Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Dan Robinson, who shares the following review:

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Tecsun Delivers The S-2200X – New Life For A 16-Year-Old Cabinet Design

by Dan Robinson

Note: Please see an addendum of updates at the end of this post.

Some months ago, I learned from Anon-co that Tecsun planned to release an update to the S-2000 receiver, which for the past 16 years also sold under other names such as the Grundig Satellit 750 and later the Eton Satellit 750 and Eton Elite 750.

To say that this radio was long in the tooth is an understatement.

I remember seeing one when they first came out back in 2008 and I was never very impressed.  To me, the radio looked like a toy, and the performance did not impress.  The standout feature was the top-mounted rotatable antenna for MW/LW reception.  That was popular with those of us who own the Panasonic RF-2200 and it’s a great tool for MW.

While popular with a certain segment of the listening hobby – beginners liked the 750 and even some veteran SWLs appreciated the retro design — the receiver was plagued by annoying issues, such as the famous wobbly tuning knob.  It also had limited selectivity, no synchronous mode, and mediocre SSB.

In 2013, The Monitoring Times (Larry Van Horn) took another look at the radio with the following memorable comments:

[MONITORING TIMES 2013]

“Needless to say some folks were not happy with our review of the 750 including Etón. In retrospect, over four years later, I would not change one single word I wrote in that review.  I believe we honestly gave a fair assessment of the unit that was shipped to us for review. If you read my previous review closely, you would see that most of my concerns back then had to do with quality control issues and most in our industry fully acknowledge that we were seeing some nasty stuff coming out of China back in 2008.”

So, measuring from 2008 when the first Eton 750 came out we’re now in 2024 and Tecsun has decided to preserve the cabinet design of the original radio while substantially upgrading the internals.

Enter the S-2200x

Reviewers have obtained units from the first production run.  Tecsun has provided long-needed upgrades that put this radio on the same playing field as the very popular H-501 and PL-990 portables.

The 2200x adds a dedicated SYNC mode with its own front panel button.  AIR band is retained, though sadly coverage doesn’t extend up to give us the NOAA WEATHER frequencies.

My initial testing of the S-2200x shows that performance is excellent on SW, AM, and FM.  In contrast with portables from other manufacturers, SSB performance is excellent – in USB and LSB, tuning is smooth with no “warbling” and using the fine tuning control is a pleasure.

The receiver has the usual ATS scanning capabilities, and an amazing 9150 station memories!  Bandwidths are similar to the H-501/PL-990:

• LW/MW bandwidth selection: 1.0, 2.3, 3.5, 5.0 and 9.0 kHz
• SW/AIR bandwidth selection: 1.0. 2.3, 3.5, 5.0 and 6.0 kHz
• SSB bandwidth selection: 0.5, 1.2, 2.3, 3.0 and 4.0 kHz

The LCD backlight is fully controllable.  As for signal levels, the radio displays signal strength and S/NR.  There are also the usual TIMER and SLEEP control functions.

Connections include:

• SW external antenna socket: 50? (BNC type), 500? (black/red spring terminals)
• FM/AIR external antenna socket: 50? (BNC type)
• MW/LW external antenna socket: ? 3.5mm (1/8in)
• Headphone socket: 32-300?, ? 3.5mm (1/8in)
• FM-stereo via headphones
• Audio input (line in) socket: use as an active speaker (? 3.5mm, 1/8in)
• Audio output (L/R RCA) sockets: use as a radio tuner for your home audio system
• Battery selection switch: choose D-type (R20/UM1) or 18650 batteries
• DC 5V / 2A charging socket (USB-C)

When I first used the 2200x I was disappointed to find that SSB was off the displayed tuned frequency by as much as 120 hz.  Having not read through the manual (duh) I was ready to enter this on the CONS column until I decided to try the well-known re-calibrating procedure found on the Tecsun H-501, Pl-990, PL-368, and PL-330.  And I was pleased to find that RECALIBRATION is indeed a feature on the 2200x!  For those of us who are obsessive about radios being exactly on or near the frequency being displayed, that is huge news!

Add to this the superb rotatable antenna for MW/LW (the mini jack port on the rotatable antenna for connection of a separate external MW antenna is retained), fantastic sound from the front-firing speaker with adjustable BASS and TREBLE, and dual battery type power from D cells or 18650s and we have another great addition to the world of receivers in 2024.

Another very handy feature is the addition of battery check LEDs in the 18650 compartment. The manual states that if the 18650’s are drained, the LEDs will be dimmed.  It appears that the 2200x cannot automatically switch between its D cells and the two 18650s – that would have been a super feature.  The Tecsun H-501 has an external switch that enables use of either of two 18650s in that radio.  It would have been nice for Tecsun to use bar graph level LEDs rather than single LEDs, but then we do have a battery indicator on the front LCD display.

