{"id":9343,"date":"2014-04-22T13:40:13","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T17:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9343"},"modified":"2014-04-22T13:40:13","modified_gmt":"2014-04-22T17:40:13","slug":"results-of-the-shortwave-portable-weak-signal-shoot-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/results-of-the-shortwave-portable-weak-signal-shoot-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Results of the Shortwave Portable weak signal shoot-out"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9355\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg\" alt=\"RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg 640w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean-100x67.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Thanks to all who participated in our shoot-out! \u00a0Last week, <a title=\"Weak signals: Which radio do you prefer?\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/weak-signals-which-radio-recording-sample-do-you-prefer\/\">I posted three recordings<\/a>\u00a0of a weak shortwave broadcast in an attempt to evaluate which recording\u2013thus which radio\u2013our\u00a0listeners prefer. The test was &#8220;blind&#8221; in that, though four radios were evaluated,\u00a0only three recordings were posted, merely labeled, &#8220;Sample #1,&#8221; &#8220;Sample #2,&#8221; and &#8220;Sample #3,&#8221; respectively.<\/p>\n<p>The radios tested were not just average radios. Rather, they represent the best of the\u00a0<em>truly portable<\/em> radios currently on the market, namely: the Sangean ATS-909X, the Tecsun PL-880, the Tecsun-PL660 and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the most popular question I receive from <em>SWLing Post<\/em> readers is about two or more of these models, asking,&#8221;which\u00a0is <em>best?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>The samples<\/h2>\n<p>To refresh your memory, I&#8217;ve embedded the audio samples below\u2013<strong>but if you haven&#8217;t yet, I would encourage you <a title=\"Weak signals: Which radio do you prefer?\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/weak-signals-which-radio-recording-sample-do-you-prefer\/\">to read our previous post<\/a>\u00a0(and the great reader comments following!)\u00a0before proceeding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The recordings in our samples\u00a0are\u00a0of\u00a0<em>Radio Romania International<\/em>\u00a0on 11,975 kHz. Normally, the signal would have been stronger, but propagation was rough, and QSB (fading) was pronounced at times. Note that I recorded all of these samples<em> with my <a title=\"This is the same model of Zoom I use\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B005CQ2ZY6\/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=B005CQ2ZY6&amp;link_code=as3&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">Zoom H2N digital recorder<\/a> via a line-in connection,\u00a0using the radio&#8217;s headphone jack. <\/em>Since not all of the radios have a line-out jack, I used the headphone jack each time and simply set the volume and line-in gain to the same level.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/download\/thomas_swling_RRI1\/RRI-1.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Sample 1:<\/a><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI1\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/download\/thomas_swling_RRI2\/RRI-2.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Sample 2:<\/a><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI2\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/download\/thomas_swling_RRI3\/RRI-3.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Sample 3:<\/a><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI3\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And now, here is the sample I intentionally left out in my previous post&#8230;<strong>Sample #4<\/strong>. I didn&#8217;t include it in the evaluation because, frankly, it was such a weak performer compared with the other three; I knew it would take last place:<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Sample 4\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/download\/thomas_swling_RRI4\/RRI-4.mp3\" target=\"_blank\">Sample 4:<\/a><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI4\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, we&#8217;ll start with the radio behind Sample 4:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9344\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X.jpg\" alt=\"Sangean-ATS-909X\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X.jpg 600w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X-100x66.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Sangean ATS-909X ($200-250 US)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI4\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nMany readers guessed rightly that the <strong>Sangean ATS-909X<\/strong> was the radio omitted. Evidently, it is known for its lack of sensitivity when only employing its telescoping whip antenna. You&#8217;ll notice that, most of the time, the RRI broadcast is lost in the static.<\/p>\n<p>Frankly, I was somewhat surprised that the ATS-909X didn&#8217;t perform better. It has a loyal following amongst <em>SWLing Post<\/em> readers\u00a0and has been a popular radio on the market for the past three years or so. While I&#8217;ve used the ATS-909X in the past, I have never owned one, and had never done a side-by-side comparison.