by Dan Robinson
The Tecsun PL-520 has been out for some time now though units have been getting into the hands of more reviewers such as myself in recent weeks. There are a number of excellent overview videos available on YouTube, so my purpose here won’t be to dive into sensitivity level and similar comparisons with the PL-330, rather just to give prospective buyers my take on this radio.
First the headlines: Tecsun certainly knows what its buying public is all about. They have added some important features that really make the 520 an attractive option. At the top of the list: a kickstand where none existed before on the PL-330 makes it very easy to use the radio on a desk (though the kickstand does seem a bit vulnerable to breakage). The cabinet of the 520 has been substantially improved — no more sharp corners seen on the PL-330. There is now a USB-C port, another welcome change.
Tuning and VOL knobs have been made slightly wider. HOWEVER, they are still bothersome — trying to rapid tune across frequencies remains a challenge. One suggestion: Tecsun should add a TURBO mode, similar to what has now been done on the Malahiteam MLite-880 that could easly allow fast tuning across the ranges — this would obviously be more useful on shortwave than MW or FM.
Addition of a Favorites button, which forced LSB/USB to be combined into one key, is somewhat puzzling, but I suppose this has some appeal for some users. ETM+ mode provides the ability to save stations based on time of day. This is another appealing feature though I am not sure how many people will actually make regular use of it.
Back to the unified LSB/USB button — this means there is a slightly different approach to recalibration requiring a double press to be sure you know what sideband you are adjusting. The PL-330 was quite easy, but in the 520 it’s a bit more involved. I have found stability after recalibration to be very good, though my PL-330 was excellent in this regard.
Tecsun has provided additional filter choices on AM/LW/SW: 6 khz on SW and 5 khz on MW. Not a critically important upgrade but certainly welcome. There is also a ATS Scan/Stop Sensitivity adjustment. As for synchronous (SAM), it works well on the 520 as it did on the 330. It’s nice that Tecsun understands the need for selectable sideband in SAM — some people think it’s a useless feature but it avoids having to fine tune while in SAM.
I find that sensitivity to touch on the 520 (this is an important issue on portables with some people using additional lengths of wire to avoid drops in sensitivity when a radio is not being physically held) is not a big problem. With the whip antenna fully extended any difference in level is not extreme — I am unaware of what changes may have been made in the physical structure of the cabinet vis a vis the 330, but I doubt there has been much change other than rounding the corners.
In late afternoon here in Maryland I did brief test of the PL-330 and PL-520 at about the same location inside my home tuned to the strong signal from Spain on 15,500 khz. I did another quick comparison of the PL-520 with an MLite-880:
https://youtube.com/shorts/tC3u633Xsws?feature=share
https://youtube.com/shorts/kt95hF3CPCU?feature=share
The comparison between the 520 and 330 shows in my view a bit better audio on the new receiver than on the 330. The comparison between the PL-520 and MLite-880 shows that the Tecsun is quite good at producing quality audio — but there’s a need to understand that the MLite-880 is really a different animal. The PL-520 produces some super audio with clarity; the MLite-880 is not inferior by any means but has a different kind of sound (not to mention extensive tools beyond the 520’s capabilities).
My concluding views on the PL-520 (and thanks to Anon-co for providing the test unit): for someone who wants the smallest possible receiver but one that really hits balls out of the park in performance, I have no hesitation recommending this radio.
The key improvements over the PL-330 make it even more attractive, especially the backstand, sleeker cabinet, and additional bandwidths. At the low price the 520 is sold at, this is pretty much a no-brainer and in today’s — shall we say — diminished world of international broadcasting, if you’re going on a trip the PL-520 is all you really need, unless you already have a PL-990 or H-501 and insist on having those with you for better sound. The one thing one needs to be aware of is the need to carry extra BL?5C 3.7?V batteries and perhaps a charger that handles them, though charging can be done internally with USB-C.
Tecsun has stuck to the pattern of using what I’ll call old-style displays and making incremental improvements in known best sellers, such as the PL-330, and now with the PL-520. One wishes that Tecsun would make the leap that we have seen from Malahiteam in Russia to perhaps provide a spectrum display.
Perhaps in a future PL-1000 or H-600 we will see that happen, but for now we have extremely reliable performers in the Tecsun line that provide such features as recalibration along with multiple bandwidths and SYNC (though that feature remains a bit hobbled due to chip limitations).
Tecsun keeps doing the same things over and over again. It stopped pushing the boundaries a long long time ago. Plus old models are still very very very much expensive, when compared to newer and more feature rich models.
As for the 520, I would skip this due to a few things:
1) Still no RDS?!?!? – I cant grasp the reason not to include this. The chip allows its implementation, so why not have it?
2) Kick stand: still finicky, fragile. Way more fragile than the one on my 310ET, that still can punch harder than this radio, all things considered;
3) Dan mentioned turbo mode: my 310ET has that turbo mode? LOL
All the other features are not enticing to me to buy this radio. And mind you I’m a Tecsun fan.
