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There is a following for these radios on Yahoo and experiences vary due to spotty qc. Yes, cheap, yes flawed, yes why would anyone shell out the money? The DL fixed or reduced some of the issues of the non-DL but introduced an AFC lock that can be challenging.
I was lucky with my first DL that I've named red as that is the color. Bought off eBay when they were in the stores for CDN$199 for the DL. Did not have most of the issues reported by others. Held my breath and left it on for 24/7 almost continually from when I got it to see what would happen and it simpply got better. Drift is non-existent unless I turn it off for some time and then on and then only by a KC or so and for about an hour. Sensitivity is very good and I'm having fun with both AM Dx'ing and reintroduced after just under 50 year to short wave listening that is very good. Drift is minimal and less than the other analog sw portable I have.
The unit is worth the price just for the am and fm tuners. The fm has stereo line outputs as through the headphone and works well, as good as some of the vintage receivers. I've got it plugged into the Sony receiver in the bedroom.
Case feels fragile and will not take the impacts of same my candle so it is portable but not for everyday outdoor use unless you really are careful. The Candle feels like you could drop it and it would sustain no damage.
Recently The Source here reduced the price to CDN$69 on sale. Looks like they are reducing inventory to drop the model so decided to pick up a 2nd for the office. The office is an interior space in a building with 12 floors housing IBM and 2 servers systems within a short distance from me. It is the 1st radio I'd had there that will pickup the local am stations and does so well enough that I can listen to them.
The silver unit has more drift than red but it is only a week or so old and I'm not buring it in. Neither has backlash that is noticable in tuning. The flywheel action on silver feels better than on red but also the mechanism feels looser but not as bad I noticed on some others. Other contols and switches on mine are flimsy feeling but are positive in switching. The RF gain on each works while I can not hear any difference with the filter. Bandwidth control is really a vernier with a different turns ratio and not a true bandwidth but does okay and better than many radios with nothing.
A couple of things are then ac adaptor, wonder if they have any filtering in them. A good level of hum comes through. Both adators have the same level and I'm thinking of getting a better unit. There is no terminal for an external am antenna, wish there was as I'd like to do more AM DX'ing. The internal antenna is pretty good and I'm getting acros the US and into Florida without trying hard. The FM/SW whip is LONG and very good as is but, I've run a 15' within the house and pick up a bit more with it. Am considering a longwie outside.
A couple of days ago I picking up a Hallicrafters S120 (HR500 version) and with the antenna is as good as the DLs on sw but the DLs eat it up on am and of course there is no FM. If you want backlash, try one. Drift is okay but it makes one remember the youth of riding the bandwidth and volume controls to keep a station. It is a tube unit with a typical 4" speaker. But, those 5 scales, the tinny sound through the speaker and the sound from the high impedence earphones that came with it has a sound that has life in it not like the sound from a modern unit that is better but does not harken back to the days of youth. I can not wait until I hear an old time radio program through it.
The 350 is not a radio I'd buy off eBay, though I was lucky with mine. There is a person also who is replacing filters to make then more of a DX'er and/or to increase the audio quality and the price is very reasonable. I'm thinking of sending each in to him to make one of each, 1 for DX'ing and 1 for better audio. I'd also like to have had an aux. input.
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