I have a Tecsun H-501 , with instructions in Chinese, so I very much appreciate your instruction. When adjusting the band width, you may also turn the fine tuning knob to more quickly change the bandwidth. When the lock button is depressed after the radio is off, the radio will not come on and drain the battery inadvertently when the radio is in its case. Afterwards depress the lock button to unlock the on-off button and then turn the radio on.
I like my 501X, but I do have a few gripes. The volume dial should have been on the right-hand side (where the fine tune dial is) and the fine tune dial should have been where the volume dial is. The DX switch only works for AM/SW, not FM. ? Why Tecsun? Works on 990X, but not the most expensive Tecsun model. ? There should have been a manual, physical switch, to turn off the internal ferrite antenna vs holding down the "3" key. The 990X has this feature, so why not on the flagship 501X. The selectivity on FM is not that great! Oh, the radio is quite sensitive on FM, but not the best when it comes to strong adjacent signals. For you DXer's, expect a bit of co-channel interference if you live near FM radio towers. I have a few (San Jose, California), and get plenty of bleed over from the strong locals. Great review...
There are several reviews of this product available. However, I would like to commend you on the overall best one I have viewed. Succinct, jus enough detail without getting into areas of technical minutiae of little consequence to those of us “uninitiated”. Thank you Sir, top notch.
Another wonderful video that explained just about everything there is to know about the operation of this wonderful radio! I literally just received the Tecsun 501 in the mail today. I received the 501 not the 501X so, hopefully (?) mostly everything will be the same as is true with the radio you demonstrated in the video! I enjoy all of your videos; you do a wonderful job and you are a credit to our hobby! Thanks again and '73 from Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA!
when you really get down to using one of these radios, you will be in love, you will easily realize this is a great radio, it has so many uses, and it does it all with class, and high performance
Great video. Not many people put much effort into their radio videos. Usually low quality. Handheld camera (wobble) and don't show much. Thanks for your comprehensive video.
The reason for the FM default being in mono is likely a sensitivity issue. The radio will be slightly less sensitive in the FM Stereo mode although this is mostly based on how FM receivers were at one time. Tecsun is building an all out sensitive radio in a relatively compact package. Actually the manufacturer is being very respectful by allowing the user of the radio another choice. I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I am by this and other Tecsun & Sangean radios. This company seems interested in building a quality product leaving past big name manufacturers behind. Today Made in China is a label that represents extremes, both junk and high quality products. We should praise China for making some great radios.
Well, I've received a brand new H-501x, and straight away I have a problem. On switching on for the first time, the audio was very low indeed. After about 5 minutes, the radio sprang into life. Then while listening to the radio, the audio dropped out again. On picking it up, once more, the audio was restored. This problem persists, and a slight squeeze of the radio brings the audio back to life. My first H-501 had a similar problem, on that one, the right hand speaker kept cutting out, and a squeeze of the case was the temporary cure also. I dived into that radio and unplugged and reconnected a couple of the ribbon cables which cured the problem. So, two H-501s, both with faults. 100% failure. Not bad eh!! My advice would be, (if you can do without the audio player) to avoid this model and go for the Tecsun PL880. A solid little radio, with better solid sound quality and for around half of the price. Well, the company I purchased the radio from (Anon) have agreed to exchange it for a brand new one, and they will pay the shipping cost with Fedex. Can't say fairer than that.
Great radio. The Bluetooth on the bottom right button works really well. Great for sound from mobiles. Not quite up to top end tablet sound. Got China loud and clear with a wire aerial.
Perfect review! I love your nove low key approach and no boring unboxing! Just got one of these and I'm really impressed. Greetings from Pennsylvania, USA
I have seen in some reviews that the stand is rather fragile, and you can feel the fragility when you press any buttons without holding onto the radio with the other hand (which I see you do in the video).
Brilliant coverage from UK. Simple wire aerial got me China, Vatican, Romania, US Bible Belt, Kuwait, Reunion, India and weak Cuba. Helps I live on top of a hill in Weybridge. Great that the track FF buttons also skip from saved station to station.
Looks a great Radio, however RDS is an important feature and for some reason is not present on Tecson Radios. Sangean do have RDS on most of their range. Even some very cheap Chinese radios have RDS so why not Tecson? Its a deal breaker for me unfortunately. But great review Peter.