The late Dave Zantow provided a long list of CONS for the old Grundig/Eton Satellit 750/Tecsun S-2000/ Eton Elite 750 (see https://www.qsl.net/n9ewo/s750.html).  Reading his observations and comparing them to the new S-2200x numerous points simply don’t apply anymore.  One criticism of the S-2000/750 still does apply:  many people don’t like the placement of the VOLUME knob on the left side of the radio – but this is a minor point that most people won’t notice.

Hidden Features

With the test unit sent to me by Anon-co is a sheet listing HIDDEN FEATURES.   And at least so far, there are only four:  MAX VOLUME LEVEL, CALIBRATE MW/SW, CALIBRATE USB/LSB, and SWITCH BETWEEN INTERNAL FERRITE ROD TO WHIP ON AM (MW & LW).  It is interesting that there are separate recalibration procedures for MW/SW and USB/LSB.

I should add that the cosmetics of the test unit I received are excellent.  Paint finish is superb.  The telescopic antenna is robust with a thick base, and swivels 360 degrees – thinking back on the problems Eton had trying to get the antenna right in the short-lived Elite Satellit, one wonders why this is such a challenge.  The 2200x comes with the usual excellent instruction manual, and something else we’re familiar with from Tecsun, the extra large fold out Quick Start guide with a world amateur radio map on the back.  It also comes with a dual USB-A charging plug, a USB-C cable, and with my unit at least, two antenna connectors.

On the Anon-co website, the 2200x is shown as an expected September release so obviously Tecsun will be ramping up production. The radio is described as “Triple Conversion IF”.  That puts it in the same league as the S-8800 which, according to the Tecsun description, is “equipped with an analog High-IF circuit and DSP triple conversion decoding technology.”  The PL-990 and H-501 are also described as triple conversion.

Another headline, though predictable based on Tecsun’s other models, is that there is NO SOFT MUTING on this receiver!  This makes a real difference for those of us who value the ability to hear continuous audio when tuning around the bands and is in stark contrast to some other manufacturers who still don’t seem to be able to produce radios without muting.

As my testing of the S-2200x continues, I have identified a few things in the CON column:

• Though there is now a dedicated SYNC mode with its own button, actual implementation of synchronous remains a bit challenging, losing lock in some instances depending on signal level.  But I have to observe that even in comparison with a H-501/PL-990, the SYNC on the 2200x appears to be very, very good.  It will be interesting to hear from Tecsun whether anything was done to improve SYNC in the 2200x

• AGC options (FAST, SLOW, etc) are missing on this receiver – it seems this could have been an easy addition even though there is a RF manual control.

• An issue that was seen on Eton’s ill-fated Elite Satellit – on my test unit turning SQUELCH completely clockwise does not fully zero out sound from the speaker.  This should be an easy issue for Tecsun to resolve.

• On my sample of the 2200x the right side of the top rotating antenna is a bit raised.  One of the criticisms of the old S2000/750 was that the rotating antenna was also not perfectly horizontal and ended up scraping the top of the radio cabinet (we see a similar issue with the Raddy RF919, with the provided loop stick not completely clearing the left top of that radio’s cabinet).  This is an obvious QC issue that Tecsun needs to address.

Not technically a CON, when exiting AUTO RF GAIN (after the click) the RF level remains at maximum, then declines with full clockwise turning of the control.  Some may be confused by this at first, since on some older portables maximum manual gain is achieved at full clockwise position.  On the 2200x, maximum manual RF is just after the AUTO position.

Also noted:  the FINE TUNING knob contains a dark mark that indicates center / 12:00.  But since the fine tuning control has no physical detent stops, when you’re on a specific frequency (15,770 kHz for example) zero beat may not be achieved when the knob dark marker is at 12:00.  So, a simple direct key re-entry of a frequency when the knob marker is placed back at 12:00 returns the control to a symmetrical representation when using fine tune (probably important only for obsessive folks like myself).

SOME FEATURE MISSES

• Given that the S-2200x is larger and heavier than the S-8800, one would think that another good addition would have been to make the radio remote controllable, like the S-8800, which has a beautiful remote control.

• It would have been interesting to see Tecsun do what Raddy has done with its RF919 and add microSD support with recording capability.  There may be reasons for not putting in Bluetooth for app control – perhaps the thinking was that too much new stuff would degrade reception capabilities of the S-2200x.

• Tecsun has shown itself to be very capable in radio design.  We learned earlier this year that Tecsun provided some assistance to Choyong on that company’s LC90 Internet/SW portable.  Perhaps in coming years we will see Tecsun designing a portable with a spectrum display as seen on Russian/Chinese Malahit/Malachite receivers, though this would surely require engineering steps – including adequate shielding — to avoid interference from the screen.

What we have with the S-2200x is a radio that retains the retro styling of its predecessors while adding the excellent performance characteristics of Tecsun’s other receivers.  This is a receiver that both beginning and veteran SWLs and DX’ers can finally be proud to own and use.

