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.

 

[ka3jjz]

Just remember that HF performance will be different from day to day due to the active sun. Keeping an eye on sites like Spaceweather (which does a good job of alerting when flares happen) will give you an eyeball on this

Mike

 

[ditto1958]

Just remember that HF performance will be different from day to day due to the active sun. Keeping an eye on sites like Spaceweather (which does a good job of alerting when flares happen) will give you an eyeball on this

Mike

Yes, excellent advice. Things must have been favorable here at about 0730 CDT, as I did some SW scanning and caught way more than the usual number of Chinese stations.

 

[prima19rider]

Size and performance I think the Tecsun PL 330 is really good. The tuning and Volume dials could be better, if they matched the knobs on my H501 or the pl990 it would be perfect for me.

 

[ditto1958]

ADDITIONAL EARLY IMPRESSIONS:

-Once you get accustomed to how big it is, this is actually a really nice receiver.*
-The SSB sync feature actually works
-I like the analog tuning knob a lot
-ATS scans pick up far fewer signals than my Qodosen and XHData radios. Is there some way to adjust the threshold?
-SW sensitivity is a tie with the XHData D-109WB for second place behind the Qodosen DX-286. So, pretty darn good, actually, considering how sensitive the DX-286 is.
-Sound: I am still underwhelmed. I’m not saying it’s bad, because it‘s not. It’s just not as good as it should be for a radio its size and for the price point of the radio.
-But… wait, there‘s more! Yes, I know I just said the sound should be better, but nonetheless, this is a “listening” radio, much more so than my other two much smaller models. I’m finding the PL-660 is the one I turn on if I’m gonna listen to a sports event or some other particular radio show that I enjoy.
-The controls- dials, switches and buttons all seem to work well.

 

[Boombox]

ADDITIONAL EARLY IMPRESSIONS:

-Once you get accustomed to how big it is, this is actually a really nice receiver.*
-The SSB sync feature actually works
-I like the analog tuning knob a lot
-ATS scans pick up far fewer signals than my Qodosen and XHData radios. Is there some way to adjust the threshold?
-SW sensitivity is a tie with the XHData D-109WB for second place behind the Qodosen DX-286. So, pretty darn good, actually, considering how sensitive the DX-286 is.
-Sound: I am still underwhelmed. I’m not saying it’s bad, because it‘s not. It’s just not as good as it should be for a radio its size and for the price point of the radio.
-But… wait, there‘s more! Yes, I know I just said the sound should be better, but nonetheless, this is a “listening” radio, much more so than my other two much smaller models. I’m finding the PL-660 is the one I turn on if I’m gonna listen to a sports event or some other particular radio show that I enjoy.
-The controls- dials, switches and buttons all seem to work well.

How does it sound through headphones. Speakers can always vary, but sometimes headphone sound is preferable for SWBC and MW.

 

[ditto1958]

How does it sound through headphones. Speakers can always vary, but sometimes headphone sound is preferable for SWBC and MW.

I think it sounds just fine. Very similar to my other two radios. Although i really need to get some better earbuds.

 

[Boombox]

I think it sounds just fine. Very similar to my other two radios. Although i really need to get some better earbuds.

Try a set of $25 Sony headphones. They're really good. I find them to be much better than any earbuds.

 

[T680]

What have you been able to pick up that you haven't with the other radios?

 

[ditto1958]

Of the three radios I use, they all tend to be able to get the same signals. Possibly the Qodosen has gotten a few that the PL-660 and D-109WB could not, but those are rare. I can‘t recall if I’ve ever found any signals on the PL-660 or D-109WB that the Qodosen could not get. But at least 90% of the time all three get the signals. The quality of the reception varies, though, so on one signal the PL-660 might tune it best, but on the next one it might come in last.

 

[T680]

Of the three radios I use, they all tend to be able to get the same signals. Possibly the Qodosen has gotten a few that the PL-660 and D-109WB could not, but those are rare. I can‘t recall if I’ve ever found any signals on the PL-660 or D-109WB that the Qodosen could not get. But at least 90% of the time all three get the signals. The quality of the reception varies, though, so on one signal the PL-660 might tune it best, but on the next one it might come in last.

Is there anything you've heard using SSB that's interesting? That's what I think would be interesting, it's the unknown aspect that makes it so intriguing.

 

[ditto1958]

Is there anything you've heard using SSB that's interesting? That's what I think would be interesting, it's the unknown aspect that makes it so intriguing.

Actually, no. While it may very well be interesting, I haven‘t tried it. Come to think of it, haven’t tried air band either.

 

[T680]

SSB is the thing that would make me want to buy another radio. Airband doesn't sound very interesting, LW has been dead for years and I can listen to scanner traffic on my phone. But SSB still offers the hope of finding something different and appealing, bringing back the sense of wonder I had in the early 70's when I first discovered short wave listening.

 

[ditto1958]

SSB is the thing that would make me want to buy another radio. Airband doesn't sound very interesting, LW has been dead for years and I can listen to scanner traffic on my phone. But SSB still offers the hope of finding something different and appealing, bringing back the sense of wonder I had in the early 70's when I first discovered short wave listening.

I wish I could be more helpful, but I can say that all the reviews I’ve read and watched for both the PL-660 and PL-680 almost unanimously agree that the SSB and sync both work well on both radios.

 

[T680]

I wish I could be more helpful, but I can say that all the reviews I’ve read and watched for both the PL-660 and PL-680 almost unanimously agree that the SSB and sync both work well on both radios.

No worries, I'm going to wait before buying anything else. I've got what I need to listen to now

 

[Blackswan73]

Most all of the SW pirates are found on SSB, as well as Hams, ship to shore and military aircraft. Also many countries use SW much the same way that MW and FM is used in the US and Canada. Since many countries don’t have bunches of local radio stations, people get local news and info, as well as entertainment, via shortwave. These broadcasts are usually low powered and in the local language

B.S.

 

[Boombox]

The only SSB tuning I do is the HF ham bands, which sometimes are fun to tune to, especially if propagation is good. I've heard South African hams on 40 Meters SSB, and EU and some Asian hams on 20M and 40M on both SSB and CW. It just adds a new angle to DXing. Some SWLs hunt down the military transmissions and the like, but I haven't done that since the early 1990s. But there is a lot out there that's SSB decodable, a lot of it more sporadic in nature than SWBC, but that's also part of what makes it fun.