Great that the radio is stereo. It’s about time that they recognize that people want to listen to listen to FM in stereo. Can’t believe that they incorporated a micro SD card that can’t record the radio output. The other thing that is missing is the aircraft band.
When showing BT, its searching for a Bluetooth connection, nothing to do with the USB port. Once connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone the radio becomes a speaker/microphone device for the smartphone. The H501 has a built-in microphone and will allow you to answer phone calls. Also, will connect via Bluetooth to an iPod and will become an audio device for your mp3. The top silver button will cycle through the display options on short presses, long press locks the functions.
I'm enjoying my radio thus far. Have not used an external antenna yet. My supplied micro SD card was a 16GB Sandisk branded. mp3 file name of that nice piano piece was in a Far East character set.
Many thanks Peter. You can easily extend the antenna. Just get yourself about 25ft of wire and clip one end to the top of the whip antenna and throw the other end of wire out of a window. 73 Peter.
I've had trouble figuring out how to use the record feature. If I could get it to ,what should be the other folder that's not the test jingle?? And what's it's purpose really?? It would be nice if I could record from the radio itself. I did try doing all Line-In from another radio and tried to record that, with no success! If anyone can tell me how to do it and what's it's purpose that'd be much appreciated! This may be a dumb question. I'm not always one for studying manuals all too much so...Great Video btw! 73!
Does the local / normal / DX switch work on FM? Mine works on all bands, but FM. Not sure why mine does not work on FM. I wonder if everyone's 501X radio is like this. On my Tecsun 990X, this switch works great!!
“Sony receivers did work but not particularly well”……That’s a slap in the face of Sony, now isn’t it. To be exact, Sony receivers wipe the floor with Tecsuns, ANY Tecsun as a matter of fact. Back in the days Sony did a great job making world receivers available for the ordinary man. Granted, we must praise Tecsun for producing world receivers today. But any given Tecsun is no match for let’s say a Sony ICF-2001D/ICF-2010.
Hi Peter, I bought the Tecsun H-501x from you after watching your video review on it - excellent radio with great functionality, but you didn't mention that it suffers from distortion when listening to radio amateurs on SSB (my main area of interest)?? I'm not a tech kinda guy - when using the attenuator button set on 'DX' the distortion is present on strong signals, and esp when using a 15m long wire antenna placed around the ceiling in my bedroom - with the attenuator button on 'NORMAL' any weak signals get lost and there is no in-between setting? I also have a Radiolabs Sangean ATS-909X Clearmod receiver which is far more sensitive than the standard 909X version - but without any of the distortion and overload issues! I wonder whether TECSUN might issue a firmware update at some point which would fix this problem? Here's hoping, best regards - Carl
Very satisfied about the reception of the radio. But... I have to charge the batteries every day! Even after a day not using the radio, the batteries are very low power. This is dissapointing.
I have an H-501. I find it OK on short wave, and for playing back music from an SD card. However, when it comes to playing music from AM, FM broadcasts or Blue Tooth from my phone the sound quality is appalling! it sounds thin, gritty and warbles, and in fact, I just can't stand to listen to it. The radio also runs down the batteries in no time at all. There are two batteries in the radio, but it only runs on one at a time, the second battery can be switched in when the first battery runs down. It's really a good job that the secondary battery is there. So the radio is fine for short wave speech, but for music, forget it!
@@isaacmazique1530 Yes, the tone controls work fine, but no matter how I adjust them the audio is always very poor indeed, except for listening on short wave and from an SD card. Even using the line in feature, sound is still very warbley. The warble is always there no matter what tone settings or volume. This is by far the worst radio I've ever owned when it comes to sound quality!
No air band. Because Tecsun doesn't expect you to take a bigger radio to the airport. Take smaller radios like Radiwow 108 or XHDATA 109 for that purpose.
Hi Nigel. SSB and CW require exactly the same demodulation. The only difference is selectivity. That is why I mentioned the 500Hz filter bandwidth being the one for CW. However, it does not decode it into screen text. I hope that answers the question? 73s Peter
I have a Tecsun H-501 , with instructions in Chinese, so I very much appreciate your instruction. When adjusting the band width, you may also turn the fine tuning knob to more quickly change the bandwidth. When the lock button is depressed after the radio is off, the radio will not come on and drain the battery inadvertently when the radio is in its case. Afterwards depress the lock button to unlock the on-off button and then turn the radio on.
