---
product_id: 1162818
title: "Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black"
price: "VT789"
currency: VUV
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1162818-tecsun-pl-360-digital-pll-portable-am-fm-shortwave-radio
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# AM/FM/SW wide frequency range 450 station memories Built-in battery charger Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black

**Price:** VT789
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

## Summary

> 📻 Tune into the world, anytime, anywhere—because missing out is not an option!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black
- **How much does it cost?** VT789 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/1162818-tecsun-pl-360-digital-pll-portable-am-fm-shortwave-radio)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Compact Yet Mighty:** Slim, lightweight design fits in your hand or backpack—your perfect travel companion for worldwide broadcasts.
- • **Power That Keeps Up:** Rechargeable AA battery support with USB charging—stay connected on the go without hunting for batteries.
- • **Smart Extras Included:** Alarm clock, sleep timer, and built-in thermometer keep you informed and on schedule wherever you roam.
- • **Crystal Clear Reception:** DSP technology plus high-sensitivity external AM antenna delivers pristine sound clarity even on weak signals.
- • **Effortless Global Tuning:** Patented ETM scans all local & shortwave stations in minutes—never miss a signal again.

## Overview

The Tecsun PL-360 is a compact, portable digital PLL synthesized AM/FM/Shortwave radio featuring patented Easy Tuning Mode (ETM) for quick scanning of up to 450 station memories. Equipped with DSP technology and a high-sensitivity external AM antenna, it ensures superior reception and sound clarity. Powered by rechargeable AA batteries with USB charging, it also includes practical extras like an alarm clock, sleep timer, and thermometer, making it an ideal travel and emergency radio solution.

## Description

The Tecsun PL-360 is a portable digital AM/FM shortwave radio. This PLL synthesized receiver picks up a wide range of broadcasting including AM, FM & shortwave. To tune into a station, you can use one of the following 4 methods: Tuning knob, memory, ATS tuning & Tecsun's own & unique ETM (Easy Tuning Mode). Different from ATS, the ETM does a more comprehensive scanning of all receivable frequencies without taking up the memory spaces, it offers you an easy access to all local stations, ideal for traveling. There are also a total of 450 memories available for tuning into your favorite stations. Another unique feature of the PL-360 is its high sensitivity external AM ferrite antenna, which greatly enhances the radio’s AM reception, ideal for picking up long distance AM or stations with weak signals. With DSP (Digital Sound Processing) technology, the PL-360 offers you excellent listing experience with outstanding clarity & high tone quality. The PL-360 can be powered by three AA batteries (not included), it also has 5V mini-USB DC input jack. When using the USB jack, the radio can be used to charge the batteries (rechargeable AA batteries only) when necessary. Frequency coverage: FM: 87-108MHz; AM: 520-1710; SW: 2300-21950 KHz Accessories include: Stereo earphones; External AM antenna; Soft antenna; Carrying pouch; User manual in English

