A very simple hidden feature: by turning off your Tecsun PL-880, then pressing and holding the number 8 on the keypad, you can turn on the PL-880 clock seconds display. Use the same process to toggle between settings.
Be warned that this free feature will not buy you extra time. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The supplied Tecsun PL-880 charger/power supply (Click to enlarge)
I’ve had a lot of questions and comments about whether the Tecsun PL-880 is supplied with a power supply/battery charger. I purchased my PL-880 from from Anon-Co on eBay and they sent a charger along with the radio.
The charger was not in the actual PL-880 (OEM) box, but wrapped up inside Anon’s FedEx shipping package. I found it instantly.
I mention this because I’m not sure if other vendors are supplying a charger as well–perhaps other PL-880 owners can comment?
The charger has two ports where the supplied USB cable can be plugged in–both 5 VDC, but one rated at 1000mA and the other at 2400 mA. Either would work to power the PL-880 as it only requires 300 mA. For charging, I would use the 2400 mA port–though the 1000 mA port may work as well. You certainly can’t hurt the radio by using the higher mA port as the radio will only use the amount of amperage it requires.
I will also note that while I prefer portables having the more standard AA cells, the supplied PL-880 rechargeable battery (see below) has superb capacity. With all of the listening time I’ve been logging, I still haven’t needed to recharge it yet. I suspect its capacity is superior to that of most AA rechargeables.
You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking/checking this link.