Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Responses for these surveys has been, quite frankly, amazing! At time of publishing this post, we’ve received 367 individual survey responses!Thank you!
Hi [t]here, I have one SX88 in minty shape and is one of a handful that came in military green on [the] front panel for evaluation by the military. This is an exceptional radio in amazing condition. I can provide pics for someone who is seriously interested. I am open to a fair offer on radio. Please, no low-ballers. We all know what [it’s] worth…
“We all know what it’s worth“–?
Well, it just so happened that my good friend (and Elmer, or ham radio guru) Mike Hansgen (K8RAT) had recently provided me with a little history lesson on the subject of the SX-88, so I did know what this rig is worth: a great deal of money.
But curiosity got the best of me, so I contacted Jeremy (a nice fellow, by the way) and asked what he was expecting to receive in exchange for his Hallicrafters SX-88? Jeremy’s reply:
“…$5,500 USD will take it. It is a very rare unit; it was… only one of about 6 [painted green]…for presentation to the military for evaluation.
That price is firm. [I] will not negotiate downward, and shipping [from Ontario, Canada] is extra.”
Osterman’s wonderfully comprehensive guide mentions that the SX-88 is a “highly regarded, rare and collectible model.” As for the rarity of the SX-88, he describes it thus: “Extremely Scarce.” The used price range he gives is from $3,500-7,000 US.
After thanking Jeremy for his response, he replied:
“It’s a lot of money for a receiver for certain, but it is a fantastic shortwave receiver as the audio that comes out of it is amazing.
It has 10 watts of audio and into a big speaker–it is second to none. The fidelity is amazing and it is the king of its kind. [For those who like] tube rigs, it is the best of its kind.
For ham purposes on AM it is amazing, and on CW I find it incredible to use.
[W]hen they built this thing they intended to pull all [the] stops out and build the best radio they could for the day with the military in mind. It was an engineering marvel for the day.
Anyway, I have played with it for years now and need to thin out the herd.”
Impressive. And while I just don’t have that kind of money to fork out for a receiver, I did ask myself the question: “If I had $5,500 to blow, would I get that Hallicrafters SX-88?”
And my answer? Yes. In fact, I would personally drive to Jeremy’s home in Ontario and bring it back; no way I’d trust it to a parcel carrier or the post office…
Click to enlarge (Source: AntiqueRadio.org)
Come on, you may say. For a guy who rarely pays over $50 for a vintage receiver, how could you possibly justify that kind of financial and time commitment–?
Well, let’s think of it this way. I remember when when I paid well over two thousand for my first laptop in college. How much is it worth now? Maybe twenty dollars–?
Many people have retirement funds in investments, some of which are in a variety of innovative companies that they actually patronize–for example, Apple or Microsoft. But how often can you find an investment that you can actually play with? One which you can turn on, tune in, work the controls, and enjoy?
Yes, I’m sure this is just the sort of justification voiced by many a vintage car collector…So, why not for a museum-worthy radio? After all, they’re not making these anymore.
I expect this Halli will not only hold its value, but will probably increase in value over time.
Ah, well; fun to ponder. My question to you: Would you buy a $5,500 vintage receiver if you had it to spare?
If your answer is yes, and you do have the money, then you might want to contact Jeremy.
I’m very curious if there are any SX-88 owners among our readership? If so, please comment with your thoughts about the ’88!
And for the rest of us, just so we can revel in the vicarious pleasure of ownership, I’ve included some additional information about the Hallicrafters SX-88 below, including two videos.
[Update: Please note that this survey has been closed, but the audio samples–labeled Radio A and Radio B–will remain to allow others the opportunity to make an evaluation prior to reading the PL-680 review.]
The results from the PL-680/PL-660 reader surveys (here and here) have been pouring in! As of this posting, well over 200 readers have participated by listening to and evaluating the two receiver comparison surveys. Thank you!
Yesterday evening, I spent time comparing the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680 with medium wave reception in mind. I recorded dozens of samples and picked four broadcast recordings I felt best represented receiver performance. Note that this will be my final survey before I post the PL-680 review later this week.
To participate in this survey, start by simply listening, then fill out the form that follows with your choice of “Best Radio” for each broadcast. All of these medium wave samples were recorded in the evening hours, which I believe is more indicative of receiver sensitivity, selectivity and AGC. Notice that I indicate distance to target station (as the crow flies).
Audio Samples
750 AM – WSB Atlanta, Georgia, USA (171 mi/275 km)
[Update: Please note that this survey has been closed, but the audio samples–labeled Radio A and Radio B–will remain to allow others the opportunity to make an evaluation prior to reading the PL-680 review.]
The results from the PL-680/PL-660 reader survey have been pouring in! As of this posting, over 160 readers have participated by listening to and evaluating the AM shortwave audio samples. Thank you!
