New Tecsun PL-660 First Impressions

[ditto1958]

My long-awaited third portable SW radio has arrived at last. A new Tecsun PL-660. I didn’t have much time to spend with it last night, so not a review, but just first impressions:

1. Too big and heavy (for my purposes)
2. Looks and feels old- like my boom box from 2000
3. Not worth the $118 I paid for it
4. Sound from speaker is “meh”- disappointing for a radio its size
5. Easy to set up and get it running
6. Good manual written in good English
7. Nice box and accessories- carry pouch, earbuds, wire antenna, charger
8. Seems well made, dials and buttons feel good
9. Some weak-ish AM stations came in strong
10. Does not seem super sensitive on SW

I think this is a good radio, and I expect that I will end up liking it for what it is. My strongest reaction- size and weight- is a personal thing. When I got my first two radios, XHData D-109WB and Qodosen DX-286, I was surprised at how small they are, but I soon found they are perfect for my use.

This radio adds things I haven’t had until now- SSB, sync and airband I’m looking forward to learning to use them.

I will do an actual review once I’ve had some time to use the radio. Oh, and kudos to Anon-Co.- radio came fast and undamaged.

 

[T680]

I'd like to hear what you can listen to on that than you can on your other radios after you've had it for a while and gotten used to it. In some ways I'm not too far behind you. Waiting for a new radio that does something different than the current models do makes sense in a way and I do have a couple to listen to now but.......

 

[ditto1958]

I'd like to hear what you can listen to on that than you can on your other radios after you've had it for a while and gotten used to it. In some ways I'm not too far behind you. Waiting for a new radio that does something different than the current models do makes sense in a way and I do have a couple to listen to now but.......

I’m gonna post a real review after I‘ve used it for a couple of weeks. As for SW performance, I suspect the Tecsun will end up having similar sensitivity to my two DSP radios. My XHData and Qodosen pretty much either hear a signal or they don’t. Each has a couple of ways that real radio guys probably chuckle at to hear a signal better, but the PL-660 has SSB and sync. And both of those actually work on the PL-660. That helps tune in some signals that are next to other strong ones.