Hi Isaac, thanks for sharing that info. Take care. 73 Peter
Manual on the Web.
هل هناك فرق بين 501 و 501x ؟
I like my 501X, but I do have a few gripes.
The volume dial should have been on the right-hand side (where the fine tune dial is) and the fine tune dial should have been where the volume dial is.
The DX switch only works for AM/SW, not FM. ? Why Tecsun? Works on 990X, but not the most expensive Tecsun model. ?
There should have been a manual, physical switch, to turn off the internal ferrite antenna vs holding down the "3" key. The 990X has this feature, so why not on the flagship 501X.
The selectivity on FM is not that great! Oh, the radio is quite sensitive on FM, but not the best when it comes to strong adjacent signals. For you DXer's, expect a bit of co-channel interference if you live near FM radio towers. I have a few (San Jose, California), and get plenty of bleed over from the strong locals.
Great review...
There are several reviews of this product available. However, I would like to commend you on the overall best one I have viewed. Succinct, jus enough detail without getting into areas of technical minutiae of little consequence to those of us “uninitiated”. Thank you Sir, top notch.
Many thanks. Peter
Another wonderful video that explained just about everything there is to know about the operation of this wonderful radio! I literally just received the Tecsun 501 in the mail today. I received the 501 not the 501X so, hopefully (?) mostly everything will be the same as is true with the radio you demonstrated in the video! I enjoy all of your videos; you do a wonderful job and you are a credit to our hobby! Thanks again and '73 from Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA!
when you really get down to using one of these radios, you will be in love, you will easily realize this is a great radio, it has so many uses, and it does it all with class, and high performance
Possibly one of the best channels focusing on radios.
Great video. Not many people put much effort into their radio videos. Usually low quality. Handheld camera (wobble) and don't show much. Thanks for your comprehensive video.
I have a couple of Tecsun receivers , the H 501x looks like a nice bit of kit . Time for an upgrade i think .
The reason for the FM default being in mono is likely a sensitivity issue. The radio will be slightly less sensitive in the FM Stereo mode although this is mostly based on how FM receivers were at one time. Tecsun is building an all out sensitive radio in a relatively compact package. Actually the manufacturer is being very respectful by allowing the user of the radio another choice. I cannot say strongly enough how impressed I am by this and other Tecsun & Sangean radios. This company seems interested in building a quality product leaving past big name manufacturers behind. Today Made in China is a label that represents extremes, both junk and high quality products. We should praise China for making some great radios.
Well, I've received a brand new H-501x, and straight away I have a problem. On switching on for the first time, the audio was very low indeed. After about 5 minutes, the radio sprang into life. Then while listening to the radio, the audio dropped out again. On picking it up, once more, the audio was restored. This problem persists, and a slight squeeze of the radio brings the audio back to life.
My first H-501 had a similar problem, on that one, the right hand speaker kept cutting out, and a squeeze of the case was the temporary cure also. I dived into that radio and unplugged and reconnected a couple of the ribbon cables which cured the problem. So, two H-501s, both with faults. 100% failure. Not bad eh!!
My advice would be, (if you can do without the audio player) to avoid this model and go for the Tecsun PL880. A solid little radio, with better solid sound quality and for around half of the price.
Well, the company I purchased the radio from (Anon) have agreed to exchange it for a brand new one, and they will pay the shipping cost with Fedex. Can't say fairer than that.
Hi Ken, sorry to hear abiut that oroblem. Not sure where you are located but glad it is being sorted. 73 Peter.
There are hidden functions aviable. Press the number button 3 for seconds and you can switch to the telescopic antenna on am.
Great radio. The Bluetooth on the bottom right button works really well. Great for sound from mobiles. Not quite up to top end tablet sound. Got China loud and clear with a wire aerial.
Perfect review! I love your nove low key approach and no boring unboxing! Just got one of these and I'm really impressed. Greetings from Pennsylvania, USA
Went down to Portsmouth last Monday to purchase one of these, must say I love it, easy to use and the sound is great. Cheers Pete
I have seen in some reviews that the stand is rather fragile, and you can feel the fragility when you press any buttons without holding onto the radio with the other hand (which I see you do in the video).
