Essential Tool for Shortwave Radio Listeners
354015
I have used Passport for almost twenty years now.  Before the internet it was the best way (and only practical way) to keep track of schedules and frequencies and still is since my PC can't be everywhere my radio is.  It also is a great resource if you are shopping for a shortwave radio as all major sets in all quality and price ranges are reviewed.  There is also alot of general information for shortwave listening and information on future trends.  No world band listener should be without the most current version of this book.
1851720
Deep sound and I like the dial for tuning in on stations instead of digital. Works really well, well worth it.
4002051
When I picked out this portable radio I was looking for something  simple with AM FM that was bigger than a pocket design but not a large table top model. In the picture it looks to be compact and very thin. It is not as thin as the top picure shows, but it is a good size with well designed controls for easy tuning. The on/off control is on the side and slides upwardly passing AM to the FM setting. Sound quality is quite good for a radio this size. I always check sensitivity, selectivity and stability when reviewing a receiver. Unlike a larger multi-band radio receiving shortwave stations, I am focusing on FM reception for this radio. I live in a remote place and can't hear AM stations. As I already have a shortwave receiver, I was mainly interested in FM reception.  The selectivity is hard to judge as there are only two FM Stations in my community and both are picked up very well. I listened for several hours and the primary station remained steady and srong.  I listened to both stations and had similar results with each. The incomming frequency does not drift so that fine tuning is not necessary even after several hours listening.  I can't judge sensitivity the same way I would for a shortwave receiver of comperable size, but this radio is easily tuned and had nothing notable in a negative way.  Its size, well placed controls, and overall quality for its low cost, are what I find most appealing.
1602823
This is an easy to use wonderfully performing software defined radio for its price. This little device packs way more frequency range than competing models and is better manufactured than most other similar devices. If you are a little computer savvy and follow the instructions you can easily be listening to AM, FM, and NOAA weather radio in a matter of minutes. This is an inexpensive and great starting point for people interested in radio.
3636226
This is a surprisingly good radio, especially since it is also a shortwave receiver.  It is a hefty size and weight so I would not advise taking this in your backpack on a long hike, but it would be great for camping and to have as an emergency radio at all times.  I thought about putting this on my shoulder next to my head and walking down my neighborhood reminiscing the 70's, but luckily my husband talked me out of it.

The local stations come in loud and clear and adjustments in sound quality can easily be made with the adjustment knobs.  Setting the clock was difficult for me and it took several tries before I finally got it set.  You will definitely need the instruction booklet on how to set everything that you want set.  The antennae is super long and just keeps extending almost to the ceiling.  I had to turn off the beeps that you hear every time a button is pushed, it was really getting on my nerves and it eats up battery power.  D-cells are required if you don't choose to use the included power supply.  Makes for a little extra weight, but it's a good weight, much like the radios back in the day when they lasted forever.

It's simply loaded with features that will take some time to figure out how to use and set and I will only be using a few of them.  I don't particularly need any alarms but if you do they're there.  Using the shortwave aspect is not as easy because you will have to spend some time trying out the various SW settings and slowly searching for reasonably clear stations.  I still want to hit on a station from China but so far have only found about 3 stations that I can actually understand what they are saying.  I'm not disappointed in this because I have 3 other shortwave receivers and I get the same thing from them.  It takes time and practice to find what you are looking for.

Overall, I think this is an absolutely excellent radio and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a larger, heavier quality shortwave receiver radio.  I could easily take this to the pool or use outside while working to listen to my favorite AM or FM stations since it has such a robust sound.
4328676
What I like about this FM modulator is that you can choose the station on the unit you are not forced to use 88.5 88.1... as some modulators did in the past. I had to buy a second unit because my brother kept my first one he used it on a 700 mile road trip. Said that he uses it religiously so I let him have it. I did put it on the station last week that it did not overpower and I turn the unit off and listen to the radio.  So it will be easier to save a blank radio station on your presets in your car stereo. I used it on my CC radio in the bathroom and it took over the station and it was awesome. It played podcasts from my phone over a clear FM channel I had been listening to broadcast shows on. It overpowered it. I then thought maybe I should use this more at home instead of only using my Bluetooth receiver that I also use I love. It charges via common micro USB cables which is good.
4731416
It's a great shortwave radio better than analog tuning? It's also clearer then the voyager550 radio meaning of reception too.
2449160
100% better than the manual tuning model. The station presets make for easy station hopping. Loud enough for me even when mowing the lawn. Able to listen to my android music thru the supplied cable. I highly recommend this item!
2039147
Radio Monitoring Guide by Nifty Accessories was a very informative guide booklet, just loaded with information that can be used with shortwave radio and ham radio enthusiasts. There is a lot I have not read yet, so it may have other useful applications.
3301601
I was pleasantly surprised when I received this item. First, it was significantly smaller than I'd expected, at about 5-1/2" x 3-1/2" x 1". It also has a certain heft to it and a feeling that the materials and buttons are high quality. It doesn't feel like a toy, by any means.