Assuming Tecsun can maintain a high level of QC in production, and considering that the important RECAL feature has been retained with no muting, I would give the S-2200x a 4.8 out of 5.  If Tecsun can address the top rotatable antenna issue – surely a simple thing to resolve, and the SQUELCH issue, this radio gets a 4.9 from me.

Video: Tuning Examples on the Tecsun S-2200x

Click here to view on YouTube

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Update 31 July 2024

TECSUN S-2200x: UPDATES AND NEW ASSESSMENT

Since my original review (see above), I have run additional tests on the S-2200x and have the following observations, and responses to some comments. I continue to test this receiver, but conclude that really if one has to have just one radio – which I think is usually not the case – one cannot really go wrong with any of the Tecsun portables, whether the 2200x, or S-8800, H-501, or PL-990. With that said, here are my additional observations on the 2200x:

OVERALL RATING: At the end of my original main review, I said that assuming Tecsun can maintain a high level of QC in production, and considering that the important RECAL feature has been retained, and that the radio has no muting, I would give the S-2200x a 4.8 out of 5. This would increase if Tecsun can address the slight alignment issue on the rotatable antenna, the issue in which SQUELCH does not completely silence audio.

However, after extensive testing, I feel that the problem of SYNC losing lock and generally sounding unstable takes the 2200x down a few notches. At present, the receiver is an attractive package with its retro styling, really nice and smooth main tuning knob, no soft muting and recalibration. However, the fact that synchronous mode has still not improved over the H-501/PL-990 means I would rate the 2200x at no more than a 4.5. Had Tecsun taken steps to improve SYNC – if it’s at all possible using the current chips — the radio would easily be several rating points higher.

AGC/SYNC: SYNC mode on the 2200x struggles, especially with weaker signals and regardless of bandwidth. As an example, testing on 15,575 khz (South Korea) using the telescopic and an an external long wire showed that in synchronous, there was a good amount of “pulling” with the signal, which was only at a fair level. The question of whether Tecsun has made any changes to SYNC mode between the H-501/Pl-990 and S-2200x remains, and we would hope to hear from them on this issue.

Here is an additional video showing both the 2200x and a H-501x in SYNC mode on a strong signal. Both receivers exhibit some less than satisfactory SYNC performance, though the 2200x sounds a bit worse:

Reader comments always spark additional thinking. As one user observed, Tecsun could have added AGC FAST/SLOW/MEDIUM options in addition to providing AGC and adjustable manual gain. It is definitely a good thing that SYNC as well as LSB/USB operate not only on SW, but also in AM and LW.

SSB: One reader asked if SSB performance on the 2200x has “the same woeful SSB audio quality issues caused by AGC and a low cut off frequency of around 300 hz making the audio sound thin, lacking bass while on SSB?” The reader also notes that these are “issues with every single Tecsun and most other DSP radios and due to the cost of these radios one should expect perfect performing and sounding SSB.” To adapt a quote from one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movie lines (“Deserves got nothing to do with it”) in this case I will say that Perfect has nothing to do with it. We’re all enjoying a mini-boom in the appearance of new receivers – to expect absolute perfection from a DSP-based receiver is sadly, unrealistic. SSB on the 2200x is probably about as good as it can get. The fact that fine tuning on the 2200x is so smooth is a very good thing.

ANTENNA: I have tested the 2200x using telescopic versus external antennas, including a long wire, W6LVP, Wellbrook and Chameleon loops. Reception is further enhanced with external antennas. The three ATTENUATION positions on the 2200x help to keep any overloading down.

RDS: A number of users/viewers have commented on the absence of RDS in the 2200x. This is indeed a good observation – seems that it would have been easy for Tecsun to include this, and one wonders if the company will consider adding this as a feature not only in the 2200x but H-501/PL-990 as well. However, I believe that Tecsun has just chosen to not increase costs and thus, no RDS.

AC POWER: As everyone probably sees, there seems to be no way to run the receiver on AC power. There is a dual USB-A cube included in the package, but as we have found, running receivers while they are charging is not a good idea. The 2200x does appear to charge fairly quickly via the USB-C port. Anyone with radios using 18650 batteries should invest in at least one good quality charger – these are available at any of the well-known professional battery/flashlight online sellers.

TUNING KNOB: Yes, the main tuning knob still exhibits wobble. It’s a puzzle as to why this can’t be resolved, especially years after the original Grundig 750 emerged and the old models continued to have this issue for years. But the action of the knob itself is really smooth and it’s a pleasure to tune this radio, at least based on the sample I have here.

In the end, our purchase decisions are driven by a number of factors – some potential 2200x buyers may not be as concerned with ongoing SYNC issues, while others might reject a new receiver outright based on this issue. The 2200x offers basically the same features as the H-501/PL-990, but adds AIR band and an excellent mediumwave rotatable antenna, and these facts alone may be enough to justify a purchase of the new radio.