Review: Lots of fun to use if you like tech gadgets - My Tecsun PL-360 has so far exceeded all my expectations. The MW and FM sensitivity is good. I've seen no issues at all with selectivity. A bunch of its features are entertaining. The Signal Strength and Signal/Noise indicators really do work and prove that the assorted antenna options make a difference. I didn't buy it to use as a MW DXing toy, but it's quickly become one. I haven't given it much of a workout on the SW bands, but the initial ETS scan (indoors) did pick up stations. For no good reason, I even turned ON the LW band (instructions are in the manual) and that worked. I think that I heard a coded signal from a navigation transmitter. That's interesting but not useful for me, so it's back OFF.. I put in 3 used AA NiMH batteries and set up the Sleep Timer to keep the radio ON. I thought I was testing its power consumption. Several days have passed without recharging and the radio is still running! A bunch of features that I wouldn't have understood before getting the radio have turned out to be very nice. The buttons are small, but it's a small radio. The enclosed manual has some quirky instructions, but everything is there in it. If you hate programming your own home digital thermostat, the radio probably isn't for you. If you refuse to follow instructions, you won't get very far with this radio. But I'm really pleased that I bought it! ===== P.S. It's a day since I wrote my original review and I haven't turned off the radio yet. It's still playing an AM station through its speaker... so the battery LIFE is excellent! The battery level indicator shows remaining battery charge still available too, but I'm tiring of the sound of the thing in the background! Maybe I'll stuff into a sock and stash it in a dresser drawer just to see how much longer the batteries will hold up (they are green and black with a copper colored top and labelled "DURACELL RECHARGEABLE AA/HR6/DX1500 NiMH 1.2V/2000mAh". Pretty good, I think! ===== P.P.S. Well, another 24 hours has elapsed and the radio is still playing through its speaker. The BATTERY INDICATOR is showing near empty, but it's not yet flashing as promised in the Operation Manual that it eventually will. I'll wait until the radio dies, then recharge through the USB port. I'm not going to report on this again... it's not useful info except to note that battery life really good and not something to be concerned with! ===== another note: Using the LW band with the included plugin AM antenna I was able to find (on the ground) the local airport radio navigation approach beacon that I earlier heard at 385 KHz. According to Google Earth, it turned out to be 10 miles from where I first heard it and at an angle of 40° off of the aircraft flight path that it marks. That antenna shows a significant sharp "null" that aligns with the antenna position and works pretty well as a direction finder as well as a noise cancelling aid for both the LW and MW bands. Maybe FUN for DXing... kind of like geo-caching with a LW receiver!
Review: Exactly two outstanding features on this radio: scanning and selectivity - This is really a "3 star" radio, performance-wise. Considering price and the above strengths, it gains at least one star. It's doubtful you can do any better for $50. Before going on in detail, an important word about shortwave radios in North America. Signals are often only available an hour or two a day, and the signals are often weak. It's important to recognize what is possible and form realistic expectations of what -- and when -- you can hear programming from afar. A good analogy is listening to FM is like going to the store and buying a fish. It's just there waiting for you any time you want one. Listening to shortwave is more like learning when the best time is to fish, and being there at the right time and patiently waiting for the fish to bite. Sometimes you will go home empty-handed. Conditions can vary from day to day, even hour to hour. I listen to Radio Australia overnights on 9580 Khz and 11880 Khz in the mornings, and it's great. 4-7am local is the best time to hear lots of signals at my location on the west coast. Your best times may vary. Also, spending a lot more money on a shortwave receiver will not necessarily result in major improvements in reception, because often background noise is the biggest limitation to the ability to hear signals. In almost every case, a better antenna will do far more good than a better radio. OK, setting realistic expectations that shortwave is often a fishing game: There are exactly two outstanding characteristics of this radio, both due to its DSP Si4734 heart: 1) outstanding selectivity typical of a much more expensive radio, and 2) scanning performance you can't even find at any price in other radios. The second benefit is testament to a good implementation of the DSP's ability to report actual signal to noise ratio rather than just signal strength -- something relatively new to SWL radios. Then there are the shortcomings typical of a small and cheap radio: sound and volume are OK but not great, there's no room for a proper direct-entry keypad, and (probably my radio is proof of this) quality control may be lacking. I've been an SWL on and off for close to 30 years and have owned and used dozens of shortwave radios (Drake R8, Sony SW7600G, Grunding YB400, Sony SW7600G, and others). For this reason, I'm going to focus primarily on shortwave performance, secondarily on AM/BCB/MW performance, and only lightly on FM. (FM was disappointing.) Keep in mind that shortwave is a weak-signal game for many in the USA, as there are no stations inside the US worth listening to, and few international broadcasters "target" the US anymore, so the "salad days" of many booming signals carrying fascinating programming (and fascinating propaganda too!) are largely behind us. This means your best bet is using this for travel or catching regional signals or international signals generally meant to be received elsewhere -- thus having a good antenna and an electrically quiet listening location is very helpful to maximize your enjoyment of the hobby. However, that said, on the West Coast of US Asia/Pacific stations can often be quite strong from the wee hours onward. Some cool frequencies to try are 11880, 9580, 11725, 9595 || 3925, 5025, 5040, 6000. Also check out short-wave.info for further information! Pros: Sensitivity is good, selectivity is excellent, and sound is louder and less thin than you'd expect from such a small radio. There is no meaningful bass, however. The tuning features are frankly outstanding, with ETM being a stand-out as convenient for SW at different times of day, and for FM and AM when you travel. I instantly took a liking to this useful feature. The memory system also works well and there are more memories than I can imagine ever using. But what really stands out is its "best-in-class" scanning performance on shortwave (and AM). What's special is both manual and automatic scanning tend to find *actual broadcast signals* rather than continually stopping on noise peaks. Most shortwave radios (at any price) have great difficulty distinguishing between an actual signal and a local noise peak, and end up stopping on a lot of junk signals that amount to nothing more than being louder noise than the frequencies on either side. To be able to push the "ETM" button or "VF" and find actual, even quite weak signals in a couple minutes without finding tons of spurious junk is just astonishing to me and apparently takes advantage of capabilities of the Si4734 DSP chip -- being able to compute signal to noise ratio -- that simply aren't feasible with traditional squelch-driven scanning. Welcome to a new Jeopardy category: "things you can do in DSP for $3 you can't do with analog circuitry for any reasonable price, Alex". The supplied external antenna, taken outdoors, really helped boost marginal signals to good readability. I am surprised and impressed the radio showed no signs of overloading and almost no broadcast band breakthrough - just one spot on 3rd harmonic of nearby 50kW AM station was heard, and it was not very strong. Cheap radios often come to pieces when you put any sort of real antenna on them, so this is another pleasant surprise. Again, it won't win any awards for dynamic range, but it's better than many inexpensive radios I've tried. As an aside, the AM antenna jack appears to go to the same input as the SW whip does, so you CAN attach an external SWL antenna with a mono jack into the AM in. However, according to the drawing in my manual there is a low-pass filter between the whip and the IC input that you will be bypass by jacking into the AM socket, so overload may be more likely. Then again, it might be fine depending on the particulars, so I'd say experimenting is worthwhile. UPDATE: Connecting both ends of a 25 foot wire to the jack in a loop configuration caused TERRIBLE overloading. 36 spurious signals going all the way into the 7 Mhz region. So, a big antenna should not go on this radio through the AM jack. It's still OK for 25 feet of wire to the tip connector though. Cons: Cons are various and mostly minor to me. The tuning dial mutes. This is annoying as it destroys the fun of "tuning the dial" to discover new signals, because you have to step and stop constantly. Even the ancient Sony SW7600G can do this well (via holding the "slow tune" button down and disengaging the sync detector). Not sure if this is a shortcoming of the DSP chip or second-rate audio design. In "VF" mode, tuning can take a while as you can only move at two speeds: 1 Khz and 5 Khz per dial "click". That's a lot of"clicks" to go from one end of a band to the other, though you can jump between bands with the SW up and down arrows to help out. This problem is inherent to having no numeric keypad and follows from the radio's small size, so it's just a trade-off you make in an ultra-light radio. If Tecsun wants to make a more excellent radio, making the firmware detect when the dial is going above say 7 clicks per second, to go to a 100Khz step to speed across bands. That would make the radio a LOT nicer to use. :) The goofy outboard AM antenna on top did not appear to be significantly better than the built-in one. Swiveling the radio for maximum signal or mimimum noise on built-in, and moving the outboard antenna through 360 degrees in the horizontal plane, I could neither hear nor see on the S/N and signal meter any substantial difference between them. No idea if this is a manufacturing defect in mine, a problem with my test method, or it's just a cute gimmick. But I will be leaving mine at home because I'm not convinced it does anything very useful. That said, I could see doing some casual DXing on the AM band with this radio in either configuration. I deducted one star because of a potentially fatal fault for some. It would be a deal-killer if I bought the radio primarily for FM stereo listening. There is a weak but continuous high frequency hiss on the headphones even with a full-quieting FM signal with the volume cranked all the way to zero. It's dead quiet through the speaker but very noticeable on headphones. Turning the volume up high to mask it is not an option as I would like to preserve my hearing. :) I suspect this may be an example of poor quality control rather than a design defect. At least I hope so. Please feel free to comment if you have similar problems (or definitely don't.) I'd be happier to discover this isn't a "feature" of this design. So in summary: 1. Amazing value for money - five stars for value 2. Buy it if convenient tuning features and great scanning are important to you. These are winners. 3. Pretty decent shortwave - three stars (not considering price) 4. Audio is good - surprisingly so for its size and price. But see #5: 5. Headphone audio hiss - ignorable for AM and SWL, but this radio misses the target as the one travel radio to take everywhere if you can't enjoy FM stereo. Again hopefully this is a production defect and not a problem with all of these units. 6. External AM antenna seems to be more gimmick than useful from my testing. On the bright side, you CAN feed SWL wire to the tip connector and avoid "clip-on" so long as it's not too long a wire, so maybe Tecsun would do better to re-label the connector "external SWL" antenna and put the filter in line there. It would arguably be more useful. 7. It's a steal. Better to spend $50 or so and discover SWL is not for you than start with a high-end radio that can't do a lot more, and be out $250 or more. I think it's a great starter radio and also a good candidate to take on the road with you wherever you go.

## Features

- PLL Synthesized AM/FM/SW Radio with DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Technology
- Patented ETM Tuning (Easy Tuning Mode) plus 450 memories
- Includes high-sensitivity AM antenna
- Alarm clock + sleep timer + thermometer + build-in battery charger
- 30-day money back guarantee & 1-year manufacturer's warranty

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #215,953 in Electronics ( See Top 100 in Electronics ) #334 in Portable Shortwave Radios |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 619 Reviews |

## Product Details

- **Audio Output Mode:** Stereo
- **Brand:** TECSUN
- **Color:** Black
- **Compatible Devices:** Earphone
- **Connectivity Technology:** USB
- **Connector Type:** USB
- **Controller Type:** Tuning Knob
- **Product Dimensions:** 1.02"D x 2.09"W x 6.26"H
- **Special Feature:** Portable
- **Surround Sound Channel Configuration:** 2.0

## Images

![Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71UERAJt3yL.jpg)
![Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71TvfsKy88L.jpg)
![Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31HxL5tpw2L.jpg)
![Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51SwS8vOJqL.jpg)
![Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51HzC8+IWnL.jpg)

## Questions & Answers

**Q: Does this radio tune SSB transmissions?**
A: Unfortunately, no.  I made the same mistake.  Don't get me wrong, this is a great radio for short way broadcast bands and FM, just no SSB.  I ended up ordering the GP5/SSB from CountyComm http://www.countycomm.com/gp5ssb.html

**Q: What is the warranty period on the tecsun pl-360?  (volume control on mine has failed - less than a year old)**
A: As the happy owner of a Tecsun PL-360 Digital DSP radio I went through the owner's manual and failed to find any mention of a warranty.  Also searched the web and had the same results.  Zero mention of a warranty.

**Q: What kind of battery it use？ Can it be charged on a computer?**
A: sure can,althou I don't charge it on my pc I use my playstation 2 usb connector,what they fail to say it has a built in battery which last 8-10 hours continuous use at normal volume,but here the nice thing has 3 aa battery compartment I use mine all the time up to a month with no worry of battery failure,then when I think about it (like now) il get it(I keep it in my glove box)and charge it,also has great stereo sound with head phones so while im at my job I rock out,has the volume will curl you hair back nice and loud.ha this is not a paid promo just fact.

**Q: Just how good is the AM reception using the rotating antenna?  If station fades out when the radio is turned will is come back by turning the antenna?**
A: AM fade is a product of many factors but this antenna definitely increases the signal to the receiver. Being a somewhat of a directional antenna, rotating it will increase or decrease the signal strength. Basically, the broad side of the antenna bar is where the signal will be strongest to the radio. My PL-360 works very well with that antenna. The telescoping antenna is best for FM and shortwave.

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lots of fun to use if you like tech gadgets
*by Y***I on December 25, 2014*

