In the following video, I have tuned both the Tecsun PL-880 and the PL-660 to a relatively local AM station (880 kHz). Note that I had the tone control switch set to “bass” on the PL-880 (it would have been better on “treble”):
For normal AM radio listening, I believe the PL-880 produces better audio fidelity than the PL-660. I will try to record a weak medium wave station this evening, if time allows.
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.
In response to my post Tuesday about Arctic DXing in Finland, Per-Einar comments:
“I would like to mention a similar listening site in Norway @70 degrees north [latitude].
Check Kongsfjord.no for logs for reports.
I have observed the same effect DL4NO mentions. I used to work HAM-radio from Jan Mayen.
On low bands (below 10MHz) its often difficult being heard due to auroral attenuation.
When signals both ways are e.g. attenuated 30dB, its easy to hear but nearly impossible to be heard.”
Many thanks for sharing this. The photos on Kongsfjord.no are simply stunning. I would love to do some arctic DXing at either location (or best, both!).
Have any readers ever ventured to Antarctica for DX?
Photo source: Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group
In this video, I’ve tuned both the Tecsun PL-880 and PL-660 to All India Radio on 9,445 kHz (transmitted from Bengaluru, India, some 8,800 miles away).
Thanks to an image of a (prototype?) PL-880 keypad posted on the Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group–an excellent group you should join, by the way–I’ve discovered that if you press and hold the number 6 on the PL-880 keypad, it engages the hidden DNR function. I assume DNR is an acronym for “digital noise reduction.”
I engage the PL-880 DNR feature in this video and compare with the PL-660 audio. Again, apologies for quality as this was made using my iPhone.
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.
Once again, I ventured out to my truck tailgate to make a few videos of the Tecsun PL-880. In this video, I’ve tuned the PL-880 and PL-660 to Deutsche Welle’s English language service on 9,800 kHz (transmitted from Kigali, Rwanda, some 7,600 miles away).
I made this video with my iPhone, so apologies for the low quality:
Note that when I first turn on the PL-660 it is in sync mode by accident. After changing the bandwidth on the PL-660, I then turn off sync.
I’ve noted that the PL-660’s sync detector locks better than that of the PL-880. However, using the PL-880’s SSB mode to zero-beat the AM carrier (see article on ECR), produces great (and stable) results.
Sensitivity-wise, these radios are quite similar. While I personally prefer the audio of the PL-880, the PL-660 makes vocals pop out of the noise a bit better.
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.
The Russian language N News Agency reports:
“The Russian government’s international radio broadcasting service Golos Rossii (Voice of Russia) will stop its shortwave broadcasts from January 1st next year.
The shortwave service is closing due to funding cuts. Voice of Russia is to broadcast several programs in foreign languages including Mongolian language for the last time on December 29th, 2013.[…]”
This is the second time the closure of VOR has been mentioned in the online press.
To date, I have seen no official announcement/confirmation from the Voice of Russia (though an earlier statement from VOR didn’t deny the possibility).
Many thanks to Andy Sennitt for the tip!
(Image Source: Critical Distance)
Jonathan Marks writes:
“Shortwave radio stations rarely did public events in my day as editor in chief. Radio stations often played around with the idea of having an Internet café at the studios, especially music stations like Capital Radio in London at Leicester Sq. For the last few years DW has been building an annual discussion forum. Although not open to the general public, it has now grown to a point where many NGO’s seem to drop in. But DW needs to watch competition from other media organisations because others in Germany are building more participatory conversations.”
Click here for Jonathan Mark’s post regarding the Global Media Forum on Critical Distance.
The supplied Tecsun PL-880 charger/power supply (Click to enlarge)
I’ve had a lot of questions and comments about whether the Tecsun PL-880 is supplied with a power supply/battery charger. I purchased my PL-880 from from Anon-Co on eBay and they sent a charger along with the radio.
The charger was not in the actual PL-880 (OEM) box, but wrapped up inside Anon’s FedEx shipping package. I found it instantly.
I mention this because I’m not sure if other vendors are supplying a charger as well–perhaps other PL-880 owners can comment?
The charger has two ports where the supplied USB cable can be plugged in–both 5 VDC, but one rated at 1000mA and the other at 2400 mA. Either would work to power the PL-880 as it only requires 300 mA. For charging, I would use the 2400 mA port–though the 1000 mA port may work as well. You certainly can’t hurt the radio by using the higher mA port as the radio will only use the amount of amperage it requires.
I will also note that while I prefer portables having the more standard AA cells, the supplied PL-880 rechargeable battery (see below) has superb capacity. With all of the listening time I’ve been logging, I still haven’t needed to recharge it yet. I suspect its capacity is superior to that of most AA rechargeables.
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.