Tecsun EOL and QC

[Falcon9h]

I know this is a scanner forum, but... wanna run this all by you:

I hate to be doom and gloom, but my record with Tecsun radios isn't good. The ones that do work I love though.
And I baby my radios, none have ever been knocked or dropped.

PL-660: Suddenly there's no audio on SSB, only AM works.
PL-680: Soft muting is so horrible that I don't use it. Whoever invented soft muting should be shot 🤬🤬🤬
PL-880: When I turn the volume up there's a sudden jump past a certain point and I have to turn it back down fast so I don't wake up the house.
Needless to say, MW is abysmal on all of these but I know that going in.

PL-600: Winner except for MW.
Grundig 750: Good, I use it for overocean aircraft listening. Just don't use wide bandwidth.
Best: Old Eton E10 with its excellent sensitivity on all bands and the antenna trimmer. MW good.
Also superior: Grundig G5, once I cleaned off the goo it's the best book-sized radio I've ever had with its great sensitivity, including MW. If Degan could do good MW, so could Tecsun. For general listening (not DX) I shouldn't have to use a loop for a book sized radio. The Tecsuns aren't usable on MW at all

Seems the newer radios reach EOL very quickly. I thought about the H501 but too gun shy now. Looked up PL330. Soft mute = pass.

Just my experience.
Yours?

 

[pb_lonny]

My general feeling is that newer radios have more "issues" than the older ones and don't work as well.

 

[Boombox]

Only have one Tecsun, and it's new. Will see how it goes. Seems to have good build quality.

I have a Grundig G2. Might be Degen made? Looks like a Degen LCD readout screen, and might be the Grundig version of a Degen 1128. Got it in 2014 and no issues as of yet, and I've used it almost nightly. It did lock up once while recording. Had to reset it. That was two years or so ago. No lock-ups since.

 

[Engine104]

I've had my Tecsun PL-660 for 3 years now. No issues at all.

 

[Boombox]

I know this is a scanner forum, but... wanna run this all by you:

PL-660: Suddenly there's no audio on SSB, only AM works.
PL-680: Soft muting is so horrible that I don't use it. Whoever invented soft muting should be shot 🤬🤬🤬
PL-880: When I turn the volume up there's a sudden jump past a certain point and I have to turn it back down fast so I don't wake up the house.
Needless to say, MW is abysmal on all of these but I know that going in.

Do you re-set your radios often? Some radios seem to need a re-set (pull the batteries, disconnect all power, wait a minute, re-insert batteries or plug the wall-wart back in) now and then. My Sangean DSP models need it or the buttons start acting up -- press the power button, the radio tunes up a channel, press it a second time, it actually turns off -- that sort of thing.

A re-set seems to fix the issue for another month or two. I chalk it up to firmware glitches that develop over time.

Maybe it's the same with other brands.

I never noticed this much in older digital portables. Mainly the post 2010 models with DSP. My Grundig G2 doesn't have that sort of issue, though. Just a couple of the newer Sangeans. It's a minor irritant. No big deal to pull batteries, unplug the AC adaptor, wait 20 seconds or so, and then repower it. I think of it as the radio equivalent to 'turn the computer off, and then turn it back on."

The Sangean radios themselves work excellently otherwise.

 

[Falcon9h]

Welp... I'm a dumbass. Had the fine tune control hard over so ssb had no audio. Operator error!
Using 680 for SWL and strong MW because of the good audio.
Have the Sangean 909x2 and I really like it.

 

[Falcon9h]

Also, I had the urge for a new toy and in looking at reviews, changed my tune and got a PL330.
For a pocket radio it has nice audio perfectly set up for talk radio and ssb. A youtube vid sold me. This thing is great!
Been listening on 5598 (overocean aircraft) for the last 3 hours and ssb is rock solid. Clarity is the best of all the radios I have. (over a dozen book sized radios)
And sens is excellent-I'm hearing both sides of the conversation in central Pa just on the whip in the aluminum sided house.
I'm definitely impressed !

 

[G7RUX]

I know this is a scanner forum, but... wanna run this all by you:

I hate to be doom and gloom, but my record with Tecsun radios isn't good. The ones that do work I love though.
And I baby my radios, none have ever been knocked or dropped.

PL-660: Suddenly there's no audio on SSB, only AM works.
PL-680: Soft muting is so horrible that I don't use it. Whoever invented soft muting should be shot 🤬🤬🤬
PL-880: When I turn the volume up there's a sudden jump past a certain point and I have to turn it back down fast so I don't wake up the house.
Needless to say, MW is abysmal on all of these but I know that going in.

