Category Archives: Videos

Video: Calibrating the Tecsun PL-880 for zero-beat operation

Tecsun PL-880 owner, Patrick, has made a video showing how to calibrate SSB on the PL-880. In the video, you can hear what it sounds like to zero-beat an AM carrier. Patrick writes:

Some people reported their PL-880 wasn’t properly calibrated in SSB (off-frequency).

Here is a simple tip to calibrate your TECSUN PL-880 for zero-beat operation (SSB mode) : either tune to USB or LSB, say 500 Hz off-frequency (603.05 USB for example, if you wish to calibrate your radio on 603.00, or 602.95 LSB).

PRESS and HOLD the 0 button of the keypad.

Look at the UPPER RIGHT corner of the display, where stands the clock and S/N ratio. A 2-digits number is BLINKING as well as the Hz digits of the tuned frequency.

RELEASE the 0 button, and properly adjust the FINE TUNING. You will probably have to slightly tune, de-tune and re-tune before calibration is perfect. Play a bit with it to understand how it works … (the change is effective AFTER you press again the 0 number to validate the value).

Do the same for both USB and LSB modes.

Check the tone when tuned to xxx.95 USB and xxx.05 LSB. They should sound exactly the same.

Et voilà !

Merci, Patrick!

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

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Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660 on 80 meters SSB

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In the following video, I compare single side band reception between the Tecsun PL-880 and PL-660. On 80 meters, in SSB mode, you can hear that the PL-660 has a slightly lower noise floor than the PL-880. Note again, however, that I mistakenly had the tone control of the PL-880 set to “bass.” I’ll try to make another video later with the tone control set to the “treble” position.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660 on shortwave AM

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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.

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

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I 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: