{"id":11748,"date":"2014-12-20T16:44:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-20T20:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=11748"},"modified":"2014-12-20T21:48:58","modified_gmt":"2014-12-21T01:48:58","slug":"a-review-of-the-countycomm-gp5ssb-portable-radio-a-great-emergency-portable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/a-review-of-the-countycomm-gp5ssb-portable-radio-a-great-emergency-portable\/","title":{"rendered":"A review of the CountyComm GP5\/SSB portable radio: a great preparedness radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GP5SSB-Front\"<\/a>On Tuesday I received the new CountyComm GP5\/SSB<\/a> portable shortwave radio, a sample sent me from CountyComm<\/a>. If you’re familiar with the current shortwave portable landscape, then you’ll quickly note that the GP5\/SSB shares a striking resemblance to both the GP5\/DSP and the Tecsun PL-360. \u00a0While I\u00a0hadn’t anticipated writing\u00a0yet another radio article\u00a0before the end of the year,\u00a0having just published a lengthy review of the CC Skywave<\/a>,\u00a0my curiosity got the best of me…and before I knew it, I’d spent a few hours listening to and making notes about\u00a0the CountyComm GP5\/SSB as I\u00a0put it\u00a0through its\u00a0paces. In the end, I found I had the makings of a review.<\/p>\n

Who is CountyComm?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike most other brands I review, CountyComm has only one or two shortwave radio offerings. I wanted to know a little of the back story and motivation behind\u00a0creating the GP5\/SSB, so I contacted CountyComm directly and\u00a0spoke with their representative, Nick.<\/p>\n

Nick explained\u00a0that CountyComm is a retail distributor of products created primarily for\u00a0US government use. In a sense, CountyComm is the\u00a0consumer spill-over from the thousands of products\u00a0intended,\u00a0for example, for state and federal agencies.<\/p>\n

According to CountyComm, the GP5\/SSB is a case in point. The company received\u00a0a large order from a US government department for an “inexpensive, small portable, AM\/FM\/SW radio with SSB” for emergency supply caches and diplomatic posts. The GP5\/DSP (a.k.a., Tecsun PL-360) fit the bill, but lacked SSB. The request was large enough that CountyComm approached SiLabs–manufacturer of the DSP chip in many of the portables on the market–and asked for help. SiLabs made some design changes and worked directly with the factory in China to produce the GP5\/SSB.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The GP5\/SSB comes with a medium wave bar antenna, carry pouch, stereo ear buds, wire antenna and manual.<\/p><\/div>\n

Besides SSB, another interesting design CountyComm implemented was extending the upper\u00a0frequency range of the GP5\/SSB to 29,999 kHz; previous and similar Tecsun models only had an upper limit of 21,950 kHz.<\/p>\n

You may note that as of today, there are no similar Tecsun portables on the market–this is because the first batch of units were designed for (and all purchased by) CountyComm. However, I have already heard rumblings\u00a0that there will soon be a Tecsun PL-365<\/strong> on the market–if so, no doubt it will turn out to be the\u00a0GP5\/SSB.<\/p>\n

First impressions<\/h2>\n

\"GP5SSB-Side\"<\/a>Appearance-wise, the GP5\/SSB is nearly identical to its predecessor, the GP5\/DSP or Tecsun PL-360. The vertical form factor is rather unique in the ultra-portable world, this radio is designed for one-handed operation, much like a handy-talky.\u00a0The volume and tuning controls are on the right side of the radio and are designed to be operated by thumb (for right-handed operators, at any rate). All of the buttons on the front face are easily operated by your thumb–they’re small, but have a firm response. The GP5\/DSP (like its predecessor) lacks a back stand, but does have a belt clip.<\/p>\n

The small internal speaker produces clear audio, but sounds a little tinny; there is not even a hint of bass. Via headphones, the audio quality is far better.<\/p>\n

Besides a slight modification to the keypad layout to accommodate the new addition of SSB and a bright green antenna tip, the radio is identical to the GP5\/DSP and Tecsun PL-360.<\/p>\n

FM Performance<\/h2>\n

The CountyComm GP5\/SSB, like many other SiLabs-based receivers we review, has excellent FM sensitivity.<\/p>\n

Medium Wave (AM broadcast band) Performance<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>

The MW bar antenna increases performance–if using headphones, you will need a right angle connector to allow the MW antenna to rotate 360 degrees<\/p><\/div>\n

While I have not yet had the opportunity to do a proper comp recording session with the CountyComm GP5\/SSB versus comparable radios, I plan to do so in the near future…stay tuned for that, right here!\u00a0I’ll create a post to give you a heads-up when I’ve added medium wave samples to this review.<\/p>\n

With that said, I expect\u00a0the GP5\/SSB performance on medium wave will be very similar to that of the GP5\/DSP and Tecsun PL-360. I like the included rotatable ferrite bar antenna that plugs into an external antenna port on top of the radio. It certainly helps with both overall sensitivity as well as nullifying unwanted signals.<\/p>\n

Shortwave performance<\/h2>\n

I’ve had a couple of opportunities\u00a0to compare the GP5\/SSB with other portables on the shortwave bands;\u00a0embedded audio samples follow of a strong station, a weaker station, and even an SSB sample. Note that all of the sample recordings were taken during poor band conditions–QSB (fading) is pronounced.<\/p>\n

Single-sideband<\/h3>\n

Of course, when I received the GP5\/SSB, the first thing I did was tune the ham radio bands in SSB mode.<\/p>\n

Nick, the CountyComm rep in charge of the GP5\/SSB design, is an amateur radio operator, and I’m pleased that he represented the importance of\u00a0a truly functional SSB mode on this radio.<\/p>\n

\"GP5SSB-Top\"<\/a>The GP5\/DSP only has 1 kHz tuning steps:\u00a0more than adequate for broadcast listening, but too coarse for SSB. Amateur radio operators do not necessarily transmit right on a frequency; they’re often slightly off-frequency, either accidentally or intentionally. And older ham radios\u00a0are also prone to drifting until the rigs\u00a0have properly warmed up. Radios with SSB need finer-tuning controls to hone in on SSB signals. But the\u00a0GP5\/SSB has a work-around for this.<\/p>\n

The GP5\/SSB accommodates SSB by allowing the listener to select either the upper or lower sideband, then use the BFO function to help fine tune and zero-beat a signal.<\/p>\n

Specifically, here’s how to\u00a0tune to\u00a0an SSB (phone) amateur radio signal with the GP5\/SSB:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Turn on either the upper or lower sideband, depending on the meter band (generally, 40 meters and below are lower;\u00a0all\u00a0else, upper).<\/li>\n
  2. When you hear a signal, use the 1 kHz tuning increments to find where it’s strongest.<\/li>\n
  3. Now, press the BFO button once<\/em> to activate BFO tuning; the U or L (indicating upper or lower) will begin to blink.<\/li>\n
  4. While the sideband indicator is blinking, use the tuning wheel to adjust the BFO. Adjust tuning until the voices in the signal sound natural.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Once you’ve done this a couple of times,\u00a0the process becomes second nature.<\/p>\n

    Overall, I’m very pleased with the SSB functionality and performance. While I prefer either very fine tuning increments, or a separate BFO knob (no room for that on this tiny radio), I appreciate\u00a0that\u00a0CountyComm has used the BFO function to eliminate the need for a separate tuning wheel.<\/p>\n

    Audio samples<\/h3>\n

    While there are a number of portable radios with SSB on the market, there are very few in this $80 price range with SSB. Indeed, to my knowledge there are no<\/em> other SSB-capable portables currently on the market that are as compact as the CountyComm GP5\/SSB.<\/p>\n

    I decided the best comparison radio would be one with a similar price, thus I used\u00a0the Tecsun PL-600, which (at time of posting) is readily available from Amazon for the same $80 price tag as the GP5\/SSB<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"GP5SSB-PL-600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Below, you can hear two representative audio samples of how each radio receives an SSB conversation between two ham radio operators on the 20 meter band. I like this sample because one of the operators has a very strong signal, while the other is much weaker:<\/p>\n

    Tecsun PL-600 SSB sample<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/20M-SSB-PL600.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    CountyComm GP5\/SSB sample<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/20M-SSB-CountyCommSSB.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    You may notice that the GP5\/SSB has a slightly higher noise floor and DSP artifacts while listening to the weaker signal. The PL-600 sounds a little muffled in comparison.<\/p>\n

    I listened to many SSB signals that afternoon on the 20 and 40 meter ham radio bands. \u00a0At length I concluded that I prefer the PL-600 for weak-signal listening. The PL-600’s AGC could cope with the QSB better than the GP5\/SSB.<\/p>\n

    With the majority of\u00a0the SSB signals, however, I found that the GP5\/SSB’s audio was clearer and voices seemed to “pop” out better than on the PL-600.<\/p>\n

    \"GP5SSB-PL-600-G6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    I should note that I also attempted to include the Grundig G6 in this comparison, but the G6 somehow picked up noise from my digital recorder, thus making the recorded audio sound worse than it actually was. To my ear, the Grundig G6’s SSB reception was very similar to that of the CountyComm GP5\/SSB–the G6 perhaps has a very<\/em>\u00a0slight<\/em> edge in terms of weak-signal reception.<\/p>\n

    Shortwave broadcast listening (AM)<\/h3>\n

    Wednesday afternoon, I had the good fortune to tune in a relatively loud broadcast on 9620 kHz–turns out, it was Radio Nacional de Espa\u00f1a<\/em>–! (This is a new shortwave relay service intended to\u00a0replace the Radio Exterior de Espa\u00f1a\u00a0(REE)<\/a>\u00a0service that ended in October 2014).<\/p>\n

    I still had the PL-600 hooked up to my digital recorder at that time;\u00a0here’s the comparison:<\/p>\n

    Tecsun PL-600 on 9620 kHz<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/9620-PL600.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    CountyComm GP5\/SSB on 9620 kHz<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/9620-CCSSB.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    This morning I also had an opportunity to record Radio Australia on 12,065 kHz. This time, I had the Tecsun PL-310ET<\/a> handy, so I used it for comparison:<\/p>\n

    Tecsun PL-310ET on 12,065 kHz<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/Tecsun-PL-310ET-12065.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    CountyComm GP5\/SSB on 12,065 kHz<\/a><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/9620CCSSB\/CC-GP5SSB-12065.MP3<\/a><\/audio>\n

    As you probably hear in these examples, the GP5\/SSB has fine\u00a0sensitivity, though not quite as good as\u00a0the PL-310ET.<\/p>\n

    I’ve also noted good selectivity during\u00a0casual broadcast listening with the GP5\/SSB.<\/p>\n

    However, I do not like the GP5\/SSB’s AGC (auto gain control) as well as that of the other portables in this comparison–it’s a little too reactive to fading on the broadcast bands. To be fair, these audio samples really accentuated the AGC on the GP5\/SSB since all were made during poor reception conditions and pronounced fading.<\/p>\n

    Under normal conditions, I believe I would be quite pleased with the GP5\/SSB;\u00a0it’s otherwise on par with most of the other ultra-portables on the market.<\/p>\n

    Summary<\/h2>\n

    Every radio has pros and cons, and I jot down my reactions as I evaluate a new radio so as not to forget any details. The following is my list:<\/p>\n

    Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n