My Tecsun PL-360 has so far exceeded all my expectations. The MW and FM sensitivity is good. I've seen no issues at all with selectivity. A bunch of its features are entertaining. The Signal Strength and Signal/Noise indicators really do work and prove that the assorted antenna options make a difference. I didn't buy it to use as a MW DXing toy, but it's quickly become one. I haven't given it much of a workout on the SW bands, but the initial ETS scan (indoors) did pick up stations. For no good reason, I even turned ON the LW band (instructions are in the manual) and that worked. I think that I heard a coded signal from a navigation transmitter. That's interesting but not useful for me, so it's back OFF.. I put in 3 used AA NiMH batteries and set up the Sleep Timer to keep the radio ON. I thought I was testing its power consumption. Several days have passed without recharging and the radio is still running! A bunch of features that I wouldn't have understood before getting the radio have turned out to be very nice. The buttons are small, but it's a small radio. The enclosed manual has some quirky instructions, but everything is there in it. If you hate programming your own home digital thermostat, the radio probably isn't for you. If you refuse to follow instructions, you won't get very far with this radio. But I'm really pleased that I bought it! ===== P.S. It's a day since I wrote my original review and I haven't turned off the radio yet. It's still playing an AM station through its speaker... so the battery LIFE is excellent! The battery level indicator shows remaining battery charge still available too, but I'm tiring of the sound of the thing in the background! Maybe I'll stuff into a sock and stash it in a dresser drawer just to see how much longer the batteries will hold up (they are green and black with a copper colored top and labelled "DURACELL RECHARGEABLE AA/HR6/DX1500 NiMH 1.2V/2000mAh". Pretty good, I think! ===== P.P.S. Well, another 24 hours has elapsed and the radio is still playing through its speaker. The BATTERY INDICATOR is showing near empty, but it's not yet flashing as promised in the Operation Manual that it eventually will. I'll wait until the radio dies, then recharge through the USB port. I'm not going to report on this again... it's not useful info except to note that battery life really good and not something to be concerned with! ===== another note: Using the LW band with the included plugin AM antenna I was able to find (on the ground) the local airport radio navigation approach beacon that I earlier heard at 385 KHz. According to Google Earth, it turned out to be 10 miles from where I first heard it and at an angle of 40° off of the aircraft flight path that it marks. That antenna shows a significant sharp "null" that aligns with the antenna position and works pretty well as a direction finder as well as a noise cancelling aid for both the LW and MW bands. Maybe FUN for DXing... kind of like geo-caching with a LW receiver!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exactly two outstanding features on this radio: scanning and selectivity
*by R***R on November 17, 2014*