Nor does it work like a toy. I literally could not figure out now to do something as simple as turning on the FM radio without reading the manual. There are 25 buttons on the front of the radio, an LCD screen, and four indicator lights. The user manual is relatively clear and concise, but it's a complex little gizmo that isn't easy to figure out intuitively.

I am not a shortwave-radio aficionado, but fortunately the manual has recommendations for newbies to become familiar with shortwave and medium-wave radio.

Overall I'd say this is a good product that would take some getting used to. It's obviously not a home entertainment system with its smallish speaker, but it's not intended to be. It's a compact, highly flexible radio that also plays MP3 files loaded from your PC and/or on a separate SD card.
958479
Had the squeezbox for a couple weeks now. I'm very pleased with it.

I use it for listening to internet radio as well as my own mp3 music collection (about 3500 tracks).

The setup was easy and it updated the firmware right away. The update went well, I had the radio in the same room as my router throughout the setup process with guarantees a good reception for the frmware update. You don't want that process interrupted.

The sound is great for the size of the box. It's a radio though, not a stereo, so make the right choice for your needs. Still I was impressed that such a small radio could produce such a rich sound.

I love the fact that you can setup and even control the radio from a computer in your network via a browser interface. This allows you not to have to deal with the small screen and buttons on the radio itself. For such things as defining pre-sets, finding preferred radio stations etc... It's much more comfortable from a browser.

Which brings me to the navigation on the radio itself which I'm not a fan of. If you have a lot of music organized by folders like myself, it's not easy to navigate on the small screen. I also don't like that you can't just pick an artist and play random tracks.

Note: I have this setup with my Synology NAS (also purchased on Amazon) so I have access to my music collection without powering up a computer. It works very well.
4328185
This is a great scanner for picking up digital signals. Has super clear audio. If you don't have some knowledge of modern radio programming I highly recommend spending and extra $50 and get a subscription to Radio Reference and purchase some programming software and cable. I use PSRedit 500, but there are others too. It makes programming so easy and you will probably find frequencies you didn't know about.
1408584
I am delighted with this Radio. The functionality, where the controls are placed makes using the radio a delight.
The ease with which I can use the controls, in just few hours that I have had this radio is a compliment to the designers. Programming in the stations was very easy. Reception is excellent. I have a Sangean PR-D5 which I believe has the finest AM/FM reception of any radio I have purchased in recent years, and this ATS 909x matches it.
I am not a short wave expert, however I was listening to Europe and Australia my first evening with just the attached FM antenna.
I am glad I searched and read the countless reviews on Sangean and other brands before I made my decision.
This purchase was one of my best.
4462129
This little receiver is quite good on AM and FM, shortwave is another story. I compared the 1126 to my 1123 and see they have made improvements to the sensitivity and selectivity to both the FM and AM portions of this radio. Shortwave is about the same on the 1126 as on the 1123, which is mediocre at best even with an external wire clipped to the telescopic whip. Haven't tried any of the record/playback functions yet. All-in-all a decent radio, easy to carry, for trips.
3274374
This small handheld receiver by Tecsun is quite capable and does exactly what it is designed to do. As a point of reference, I will compare its features to other radios in my arsenal.

1. ATS: This feature is almost required to effectively use the radio. The tuning dial on the right hand side of the radio, while adequate, is single step, and for shortwave listening, can take a long while to tune around the meter bands. For MW and FM, the ATS function is excellent. Just hold down either the MW or FM button, and within seconds, the radio has scanned the band and placed all received signals into a memory page for easy tuning and listening.

Utilizing the DSP chip from Silicon Labs, the PL-360 amazingly catalogs the available stations while almost negating any false signals. The ATS function on the PL-360 is much better than the ATS offered on the much more expensive and Tecsun flagship PL-660. The PL-660 will readily skip powerhouse stations and catalog a frequency either one step above or below the target station. For instance, the powerhouse station 95.50 out of Johnstown, PA, is often saved as 95.40 and sometimes it will even skip over 95.50 altogether. On the PL-360, every available frequency is cataloged perfectly! The ETM feature works similarly to ATS.

2. Sensitivity is very good, not excellent on MW and the rotatable AM antenna works very well.

3. Attach the supplied clip FM/SW wire antenna and the FM band really comes to life. It can overload signals at times on powerhouse shortwave stations. The PL-360 is every bit as sensitive as the PL-660 on FM, however, it does not match the capabilities of the PL-660 on SW. This should be expected in my opinion. With the supplied wire antenna clipped to the telescopic antenna, many stations unheard by the telescopic antenna alone come to life from as far away as MD, WV, and OH!

4. The sound through the small speaker is surprisingly adequate for a small pocket radio and through the ear buds, FM stereo sounds very pleasant, though not as good as the PL-660.

