Tecsun PL-600
The PL-600 is a Longwave/Mediumwave/Shortwave and broadcast FM receiver, all in a package not much bigger than a large paperback novel.
Considered to be Degen's DE1103 equivalent, the Tecsun PL-600 is a remarkable performer in the small portable class of HF receivers.
The thing that makes the PL-600 stand out from most other higher priced receivers of similar size (such as the Sangean models) is the full HF coverage, from 1720 kHz right through to 29.999 MHz. It also covers the extended medium wave band from 520 to 1710kHz, and the longwave band from 100 kHz throught to 519 kHz.
By also having an SSB BFO, the PL-600 is well and truly a cheap communications receiver, almost perfect for amateur operators who want a lightweight do-it-all receiver when travelling.
Audio quality is full and rich, especiallyon the FM band. The receiver is very sensitive, thanks to its LNA for FM and the long internal ferrite loopstick bar antenna for MW and LW. To add to that, the receiver is moderately robust to overloading. Connecting a long wire antenna to the built-in socket doesn't seem to cause any issues.
It comes supplied with four 1000mAh Tecsun branded NiMh rechargeable cells and a wall AC adapter/charger. The low capacity cells coupled with the relatively power sapping electronics in this receiver contribute to short runtimes between charges.
When when replaced with aftermarket 2500mAh cells, the PL-600 can only provide a weeks' worth of runtime when heavily used (3-4 hours a day).
To enable the charging of the battery, the unit's settings must be set up with a NiMh system code. After plugging in the AC adaptor, the "Charge On/Off" button must be pressed to initiate the charge process. The timer is determined by an internal algorithm, which takes up to 11 hours to charge 2500mAh cells when fully discharged. If the battery is already full (or near full), the unit may refuse to apply a charge.
The lower portion of the longwave band (100 - 300 KHz) is virtually useless in an urban environment due to the poor image rejection. In this part of the band, various local MW stations bleed through, and all but the strongest airport NDBs (non directional beacons) can be heard. But from around 300 - 500 kHz, LW reception is not too bad.
Problems
- Battery charging sees to stop when the radio is turned on. With Degen radios, charging continues when the radio is turned on, and the charging status indicators continue.
- Some usability quirks. When keying in a frequency, if you pause too long in between keystrokes, your partial entry is cancelled and you need to start all over again
- When setting the sleep timer after turn on, you need to to it within a few seconds. The radio seems to 'accept' whatever value you are up to after your entry time is up. So if you wanted to set the sleep timer to a value that requires multiple presses of the up/down keys, you had better do it very quickly.
- You cannot go directly from 'VFO' mode to a specific preset frequency. To select a particular preset, you press the Preset button to enter preset mode, which will automatically bring up the last used preset. From trhere, you then need to pick the correct preset you want to use.
- Lack of a visible countdown sleep timer when radio is on. Degen radios allow the user to view the time left, and also to amend or cancel the sleep timer without the need to turn the radio off
- Too heavy on bass - causes speaker to consume battery power at a high rate
- A few weak heterodynes / birdies on the MW band which cause an annoying whine on sime weaker signals (e.g. 556 khz)
- Sensitivity switch attenuates the signal too much. The jump between DX and Normal is too large
- Memories saved in the 1630 - 1710 band cannot be accessed when the radio is set to 9 KHz step mode (hard band limit 522 - 1620).
- Many images of local MW stations can be heard on the low part of LW band (100 - 250 KHz). Poor image rejection!
- Some of the stronger MW stations have distortion. 2K resistor fix
Good Points
- Very quiet audio amplifier. Almost no hiss at low volume setting
- Very sensitive FM receiver. Antenna usually does not need extending at all for all but the weakest signals.
- Highly sensitive MW reception due to the internal 4 inch loopstick ferrite antenna. On par with the Degen/Kaito 1103
- Very little hash noise produced from the LCD
- Backlight can be set to 'On' indefinitely
Other notes
Narrow BW seems to be 4 to 5 KHz, wide seems to be 6 - 7 KHz.
Antenna socket is attenuated - probably designed for use with long wires. No overloading