Tecsun PL-350

Since early 2005, the PL-350 has been available. But it was not sold in Europe and could only be bought in China, of course with Chinese labeling.  But for some time now, the PL-350 has also been available with English labeling.  I had the PL-350 flown in from Hongkong.  What sort of world receiver is the Tecsun PL-350? It is really small: 15x9x3cm (WxHxD) It has 550 non-volatile memories, which can be divided into three parts.  Frequency range:  MW: 522-1620 or 520 - 1710 kHz (9kHz or 10kHz  or 1kHz steps) and 1710 kHz - 30 MHz (1 kHz or 5 kHz steps), only in AM. FM from 76 - 108 MHz, with earphones also stereo. A n antenna attenuator with three positions, pitch control, alarm clock, timer etc. There are some unique features as well:  an antenna trimmer, which makes it possible to tune the frequency exactly. Because the PL-350 is only a single conversion receiver, naturally there are more image frequencies than in a double conversion radio.  But to overcome this problem, the PL-350 has something special built in: it has two switchable intermediate frequencies (455 kHz and 450kHz). If there are interferences on the selected frequency, you simply press the IF button in the lower right corner of the radio, and you will move the interfering frequency by +/- 10 kHz to the side and the desired frequency is clear.  That is really a great feature, which I had not seen before on any other world receiver. The radio also has a so called lighting timer, which means that between 7 p.m and 7 a.m the buttons or the VFO will automatically light up. Of course, you can select this feature for any other time.  Additionally, there is connector for an external antenna and a charger for NI-MH accus.  The scope of delivery is complete: accus, power supply (a travelling adapter is required), wire antenna, stereo earphones and a protective bag.  The constructional quality is very good.  How then is reception?  I compared the PL-350 with the Eton E5. What you can get with the E5, you can also receive with the PL-350. On MW, the E5 is definitively superior.  It simply receives the stations better and more intelligibly.  On shortwave, the differences are not so big. The PL-350 sound a little tinny, which, of course, has to do with the size of the radio. It also hisses a little more than the E5.  But the PL-350 has the IF-shift function, which the E5 does not sport and which is a huge advantage.  As already mentioned, there are image frequencies between 6200 kHz  - 6700 kHz, which also occur in table top receivers.  If, e.g., you are listening to Mystery Radio on 6220 kHz, stations coming from the 41m band on 6220 kHz may be audible.  With the E5 there is no chance of avoiding interferences, but the PL-350 has got a trick up its sleeve! You press the IF-Shift button, and voila! you move the image frequency to the side by +/- 10 kHz and the channel becomes clear.  Tuning the PL-350 is the same as the E5's, there is almost an analogous feeling to it. If you like tuning with some noise (short interruptions when tuning), you can re-program. Great! In my opinion, the filter widths were selected well. Sometimes, there are whistling sounds caused by interferences on busy bands.  FM is also convincing: good selectivity, good and loud audio.  All in all, a fun radio especially for the price of ca. 90CHF or 60Euro incl. shipping.

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