March 13 marked the fifth anniversary since I got this radio, and have used it almost every day when I need a good portable either in the house or around town. I use it probably more on FM than SW, and don`t use it much for MW. Only rarely plug in an external antenna.
The following problems have developed, not necessarily in order as I did not keep a record:
telescopic whip antenna mounting loose, won`t stay in any position (this seems to happen with all my portables sooner or later). But despite tiny top stem, have managed not to break it and only slightly bend it. Has been extended and collapsed countless times.
main tuning knob goes haywire both on FM and SW: can`t step up or down reliably, jumps all over the place. This is the major annoyance. Can it be fixed? Once I have a frequency, better lock it in. Fine tuning however is still OK, but too slow unless needed.
sensitivity level jumps down and up on some frequencies
some buttons hard to engage, but no failures yet
zipper pouch fraying but still usable
speaker grill is unsightly from body oil handling, no doubt
clock gains, very gradually
NOT a problem, however is the Lithium Ion battery, After five years, the original is still recharging very reliably. For quite a while it seems I had not been fully charging it for several hours, but when I do it lasts much longer. No way to tell when charging is complete. Or wait --- maybe there is: just left it in even longer and discovered it no longer flashes CHG, so maybe that mean it`s full.
Is there a risk of overcharging? Would be convenient to do it while I am out, or overnight, but should I be concerned about fire hazard with this one? Never noticed any sign of over-heating.
Barely visible on the radio case is 18650 battery designation, but the one that came with it does not bear that number at all; instead: ``TECSUN Li-Ion Battery/Akkumulator 3.7V 2.0Ah 7.4Wh Lot 2013-10`` and do-not-throw-in-trash icon. So is it really the same thing? O, partly legible, case adds ``Be sure to replace with indicated battery --algo--``. I read somewhere that this battery is easily accessible when needed at Walmart, etc. (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