<\/p>\n<p>To perform this test, I borrowed the 909X from a friend who usually has it hooked up to an external antenna. In fact, this is when I learned that\u00a0<strong><em>the 909X performs admirably when hooked up to an external antenna<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In my tests, however, I didn&#8217;t want to hook up external antennas. \u00a0I believe that for a radio to be evaluated as a <em>portable<\/em>, it must be\u00a0judged on its ability to receive signals from its telescopic whip antenna as a base line.<\/p>\n<p>But let&#8217;s move on to the radios you did hear in our weak signal evaluation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at the radio behind Sample #3, the radio our readers\u00a0voted to take last place in terms of weak-signal listening:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL-880.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9346\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL-880.jpg\" alt=\"Tecsun-PL-880\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL-880.jpg 600w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL-880-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL-880-100x66.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Tecsun PL-880: Sample 3 ($150-160 US)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI3\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWith the exception of three votes (out of more than seventy), Sample #3&#8211;<strong>the Tecsun PL-880<\/strong>&#8211;was o<em>verwhelmingly<\/em> voted worst in this weak-signal shoot-out.<\/p>\n<p>The bulk of your criticisms\u00a0focused on the fact that the PL-880 did not handle fading as well as the other radios. When the signal was at a peak, it sounded great, but in QSB troughs, the signal became unintelligible and you could hear DSP artifacts and distortion.<\/p>\n<p>But is the PL-880 a &#8220;bad&#8221; radio? Absolutely not. Indeed, I gave it pretty high marks <a title=\"A review of the Tecsun PL-880 portable shortwave radio\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/a-review-of-the-tecsun-pl-880-portable-shortwave-radio\/\">when I reviewed it last year<\/a>. It&#8217;s just not the best\u00a0choice<em>\u00a0for weak-signal listening\u2013<\/em>at least in\u00a0its current firmware version. \u00a0Note to Tecsun: \u00a0I do believe it may be possible to tweak this portable&#8217;s AGC circuit so that it handles fading better&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>But let&#8217;s\u00a0move on to the other\u00a0contestants. Here&#8217;s our\u00a0second-place portable:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL6601.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9347\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL6601.jpg\" alt=\"Tecsun-PL660\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL6601.jpg 600w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL6601-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Tecsun-PL6601-100x66.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Tecsun PL-660: Sample 2 ($110-130 US)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI2\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nDuring the first day of voting, <strong>the Tecsun PL-660<\/strong> actually had a noticeable lead on the other radios. I&#8217;m not surprised. The sensitivity was better than the rest of the contestants, in my opinion. The received audio was clear and seemed to pop out of the static better than the others.<\/p>\n<p>Overwhelmingly, those who <em>didn&#8217;t<\/em> vote the PL-660 as best, voted it as second. Their main criticism was that the PL-660&#8217;s AGC was a little too active and less stable than the radio which actually took first place.<\/p>\n<p>And with no further ado,\u00a0here&#8217;s\u00a0our winner:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Son-ICF-SW7600GR.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9345\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Son-ICF-SW7600GR.jpg\" alt=\"Son-ICF-SW7600GR\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Son-ICF-SW7600GR.jpg 600w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Son-ICF-SW7600GR-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Son-ICF-SW7600GR-100x66.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Sony ICF-SW7600GR: Sample 1 ($130-150 US)<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/thomas_swling_RRI1\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nSurprised? \u00a0<em>I<\/em> was!<\/p>\n<p>After I evaluated the blind test myself, I was certain the PL-660 would be the winner with its stronger sensitivity. But the result\u2013and reader comments\u2013proved me wrong. More of you placed a value on the Sony&#8217;s rock-solid AGC circuit which handles the peaks and troughs of fading better than the other contenders.<\/p>\n<p>Commenters noted that the Sony&#8217;s audio and stability lent itself to easier, less fatiguing, listening. Keep in mind, though, that many of these same commenters mentioned that the PL-660 (Sample #2) would be their preference for <em>identifying<\/em> a station in under weak signal conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s look at the raw data, and then discuss what it all means.