[IRCA] New CC Skywave Portable-- TP-DXing Test Drive

[d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hello All, 
 
As reported earlier, the New Year kicked off with some unusually good high band TP signalsÂ(unusually good for this mediocre season, that is). Having just trashed the warranty on another ofÂmy C.Crane "Skywave" review units by installing a 7.5 loopstick, I decided to celebrate the fact by trying out the model in TP-DXing. In comparison to the 7.5" loopstick Tecsun PL-380 model, the new CC Skywave does have some distinct advantages forÂsplit-frequency DXers. Unfortunately, it also has some disadvantages. In order of importance, these are listed below: 
 
ADVANTAGES-- 
 
1) In my opinion, the CC Skywave doesÂprovide superior DX station audio with its (default) "Music" setting when chasing DX withÂ1 kHz DSPÂfiltering.ÂThe PL-380 tends to clip off the high frequencies in DX station audioÂin this situation, resulting in somewhat "muddy" audio and reduced intelligibility (especially when inductively coupled to a high-gain FSL antenna, which also tends toÂclip off theÂhigh audio frequencies in DX station audio). This is a subjective opinion, however, which is not shared by Chuck 
 
2)Â The Skywave has the edge in the ease of inductive coupling to an external tuned antenna, like the FSL's. For some reason, its new Si4736 chip processes the gain boost from theÂexternal antennaÂalmost immediately, whereas the PL-380's Si4734 chip has a slight delay, making it somewhat tricky to know exactly when theÂexternal antenna is exactly tuned on frequency. 
 
3)Â The Skywave has a very convenient function to switch between the tuned frequency and a 24-hour time display, simply by a quick touch of the "Key" button. Any time you wish to check the UTC time, you can do so by touching this button, and switch back to the frequency display immediately. This is perfect for completeingÂlive-DXing log sheets. 
 
4)Â The Skywave has selectable 1 kHz tuning, unlike the PL-380's jumbled system of switching between 1 and 9 kHz tuning steps according toÂyour rotation speed of the tuning knob. This makes it much easier to control the tuning process. 
 
DISADVANTAGES: 
 
1)Â The Skywave has no selectable display light. Why (oh why) did C.Crane let this model get out of theÂdoor without this basic function? A lot of TP-DXing is done in the dark, especially on ocean coasts prior to sunrise.ÂYou will need a flashlight in these situations. 
 
2)Â The Skywave's audio amplifier is pretty wimpy, in comparison to that of the PL-380. It's easy to max out the volume control when listening to a weak DX station. This issue would be more noticeable when DXing on a barefoot Skywave, though, since a huge FSL gain boost usually compensates for this. 
 
3)Â There is no display of the Skywave's volume control level.ÂThis drawback is more of a distraction because of the lack of a powerful audio amplifier, as described in #2, above. You don't know that you will hit the upper stops on the volume control until you actually do it (over and over). 
 
4)Â The Skywave's signal level bar graph is prettyÂpedestrian in comparison to theÂPL-380's RSSI and S/N level displays. It also lacks the PL-380's temperature display, and several of the PL-380's search functions. 
 
5) The C.Crane's $89.95 price (before shipping) is "Sky High" compared to that of the PL-380 (roughly twice as much). 
 
73 and Good DX, 
Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USAÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ 
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