PL-600: Winner except for MW.
Grundig 750: Good, I use it for overocean aircraft listening. Just don't use wide bandwidth.
Best: Old Eton E10 with its excellent sensitivity on all bands and the antenna trimmer. MW good.
Also superior: Grundig G5, once I cleaned off the goo it's the best book-sized radio I've ever had with its great sensitivity, including MW. If Degan could do good MW, so could Tecsun. For general listening (not DX) I shouldn't have to use a loop for a book sized radio. The Tecsuns aren't usable on MW at all

Seems the newer radios reach EOL very quickly. I thought about the H501 but too gun shy now. Looked up PL330. Soft mute = pass.

Just my experience.
Yours?

This is interesting. I have had the PL880 for about 18 months and it has been pretty faultless so far. MW performance is pretty good, although an external antenna is a good move. SW/HF is similarly good but a modest external antenna is needed for decent reception, anything too big and it starts to overload.

 

[Falcon9h]

This is interesting. I have had the PL880 for about 18 months and it has been pretty faultless so far. MW performance is pretty good, although an external antenna is a good move. SW/HF is similarly good but a modest external antenna is needed for decent reception, anything too big and it starts to overload.

Mine is great for the nice mellow audio, good sens and superior FM. I had read somewhere that the volume thing was some kind of firmware bug. How I handle antennas: I use the whip and I fashioned a short plug (won't contact center pin) to fit by friction into any jack and (I assume) works as a counterpoise when I hook it up to the long wire. Whatever works, right?

 

[G7RUX]

Mine is great for the nice mellow audio, good sens and superior FM. I had read somewhere that the volume thing was some kind of firmware bug. How I handle antennas: I use the whip and I fashioned a short plug (won't contact center pin) to fit by friction into any jack and (I assume) works as a counterpoise when I hook it up to the long wire. Whatever works, right?

Absolutely!
The 880 does have a problem with the soft mute issue but this is easily corrected by adjusting the delay, the method for which is widely published.

I really like my 880, being the first broadcast SW radio I have had in quite a number of years. It’s just a bit of a shame the number of stations have fallen so much.

 

[Boombox]

Glad you got the issues with the 660 sorted out, Falcon9h. I had a glitch with my Radio Shack 200629 where it would turn itself off after several seconds. Turned out it was a bit of oxidation / corrosion on the tip of one of the batteries, just a little bit, but it happened to be in just the right place.... which I cleaned off and it works fine now.

 

[Falcon9h]

Absolutely!
The 880 does have a problem with the soft mute issue but this is easily corrected by adjusting the delay, the method for which is widely published.

I really like my 880, being the first broadcast SW radio I have had in quite a number of years. It’s just a bit of a shame the number of stations have fallen so much.

This isn't the soft mute. (disabled) It's actually a bug with the audio, when I turn up the volume, it passes a certain point and jumps suddenly, loud enough that I can't use it after others here are asleep. Turn it back down and it's normal unless I turn it up again.
The other thing is that this disappears when I first turn the radio on. Then it starts again.

 

[G7RUX]

This isn't the soft mute. (disabled) It's actually a bug with the audio, when I turn up the volume, it passes a certain point and jumps suddenly, loud enough that I can't use it after others here are asleep. Turn it back down and it's normal unless I turn it up again.
The other thing is that this disappears when I first turn the radio on. Then it starts again.

Well that's rather odd and irritating...mine definitely does not exhibit this behaviour.

 

[Boombox]

This isn't the soft mute. (disabled) It's actually a bug with the audio, when I turn up the volume, it passes a certain point and jumps suddenly, loud enough that I can't use it after others here are asleep. Turn it back down and it's normal unless I turn it up again.
The other thing is that this disappears when I first turn the radio on. Then it starts again.

Have you re-set the radio? I.e., pull all power, wait 20 seconds or so, and then re-power the radio (re-setting the microprocessor)?

 

[Falcon9h]

Have you re-set the radio? I.e., pull all power, wait 20 seconds or so, and then re-power the radio (re-setting the microprocessor)?

Yes-it's ok for awhile-also ok when I take the radio off the charger-but it always reappears.

 

[Boombox]

Yes-it's ok for awhile-also ok when I take the radio off the charger-but it always reappears.

Understood. My Sangean PR series (PR-D5, PR-D14, PR-D18) radios have different button glitches that disappear when I reset them and then often reappear when they've been powered up a while.

Seems to be a 2010s and newer thing. These sorts of button and function glitches weren't common in earlier, PLL SW radios. And I don't think the DSP chip is necessarily the issue, at least with button pressing glitches. That's a microprocessor function.