Tecsun PL-990x

tecsun.com.cn

The top portable in the Tecsun line. It covers FM from 64 MHz, longwave, mediumwave and shortwave up to 29999 kHz, with USB and LSB sideband and 10 Hz fine tuning. The AM side runs an analogue high IF circuit with triple conversion, so a strong station next door does not smear over the weak one you are digging for. There are 3150 memory slots and a microSD slot, so the set doubles as an audio player. Street price sits near 300 dollars.

Good choice for a listener who wants one box for every band and no computer on the table. It is heavy for a coat pocket, so it lives in a bag or on a shelf. The whip does its job, but a wire thrown out of the window changes the picture completely. The menu takes an evening of poking before it feels natural.