Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Hidden feature: Adjusting the Tecsun PL-880 FM de-emphasis

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Photo source: Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group

Photo source: Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group

There has been some confusion (mainly on my part) about the hidden feature behind button number 5.

Pressing and holding the number 5 will toggle the radio between 50 and 75 uS.

But what, exactly, is this function?

Thankfully, Eric Cottrell has the answer:

“The 50/75 uS setting is the FM De-emphasis. 75 uS in the US and 50 uS in Europe.”

Eric then pointed to a discussion about de-emphasis on DIY Audio’s website.

Many thanks, Eric, for clarifying this (and thanks to others SWLing Post readers who pointed this out in comments as well).

You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.

Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660 on a local AM station

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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.

Arctic DXing: Norway style

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veines_lowresIn 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?

 

Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660, using the hidden DNR feature

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Photo source: Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group

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.

N News Agency: Voice of Russia shortwave service to close by Jan 1, 2014

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VoiceOfRussiaThe 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!

Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660 and coping with interference

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Tecsun-PL880-SWLing-Post-0526I normally like to do in-line recordings for audio comparisons of radios, but my digital recorder is non-functional at the moment. This fact–coupled with a bit of reader peer pressure–prompted me to take a short video with my iPhone of the PL880 and PL660 in action. While this will not be a true representation of the PL-880’s audio, of course, it should serve as some point of comparison in terms of function.

In this (very basic) video, you can hear the difference between the PL-880 and PL-660 when both radios are coping with adjacent signal interference. In this case, I tuned to Radio Australia on 9580 kHz–typically a blow-torch signal here in eastern North America. I wanted to gauge how each radio coped with adjacent signal from China Radio International broadcasting out of Cuba on 9570 kHz,  which can cause major adjacent signal problems, even though it’s a full 10 kHz below Radio Australia.

In this video, I tried to use both radios’ bandwidth controls and (upper side-band) sync lock to cope with the interference. Forgive the lack of tripod. Here you go:

You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.

Hidden feature: Adjusting the Tecsun PL-880 muting threshold

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Tecsun-PL-800-Sync-SWLing-PostSWLing Post reader Owl points out another hidden feature of the Tecsun PL-880:

“Press and hold 9 when you listen to AM or SSB, you may adjust the muting threshold using either tuning knob. Press 9 again after you are done, the new threshold will be saved.”

Many thanks, Owl, as this solves a small problem I discovered with my PL-880.

Evidently, the muting threshold of the PL-880 defaults to 5 DBu. I found that listening to a marginal station produced a dip and jump in volume as the signal level hovered around 5 DBu. It was most annoying!

Owl is correct–simply holding the number 9 down while listening allows you to adjust the muting threshold between 00-25 DBu.  It seems setting the threshold to 00 turns off all muting. I prefer it off, so this is the setting I will use most of the time.

The PL-880 has a number of hidden features.  I will post them as they are uncovered.

You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.