The Tecsun H501x is certainly a wonderful radio with all its features and stereo sound. Thanks for your wonderful review. 👍
Brilliant coverage from UK. Simple wire aerial got me China, Vatican, Romania, US Bible Belt, Kuwait, Reunion, India and weak Cuba. Helps I live on top of a hill in Weybridge. Great that the track FF buttons also skip from saved station to station.
Sounds great Mark. And conditions will get better for tge coming year. 73 Peter.
Looks a great Radio, however RDS is an important feature and for some reason is not present on Tecson Radios. Sangean do have RDS on most of their range. Even some very cheap Chinese radios have RDS so why not Tecson? Its a deal breaker for me unfortunately. But great review Peter.
Ah well, maybe Tecsun will read your comment . 73 Petr
Just for your information, the radio has 4 speakers, 2 each side. i own this receiver and it is an excellent all rounder with great audio quality.
Thanks for the info! 73 Peter
Yes 4 speakes, 2 on each side. One full range and one for better vocal and treble. The great radio and music player.
Great that the radio is stereo. It’s about time that they recognize that people want to listen to listen to FM in stereo. Can’t believe that they incorporated a micro SD card that can’t record the radio output. The other thing that is missing is the aircraft band.
Thanks for watching. 73 Perer
Thank you, an excellent review. Much appreciated.
When showing BT, its searching for a Bluetooth connection, nothing to do with the USB port. Once connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone the radio becomes a speaker/microphone device for the smartphone. The H501 has a built-in microphone and will allow you to answer phone calls. Also, will connect via Bluetooth to an iPod and will become an audio device for your mp3. The top silver button will cycle through the display options on short presses, long press locks the functions.
This is a superb review. Convinced me, I'm getting one. Stuart Coates from Canada
Tnx you for taking the time to make and post this excellent video... One of the best review of the Tecsun H501x...
Glad you liked it! 73 Peter
Always a delight to watch and listen. Best regards, KC2EEB
Many thanks Patrick. 73 Peter
Thank you for an excellent review Sir.
Thank you for this pleasant and informative exposé! I am considering buying a 501x and enjoyed your video.
Glad it was helpful!
I'm enjoying my radio thus far. Have not used an external antenna yet. My supplied micro SD card was a 16GB Sandisk branded. mp3 file name of that nice piano piece was in a Far East character set.
Many thanks Peter. You can easily extend the antenna. Just get yourself about 25ft of wire and clip one end to the top of the whip antenna and throw the other end of wire out of a window. 73 Peter.
It is so sad that this receiver doesn't have RDS feature. Can I use it to listen to BBC at 198 kHz?
I've had trouble figuring out how to use the record feature. If I could get it to ,what should be the other folder that's not the test jingle?? And what's it's purpose really?? It would be nice if I could record from the radio itself. I did try doing all Line-In from another radio and tried to record that, with no success! If anyone can tell me how to do it and what's it's purpose that'd be much appreciated! This may be a dumb question. I'm not always one for studying manuals all too much so...Great Video btw! 73!
I'd like a job in ham radio but I'm in the US. The commute each day would be a bit too much.
I suppose you could move house! Thanks for watching. 73 Peter.
You don’t want to DX FM in stereo hence the switchable mono/stereo button.
Does the local / normal / DX switch work on FM?
Mine works on all bands, but FM.
Not sure why mine does not work on FM. I wonder if everyone's 501X radio is like this.
On my Tecsun 990X, this switch works great!!
Many thanks.
Thanks for your time -great video
My pleasure! 73 Peter
Do the settings stay in place if you replace the batteries, and can you power the radio via the USB port alone? Thanks for the video.
As far as I could ascertain the settings remain short term. Yes you can run it via USB. 73 Peter.
“Sony receivers did work but not particularly well”……That’s a slap in the face of Sony, now isn’t it. To be exact, Sony receivers wipe the floor with Tecsuns, ANY Tecsun as a matter of fact. Back in the days Sony did a great job making world receivers available for the ordinary man. Granted, we must praise Tecsun for producing world receivers today. But any given Tecsun is no match for let’s say a Sony ICF-2001D/ICF-2010.
