CountyComm's GP5-SSB AM FM LW SW SSB Portable Radio Review

[@todderbert]

(paid links below) As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase. There are no additional costs to you. ▶ The CountyComm GP-5 at Ebay: bit.ly/CountyCommGP5 ▶ The Tecsun PL-365 at Ebay: bit.ly/TecsunPL365

[@Wavelength7mhz1]

I absolutely love this radio !!! I plug it into my 80 meter doublet ham antenna and yes the 3.5 mm jack works on sw as well !!! But for mw on my doublet antenna this is the only radio that disables the built in antenna so I don't pick up inside my house noises !!! This radio is incredible 👍🙂😃💯💯💯💯 !!! No direct entry no problem with all the memories plus the wonderful ETM it rocks !!!!!!!!!!

[@Phoenix_1982_MD]

Thanks for this video, I just ordered a 365 as an addition for my d808, really love the form factor and style. Greetings from Germany, stay safe and healthy!

[@va3vad]

I take my TECSUN PL-365 (same as the GP-5/SSB) to Cuba regularly. I can hear my ham buddies on SSB from Toronto Canada when I'm sitting on the beach. The Cuban border guards are not giving you a hard time, because it is a receiver only. I would recommend to get a CELL SAFE DX4 water resistant hard case for this radio to protect it from rain and sand. The case is made for phones and GPS receivers, but your radio fits in it perfectly.

[@todderbert]

Thanks for the heads up. I need to use this radio more often. I did have fun hooking up my Tecsun passive loop to it.

[@IchibanOyabun]

FYI CountyComm GP series radios come with a stainless steel antenna. More expensive than the chrome plated brass antennas. Something they specifically asked for when they had the radios made.

[@charleswendt4868]

Your external AM/LW antenna is a directional antenna, you rotate it for best signal reception.

[@gbriden566]

You can also plug a random long wire into the AM antenna port to improve your Shortwave reception just not to much or you will overload things. For me the plug in was better than antenna clip on wire.

[@todderbert]

Interesting, I thought it was tuned for a normal MW range.

[@marcosmza1962]

Is better for MW. In SW the signal seems to be atenuated. I have used the Tecsun PL-365 (similar to this) with long wires atacched to the whip in DXpeditions and no overloading at all.

[@todderbert]

Good information, thank you.

[@Steve_Farwalker]

EXCUSE ME! At 1:45 into the video at the T 6 quadrant, I see a speck of dust. PLEASE REMOVE!!!! 2:32 Ooops! YOU read my mind. Thank YOU!

[@chuckermatinger3794]

Thanks for this review, I'd been wondering how the sensitivity fares on all bands. Nice to see that the SW and FM performance are decent...MW not fantastic, but at least it's there and is adequate for strong signal listening. Decent audio for the size!

[@jbell5423]

I use this radio for walking the dog to the park. It allows me to tune into Ham nets while I escape the house RF noise. Good one for emergency situations too, and it doubles as a battery charger. Just plug a 5v solar panel (w USB) directly into the radio. Love it! Thanks, Todd. - Julia, KF8JBB

[@todderbert]

I saw your picture on twitter, very pretty backdrop :) The solar panel idea is golden.

[@knikk77]

How is the reception of the ssb nets on the whip, when you are out walking the dogs?

[@jbell7232]

It's impressive. I was pulling in a ham in Barcelona yesterday (from Ohio). The fact that this radio can be operated w one hand makes it ideal for long walks.

[@rickmcgarrah7111]

Great review, Todderbert! I just ordered one of these, and I am waiting to receive it. I wanted to buy the new Tecsun Pl-368, because it looks like they added a numeric keypad for direct entry! I just couldn't find any U.S sellers for that product and I had no ideahow much those miscellaneous fees would be to buy one from overseas. It seemed like a bit of a hassle, so I figured I would wait until the 368 becomes more available here in the states. Maybe I can see the Todderbert review before buying it. 🙂

[@todderbert]

The 368 is utilizing a BL-5C battery as its power source.

