AB7JK
10-29-2003, 08:08 PM
The radio's construction is high quality and performance itself is great - Using a sloped dipole at 15
feet with a tuner (Ant Gain switch turnded down on radio) I heard all the stations I could hear on
my TS-430S ham rig and the audio quality was much better although not as mellow as larger radios.
A few images appeared but otherwise little overload. Very little background noise for a portable.
All India Radio 11620 came in well - much better than with the Grundig S350. Also I heard several
Middle Eastern and Eastern Europeans broadcasts. I haven't really tried out AM or FM yet but but
both have good audio. The Low tone setting works best for me.
I had a few problems with the radio the first day. The radio would turn off after being on only
10-20 seconds. After half an hour of trying various things it turned the out batteries that came
with radio died (after only 3 hours). The AC adapter does not work but it could be because
I don't have 220V here. It took awhile but I finally figured out Sys Set features and I loaded
several memories. To load memories, you need to set the page number first (default is P 1) #
on M Page button - this is best explained near the beginning of the manual. (By the way the
maual for the YB-550PE [same features as PL-200] is downloadable at the Eton website -
the PL-200 manual is in Chinese). After that forget the manual - it will mess you up - very
confusing! Just tune to the frequency you want then press MEM EDIT and the frequency
will automatically load at the first available memory - (P 1 01) after 3 seconds. #Deleting
memories is easy also. Other explanations in the manual are easier to understand.
I like the radio alot but it really doesn't have the feel of an analog radio that I was hoping for.
When you tune up or down the bands using the tuning wheel or the UP DOWN 5 khz keys you
hear a slight electronic clicking noise which gets to you after awhile. Also it takes several turns of
the thumb wheel to go from the bottom to the top of each band - so I find myself pressing
buttons about 95% of the time. I've always believed that digital sets are actually less user
friendly than analog sets, despite all the extra features - they sure don't feel the same - just
my opinion. #Maybe I'll feel diffently after using it awhile. 4 1/2 stars
feet with a tuner (Ant Gain switch turnded down on radio) I heard all the stations I could hear on
my TS-430S ham rig and the audio quality was much better although not as mellow as larger radios.
A few images appeared but otherwise little overload. Very little background noise for a portable.
All India Radio 11620 came in well - much better than with the Grundig S350. Also I heard several
Middle Eastern and Eastern Europeans broadcasts. I haven't really tried out AM or FM yet but but
both have good audio. The Low tone setting works best for me.
I had a few problems with the radio the first day. The radio would turn off after being on only
10-20 seconds. After half an hour of trying various things it turned the out batteries that came
with radio died (after only 3 hours). The AC adapter does not work but it could be because
I don't have 220V here. It took awhile but I finally figured out Sys Set features and I loaded
several memories. To load memories, you need to set the page number first (default is P 1) #
on M Page button - this is best explained near the beginning of the manual. (By the way the
maual for the YB-550PE [same features as PL-200] is downloadable at the Eton website -
the PL-200 manual is in Chinese). After that forget the manual - it will mess you up - very
confusing! Just tune to the frequency you want then press MEM EDIT and the frequency
will automatically load at the first available memory - (P 1 01) after 3 seconds. #Deleting
memories is easy also. Other explanations in the manual are easier to understand.
I like the radio alot but it really doesn't have the feel of an analog radio that I was hoping for.
When you tune up or down the bands using the tuning wheel or the UP DOWN 5 khz keys you
hear a slight electronic clicking noise which gets to you after awhile. Also it takes several turns of
the thumb wheel to go from the bottom to the top of each band - so I find myself pressing
buttons about 95% of the time. I've always believed that digital sets are actually less user
friendly than analog sets, despite all the extra features - they sure don't feel the same - just
my opinion. #Maybe I'll feel diffently after using it awhile. 4 1/2 stars