Re: [IRCA] Tecsun PL-600 LW-MW-SW Portable

[satya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi Gary:

Thanks for the review!  You're willingness to get and try out new
receivers is a great benefit to us all.  I have three hopefully easy
questions.

1.  A question on the SSB: how stable is the BFO after warmup?  In other
words, would using this in ECSS be an annoying warble-fest as the
zero-beat is slowly lost, or does it settle down to allow good ECSS
listening?  The Sony 7600GR (mine, anyway) stabilizes after about 15
minutes, allowing the selection of either sideband, a great DX asset, but
I have heard from several others whose 7600GR simply won't stabilize.
You're right about the limited BFO range of the 7600GR - mine has a range
of +2.2 khz and -1.8 khz, meaning that you can go either 2 khz down or 1
khz up and still get a zero beat, a sort of "poor man's passband tuning". 
If the PL-600 is plus/minus 2.5 khz, you could detune 2 khz in either
direction.

2.  Does the SSB allow the use of the Wide bandwidth?  On the Sony 7600GR,
shifting to SSB restricts you to only the narrow bandwidth.

3.  If the answer to #2 was yes, does the Wide bandwidth cause
"fluttering" in ECSS on AM signals?  On many sets, if the filter bandwidth
is too wide, the opposite sideband starts to leak through, and the ECSS
signal starts to flutter.  It would be nice to have a set that allows
higher-fidelity single-sideband reception, sort of a poor-man's emulation
of the Drake R-8B's Selectable Synch mode with its 6 khz filter.  If the
PL-600 does flutter in Wide bandwidth, can you detune a couple khz,
re-zero beat it, and get rid of the flutter, since you are 2 khz further
away from the offending sideband?

Thanks for any info!

Kevin S
Bainbridge Island, WA


> Hello All,
>
> One of the newest SSB models from China, the Tecsun PL-600 is obviously
> designed to compete with the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, with very similar size,
> shape and features.?As a much newer model, however, it has superior
> digital features and a much lower price-- $65.95 plus $24 shipping, from
> the eBay seller "tquchina."
>
> Although this model is seriously oversized for Ultralight radio
> qualification, it does have one stellar quality that would thrill
> any?pocket radio transoceanic DXer-- the ability to act as a compact SSB
> spotting receiver, with a sensitive and selective AM section. Its 4" x .4"
> loopstick is identical to that of the new PL-450, and provides highly
> directional nulling capability to identify?transoceanic SSB carriers.?In
> addition, its SSB?fine tuning range covers about?5 kHz?of total spectrum,
> giving it greater flexibility than the?more narrow SSB tuning range of the
> ICF-SW7600GR (which is switched between LSB and USB).?The?BFO circuitry?is
> also stable enough for routine copy of amateur radio?SSB and CW signals.
>
> As in the ICF-SW7600GR and ICF-2010 models, the PL-600 has a broadbanded,
> fixed loopstick which doubles as the LW antenna. These loopsticks have two
> fixed coils with no alignment system, making them?a completely different
> type of antenna than the single-coil E100 and C.Crane SWP loopsticks, both
> of which can be replaced by a sliding-coil transplant providing greatly
> increased sensitivity.?In the case of the PL-600 (and also the
> ICF-SW7600GR and ICF-2010), greatly increased sensitivity can be obtained
> by matching the stock coil inductances in a longer composite ferrite bar
> loopstick transplant, however.
>
> As a stock model, the SSB-equipped PL-600 should be a great choice for
> Ultralight radio DXers?needing a "spotting receiver" for transoceanic DX
> possibilities.?Strong?TA or TP carriers on a PL-600 should indicate a
> great chance for stock Ultralights like the E100, C.Crane SWP or DT-400W
> to receive their first transoceanic DX signals.?As one of the lowest
> priced, relatively?competent SSB portables on the market currently, the
> new Tecsun PL-600 can really help the beginning TA or TP DXer discover the
> thrills of transoceanic DX?at a very reasonable?cost.
>
> 73, Gary DeBock????
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