Tag Archives: Tecsun PL-990

Coronavirus delaying product development, production, and shipping

Photo by chuttersnap

Earlier this week, I mentioned in a Patreon post that if you’re plotting to buy a radio or other consumer electronics currently in development or production in China, expect delays.

Due to the spread of the Coronavirus, a number of factories have been shut down and production effectively frozen since the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Some companies are attempting to slowly bring operations back to normal levels, but progress is unstable to say the least.

I’ve spoken with a couple of friends who work in the radio and consumer electronics industry in China and both have expressed serious concerns regarding new product timelines this year. Both noted that there’s no need for alarm or panic at this point, but consumer expectations should simply be in-check as the situation unfolds.

In the meantime, expect recently announced products to take longer to hit the market.

The Tecsun PL-990

I would not be surprised, for example, if the Tecsun PL-990, Tecsun H-501, Eton Satellit Elite, and Icom IC-705 are all delayed a few weeks or even months. Much depends on where each product was in the design, development, or production process when factories were closed.

It’s also possible if your regional retailers and distributors run out of product inventory, it could take an an extended time to replenish stock.

Again, there’s no need to panic about product availability at this point, just anticipate delays!

Post readers: Has this situation already had a direct impact on you?  Please comment.


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Tecsun PL-990 and H-501: What we know so far about the upcoming production run

The PL-990 released in China last year.

Many of you have been asking me about the pricing and availability of the Tecsun PL-990 and H-501 receivers. Both radios were released late last year (2019) in China, but the final export version–and first full production run–has not yet hit the market.

I reached out to Anon-Co to see what updates, if any, we have about these radios. They were able to share the following points:

  • “Tecsun sold a first version of the PL-990 and H-501 in China as a promotion before Chinese New Year, at a promotional price.”
  • “They will launch further updated versions in the next few months, which will also be the international export version. This price will definitely be higher than the promotional prices, but the exact price is not available yet.”
  • “The version for the international market is not finalized yet. It may become available by the end of March or April, but there is no official launch date yet.”

The H-501 version released in China last year.

I think the important take-aways here are that we’re still perhaps a couple months out from the final versions shipping and that the price will be slightly higher than the initial production run in China.

Good news is, it sounds like this radio will get a proper vetting before it ships!  I’m willing to wait knowing this. Also, if I’m reading between the lines correctly, there could be some noticeable changes and updates to the final exported versions.

If you would like to follow updates about these radios as we post them, bookmark the tags PL-990 and H-501.


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More Tecsun PL-990 images

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carel Kuijer, who shares the following images of the new Tecsun PL-990:

Thanks for sharing these, Carel!

FYI: I have not heard a solid update yet on pricing/availability of the Tecsun PL-990 and Tecsun H-501. Carel did note that the price in China is 1150 CNY, thus about 150 Euro or $166 USD, but not sure if this price will remain the same for the exported version. I will post updates here on the SWLing Post when they are available!


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Tecsun PL-990 and H-501 may be the last high-end shortwave portables from Tecsun

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor from China, Mei Tao, who writes:

I would like to share the latest news about Tecsun’s New Products: the PL-990 and H-501.

These day I found that several Chinese BCLers who received the PL990 or H501 one after another–they posted many a detailed pictures of these two radios. Lots of my friends asked me when they could buy these two radios on the market.

Then I asked the Tecsun’s boss, Mr Liang.

He replied that they had begun to supply the PL-990 and H-501, but there were only a quantity of 300 in the first batch. These radios were first supplied to the subscribers who pre-ordered PL-990 or H-501 in October. Therefore other customers would have to wait for the second or the third batch. As for the foreign BCLers, I believe the wait time will be longer.

In addition, there is a bit of bad news: Mr Liang told me that PL-990 and H-501 were the last products he led the team to design, and they were his last masterpieces. In other words, the PL-990 and H-501 may be Tecsun’s last high-end portable and desktop radios. What a pity!

Thank you for sharing this, Mei Tao. Yes, that would be a pity indeed if the PL-990 and H-501 end up being the last high-end portables from Tecsun. I suppose it’s not surprising, though, as I’m sure some of the demand for shortwave radios is on the decline at the same time so many inexpensive DSP-based portables are saturating the market.

Two years ago I heard from a reliable source that Tecsun might be pulling the plug on their high-end portables, so I was quite surprised when I saw the PL-990 and H-501 announcements earlier this year. I suppose these models could be a “last hurrah” and certainly a way to mark the PRC’s 70th anniversary (as we’ve seen on some of the radios’ promotional material).

Regardless, I’m looking forward to reviewing both of these radios. Frankly, I’m quite happy a few hundred production models are in the hands of enthusiasts in China. Hopefully early adopters have given critical feedback to Tecsun so that when the first major production run is exported, the units will have been well-vetted and solid performers.


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Update: Availability of the Tecsun PL-990 and H-501

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gareth Buxton, who recently received the latest availability dates of the new Tecsun PL-990 and H-501.

According to Anna at Anon-Co, both radios should start shipping in January or February of 2020. Gareth included the following screenshot which also notes the new AN-48x active loop antenna:

Still no firm pricing information. I will be reviewing both of these radios as soon as they’re available, so stay tuned!


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Tecsun PL-990 and H-501 at the Shanghai International Audio Exhibition

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes:

Hi Thomas, here is Shanghai International Audio Exhibition with the new toys:

https://kknews.cc/zh-cn/digital/plamvgp.html

Check out all of the photos and commentary (in Chinese) by clicking here.

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Photo of the new Tecsun PL-330, PL-990, and H-501

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lee, who writes:

Hi Thomas, I just found this photo [above] on Reddit of three new radios from Tecsun: the PL-330, the PL-990, and the H-501. I knew about the PL-990, but I didn’t realize there was a PL-330 or H-501. Any inside info? 73, Lee

Thanks for your message, Lee. I had not seen the photo of the PL-330 until you sent this one.

The PL-330, I assume, is the latest in the PL-3XX line which has primarily been DSP-based ultralight broadcast receivers. I believe only one model, the PL-365/CountyComm GP5-SSB, had SSB capabilities. The PL-330 appears to have dedicated LSB and USB mode buttons on the front panel (lower right in photo below).

Since both the Digitech AR-1780 and XHDATA D-808 both have selectable sideband, I’m not surprised the new PL-330 does as well. I’m very curious if the PL-990 will be priced competitively like PL-3XX models have been in the past–perhaps below $80 US.

The PL-330 certainly appears to have taken design cues from the PL-990 in terms of overall control layout.

The Tecsun H-501 is a new model that was previously referred to as the Tecsun S-9900.  I believe a pilot run has been made of the PL-990 and H-501–possibly the PL-330 as well.

I will be reviewing each of these radios as soon as they’re available here in the US.

Thanks for the tip, Lee!

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