This morning, I spent time comparing the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680 with synchronous detection in mind. Time permitting, I hope to publish at least a medium wave audio survey, too, before I post the PL-680 review later this week. I doubt I will post an SSB reception survey since my digital recorder injects a bit of noise into those recordings.
To participate in this survey, start by simply listening, then fill out the form that follows with your choice of “Best Radio” for each broadcast. Please note that I include two recordings per broadcast, but ask that you choose the best radio overall for each broadcast.
For example: if you feel that Radio A is better in the first recording of Radio Australia, but Radio B is slightly better in the second recording (again, of Radio Australia), you still need to chose which radio is best overall in the Radio Australia recordings set.
You’ll note that signal stability varies between the two recordings; this is simply the nature of shortwave radio. Also note that each recording was made within one minute of the other in each set.
Audio Samples
Radio Australia 9,580 kHz
Below I’ve provided two recordings of Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz. In both recordings, I have the PL-660 and PL-680 in normal AM mode for the first half of the recording–you will hear a het (hetrodyne–which sounds like a high-pitch tone) in the upper sideband. About halfway through the recording, I switch each radio into lower sideband sync, which effectively removes the het sound.
I have provided two recordings for each radio since QSB (fading) was fast and deep. Indeed, you’ll note in the second set of recordings that the radios had more difficulty maintaining the sync lock.
I just got a Tecsun PL-660 after reading many good reviews on the radio, but I have a problem in that there are two 100,000 W FM stations within a few miles of my house and the reception of these stations isn’t as good as some more distant stations.
The signal strength is great but the audio is a bit distorted like it has too much gain or something. If I manually tune the frequency a few hundreths off the “actual” frequency it seems to help. Moving the antenna switch to “normal” or “local” from “DX” doesn’t make much difference nor does using the external antenna. Any ideas what’s going on?
I’m about ready to return it and get a Sony ICF-SW7600GR instead.
This sounds, to me, like the front end is overloading on the PL-660. I don’t live near a blow torch FM station like Brad.
Have any other PL-660 owners had this problem? Any suggestions for Brad? Please comment!
[Update: Please note that this survey has been closed, but the audio samples–labeled Radio A and Radio B–will remain to allow others the opportunity to make an evaluation prior to reading the PL-680 review.]
I’ve been spending a little time with my new Tecsun PL-680 today, and it’s been most interesting. Of course, I’ve already begun to form a few opinions about the radio and am taking notes. Yet I never believe a shortwave radio can be judged in one sitting; there are simply too many variables to account for, such as minute changes in propagation, fading, local radio interference, all of which can have a temporary effect on performance. It’s better to judge a radio after having used it over the course of at least a week or so, in diverse reception conditions.
Still, as I tuned the PL-680, I was already wondering how it compared with its predecessor, the PL-660–? And since I’ve received at least ten emails from readers curious about the same thing, I thought I might start a series of blind audio tests in order to let our readers decide for themselves.
So…ready for some fun?
Below, I’ve embedded eight recordings comparing the PL-660 and PL-680 on shortwave. All of these are recordings of broadcast stations, no SSB yet (I simply didn’t have the time today).
To participate, just listen, then fill out the form that follows with your choice of “Best Radio” for each broadcast. But do note the following:
I’ve attempted to set the audio levels equally on both radios. Iused the broadcast in the first recording to set the audio levels; they remain at this level for the remainder of the recordings. Nonetheless, you’ll note that one of the radios seems to have lower audio on a couple of the higher-band recordings; this is not due to any change in the incoming volume nor adjustments to the audio levels.
As seen in the photo above, I used a Zoom H2N digital recorder to make these recordings on the tailgate of my truck. Any time you hook a digital recorder up to a radio on the medium wave or shortwave bands, you most likely will inject a little noise. When I listened to each radio without the recorder in-line, I determined that the Zoom injected very little audible noise.
The assignment of “Radio A” and “Radio B” was chosen by a coin toss–so pretty much at random!
I included two recordings of WWV on 25 MHz. This is because the reception conditions from WWV change in a a matter of minutes, which would provide recording variation. I thought it would be best to include two such recordings.
Both radios have the gain set to “DX” and bandwidth set to wide. None of these recordings employ synchronous detection. The telescopic antenna was fully extended on both units. Additionally, both radios had the tone control set to “bass.”
No less relevant: it was 32F/OC with strong wind gusts and blowing snow in my face when I made these recordings. But I knew our readers would understand (and likely appreciate) this dedication to the absorbing art of SWLing…just as I appreciate your participation in judging this head-to-head radio showdown!
Audio Samples
9,395 kHz – Radio Prague via Global 24 (strong signal example)