<\/p>\n<h2>The\u00a0data<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Sony ICF-SW7600GR<\/strong>\u00a0was voted:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>first\u00a0place 41 times,<\/li>\n<li>second\u00a0place 2o times, and<\/li>\n<li>third\u00a0place once<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Tecsun PL-660<\/strong>\u00a0was voted:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>first\u00a0place 23 times,<\/li>\n<li>second\u00a0place 33 times, and<\/li>\n<li>third place twice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Tecsun PL-880<\/strong>\u00a0was voted:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>first\u00a0place never,<\/li>\n<li>second\u00a0place three times, and<\/li>\n<li>third place 53 times<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;ve attempted to place this data into a bar graph to make it a little easier to visualize:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadioShootOut-Results.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9351\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadioShootOut-Results.jpg\" alt=\"RadioShootOut-Results\" width=\"697\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadioShootOut-Results.jpg 697w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadioShootOut-Results-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadioShootOut-Results-100x69.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px\" \/><\/a>If you noticed that these numbers don&#8217;t completely add up, it&#8217;s because responses were inconsistent.<\/p>\n<p>Most survey participants\u00a0listed their preferences in order (i.e., first, second, and third\u00a0place). Some respondents only listed their favorite of the three, while others only listed the one they <em>didn&#8217;t<\/em> like. No one responded with a tie between the radios, all had an opinion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Another way of reading the results<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>SWLing Post<\/em> reader &#8220;Radio Flynn&#8221; helped me with some additional data interpretation this morning. He put together <a title=\"Download as a PDF\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Radio-Preference-Sheet1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">this analysis (download as a PDF)<\/a>, and commented:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #222222;\">&#8220;[A]lthough a majority of people\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">choose sample #1, nearly everyone ranked either sample #1 or sample #2\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">as preferred, and the average ranks are very close, closer than the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">raw percentages would indicate. I have not done a statistical analysis\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">so I don&#8217;t know if the difference in mean rank between #1 and #2 is\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">significant (in other words, I don&#8217;t know if there is a significant\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">preference for #1), but you can say that either sample 1 or sample 2\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">would be acceptable to almost everyone, and sample 3 clearly last\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #222222;\">choice.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Radio Flynn also pointed out that next time I do this sort of test (and I will be doing another!) that I should keep votes consistent by asking everyone\u00a0to rank their preference.\u00a0Excellent suggestion; I&#8217;ll be sure to do so.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So the Sony ICF-SW7600GR is <em>the best radio&#8230;<\/em>right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not exactly.<\/p>\n<p>Herein lies the difficulty of suggesting the &#8220;best&#8221; radio for any particular listener.<\/p>\n<p>This test <strong>only evaluated <em>weak signal sensitivity<\/em> under rather rough conditions.<\/strong>\u00a0The Sony was &#8220;the winner&#8221; in this respect.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-9273\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios-300x192.jpg\" alt=\"SideBySide-FourRadios\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios-100x64.jpg 100w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>But this doesn&#8217;t tell the whole story.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve had my Sony &#8216;7600GR longer than any of the other portables in this contest and it is invariably the radio I reach for when\u00a0I want to make a field recording. I prefer the Sony because it has good sensitivity, a stable AGC, excellent single-sideband selectable sync detection and it can handle being connected to a long external antenna. Indeed, it was the Sony I packed <a title=\"Radio Vacation\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/radio-vacation\/\">when I spent the summer of 2012 in an off-grid cabin in the Canadian maritimes<\/a>. In short: my Sony ICF-SW7600GR is my &#8220;old faithful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But frankly, when I travel, I reach for the PL-660 more often than not. Why? \u00a0Yes, the Sony has great receiver characteristics, but its ergonomics leave <em>a lot<\/em> to be desired. I use my Sony when I plan to key in a frequency and leave it there. The PL-660 is a joy to operate, has simple direct-frequency entry, an excellent auto-tune feature, not to mention,\u00a0a stable\u00a0sync detector.<\/p>\n<p>If I want to identify a signal buried in the static, I reach for the PL-660.<\/p>\n<p>If I want to do casual listening and am less concerned with DXing, I reach for the PL-880. It&#8217;s a solid radio and has a quality feel to it\u00a0(running neck-and-neck with the ATS-909X in this respect).