The Tecsun PL-660 and PL-880 groups have disappeared?

This is the message you will find if you attempt to visit either Tecsun Yahoo group.

This is the message you will find if you attempt to visit either Tecsun Yahoo group.

I’ve gotten messages from several readers over the past two days noting that the Tecsun PL-880 and PL-660 Yahoo groups have vanished. It’s a shame as these sites have a treasure trove of information in their archives.

When I look through my Tecsun PL-880 archived emails, I see that the last message from the group was dated May 24th, 2014: two days ago.

The last thread contained some heated discussions that got quite personal between group members.

It can be a tough call for group moderators to step in and ask for a discussion to end or to ban a member from the group. You’ll notice (or perhaps not) that I rarely moderate comments on the SWLing Post.

Aside from blatant SPAM, there have only been perhaps two or three comments I’ve moderated in the many years this site has been online. In those cases, commenters were posting personal attacks. I wrote to the commenters and explained why I removed their comments; only one persisted, so I banned his IP address from posting future comments.

With that said, I’m so proud of the community of readers and SWLs here at the SWLing Post! I’ve made some great friends through this site and have learned so much from our many readers.

How many readers? The SWLing Post averages about 2,500 daily readers and 120,000 monthly page views. In 2008, I could have never imagined…

Thank you!

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14 thoughts on “The Tecsun PL-660 and PL-880 groups have disappeared?

  1. Sandy Blaize W5TVW

    I just acquired a PL-880 and it is a very useful radio. Unfortunately, there are omissions in the instruction book of some features, and how and whys of loading the
    memories and selectively scanning the pages loaded are used. I got into the Yahoo group and two days later the group was “no more”!!

    I’d like to find out what some of the caveats are and where it might be available. If I had a website, I’d be glad to share it with anyone, but I am not savvy enough with computers to start something like this up! I have been into “radio” in general as an amateur for about 65+ years and professionally for over 50 years. All in installation/operation and servicing with some well known radio firms, some of which are no more.

    Can anyone steer me in the right direction as to data on this receiver?

    Reply
    1. john duffy

      I too would like to mull over the pl – 880.
      (Mine should be hear in a day or so.)
      Helps professionals reminisce and learn.
      We’re big boys and girls.
      Let’s try again.
      What say?
      Sorry, I don’t have the skills to lead.
      THANKYOU Thomas for this site.
      I’ve learned a lot!

      Reply
  2. Doyle W.Simmons

    I just purchased a Tecsun pl-880 which I enjoy very much. I have read a one time
    there was a pl-880 group that you could discuss any problem or obtain any info.
    I also have read that one of the discussing got off the subject and a heated feud
    started. I believe if all parties would have stepped back and smelled the roses,
    the out come would have been different. Pride and poor judgement don’t agree.

    Reply
  3. Russ Bunyas

    While the original post and subsequent rants were off-topic, it seems the reaction of the list’s owner was even more over the top. These things die out rather quickly with a simple reprimand if they do persist as a moderator you get rid of the offenders. The PL-660 as far as I know was not part of this rant but yet both groups were taken down. It’s really unfortunate.

    Reply
  4. Neil W2NDG

    I received this reply when I attempted to subscribe to one of the NEW groups that sprung up in its place yesterday:

    Welcome to the Tecsun_PL-880 group at Yahoo Groups.

    The owner of the previous TecsunPL-880 group, which disappeared a few days ago, is working with Yahoo to get it restored. If it is restored, this group will be deleted in favor of the old one, which was and we hope soon again will be, loaded with a lot of useful information.
    [owner of new group]

    Reply
  5. F1UBL

    Hello,
    Thank you for this information, I search on google why I am not able to connect the group and now I know it… My PL-880 stop to work properly last week (switched off, a full battery is empty in one night), and I said to myself “look to the groups archive there is maybe a schematic of the radio”…
    Very sad, but it’s the life. Hope there will be another group in the futur…

    Reply
  6. John Phillips

    As to the PL-880 group, I have an archive of all communications starting with December 26, 2013 and if anybody has something they are looking for, I would be glad to send it along. Just let me know what you need and I will forward I have. I guess it will be hard to figure out what specific posts contain but I will be glad to do my best.
    73,
    John – K2QAI

    Reply
  7. Andy Gardner

    The saddest thing is all the information – that people took their time to contribute to those groups – appears to have been wiped off the face of the Internet. That’s like burning down a library of irreplaceable books.

    If I was one of those contributors, I’d be pretty peeved that my input had suddenly been deemed worthless.

    Did anyone archive it to somewhere safe?

    Reply
  8. Tom Stiles

    It is a shame that a few have to spoil it for the rest of us. Yes, your site is one of the best and I hope it does not suffer the same problems.

    Another Tom

    Reply
  9. Ken Carr

    Thomas, I did notice that flare up on one of the sites (I subscribed to both). One person chose to add his controversial political opinion to the discussion (totally off topic) and others chose to be offended and respond in kind. Possibly the best course action would be to not respond to such a person but do report him/her to the moderator who can remove them.

    Regarding your site I am always amazed at how you can continue to keep it fresh and interesting every week. You do a wonderful job. Please keep it going!

    Reply
    1. Diddly

      Not meaning to be over inflated, however I think I can safely say I was the one who added their ‘controversial political opinion’. My post was in fact on topic (about some remarking on the faux leather case of the deluxe edition of PL-880 having a chemical smell that caused reaction with some users who had a chemical sensitivity), the thread itself had already drifted off topic with people talking about injuries and afflictions sustained during their military service, and I made a remark which was actually one of solidarity with soldiers (that they should be supported and compensated for injuries sustained during their service), whilst also saying expressing my feelings against war and the act of going to war.
      I used the site very rarely so I actually did not get a chance to defend myself after making my comment, never mind retaliate or flare up the issue, before it was deleted, however I have found that I a lot of people took it upon themselves to get very wound up and personally offended… and they never answered my question! and to add to that, someone did actually of out of their way to email me personally to prod carry the issue on.
      Do I feel like I ruined something for everyone? No I certainly do not. I feel that action was made by those who take it as a personal assault for someone to have an opinion that is contrary to they way they feel everyone should think – especially it seems when it comes to ones support, or lack of, for the military and war.
      I do think it was a fantastic group site and I think it is a shame that the owner decided to react by taking the site down, personally I think some warnings to all parties, (myself included) would have been sufficient, though I from reading the last few posts that I have in my inbox, it seems that everyone was winding down and seeing that they had over reacted.
      Whilst I was not the biggest user of the site I would like to think that if nothing else I helped by asking questions to users of the PL-880 that others may not have thought to ask. I certainly took a lot from the site and hope that it will be brought back as it was incredibly informative.

      Reply

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