Larry Bragg
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2024
Great little receiver, very sensitive on HF. I just wished the 2.5 filter was also available for SSB instead of the 2.2 otherwise I have no complaints. Great portable I can take anywhere and listen to my friends on the amateur bands with either a long wire, or sometimes I just place the internal antenna on my kitchen faucet. :D No complaints, just a great portable receiver.
Markscape
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2024
Nice little radio to play around with. Reception on FM is good, the included Directional Antenna, makes AM reception better. I really haven't put it through it paces yet. Shortwave is about what you would expect from a radio this size. A random wire clipped to the built-in telescoping antenna can bring in more signals, but also bring in more noise (QRN). Listening to sideband signals can be a challenge, but the radio holds its own. I also like the fact that it charges through the USB Micro B connection. A charge lasts quite a long time in this thing. Overall, its nice little radio to have and offers good value for the price.
Michael R
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2024
The Tecsun Digital PL368 has the same specifications as the PL330 which I also own but in a different, more portable shape. All buttons and functions are essentially the same as the PL330 and sensitivity and selectively are also the same. Sensitivity and selectively are very good on this radio. The PL368 has a belt clip and a carrying pouch with a belt loop to carry it anywhere you go. It also has a highly sensitive AM/LW antenna to plug in the top to increase signal strength and it works great but the radio itself does have a built in antenna. I like that I can just rotate the antenna instead of the radio so the speaker can face me. The FM antenna is impressively long and brings in many stations solidly. I haven't tried it yet on SW but I'm sure it's adequate, especially with a SW antenna reel that can be connected to it. Sound is ok. Better for talk then for music. It does come with stereo ear phones and the radio is stereo capable but I haven't tried them yet. I think that for what it is, it is a good take anywhere radio. I would get it again if I had to.
JohnW
Reviewed in Australia on May 1, 2024
Did not meet your marketing gaff. Very disappointed.
expat in nz
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2024
propagation was good the day I got it. picked up 10meter, cb signal, 14 mhz, 7 mhz, and time signals. 5,10,15,20. am, fm, ssb, sw all worked. No long wave that I can find.Using the memory is a little flaky but direct input works well.This is in my emergency kit now.Only drawback is I think you need to not roughly handle it.Would buy again and I will for xmas.
Zed Reyland
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023
Works great, shortwave reception is clear and crisp, the noise floor is low, and is easy to use for those of us who have experience with the PL-880 portable (most of the buttons have identical functions). Frequency coverage is printed right on the outside of the battery cover.A homebrew longwire antenna is a must for pulling in those weak, distant stations, and the included ownwer’s manual makes programming quick and easy. Mini-USB charging cord is a plus.About the only thing missing is Bluetooth, but I wouldn’t rule it out in a future model. Overall, this little powerhouse is well worth the price, and it has features some of the bigger, more expensive shortwave receivers lack.
Nic
Reviewed in Canada on June 26, 2023
The unit I received is compromised: the soft muting circuit doesn't work and the manual tuning is a nightmare, for this radio. I asked for a return and the dealer doesn't accept it. Complications now...Bad business... Stay away.
Franz WM
Reviewed in Italy on February 20, 2023
GRANDE piccolo ricevitore, maneggiabile, superportatile e, soprattutto, sensibilissimo, alla pari dei fratelli maggiori.Almeno per me, che ascolto NDB, qualche AM e tanti radioamatori.73 da IV3XAZ.
