The LC90 is an incredible piece of technology packed into a very small package – NOT pocket sized ( not really cargo pocket even ) – BUT – it is way up high on the cool scale.
For it’s size – it packs performance way above it’s “weight” class . . .
I am not quite as enamored with it as Eric at Farpoint Farms is with his review – I wonder if he took a shower after his review – LOL! – but I admit I am impressed with the LC90.
Is the LC90 “The Perfect Radio” as Eric claims? – SPOILER ALERT! – the “perfect” radio DOES NOT exist – sorry to pop your bubble by the way.
Dan(?) at the OfficialSWLchannel is quite critical of the radio concerning shortwave performance – go dig through his videos and see what issues he runs into – and how the manufacturer steps up with a new update to address the issues – really impressive on Choyong’s part . . .
I updated mine to 4.2 when I got it – the biggest hurdle for me was wrapping my head around the fact that you have to use a micro SD card to update it – the update downloads to the card – then it installs from the card to the radio – and the SD card has to be 32 gig or smaller as the processor in the radio won’t address any card bigger than that.
I tried AM/FM/Shortwave briefly – I am setting up to put the Sangean ats-909×2 through the wringer – and that is eating up a lot of time.
And then I tried the internet radio – I’m all in as far as the internet radio thing goes – I am a fan of “Reggae” music and I’m stuck on Jamaica – will The Bruce ever get to the SWL side of it? – of course I will . . .
. . . part of what I’m doing now is logging all the “stuff” I’m getting on the SDR and then going to see how much I can get on the 909 – it is in front of the Choyong in the queue after all! – and get to a consistent as possible standardized “test” that I can compare ( as close as possible ) one radio versus the other – same antenna / same freqs / same time of day – trying to keep it apples to apples and/or oranges to oranges as close as I can . . .
And to answer a question in a more public forum the the Amazon answers thing – Yes the Choyong HAS ssb capability BUT YOU must upgrade the software/firmware to utilize it!
And the way you do it is actually easy . . .
Start with the radio off – insert micro SD card in the TF slot on the bottom of the radio – must be 32 gig or smaller – turn the radio on – go to settings – scroll down to update – and tell it to do it’s thing – it takes 3 to 5 minutes and works like a champ – I updated mine to 4.2 when I got it and and the update enabled ssb function. Dan @ OfficialSWLchannel had quite an issue with “birdies” while tuning shortwave – All I have done so far with shortwave is listening a little bit to hams on the 40 meter band and W.W.V. – more a simple function test than anything else.
The manufacturer has already released update 4.5 which pretty much solved the “birdies” – the only thing I can think of is with the latest update they are powering certain components in the radio so they don’t interfere with each other and create “harmonics” or the more common name “birdies” – which is way cool if you think about it . . .
Just won’t quite fit in a cargo pocket – and yes my 8 plus years old Riggs work pants are done when they come off tonight – they put up with Hell while I was working – and I use this particular pair for crap stuff – lawn mowing – working on the deck – and they are starting to come apart when washed so it’s time to wave bye bye to them – and they are fitting so well and are so comfortable at this point – LOL! . . .
So back to the Choyong – worth the money?? At $250 on the Zon (Amazon) – NOT a cheap date by any stretch – sound quality is most excellent – that’s why all the controls and ports are located on the right side of the radio – to preserve the sound qualities of the speaker “box” . . .
And the design effort paid off – small radio – good sound quality – the fact that it was designed to address issues and able to add functionality to the radio through updates is a big plus – once you wrap your head around the menu/control system it manipulates through functions fairly easy – the more I use it, the easier it becomes to use it – the AM/Fm/SWL functional use for me remains to be seen – it works in those modes but I simply don’t have time to drive to 10 miles west of WheretheHellamI?, South Dakota and get away from the interference blob of the city to really stretch it out – but hopefully I will get time here shortly to plug my MLA30+ into it ( and the 909 ) and see just what it will do in a somewhat urban setting with an amplified loop – and as far as the internet radio mode? – I’m all in on it – Oh Hell Yes!
So Bruce – – Should I??
If you are a Tech Geek kind of person – or a radio kind of a freak/geek person? – and can take a deep enough breath to get past the price of admission – Yep – Buy it! It is a rather unique blend of functions – great sound – and I don’t believe anyone has done this before – AM/FM/SWL/Internet Radio – and the 5 star support from Choyong is icing on the cake.
I really don’t have time to post more about this at this point – I’m way behind the curve for the day now . . .
Have Fun! – Run the Gun! – and remember – Fish Heads are Cheap!!
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