Hello, reading the last replies, my concern is :
AGC pumping, distortion, gaps when tuning.
Someone can make a list or a suggestion of portable radios without that problem?
Many thanks, Maia
Analog receivers such as the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680.
Digital receivers that seems to avoid (or at least minimize) these problems: Eton Elite Executive, CCrane CC Skywave SSB 2.
Regarding PL-680: Of course it has natural sound in SSB mode but I cannot generally recommend it because of its bad selectivity. It’s the only radio I own that cannot separate stations with 10 kHz distance, not even with narrow filter.
Thanks for your dedication, William and Sebastian! In fact my doubts/writhing came from Sebastian words : “I guess we will be stuck with harsh audio distortions in SSB mode forever. Right now, I can only see two solutions to this problem: Either small vendors that just try something different, like Malahit and Belka. Or pure SDR like Airspy and SDRPlay.”
One thing I like in more recente receivers is measuring the signal in dB … and there are few receivers (more recent ones ) with dB meter and audio without mute when tuning, etc .
I will check your suggestions, thanks!
Any other opinion?
73, Maia
Camarada Maia!
For the price and pure simplicity I would get the Belka. Since I can’t afford it, I’ve been following its iterations all these years. As far as i know, really strong community for support and eventual mods. This is only shaded by the latest and super pocket rockets using the Sl4732, but built quality and performance do justify the price of the Belka.
And also, there’s nothing stopping you to also get an SDR pen radio 😉
73s de Portugal!
Can the external antenna socket be used on MW by pressing and holding button 3 like on the PL-330?
Yes it can. All of the “hidden” features of the PL-330 are present, including one new one – you can actually adjust the minimum signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio that must be present for a scan to pick up a station.
One ergonomic change that doesn’t get mentioned in the reviews is that whereas the buttons on the PL-330 are pretty much flat against the case and can be a pain to press (especially the tiny ETM button), on the PL-520 the buttons are raised and easier to press. The tuning knob at least on mine is also slightly stiffer than the PL-330.
So, how is it better than SI4732-based ATS-mini?
“It’s nice that Tecsun understands the need for selectable sideband in SAM — some people think it’s a useless feature but it avoids having to fine tune while in SAM.”
Dan, if you need to “fine tune while in SAM” that means your calibration may not be where it should be on your MLite. The sync detector has a very stable lock on that and you need to tune several kHz away to make it unlock. This may allow for some unusual ( < +/-3kHz) offset tuning to the less disturbed sideband but that's not how it's supposed to work and it sounds like that's not what you meant either?
What I was referring to is SAM with or without selectable sideband
I purchased a Tecsun PL-330 1.5 years ago and it already had a USB-C port back then. Both PL-330 and PL-520 use the same DSP chip and their raw performance will be more or less identical. This is just a facelift and not a new radio. I guess we will be stuck with si-4732 forever. I am afraid there will be no inovations coming from Tecsun any more. The market is just too small. They cannot afford research and development to create a really new radio. And for the same reason, Skyworks cannot afford R&D to create new and improved DSP chips either. I guess we will be stuck with harsh audio distortions in SSB mode forever. Right now, I can only see two solutions to this problem: Either small vendors that just try something different, like Malahit and Belka. Or pure SDR like Airspy and SDRPlay.
I also have a PL-330 with USB-C and like it a lot, i have recently ordered a second one to have a spare.
Since 2 weeks i also have a PL-320, which in my few is an upgrade with better performance. It does clearly have better audio than the PL-330.
What the Tecsuns are able to, is, to deliver very good performance on a big external antenna, in my case a classic Windom (one wire feed) resonant an 40meters, LW slooper, 5/8Lamda vertical for 20msters. If i hook up a XHDATA D-808 (and some other rx i have), it just delivers intermodulation products, so for me the D-808 is useless.
I have actually ordered 2 PL-520, as i am sure, that it will be more than capable receiver, with SSB.
One more convenient update, not mentioned anywhere is the audio level with headphones.
If i hear with the speaker in level e.g. 10, and with headphones in level 5, it will auto detect the headphones and reduce to level 5 and back to 10 if headphones disconnected.
My opinion is, that the the Tecsuns are just perfect little receivers, for SWBC, SSB and CW.
Only the AGC is not perfect.
Fully agreed. The distortion, together with AGC pumping, is totally unbearable. It may have been somewhat acceptable in test run units, but radios with this IC have been available for over a decade now, it’s clear they don’t have any intention of fixing it. Which is strange, because their PLL designs were great, the PL-600s and PL-660s are still a pleasure to listen to. Sad to see all they can do now are things like changing the charging port, making a knob wider etc – nothing on the RF side.
Thanks for the review! How is the SSB performance and quality of SSB audio? I have not been particularly happy with SSB on my PL-990X, as the audio is quite raspy, and gets worse the higher you go in frequency.
Another great review, Dan!