\u00a0Of this bunch, it has by far, the best audio from its internal speaker. If I want <em>armchair listening,<\/em> I reach for the PL-880. It&#8217;s also an excellent SSB receiver\u2013one of the best in this group\u2013and offers\u00a0more filter selections.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, it&#8217;s not always easy to suggest which radio is best&#8230;I must ask in response, &#8220;Best for what?&#8221; The data from this test proves this,\u00a0as our readers\u00a0who ranked their favorites backed up their choices with consistent and valid comments.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think?<\/p>\n<p>Before long, I plan to pit these radios (and perhaps another?) against each other in terms of their synchronous detectors in another blind test. \u00a0It may take a while to work this up. Your enthusiastic responses, however, completely justify it.<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<h2>Resources:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sony ICF-SW7600GR<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"SWRI\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\/2011\/01\/sony-icf-sw7600gr\/\" target=\"_blank\">On the SW Radio Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Retailers:\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Universal\" href=\"http:\/\/www.universal-radio.com\/catalog\/portable\/0360.html\" target=\"_blank\">Universal Radio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Check Amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00006IS4X\/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=B00006IS4X&amp;link_code=as3&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Check eBay\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00006IS4X\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00006IS4X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">eBay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tecsun PL-660<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"SWRI\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\/2011\/01\/tecsun-pl-660\/\" target=\"_blank\">On the SW Radio Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Retailers:\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Universal\" href=\"http:\/\/universal-radio.com\/catalog\/portable\/2540.html\" target=\"_blank\">Universal Radio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Check Amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B004H9C4JK\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B004H9C4JK&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"eBay\" href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?icep_ff3=9&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5336735615&amp;customid=&amp;icep_uq=tecsun+pl-660&amp;icep_sellerId=&amp;icep_ex_kw=&amp;icep_sortBy=12&amp;icep_catId=&amp;icep_minPrice=&amp;icep_maxPrice=&amp;ipn=psmain&amp;icep_vectorid=229466&amp;kwid=902099&amp;mtid=824&amp;kw=lg\" target=\"_blank\">eBay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tecsun PL-880<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Tecsun PL-880\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\/2013\/11\/tecsun-pl-880\/\" target=\"_blank\">On the SW Radio Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Retailers:\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Universal\" href=\"http:\/\/www.universal-radio.com\/catalog\/portable\/0088.html\" target=\"_blank\">Universal Radio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00GJ51NVA\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B00GJ51NVA&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"eBay\" href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?icep_ff3=9&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5337416934&amp;customid=&amp;icep_uq=Tecsun+PL-880&amp;icep_sellerId=&amp;icep_ex_kw=&amp;icep_sortBy=12&amp;icep_catId=&amp;icep_minPrice=&amp;icep_maxPrice=&amp;ipn=psmain&amp;icep_vectorid=229466&amp;kwid=902099&amp;mtid=824&amp;kw=lg\" target=\"_blank\">eBay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sangean ATS-909X<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"SWRI\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\/2011\/01\/sangean-ats-909x\/\" target=\"_blank\">On the SW Radio Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Retailers:\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Universal\" href=\"http:\/\/www.universal-radio.com\/catalog\/portable\/2909.html\" target=\"_blank\">Universal Radio<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B003XU76PQ\/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B003XU76PQ&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=swlcom01-20\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"eBay\" href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?icep_ff3=9&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5337471721&amp;customid=&amp;icep_uq=Sangean+ATS-909x&amp;icep_sellerId=&amp;icep_ex_kw=&amp;icep_sortBy=12&amp;icep_catId=&amp;icep_minPrice=&amp;icep_maxPrice=&amp;ipn=psmain&amp;icep_vectorid=229466&amp;kwid=902099&amp;mtid=824&amp;kw=lg\" target=\"_blank\">eBay<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thanks to all who participated in our shoot-out! \u00a0Last week, I posted three recordings\u00a0of a weak shortwave broadcast in an attempt to evaluate which recording\u2013thus which radio\u2013our\u00a0listeners prefer. The test was &#8220;blind&#8221; in that, though four radios were evaluated,\u00a0only