I would recommend this radio. The coolest feature in my opinion is the rotatable AM antenna. It is my personal belief that all multi-band radios should offer a rotating AM antenna just as some of the old Panasonic radios from the 1970's did. For the price, it is well worth the $47 I paid and the radio arrived within 3 days.
2011040
I bought this radio for AM and FM DXing after reading a review on it at "www.radiojayallen.com". I absolutely love it. To me. this is the new Superadio! The audio is excellent with plenty of bass and treble on tap so you don't always have to have the bass and treble controls maxed out. This is one of the few radios I own that picks up all my local FM stations with zero static, despite (or maybe because of) the shorty whip. The MW DX is superb as well, and I have had some astonishing daytime DX receptions.

What is not mentioned in the reviews, or shown clearly in the photos, is the way the radio flares out at the base. The 2 rows of D cell batteries, instead of being placed one row on top of the other up/down, has the batteries instead side by side at the bottom of the radio. This results in the base being extended out the width of a D cell from the top and middle of the radio. I really like the looks of the radio this way. Also, it provides a considerable amount of stability to the radio such that it is almost impossible to accidentally tip it over. The overall construction is very solid and high quality; there is nothing that feels cheap, or screams "crap" at you when you hold the radio.

Another feature not advertised is that this radio is capable of self-alignment. It is shown in the manual under the trouble shooting section for the question as to what to do if there is a drop in volume when tuning in a station. To realign the radio, when tuned to any AM station, press and hold the "Display Clock and Frequency" button until the weather alert LED starts flashing (top left on front of radio). At this point, release the "Display Clock and Frequency" button, then give it a short press. Leave the radio alone while it auto aligns. mine takes about 5 minutes to do. You are always assured of razor sharp alignment with this feature, no matter how old the radio.

While I do not listen to the 2 meter ham band, the weather channels are a welcome addition.

This has turned out to be my favorite radio in a very short time. It is well worth the price.
2790824
I wanted to try out a DSP radio for MW, SW, and FM broadcasts without risking much, and, for $50, this thing's amazing.

It's very small -- smaller than my hand and fits in any pocket.  It's sensitive enough to hear *almost* anything my venerable Sony IC-2010 can hear.  There's even a clip-on telescoping antenna extension, which I find clunky.  I suspect it would overload here in Minnesota with a long-wire antenna (don't have one up yet), but this is a *portable*.  I'm willing to take this places I wouldn't take the Sony.  $50 isn't "disposable," but if I lost it I wouldn't be heartbroken.

Tuning is intuitive enough.  I can't expect a direct frequency keypad in a radio of this class.  The ETM feature, where it scans the bands for strong stations and stores them, is actually quite convenient.  In ETM mode the tuning dial moves between stored stations, or you can just manually have it move 1KHz at a time.  My only gripe with manual tuning is that it's difficult to get it rapidly into fast tuning mode (5KHz per step) -- there seems to be some "feel" trick that I'm not good at.  I'd like it more if there was a button for this.  I've barely used the user memory mode yet so I can't comment.  Though not documented in the sparse manual, this radio *does* cover LW starting at 150Khz.  Hit "MW," wait for it to come up, and hit "MW" again.  There's not much LW to listen to in the States, so I don't know how well it performs.

Selectivity is excellent, as I'd expect in a DSP radio.  Default is 3KHz, and the "BW" switch rotates through 2Khz, 1KHz, and up to 6Khz.  The skirts are easily steep enough for an AM/SW broadcast environment (9-10Khz spacing).

It does NOT do sideband or CW -- no BFO.  Again, this would be a bit much to ask for it to be implemented well in a $50 portable.

Audio quality is adequate through the speaker -- poor bass but that's what I want for intelligibility in an AM station.  FM stereo sounds great with headphones.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks, so I can't comment on durability.  One reviewer noted that the tuning and volume encoders seemed to wear out after just a couple of months.  If that happens, I'll amend my rating, but for now I'm delighted.

DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE -- Three things that aren't great:
1) The whip antenna may be a bit weak.  I managed to pull mine in two, separating it at the base just below the pivot.  I'll take the blame for that.  Though it snaps back in, it's been weakened and now regularly pulls out.  It looks easy enough to replace if you can find one the right size -- I've ordered one from an eBayer in Thailand.

2) Now that I have a long wire antenna up, it really does overload badly.  I'm in a high signal environment here in St. Paul, Minnesota, so this is not surprising.  It's mostly a problem with KSTP-AM at 1500 kHz.  The radio is meant to be a portable, however, and best used with the whip.

3) Lastly, the only "real" annoyance with this thing that's not my own fault:  the volume control is not smooth analog; it's an encoder that steps up and down.  One step goes from too soft to too loud when using ear buds or cheap earphones.  To get around this I have to use earphones with an independent volume control, but they're big and clumsy.

BUT I'm nitpicking.  Given what this radio does for $50, I'm still giving it 5 stars.  It's an entertainment device, not a serious communications receiver, and it does entertain.