encoders seemed to wear out after just a couple of months. If that happens, I'll amend my rating, but for now I'm delighted.DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE -- Three things that aren't great:1) The whip antenna may be a bit weak. I managed to pull mine in two, separating it at the base just below the pivot. I'll take the blame for that. Though it snaps back in, it's been weakened and now regularly pulls out. It looks easy enough to replace if you can find one the right size -- I've ordered one from an eBayer in Thailand.2) Now that I have a long wire antenna up, it really does overload badly. I'm in a high signal environment here in St. Paul, Minnesota, so this is not surprising. It's mostly a problem with KSTP-AM at 1500 kHz. The radio is meant to be a portable, however, and best used with the whip.3) Lastly, the only "real" annoyance with this thing that's not my own fault: the volume control is not smooth analog; it's an encoder that steps up and down. One step goes from too soft to too loud when using ear buds or cheap earphones. To get around this I have to use earphones with an independent volume control, but they're big and clumsy.BUT I'm nitpicking. Given what this radio does for $50, I'm still giving it 5 stars. It's an entertainment device, not a serious communications receiver, and it does entertain.

I did some extensive searching to own my perfect little pocket radio and this Tecsun PL-606 provided me with a perfect balance between price and performance. Granted there are other better models available that are twice more expensive which might have slight edge over longevity or have additional features But, overall I am happy with my “ultra-light” DXers portable radio.PROS[+] Highly sensitive receiver across the entire commercial bands (AM/FM/SW)[+] Uses standard AAs or rechargeables. Excellent battery life! has a 'built-in' Battery charger for the two AAs [Ni-MH][+] Back-lit amber LCD display, Actually amber LED back-lit is pleasing on your eyes in dark (Can be turned off)[+] Very good sounding built-in speaker. Plenty loud for personal listening. Good fidelity.[+] FM Stereo audio output via headphone jack! (Can also force mono by press of a button)CONS *[-] The electronic tuning knob jumps frequencies at random while tuning (Defective design)[-] The tuning process temporarily mutes the sound which is super annoying![-] The electronic volume control is very low at level "3" and very high on level "4" [digital levels][-] There is some fair amount of audible hiss when using cheap headphones especially at low volumes.(*)The above mentioned CONs are 'fixable' to some extent especially the 'electronic volume' control and hiss. I am no electronics expert but I have some fair knowledge in this area. The audio amplifier IC which is a Chinese version of SONY's CXA1622M used in this radio is designed to have a very high gain audio output to drive the built-in speaker and thereby the low volume hiss on headphone out. The noticeable 'low volume' audio hiss on headphones output can be eliminated by using a high impedance headphones (60 ohms or higher) or use a 'in-line' volume control type headphones to reduce the low volume hiss.The irritating electronic volume control levels going from very low output at "3" and uncomfortably high on "4" does bother me as I listen to this radio in the night. I have ideas to hack this radio. Just need to find the correct value of resistors for Audio IC's pin14 to effectively control the audio output gain value and that should effectively shift the sudden jump in gain to higher value number on the digital display. The right choice of SMD resistors is the key to complete the hack. The 'soft-mute' during the tuning process cannot be modified as far as my knowledge goes since I am no expert programmer to change the code written onto the Silicon Labs Si4734 DSP chipset.As it stands. I am happy with my purchase. Rating the radio with four stars!

Radio portátil con una sensibilidad y recepción excelentes.Excelente calidad en su fabricación y en los materiales.Los accesorios que incluye (funda, extensión de antena telescópica y antena de hilo largo) le dan un valor agregado.La antena de hilo largo permite mejorar la recepción de estaciones muy débiles y distantes.Para obtener buenos resultados en la recepción de estaciones débiles y distantes:- si estás dentro de casa, usar una antena externa- o salir de la casa y alejarse de las fuentes de interferencia como son focos ahorradores, líneas de energía eléctrica, hornos de microondas, motores eléctricos, etc.- preferentemente ir a campo abierto y te sorprenderá su sensibilidad y recepción excelentes.

A great little radio, although is doesn't work so well for FM Broadcast, which really doesn't matter as that isn't what I bought it for. With an outdoor antenna plugged in it is amazing!

Earlier reply was all right except for star rating  Tecsun PL-606 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black  Four-star overall. wbr Tecsun PL-606 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black

It's not a "Grundig brand" by any means. Works well enough but has a hard time pulling in AM stations. Has a hard time tunning in my favorite AM station at the cottage that my car easily gets. Sound qlty is just OK. I tried plugging in a external speaker through the ear phone jack but the power is to weak. Not a problem with my Ipod touch.FM stations come in strong and clear. Just a typical basic Chinese product.

Very nice compact radio. Slips into the pocket easy. Having many memories for AM, FM and Short Wave bands makes it easy to tune for stations. Nice clear audio through the front speaker or the supplied stereo ear buds. Met expectations.