The Tecsun PL-380's New Long Stick

Some will know that I recently purchased a Tecsun PL-380 to bring along for a trip to East Africa in February. Following Gary DeBocks advice, I bought ferrite rods from Amidon and Litz wire from Ebay, and started to "roll my own" as it were, this afternoon. 81 rounds of Litz wire was what Gary recommended in his write-up, and 81 rounds I did.

Removing the stock ferrite rod inside the PL-380 was done in five minutes, with the help of a small flat screwdriver and a bit of patience (and possibly luck, since I didn't break anything), as it was fastened with two blobs with glue.

The new ferrite will necessarily have to be an external one. The photo shows a somewhat makeshift solution as I probably need to secure the wires to prevent stress on the solder joints.

Anyway, the results were rather surprising. I went outdoor to get away from all the in-house noise sources, and reception was clear and strong on all MW frequencies. It is impossible, and of course unfair, to compare it with a Winradio G33DDC connected to a 500 meter long beverage, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised with what it had to offer.

It will be interesting to see what I hear on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, not to mention  on the north coast of Zanzibar!