This is really a "3 star" radio, performance-wise. Considering price and the above strengths, it gains at least one star. It's doubtful you can do any better for $50. Before going on in detail, an important word about shortwave radios in North America. Signals are often only available an hour or two a day, and the signals are often weak. It's important to recognize what is possible and form realistic expectations of what -- and when -- you can hear programming from afar. A good analogy is listening to FM is like going to the store and buying a fish. It's just there waiting for you any time you want one. Listening to shortwave is more like learning when the best time is to fish, and being there at the right time and patiently waiting for the fish to bite. Sometimes you will go home empty-handed. Conditions can vary from day to day, even hour to hour. I listen to Radio Australia overnights on 9580 Khz and 11880 Khz in the mornings, and it's great. 4-7am local is the best time to hear lots of signals at my location on the west coast. Your best times may vary. Also, spending a lot more money on a shortwave receiver will not necessarily result in major improvements in reception, because often background noise is the biggest limitation to the ability to hear signals. In almost every case, a better antenna will do far more good than a better radio. OK, setting realistic expectations that shortwave is often a fishing game: There are exactly two outstanding characteristics of this radio, both due to its DSP Si4734 heart: 1) outstanding selectivity typical of a much more expensive radio, and 2) scanning performance you can't even find at any price in other radios. The second benefit is testament to a good implementation of the DSP's ability to report actual signal to noise ratio rather than just signal strength -- something relatively new to SWL radios. Then there are the shortcomings typical of a small and cheap radio: sound and volume are OK but not great, there's no room for a proper direct-entry keypad, and (probably my radio is proof of this) quality control may be lacking. I've been an SWL on and off for close to 30 years and have owned and used dozens of shortwave radios (Drake R8, Sony SW7600G, Grunding YB400, Sony SW7600G, and others). For this reason, I'm going to focus primarily on shortwave performance, secondarily on AM/BCB/MW performance, and only lightly on FM. (FM was disappointing.) Keep in mind that shortwave is a weak-signal game for many in the USA, as there are no stations inside the US worth listening to, and few international broadcasters "target" the US anymore, so the "salad days" of many booming signals carrying fascinating programming (and fascinating propaganda too!) are largely behind us. This means your best bet is using this for travel or catching regional signals or international signals generally meant to be received elsewhere -- thus having a good antenna and an electrically quiet listening location is very helpful to maximize your enjoyment of the hobby. However, that said, on the West Coast of US Asia/Pacific stations can often be quite strong from the wee hours onward. Some cool frequencies to try are 11880, 9580, 11725, 9595 || 3925, 5025, 5040, 6000. Also check out short-wave.info for further information! Pros: Sensitivity is good, selectivity is excellent, and sound is louder and less thin than you'd expect from such a small radio. There is no meaningful bass, however. The tuning features are frankly outstanding, with ETM being a stand-out as convenient for SW at different times of day, and for FM and AM when you travel. I instantly took a liking to this useful feature. The memory system also works well and there are more memories than I can imagine ever using. But what really stands out is its "best-in-class" scanning performance on shortwave (and AM). What's special is both manual and automatic scanning tend to find *actual broadcast signals* rather than continually stopping on noise peaks. Most shortwave radios (at any price) have great difficulty distinguishing between an actual signal and a local noise peak, and end up stopping on a lot of junk signals that amount to nothing more than being louder noise than the frequencies on either side. To be able to push the "ETM" button or "VF" and find actual, even quite weak signals in a couple minutes without finding tons of spurious junk is just astonishing to me and apparently takes advantage of capabilities of the Si4734 DSP chip -- being able to compute signal to noise ratio -- that simply aren't feasible with traditional squelch-driven scanning. Welcome to a new Jeopardy category: "things you can do in DSP for $3 you can't do with analog circuitry for any reasonable price, Alex". The supplied external antenna, taken outdoors, really helped boost marginal signals to good readability. I am surprised and impressed the radio showed no signs of overloading and almost no broadcast band breakthrough - just one spot on 3rd harmonic of nearby 50kW AM station was heard, and it was not very strong. Cheap radios often come to pieces when you put any sort of real antenna on them, so this is another pleasant surprise. Again, it won't win any awards for dynamic range, but it's better than many inexpensive radios I've tried. As an aside, the AM antenna jack appears to go to the same input as the SW whip does, so you CAN attach an external SWL antenna with a mono jack into the AM in. However, according to the drawing in my manual there is a low-pass filter between the whip and the IC input that you will be bypass by jacking into the AM socket, so overload may be more likely. Then again, it might be fine depending on the particulars, so I'd say experimenting is worthwhile. UPDATE: Connecting both ends of a 25 foot wire to the jack in a loop configuration caused TERRIBLE overloading. 36 spurious signals going all the way into the 7 Mhz region. So, a big antenna should not go on this radio through the AM jack. It's still OK for 25 feet of wire to the tip connector though. Cons: Cons are various and mostly minor to me. The tuning dial mutes. This is annoying as it destroys the fun of "tuning the dial" to discover new signals, because you have to step and stop constantly. Even the ancient Sony SW7600G can do this well (via holding the "slow tune" button down and disengaging the sync detector). Not sure if this is a shortcoming of the DSP chip or second-rate audio design. In "VF" mode, tuning can take a while as you can only move at two speeds: 1 Khz and 5 Khz per dial "click". That's a lot of"clicks" to go from one end of a band to the other, though you can jump between bands with the SW up and down arrows to help out. This problem is inherent to having no numeric keypad and follows from the radio's small size, so it's just a trade-off you make in an ultra-light radio. If Tecsun wants to make a more excellent radio, making the firmware detect when the dial is going above say 7 clicks per second, to go to a 100Khz step to speed across bands. That would make the radio a LOT nicer to use. :) The goofy outboard AM antenna on top did not appear to be significantly better than the built-in one. Swiveling the radio for maximum signal or mimimum noise on built-in, and moving the outboard antenna through 360 degrees in the horizontal plane, I could neither hear nor see on the S/N and signal meter any substantial difference between them. No idea if this is a manufacturing defect in mine, a problem with my test method, or it's just a cute gimmick. But I will be leaving mine at home because I'm not convinced it does anything very useful. That said, I could see doing some casual DXing on the AM band with this radio in either configuration. I deducted one star because of a potentially fatal fault for some. It would be a deal-killer if I bought the radio primarily for FM stereo listening. There is a weak but continuous high frequency hiss on the headphones even with a full-quieting FM signal with the volume cranked all the way to zero. It's dead quiet through the speaker but very noticeable on headphones. Turning the volume up high to mask it is not an option as I would like to preserve my hearing. :) I suspect this may be an example of poor quality control rather than a design defect. At least I hope so. Please feel free to comment if you have similar problems (or definitely don't.) I'd be happier to discover this isn't a "feature" of this design. So in summary: 1. Amazing value for money - five stars for value 2. Buy it if convenient tuning features and great scanning are important to you. These are winners. 3. Pretty decent shortwave - three stars (not considering price) 4. Audio is good - surprisingly so for its size and price. But see #5: 5. Headphone audio hiss - ignorable for AM and SWL, but this radio misses the target as the one travel radio to take everywhere if you can't enjoy FM stereo. Again hopefully this is a production defect and not a problem with all of these units. 6. External AM antenna seems to be more gimmick than useful from my testing. On the bright side, you CAN feed SWL wire to the tip connector and avoid "clip-on" so long as it's not too long a wire, so maybe Tecsun would do better to re-label the connector "external SWL" antenna and put the filter in line there. It would arguably be more useful. 7. It's a steal. Better to spend $50 or so and discover SWL is not for you than start with a high-end radio that can't do a lot more, and be out $250 or more. I think it's a great starter radio and also a good candidate to take on the road with you wherever you go.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tecsun PL-360
*by P***S on August 3, 2011*