Mine never worked, had to send back. Hope it was a 1 off problem
Hey audio test player???
Good info. What is the difference between H- 501X and H- 501? Thanks.
Many thanks. 73 Peter.
@@watersstanton lol, great answer. 😢
Hi Peter, I bought the Tecsun H-501x from you after watching your video review on it - excellent radio with great functionality, but you didn't mention that it suffers from distortion when listening to radio amateurs on SSB (my main area of interest)?? I'm not a tech kinda guy - when using the attenuator button set on 'DX' the distortion is present on strong signals, and esp when using a 15m long wire antenna placed around the ceiling in my bedroom - with the attenuator button on 'NORMAL' any weak signals get lost and there is no in-between setting? I also have a Radiolabs Sangean ATS-909X Clearmod receiver which is far more sensitive than the standard 909X version - but without any of the distortion and overload issues! I wonder whether TECSUN might issue a firmware update at some point which would fix this problem? Here's hoping, best regards - Carl
Sorry you have this problem. Speak with one of our tech guys in Portsmouthi73 Peter.
Nice review! At minute 8 you're receiving 17m hamradio band, did you receive indoor only with own antenna, without an external one? Many Thanks, 73!
All reception was indoors with the whip. 73s Peter
@@watersstanton wow amazing reception! 73, Nicola
Hello. In your opinion, which is the best in quality and best sensitivity? The Tecsun S2000 or this H501? I don't know which one to buy. Thanks.
There really is no diffference so don't let tha influence your choice.
Very satisfied about the reception of the radio. But... I have to charge the batteries every day! Even after a day not using the radio, the batteries are very low power. This is dissapointing.
I have an H-501. I find it OK on short wave, and for playing back music from an SD card. However, when it comes to playing music from AM, FM broadcasts or Blue Tooth from my phone the sound quality is appalling! it sounds thin, gritty and warbles, and in fact, I just can't stand to listen to it. The radio also runs down the batteries in no time at all. There are two batteries in the radio, but it only runs on one at a time, the second battery can be switched in when the first battery runs down. It's really a good job that the secondary battery is there.
So the radio is fine for short wave speech, but for music, forget it!
Many thanks for the information. 73 Peter
@@watersstanton I just wonder if others find the same thing, or do I own the first Turkey before Christmas?
On my Tecsun H-501, I have found the sound to very good and the bass and treble controls to be very effective when listening to short wave or FM.
@@isaacmazique1530 Yes, the tone controls work fine, but no matter how I adjust them the audio is always very poor indeed, except for listening on short wave and from an SD card. Even using the line in feature, sound is still very warbley. The warble is always there no matter what tone settings or volume. This is by far the worst radio I've ever owned when it comes to sound quality!
@@kenharvey9714 I think that perhaps you have a lemon.
Thank you
Byłoby miło, gdyby autor kanału, dodał tłumaczenie automatyczne na:
język polski 😉
Какой у него dsp чип? На h501
Difference between the h-501 vs h-501x?
X is the export model and will have English manual
Watersstanton your TCSUN H, 50,lX Digital World Band RECEIVER IS COOL
Thanks
no air band ??
No air band. Because Tecsun doesn't expect you to take a bigger radio to the airport. Take smaller radios like Radiwow 108 or XHDATA 109 for that purpose.
No Aircraft Band...
A flagship radio that does not include the aircraft bands?....hmmmm
Drradful battery life . Hardly last a day . Works well but battery problem ruins it for me . Spends more time on charge than being used .
Mine lasts much longer than that
_Too bad there is no RDS on the FM band._
it's 2021.
whers scope?
It’s not SDR!
Looks interesting, also to work with you folks! Mike G4CXX/VE8YI
Stereo with headphones?
Very interesting review Peter however a very brief mention of CW, does it actually receive CW. 73 Nigel G0IIK
Hi Nigel. SSB and CW require exactly the same demodulation. The only difference is selectivity. That is why I mentioned the 500Hz filter bandwidth being the one for CW. However, it does not decode it into screen text. I hope that answers the question? 73s Peter
@@watersstanton Thank you for that Peter, that sounds good, as for decoding, didn't expect that, for a ham that would be cheating! 73 Nigel