M. Cathcart
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
If you've owned any of the previous iterations of this slim little handheld receiver (Tecsun PL360/CountyComm GP-5 DSP, and Tecsun PL365/CountyComm GP-5 SSB) then you know what a joy it is to report that it finally has a direct entry frequency keypad to get where you need to go instantly! No more scrolling and scrolling and scrollllllling that danged thumbwheel! This feature alone is worth the purchase!This receiver line up has always been praised by users, not for being all that "great" or mind-blowing but simply for doing so much so well for something so small and simple. They are not going to outperform their larger siblings from Tecsun but these little guys have all been very good radios, especially for their size (and price point)!And now the PL368 is easily the greatest iteration of this line up, not just for the direct entry keypad (tuning around was a total pain in the thumbwheel until now!), but for other improvements over previous models, like selectable bandwidths for each mode (like 2.5, 3.5, 5 or 9kHz in AM, or 0.5, 1.2, 2.2, 3 or 4 kHz in SSB).There seems to have been some improvement in the audio chain as well. I don't know what they did (better stock speaker? better components?) but in side-by-side, direct comparisons with my PL360 and GP-5 SSB on the same signals and bandwidths the PL368 simply sounds clearer, cleaner, a bit warmer too (not as brittle or hissy).Tecsun has added synch detection but unfortunately they seem to keep missing the boat pretty badly in that department in all their models (the PL660 seems to be the lone relative success in Tecsun's synch implementation). This one's no exception -- it is overly filtered and needlessly harsh and irritating. It locks pretty well but is just kind of dirty sounding. I will not be bothering with it, and will instead use the ECSS method which I can already assure you is better than the synch by far, especially now that there are those bandwidth filter options for SSB.It offers an updated version of their popular ETM memory tuning feature, now called ETM+, which according to Tecsun "gives the possibility of setting up time-specific memories for longwave, medium wave (AM) and shortwave." I found the earlier ETM feature to be very helpful on the local MW and FM stations when traveling, but have yet to implement this ETM+ version so I can't add to that.FM is certainly on par for this receiver style, as good as the previous iterations, mono on board but stereo at the headphone out. Of course, in any mode or band, using good headphones will sound much fuller and richer than the little stock speaker.All previous versions utilized 3xAA batteries, but now it uses a thin BL-5C lithium rechargeable battery. It charges from a standard 5V/500mA USB charger.The charger is not included, by the way, but that's probably a good thing these days, as most of us have more than enough cube USB chargers laying about (generally unused most of the time) anyway. The USB to micro-USB charging cable IS included, however. How long does a charge get you in listening time? Well, I have not used the receiver enough to be very accurate on this point but I've had it powered up while learning its ins and outs as well as just listening for at least two to three hours each day the last three days, and the battery indicator on the display still reads full. I prefer replaceable rechargeable batteries but so far this little battery pack seems to be very efficient, and its use certainly makes the radio slimmer and lighter than ever.There are numerous hidden features (visit The SWLing Post and RadioJayAllen to research in detail); one of them is very handy for we who enjoy external antennas -- you can toggle between the whip antenna or the external antenna jack (used for the included little ferrite MW antenna that actually peaks and nulls as you turn it!). I almost always use that little antenna for MW listening but exploring this feature has shown me that in my area sometimes the telescopic whip antenna brings in a better signal on some MW stations at certain times than the little ferrite... so being able to switch to the whip is very helpful. I wouldn't want to plug a whole lot of antenna into this little, easily overloaded thing but being able to toggle that if I want to experiment is handy indeed.There is much more but I just want to make the point that if you already know and enjoy this style of receiver, you will definitely love this latest and greatest version (that keypad, what a gift!).If you have never tried this style receiver, well, now might be a really good time to finally take an $80 to $90 plunge and find out. At this price, in this slim little package, with all it does well (and not despite any limitations but by improved design), I think this will be a popular model when enough people discover it.
カスタマー
Reviewed in Japan on October 10, 2022
この製品は、見かけとは異なり意外に優れた本格的な「7MHz帯SSBのハンディー型アマチュア無線受信機」の一面を持っています。小型軽量安価で、テンキー入力も可能。LSBで1kHz/10Hzステップ設定が可能。受信感度も良く、選択度も良好、LSB復調音声も自然な音声で、LSBのバンド帯域も0.5/1.2/2.2/3.0/4.0kHzと選択可能でノイズから音声を上手に浮かび上がらせます。下手なアマチュア無線機よりも快適にSSB受信を楽しんでいます。いつでもどこでも超軽量コンパクトで、気軽に持ち運べる受信機として気に入ってます。短波放送、AM・FMラジオとしても、快適に受信可能です。このラジオ、コンパクトな中に隠れたポテンシャルが凄いです。
Josep G.
Reviewed in Spain on December 7, 2021
Hacía tiempo que buscaba un receptor multionda con teclado para ajustar las frecuencias con la máxima facilidad. Este modelo destaca por su pequeño tamaño y poco peso, junto con una buena selectividad para el uso de aficionados a la radio escucha mediante equipos modestos (alejados de receptores que cuestan hasta 50 veces más).Perfectamente portable, incluso en un bolsillo medio, ofrece una buena autonomía con su batería fácilmente intercambiable. Además, permite su uso con un cargador USB estándar (no incluido) de solo 500 mA, incluso sin la batería instalada. Con la batería en su alojamiento, es posible utilizar el receptor mientras se recarga esta.La disponibilidad de las dos bandas laterales SSB, las funciones de despertador mediante una emisora preprogramada, su función de reloj y temperatura, son un valor añadido que nos ofrece un equipo ultraportable muy completo.Para mi gusto es un receptor perfectamente recomendable, tanto para introducirse en la radio afición con un gasto modesto, como para radioescuchas "profesionales" que deseen un equipo muy compacto y reducido para llevar a todas partes.El tiempo dirá, pero la apariencia de construcción me parece buena, aunque no parece un aparato diseñado para resistir un trato demasiado duro.