The Tecsun H-501x has been described as a hybrid desktop portable receiver and packed with many features.

NEW RADIOS, NEW STATIONS, NEW SOLAR CYCLE

Part 1

(This post is an edited version of an article I wrote for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - December 2021 issue. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)

We live in exciting times! Who said shortwave listening was dead? There seems to be plenty to capture our attention. And the opportunity to share experiences, learnings and news has never been greater. So, let’s reflect on three crucial aspects that can give us cause for optimism - new gear, new broadcasters and a significant uptick in propagation. In Part 1 of this extended blog posting, we will look at some of the recent additions to the receiver market.

New Radios

Many receivers have made their way onto the market during the past two years. Advancing technologies with new chips and circuit designs have resulted in the return of the shortwave bands to the latest portable radios, many at tempting prices. And the market has seen some new brands enter the field, too. It wasn’t so long ago that Tecsun was a new name, but today that brand has established itself as a major player in portable and desktop receivers. In more recent times, we have also seen the entry of products from Russia, Belarus and, of course, China.

Add to this the multitude of dongle type and separate box software-defined receivers such as the RTL-SDR, SDRPlay, Airspy, Perseus, Afedri and many more that work in harmony with fancy bells-and-whistles computer software. Never before has it been so easy and relatively cheap to get into shortwave listening! Hardly a month goes by without a new receiver or transceiver being announced or reviewed in The Spectrum Monitor magazine.

I’ll leave the various SDR/computer combinations, a category best discussed by others more knowledgeable than myself! So, let’s take a brief look, in no particular order, at the more traditional radios entering the market recently.

Malahit DSP-2 receiver

The Russian-made Malahit DSP-2 receiver is a new SDR developed by Russian engineers who also just happen to be ham radio operators. This receiver is an evolving work-in-progress through frequent firmware updates. It has a striking colour display, variable AGC controls (slow, medium, fast), variable audio filter, separate RF gain control, and performance that is becoming more respectable with every new release. There are also reports of Chinese clones of the Malahit already appearing on the market.

The Belka DX

Another new European brand marketed recently is the Belka-DX - Designed in Belarus; this tiny radio is a direct conversion SDR and is said to be an astonishing performer for such a compact radio. Although it boasts high performance from just the telescopic antenna alone, the good news is that the Belka-DX is not prone to overloading when attached to a large external antenna. Enthusiastic reports have been coming from many users in the past few months, with some stating that the performance rivals bigger desktop units. It’s definitely one to watch in the future.

Last year, the Sangean ATS-909X2 appeared on the scene to solid reviews. It is a mature receiver in the market with its origins dating back to the ATS-909, first introduced in 1996 (mine is still going strong!). The 909X2 features improved sensitivity when using the whip antenna, five selectivity bandwidth options, the excellent audio quality we have come to expect from Sangean, and many other improvements.

Sangean ATS-909X2

XHDATA D-808

When the XHDATA D-808 was released last year, little was known about this manufacturer. This radio sits at the cheaper end of the market, seems to be a well-made Chinese product, but, to my mind, it is a rather nondescript looking portable unit. But who cares if it is not much to look at as long as its performance is good! Right? One feature of this radio is the choice of multiple bandwidth filters in AM using DSP IF filtering (seven options, in fact!). Buyers of the D-808 claim it has good sensitivity and generally good reception on the in-built whip antenna. But you may need to be careful if connecting an external antenna as you could encounter some intermodulation distortion (IMD). Indeed, for the price, this portable receiver is worth checking out.

But, what has Tecsun been up to recently? Well, over the past two years, this company has been busy consolidating itself as a major manufacturer of portable receivers, mainly in the mid-level price range. Two that have received attention are the PL-990x and the PL-368 - radios that successfully build upon previously established and popular models. But Tecsun has also been pushing the boundaries even further with the recent releases of the PL-330 and the H-501X.

Tecsun PL-330

The Tecsun PL-330 is an amazingly tiny receiver covering the LW, MW, SW and FM broadcast spectrum. On SW, you can access AM and SSB modes plus synchronous AM detection. There is an impressive range of bandwidth choices: three in shortwave AM mode and five in SSB mode. Tecsun also employs the new Enhanced Tuning Mode (ETM+) function in this model. Instead of storing stations in the traditional memory mode, on shortwave ETM+ can be activated to store stations in 24 time-specific memories, i.e. there is an individual memory bank for each hour of the day. This makes so much sense! Once you have set up the memory banks with your favourite broadcasts across your preferred hours of the day, you can simply call up the appropriate memory bank when you are ready for future listening sessions. It is a function I would like to see on all future Tecsun products!

Tecsun H-501X

At the other end of the Tecsun product range comes the H-501 and H-501X (X for export model), an externally attractive looking receiver that Tecsun describes as a hybrid desktop portable. It boasts twin speakers driven by a class AB power amplifier, producing excellent audio quality via separate treble and bass tone controls. Interestingly, it has both a stereo audio input to allow the radio to be utilized as an external audio source and a stereo output line to feed external amplifiers or recording equipment. Tecsun describes the circuit as using “multiple frequency conversion and modern DSP digital demodulation technology, which greatly improves the receiving sensitivity, selectivity and image rejection.” Early adopters are reporting excellent sensitivity on shortwave. Again, this rig comes with multiple bandwidth filter options - four on AM SW and five on SSB. In addition, it can store 3150 memories, has a large LCD screen that is easily viewable in multiple lighting situations, and includes a beautiful carrying case. See Thomas Witherspoon’s comprehensive review of this rig in TSM (November 2021 issue).

lab555 Discovery TX-500

If you are also an active amateur radio operator, you know that all modern transceivers include general coverage receivers. Two recent entries to the field radio category also offer very respectable receivers for general shortwave listening sessions. One is the lab555 Discovery TX-500, a Russian-made SDR in a tiny form factor, weighing only 0.55 kg (19.4 oz). It is ruggedly constructed with a solid look and feel, water-resistant, an ideal performer in the field with a very low current drain in receive mode, and a variable transmit output of between 1 and 10 watts.

Icom IC-705

The other portable “receiver-in-a-transmitter box” is the Icom IC-705. Since its release, this model has shot to the top in the field radio popularity stakes. The receiver specs look impressive, and reports from users say the radio makes an ideal listening tool. There is a built-in sound card for those interested in digital modes, and like the TX-500, it puts out 10 watts on transmit. The only negative to this radio is the price, but given all the features it boasts, it is still worth considering for the ham, who is also an active SWL.