I had some goals in mind when I purchased the Tecsun PL-360: I was looking for an easy to use, very portable, AM/FM/Shortwave radio for under a hundred dollars, that was not demanding on batteries and provided decent reception. So, here is what I found when the PL-360 went to work: The first thing I did with it, out of the box, was to scan the SW band with ETM. The Easy Tuning Mode button locates audible stations and then lets you flip through them with the tuning dial. This feature can be run at any time to update your location or add to the list with antenna changes. The Tecsun scanned the SW band indoors with just the whip antenna and locked onto 38 stations. 2300-21950khz continuous. Later, with the addition of an outdoor antenna, the PL-360 (during evening hours) using ETM, scanned and locked on to over 135 shortwave stations. Not bad and I felt that met my expectations for SW. I am not real fond of the clip-on antenna rigging. But, it will add to the ETM station count. ( Note: I got to my outdoor antenna by soldering a alligator clip to the bitter end of the supplied clip-on antenna wire. I am sure you are on your own when you do this since it is outside the design and not in the user guide.) When the PL-360 locks on it is discriminating and holds the station well. Little to no bleed over or fade beyond the nature of the band. AM/FM radio and features: Just fine & handy too. Stereo radio sound is surprisingly decent with my Skull Candy headphones. I also tried three other types of headsets; over ear and soft inserts with differing results. Basically, better phones improve sound. You get about what you would expect from the small onboard speaker. Features are easy to access. Faceplate buttons are small but snappy and clean with room to disallow "fat finger." There is not so much clutter that it is confusing. Noted in one review was the tuning knob as being crisp and solid with good indexing. I agree with that. The buttons support a "short press," and "long press" action to manipulate features. The little AM antenna that fixes to the body and makes it look like a TNT igniter is okay. In fact, it is directional. There is a signal strength indicator on the LCD and that responds clearly to movement of the bar antenna. Holding the radio in the left hand allows my wrap around fingers access to the tuning knob and volume knob. In the right hand the thumb is in charge. LCD Display and button markings are easy to read at arms reach as if holding a book. The LCD screen lights when buttons or knobs are moved and turns down with inactivity. Scan and memory features are handy. Very briefly: You scan using the VF button and the radio holds a station for a few seconds then moves on. You can use the tuning knob to stop the scan and fine tune. Also, there is an up and down button feature in the four button Band selector and Auto Tuning Storage section that makes gross moves from band to band while the LCD provides a quick band reference as you troll. The band you are on flashes for about two seconds. (It took me a while to catch this indication. Two seconds is kind of quick. So, you have to be looking for this.) So, if you like 31m, you just push the up or down button until 31m shows in the upper right corner of the LCD. You can then scroll through the band. A press of the memory button drives a station you like to one of the memory sets for later use by the VM button as a preset. The Alarm (wake up) mode is easy to use and set. The auto off timer has a surprisingly large selection of time choices. A blinking sleep icon flashes in the upper left corner of the LCD when setting this feature. Also, the LCD shows ambient temperature. This is listed in Fahrenheit when North American step settings are selected for AM. I did purchase NMH rechargeable batteries to use in the radio. The PL-360 needs to be told it has NMH batteries installed. I found the setup for this easy and the Intelligent Charging Feature handy. So far, the radio does not appear to be a power consumption hog. Overall, the PL-360 is a nice surprise. I feel the radio met all the goals I had in mind and provided some very nice extras that made it well worth the price paid. Also, the learning curve is not too bad and even the user guide is compact as well as straight forward.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Tecsun PL-360 Digital PLL Portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio with DSP, Black
- Sangean ANT-60 Short Wave Antenna
- Tecsun Universal AC/DC USB Adapter AD-800 for Kaito KA Series Radio & Tecsun PL Series Radios

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*Last updated: 2026-06-07*