[@rickmcgarrah7111]

@@todderbert Thanks for the info! That kinda takes a little of the appeal off for me. I much prefer the 3 AA battery choice. That 225 hr. estimated run time is quite impressive!

[@gusdx3654]

@@todderbert yes, but 368 doesn’t drain the battery power when it is turned off. Basically, it is the new 330 circuits in a different form factor.

[@todderbert]

@@gusdx3654 The power draw to run the clock is very minimal, and have had it sit for months without draining the AAs.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

TECSUN PL-365

[@LandseerNorth]

I'm new to comms and am looking at getting this radio. Does the SSB receive CB SSB also? Thanks for this informative review.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

LandseerNorth YES. 1711 - 29999 kHz

[@GenkiBlast]

So I've been looking at a good home radio, survival radio and police scanner. What I have gathered Is that a lot of changes have been made when It comes to the radio waves and other technology. I wish to ask you since you have been in the game for some time and has a knowledge far greater than mine on this subject. What I would like to to know is what are some good choices based on what you know from what I am looking for at the start. Secondly, I really want to buy the Uniden Bearcat BC365CRS for my bedroom as It reminds me of the older model my grandfather had long ago. I have checked my local area for the radio frequencies and when It comes to police stations they have supposedly went digital and I am fully aware the Bearcat will not pick that up. I guess It's both a nostalgic and backup thing for me? Aside from that I'm just looking around at the moment and watching your videos for ideas and searching the web. I thank you for reading this and getting back to me when you can.

[@nor4277]

I don't u stand why no charging cable ,does your other one have it,and can you use regular battles too ?

[@winstonkennedy353]

Great review! Thank you.

[@joeym6730]

What rechargeable batteries are you using with this radio?

[@Vapourwear]

Add a USB output solar panel and use it to charge your AAs on the trail, maybe?

[@todderbert]

J Bell above you mentioned the exact same thing. You both are thinking the same, it's a wonderful idea.

[@georgekoroneos3892]

It really the G P 5 makes good impression I really enjoy it & the idea of the design it's not bad what is surprising me is its sound coming out of the tiny speaker which for talk is fair to me it's loss in my opinion is its failure to push & manipulate the base of its antenna to say to drive in all directions the whole 360 degree swing & one more thing that it has no back stand but even without these features it is very delight & clearly attractive & it worth the afford to own it .

[@prashantvernekar41]

I still confused!! Which one should I buy?!! Recently I found another radio"Tecsun PL-365" which has external MW Ferrite Antenna!! So I am actually buying Radio for MW reception, so can I get better MW reception than XHDATA D-808?! and can I get more MW stations at daytime?!! Please tell me which one you recommend PL-365 or D-808?!!

[@todderbert]

D-808 is the radio I would pick. The MW antenna is more robust, and you get many Bandwidth filters that the GP5/365 does not have.

[@charleswendt4868]

I also have the Tecsun PL-360 and the are different, the Tecsun do not have SSB.

[@fabiomallemont3596]

pl 368 have

[@tennoklark]

I have the Tecsun PL-365

[@ArndroidInc]

The shape of this radio and no direct entry keypad are s big negative for me. I wonder why this radio is the way it is. Needing to buy an additional stand.

[@todderbert]

Well you could use a roll of heavy tape. I just wanted to look cool on camera :)

[@hdofu]

the initial design it was contracted for a government organization that needed small lightweight communications recievers that covered shortwave longwave midwave and fm with support for single side band. Basically as cost effective as possible vs functionality in a small size.

[@hdofu]

They have a nice hockey puck now cut with a space for the radio and the ferrite antenna, to get arround a bit easier you can use band selection and tune to the band with the closest frequency you are looking for

[@maxmuster1150]

Really cool radio todd :-). Thanks for an other amazing review.

[@todderbert]

Your Welcome Tuto! Glad you like it. I'm into it.

[@johnmfl61]

Mine does not charge the NiMH batteries. I put it in charge mode, doesn't charge. I read it was suppose to run on USB power, but mine doesn't do that either. Any idea what's wrong?.

[@todderbert]

Faulty USB port.