TECSUN PL-380 DSP FM Stereo. MW. SW. LW. World Band PLL Radio Receiver, LCD Display, ETM Function Added

This radio has an amazing set of features for its size. The Silicon Labs radio receiver chip which does anolog to digital conversion off the air. Once the signal is in the digital domain, the DSP portion of the chip can do filtering and other cool stuff giving you better sound than a radio this size should.The ETM (Easy Tuning Mode) button lets you scan the band and automatically store each frequency that has good signal strength and noise floor into a memory channel which is band specific. So if you take it out of town you press ETM and in a few seconds the memories for that band are filled with local stations. It has a full numeric keypad so you can key frequencies directly or you can use the tuning know. The VM button(VFO Memory mode) you dial the tuning knob and it only tunes stations that were found on the scan. The DISPLAY button shows the current time and the wake up ALARM time or the TEMPERATURE when the radio is off. It can also show the SIGNAL STRENGTH in dBu and NOISE LEVEL in dB as a number (as opposed to an old style analog gauge) when the radio is on. You can change the temp to be in C or F as well as set the band step to 9KHz or 10KHz which also changes the band's range. You can use the POWER button to turn radio ON as well as set the time before the radio automatically shuts off. I set mine to shut off after 30 minutes. If I'm still listening and it powers off, I just turn it on again. There is a DISPLAY light button that turns the light on, but turning on the light is hardly necessary because the display comes on anytime you touch the tuning knob. The BW button changes the bandwidth which is often done with a switch on other radios but software handles this button and you can change the bandwidth from 6KHz to 1KHz. The narrower bandwidth makes the sound a little flat but can limit the amount of background noise considerably. BW only works on AM and SW. The MW button can switch the radio to AM mode (also called MW) and LW (Long Wave) mode which is 153-513KHz. I haven't heard anything here but I imagine you need a much longer antenna to pick up long wave. FM reception is exceptionally clean. You can switch a stereo station to mono I suppose it gets better quality. With headphones you get great stereo imaging.Sound is about as good as you can expect for such a small speaker and is quite acceptable. It uses 3 AA batteries which I prefer to propitiatory or oddball lithiums. I've owned this radio for over a month and have used it extensively. Battery life is exceptional and so far I have not replaced the alkaline batteries yet. I read it can get up to 70 hours but that is probably on earphones. It has the ability to recharge via USB connection but the alkalines last so long that I'm conveniently wasteful here. A USB cable is provided but not a wall wart charger. It comes with a nice little carrying pouch, cheapy earphones and a clip on wire antenna that clips to the telescoping antenna. There is no antenna input socket. The radio has a built-in AM antenna so the telescoping antenna only works on FM and SW.I do have some minor complaints. There is a very slight bit of a speaker whine on weaker AM stations. I'm not sure if it is because everything in my house radiates RF or if it is caused by the radio. I tried to tune a very weak FM station that my Tecsun PL-660 picks up but the PL380 does not hear anything even when clipped to a long wire. So its big brother is definitely better at some reception. I got my PL-380 for approximately 1/2 the purchase price of the PL-660 and that makes it a real good value. If you want a Cadillac and can afford the extra cost, weight, size, or you want to listen to SSB or air traffic, get the PL-660. If small size, low cost, long battery life and very decent AM/FM/SW reception are what you need, the PL-380 is an excellent choice. Tecsun is made in China and both of these radios are exceptionally well made - far better than their pricing would suggest. The PL380 has become my travel radio and also I use it in the kitchen.

I have been a shortwave listener for 61 years, an amateur radio operator for 32 years and did military communications for many years. I have owned receivers dating back to the 1920s most of which I worked on and enjoyed for many years. The reason I mention all of this is it might lend my review a little more weight than a review from someone who doesn't really know what they are talking about. I received the radio on Thursday and I put it through its paces for many hours on MW, SW and FM. I was really shocked by the performance on FM. It is better than my Sony 2010 on FM and bear in mind that the Sony cost about 8 times as much! I live in a horrible area for FM because there are mountains and hills in all 4 directions. What is called multipath distortion is caused by the station you are listening to bouncing its transmitted radio waves off the mountains and hills so they arrive at your radio at different times and angles. This little radio gives me a perfectly clear signal from Portland, Maine which is 65 miles away. My Grundig YB400 pe cannot quite do that and neither can my Sony 2010. On FM the only other portable I have which can get this station cleanly is my Sangean ATS 909 Deluxe which cost $ 289.95. I had mods done to the Sangean which cost me 50 bucks so it was worth it. The Tecsun is $ 46 dollars and it is really a keeper. The SW performance is stellar at this price point and the variable bandwidth feature is great! On MW I know there is a station in Cuba on 530 Khz and the Tecsun was picking it up about an hour ago very faintly which is surprising as I live 85 miles from Canada. I set it near my Tecsun AN-200 MW loop antenna and the Tecsun pair really hauled the signal up enough so I was able to hear it quite well. A word on some of the radio reviews and I perceive a lack of logic in quite a few. For instance the criticism that an external antenna cannot be hooked up to this radio. Wrong! One reviewer said that some of his other models of portables overload when he attaches an outside antenna. Either shorten the antenna or take and inductively couple it to the whip. It is a simple fix so do some research on radio sites if you are interested. On Youtube one reviewer said he liked this radio but then said the only negative was that it doesn't receive ssb signals. Balderdash! You wouldn't buy this radio if you want ssb capability so that is not a negative! That really is a stupid statement. It wasn't designed for ssb as it is an entertainment broadcast radio and the engineers did a great job with this little treasure. Oh yes, I once reviewed a model airplane and it was a four engine model and I really loved it. The only negative was that it couldn't maneuver near as well as my buddy's Mitsubishi Zero. See what I mean about nonsense? I am extremely impressed with this little gem and it came with an English instruction manual and a one year warranty. If the radio all of a sudden refuses to turn on with good batteries, take the batteries out of the radio and after 30 minutes or so put them back in. In winter in colder climates the air can be very dry and there is a lot of static around. A tiny static pulse from just having the radio near a miniscule charge can lock up the circuitry. What you have done is a reset and hopefully that will fix it. It has happened to me with my 350 dollar Sony 2010 so don't blame the radio as it is sometimes normal with any radios that have memory chips in them. Today I went to turn on my new PL 380 and it was dead. Did a reset and now just picked up Cuba on 530 Khz a few minutes ago barefoot without the Tecsun loop. Amazing for such a small 46 dollar radio. Oh yes, I think the audio produced by this radio is excellent and can fill a decent sized room. Have fun, read the manual and remember to do a reset if it locks up!