Like the Grundig S350DL, Its Smaller Tecsun BCL-2000 Seems Best for Outdoors

 

Addressing my post about how my Grundig S350DL had less background noise outdoors than indoors, Ken writes:

I've had a Tecsun BCL2000 (i.e. the smaller older version of the S350DL) since 2003 and it's been my outdoor radio all that time. It's actually one of my favorite radios. It's loud enough to be heard outdoors when working in the yard, and it's my "listen to the ballgame outside with a beer on warm summer nights" radio. The sound is very pleasant both on AM and FM (hardly ever listen to SW any more).

In fact, in a few minutes I will be listening to the Giants football game on it while I do some end-of-season yard work.

Plus, it's surprisingly good on DX too, I've gotten some good catches sitting outside with the radio around summer sunset.

I don't really mind the drift that everybody complains about on this model. So for the first 1/2 hour I might have to adjust the dial once or twice. Big Deal.

Oh, and even with heavy summer use and moderate to light use the rest of the year I get two years per set of batteries.

Did I say I like this radio very much?

 

Comments

[Steve]

A few months ago I purchased a S350DL from my local Radio Shack for the $100 street price.

I didn't have good luck with the first one. The tuning mechanism failed after just a few weeks; it would tune up when you tried to go down, and vice versa. I had been using it a lot, but was gentle with it. Fortunately I was still well within the return period and took it back for a replacement.

That was some months ago, and radio #2 is still doing well. I am still very gentle with the tuning knob, though...let's face it, these things aren't exactly built like tanks.

As far as performance, I use mine mostly indoors, and it does reasonably well. There are serious imaging problems on the shortwave bands, with some frequencies bleeding into other ones. It's tolerable though, and the sensitivity is quite good for a $100 radio (I managed to pick up, in the middle of the afternoon, a broadcast of Koran readings from Saudi Arabia that was aimed at western Europe...this little sucker really can DX!) AM is very good; I'm in Tampa and can get nighttime broadcasts from as far away as Nashville, Cincinnati, and Chicago. FM is good as well, althouh I have experienced imaging on this band as well.

I wish Grundig/Eton would fix the imaging problems, slap sturdier knobs on it, and re-market it. I know I'd be willing to pay more for an upgraded version. As much as I like to radio (it looks great), the flimsy tuning knob bugs me.

Nice website, by the way!