Tecsun PL-990: How to distinguish pilot run and final export versions

The Tecsun PL-990

As I suspected, it appears the Tecsun PL-990 batch that showed up recently on AliExpress for $399 each are the preliminary pilot run units that Tecsun offered in China last year. The final export version of the PL-990 is not ready for production yet and has been severely delayed by Covid-19 quarantines.

Anna at Anon-Co reports that Tecsun factories have been closed since mid-January 2020 and have only recently recommenced production, “but at a very slow pace.”

Since there will eventually be two different versions of the Tecsun PL-990 in the wild–the pilot run for China, and the finalized export version–I thought I’d share a trick Anna has described to tell the difference between the two.

Anna notes:

One way to easily see this is from the labels for the buttons above the keypad, these should be

[ TIME ], [ TIMER A ], and [ TIMER B ] (see picture below)

Tecsun PL-990 Final Export Version:

Tecsun PL-990 Final Export version

Tecsun PL-990 Final Export Version

Pilot Tecsun PL-990 (preliminary China domestic version):

Preliminary Pilot Tecsun PL-990 distributed in China — image from AliExpress.

Anna adds:

I highly recommend [no one] buy these pilot versions, because the software on those devices is also not developed.

There still isn’t a final version or any price indication available yet, but it will definitely not be US$399.99.

So in case it’s not clear: don’t purchase a PL-990 until you can confirm you’re receiving a final export version which has the TIME, TIMER A, and TIMER B labels.

Again, at time of posting, the final PL-990 export version is not yet in production.

When the final export PL-990 is available, I will announce it here on the SWLing Post with links to authorized retailers like Anon-Co.

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11 thoughts on “Tecsun PL-990: How to distinguish pilot run and final export versions

  1. George

    I have ordered one from Ali express and it should be delivered to me today.
    I believe it is the export version.
    I will update you and will give my impressions
    after using it for a few days.

    Reply
  2. Bertrand STEHLE F6GYY

    Poor reactivity.. A real review of the export version of the Tecsun PL-990 should be available now…

    Otherwise you just have not done your homework…. Tecsun should deliver a test receiver….

    I want to know if there is any seroius improvement over the PL-880….

    Vy 73 Bertrand

    Reply
  3. RobRich

    Thanks for the FYI, Tom. Anna, too.

    Admittedly I am more interested in the Tecsun H-501 so maybe I finally can get the Kenwood R-2000 off my nightstand. The H-501 is not exactly a desktop receiver, but it does appear to be a step up in size and (my personally desired) ergonomics compared to most portables.

    Reply

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