[IRCA] Tecsun PL-300WT DSP-enhanced Ultralight Radio-- Amazing Performance

[D1028Gary@xxxxxxx]

Hello All,
 
Only rarely does a manufacturer bring out a new portable model with  
excellent AM sensitivity and selectivity in combination, but the Chinese Tecsun  
company has apparently managed this design breakthrough in their brand-new  
PL-300WT model.
 
Designed for the Chinese domestic market and currently only available  
through the eBay sellers "lipyn" and "anon-co," the PL-300WT is a  LW-AM-FM-SW 
model selling for around $50, plus shipping. It includes 500  memories, a 
signal-noise meter, an alarm, and even a thermometer. But what  makes the model 
exceptional for MW DXers is its DSP circuitry, providing a level  of 
selectivity unprecedented in Ultralight radios until now.
 
Despite assumptions that no manufacturer could offer effective DSP  
capability in a $50 receiver, Tecsun has indeed managed this breakthrough. My  
PL-300WT was directly compared in selectivity with an E100 modified by a premium 
 Murata CFJ455K5 ceramic filter, and the stock PL-300WT was not only  
competitive, but actually outperformed the modified E100 in limiting the  
splatter from local pests. For inner-city urban DXers, this capability  alone would 
be highly desirable-- but the new radio also showed no trace of the  usual 
image from a local 1450 kHz pest on 540 kHz (or on 550  kHz).
 
Great selectivity alone would be useful, but Tecsun has also improved the  
PL-300WT's RF front end circuitry on AM, providing a significant boost in  
low-band AM sensitivity in comparison to its E100 (PL-200) predecessor. The  
PL-300WT's AM sensitivity is generally competitive with any other Ultralight 
 radio on both low and high band, being edged out only slightly by the 
C.Crane  SWP model on the X-band frequencies. The new Tecsun's unique 
combination of  stellar sensitivity and selectivity makes it very tough to beat among 
stock  Ultralight radios, and its $50 price tag is certainly highly  
competitive.
 
The great news for tinkerers is that the PL-300WT's AM loopstick is of the  
simplest possible two-lead design, making it a perfect candidate for a 7.5" 
 Slider loopstick transplant. The combination of the Tecsun's razor-sharp 
DSP  selectivity and a highly sensitive Slider loopstick is almost too 
exciting to  contemplate (of course, I've already ordered another PL-300WT to do 
exactly  that).
 
The accolades don't stop there-- the PL-300WT has FM sensitivity that is  
unprecedented in any Ultralight radio tested so far. The best FM pocket 
radios  can typically receive the two Victoria (BC) stations on 98.5 and 100.3 
Mhz from  here in Puyallup, but the PL-300WT makes those stations sound like 
locals. It  can receive most of the Vancouver (BC) stations using only the 
stock whip  antenna, something that has never been experienced here on any 
portable, even  full-sized ones.
 
The PL-300WT has many other features not mentioned, and its many digital  
capabilities will require some user effort to learn and appreciate. Suffice  
it to say that for an MW DXer, this model already appears to be an  
exceptional bargain, and an excellent example of how technological innovation is  
making Ultralight radio DXing one of the fastest growing groups in the MW-DX  
community.
 
73, Gary DeBock  (in Puyallup, WA)
 
 
 
 
        
 
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