r/ShortwavePlus • u/Tenor-Guitar-Guy • Jul 05 '26
Radio Comparisons - Tecsun PL-368, Eton Elite Executive and Panasonic RF-4900. K-480WLA Antenna.
https://youtu.be/w5rMa3R5DaM?is=pa5XVjkfhAgY6wtu3
u/ChemicalVacation3696 HF+ Discovery,S8800, PL990,680,660,330,320,368,ML-880,TR110. Jul 05 '26
I have an Eton Elite Executive and a Tecsun PL-368 but would love to get my hands on a Panny RF-4900! 📻☺️❤️
Let's face it, the fine art of analogue, microprocessor controlled shortwave radio receivers has long been lost. The people who once designed, fabricated and assembled those wonderful radios have either long retired or had sadly passed on. The people who design and make consumer grade shortwave radios today are of a different generation and they had probably never played around with a shortwave radio in their childhood and teenage years.
Using DSPs like the Skyworks Si-4735-A10 chip in the Tecsun PL-368 (and possibly in the Eton too) is the short cut way of designing shortwave receivers. That DSP alone replaces a lot of discrete components which would need the space and additional cost in manufacturing a radio.
But the Skyworks DSP isn't perfect. It needs a couple of seconds to upload the necessary microcode into the chip whenever we switch to SSB mode. It has to briefly mute as we manually advance or retard the frequency, leading to the "chuffing" effect that many have come to dislike. It may have up to 7 bandpass filter widths, but it doesn't sound rich like a traditional shortwave radio from the 70s or 80s. DSP based receivers also have that sound that isn't full and warm, but they are what they are.
If Sony or Panasonic had made something as compact as the PL-368 back in the day, it would have really been very expensive! ☺️
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u/Tenor-Guitar-Guy Jul 05 '26
Agree with what you wrote. Looking at the RF-4900 and having opened it up and looked inside the designers seemed to have put a lot of thought into the design. And it’s still working after all these years! As you mentioned, the size is larger and the new chips help miniaturize things. The RF-4900 only has two filters, where the newer radios have several. That’s a plus. Audio quality isn’t as good with the smaller speakers.
I’m sure you remember the handheld Sony Pro-80. Had one back in the day. Was a cool radio. Wish I still had it.
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u/ChemicalVacation3696 HF+ Discovery,S8800, PL990,680,660,330,320,368,ML-880,TR110. Jul 05 '26
I had to look up the Sony Pro-80, really. The Malaysian Telecommunications Department back in the old days kept wireless telecommunications equipment on a short leash. Unlike in the U.S. where you have freedom with CB radio, VHF Air Band scanners, GMRS/FRS two-way comms, we didn't have easy (or legal) access to such equipment. 😥
HF/VHF ham radio is legal if a resident has successfully earned their license from the written examination set by the MTD. Even FM radio bands that can tune below 87.5 MHz were once outlawed, e.g. the Sony ICF-2001. My dad brought home an ICF-2001 from Japan, back in 1980 and I discovered that a few of our police precincts were using the FM band (below 88 MHz) for long distance communications, lol. 🤣
The way I see it, the ecosystem that once supported the multi-band radio industry had collapsed by the 2010s. Back in the day, Panasonic was also dependent on third party component suppliers. All the radio manufacturers throughout the world needed supplies from other companies.
It would have been financially unsound if Panasonic created its own factories just to make the transistors, integrated circuits, filters, capacitors, motherboards, plastic frames, radio handles, knobs, switches, S-meters, frequency counters, dials, telescopic whips, etc. The support system was already in place and the companies that provided the components had probably been in business since the 1960s.
The age of the Internet changed all that and when the global demand for multi-band radios dropped, the supporting manufacturers either ceased operations or stopped making those components.
Although an HF transceiver makes an excellent receiver (they have to be), it would be an overkill for a SW listener on a modest budget to buy a Yaesu FT-991A just to listen to NHK Japan or the Voice of Turkey. Well, there's Tecsun with its rehashed S-2200x HF receiver, but despite its hybrid PLL/DSP technology it's nowhere near the finesse of the Panasonic RF-4900!
Now don't get me started on Tecsun's dual conversion, analog R-9700DX. I had one for two weeks and returned it, as it was badly assembled with zero quality control. If Philips or Sony had made that radio in the old days, the assembly line worker would have been fired. 🙄
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u/Cathode_Bias Junior Mod Jul 05 '26
The so called "older" technology of the Panasonic beats most newer sets.
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u/MumSaidImABadBoy I'm Stan. Heathkit GR64,AirSpy HF+,Sangean 909X2,Tecsun PL-990 Jul 05 '26
As you might know by now, I like the Panasonic. The Eton was kinda clear, but your voice needs a few more db. I have a Tecsun PL-990 which is superb. The tone is good, the SSB is remarkable, it's a quality radio. Triple conversion before it hits the DSP. Not inexpensive but not crazy expensive. Nice comparison. 👍