Review on Enhanced Tecsun PL990 Worldband Radio: AM/FM Shortwave Longwave with SSB, MP3 Player – Matte Black by James Stjames

After watching some videos and articles about this radio I decided to check it out. While reviews for this radio were unanimously raving, the Tecsun PL-990's performance exceeded my already high expectations for this radio. This radio is available as either a PL-990 or PL-990x and as far as I can tell the 'x' is either a pre-production model or made for a different market and it's basically the same radio and it depends on who imported it . The PL-990/990x is equipped with an extremely responsive FM/LW/MW (AM)/SW tuner with generous spacing. Shortwave capabilities cover all bands from 10 to 120 metres, while FM can be selected for either 64-108kHz or the more traditional North American 87.5-108kHz bands. AM can also be selected between 9 and 10 step functions. Both AM and SW feature adjustable bandwidth, USB and LSB one-way band modes, and a sync function for hard-to-hear stations. While the USB and LSB modes work well, although the sync feature often distorts the audio, this is a feature I rarely use. Reception is excellent with the built in antenna but the radio really comes to life when connected to the appropriate cable for SW and a dipole for FM, both fitted to the 1/8" antenna socket (radio included) Shortwave antenna coil type).Although this radio is fitted with a mono speaker, this radio produces stereo sound when used with line out or headphones.As well as being a great radio it also has an MP3 player and bluetooth Speaker function complete with a small built-in microphone for hands-free calls The MP3 player works well, but it is recommended not to use a chip larger than 32MB and to format the chip on the computer to FAT and at least 1GB free let it work reliably (you can install a chip up to 128GB in it, but it will work unstably) The PL-990 comes with an art leather case, a USB charging case, a USB cable, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, a leatherette carrying case, an 18650 battery (which seems to last forever on two charges), and a shortwave coverage map. The processing quality is excellent, all controls and buttons are of high quality. I would recommend this radio to anyone looking for a quality portable radio.