three recordings were posted, merely labeled, &#8220;Sample #1,&#8221; &#8220;Sample #2,&#8221; and &#8220;Sample #3,&#8221; respectively. The radios [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,3,26,714,129,43,1409,1154],"tags":[2747,2779,2748,155,4085,602,2778,121,330,2066],"class_list":["post-9343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-manufacturers","category-news","category-radios","category-retailers","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-specials","category-travel","tag-comparing-radios","tag-most-sensitive-shortwave-radio","tag-radio-comparison","tag-radio-reviews","tag-reviews","tag-sangean-ats-909x","tag-shortwave-radio-shoot-out","tag-sony-icf-sw7600gr","tag-tecsun-pl-660","tag-tecsun-pl-880"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2qH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10124,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/the-mega-shortwave-radio-review-of-the-pl-880-pl-660-ats-909x-and-icf-sw7600gr\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":0},"title":"Mega Review: the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, Sangean ATS-909X, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR go head-to-head","author":"Thomas","date":"July 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This article, which extensively reviews\u2013and compares\u2013the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, the Sangean ATS-909X, and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of\u00a0The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. Without a doubt, it's my longest and\u00a0most comprehensive review to date. Summer: \u00a0time for travel\u2013and for portable shortwave DXing. As I mentioned in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AllFourRadios","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9259,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/weak-signals-which-radio-recording-sample-do-you-prefer\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":1},"title":"Weak signals: Which radio do you prefer?","author":"Thomas","date":"April 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm in the process of reviewing a number of shortwave portables and pitting them against each other. Sometimes, it can be\u00a0very difficult to decide which radio is better--especially if you have more than two radios to compare at a time. What I'll often do to help level the playing field\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SideBySide-FourRadios","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SideBySide-FourRadios.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31525,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/recommending-the-tecsun-pl-880-over-the-sangean-ats-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":2},"title":"Recommending the Tecsun PL-880 over the Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"April 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Direwolf131, who recently commented on one of the Sangean ATS-909X reviews in the Post archives. Direwolf131 writes: I\u2019m a few years after Steve\u2019s comments but I will have a go at it, at least anecdotally speaking. I\u2019ve owned a half dozen Sangean ATS-909\u2019s, which includes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ATS-909X_small.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11571,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/2015-shortwave-radio-buyers-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":3},"title":"The SWLing Post 2014-2015 Shortwave Radio Buyer&#8217;s Guide","author":"Thomas","date":"December 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The following article originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Although many large government shortwave broadcasters are departing the shortwave radio scene, there\u2019s no shortage of great products being introduced to it. Indeed, growth in the portable and SDR (software defined radio) markets is reasonably\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/RadiosShootOut-SonyTecsunSangean.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10886,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/dave-reviews-the-tecsun-pl-880-pl660-and-sangean-ats-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":4},"title":"Dave reviews the Tecsun PL-880, PL660 and Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has posted reviews of the Tecsun PL-660, PL-880 and Sangean ATS-909X on his website. Dave even includes a review of the Radiolabs \"ClearMod\" version of the Sangean ATS-909X. \u00a0Click here to read the reviews (scroll down to view all). Many thanks, Dave; I always value your reviews!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ATS-909X","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48626,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/dan-robinson-reviews-the-sangean-ats-909x2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9343,"position":5},"title":"Dan Robinson reviews the Sangean ATS-909X2","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Dan Robinson, for the following guest post and review: Sangean v Tecsun in the Battle of Late Shortwave Era Portables:\u00a0 The ATS909x2 by Dan Robinson Some years ago \u2013 actually more than a decade \u2013 I decided to give Sangean a shot at winning me over in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AM&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Sangean-ATS-909X2-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}