{"id":21739,"date":"2016-10-11T05:24:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T09:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=21739"},"modified":"2016-10-11T05:24:36","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T09:24:36","slug":"tecsun-pl-680-beats-expectations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/tecsun-pl-680-beats-expectations\/","title":{"rendered":"Tecsun PL-680 Beats Expectations"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

I have been procrastinating over investing in another portable shortwave radio to replace my ageing (but still going strong) Sangean ATS909. Also known in the U.S. as the rebadged Radio Shack DX\u2013398, the Sangean has been a most reliable rig for in-the-field DXpeditions. My unit is one of the early first generation versions that I purchased on the second-hand market, so I\u2019m guessing it has to be at least 16 years old now. It continues to provide a full rich tone quality on AM\/FM and is very sensitive on shortwave providing you use an external antenna of 5 metres (16 feet) or more. The radio received some bad press because of its poor SW reception using just the telescopic rod antenna, which frankly was justified. The in-built whip is useless! But all of my work has been with an external antenna, and the results have been most successful over the years.<\/p>\n

But the old ATS909 has lived a hard life, having been bounced around in the car on rough dirt tracks, dropped a few times, and thanks to a recent home renovation project it now has paint splattered all over it. On one occasion, I\u2019d even left it outside on the ground after a spot of gardening, subjecting it to half an hour of heavy rain, before realising my forgetfulness. The radio was soaked but still going strong when I picked it up. However, the digital readout was all messed up. After 24 hours of drying, and it fired up beautifully again, and has been fine ever since! That\u2019s some impressive build quality there! Thanks Sangean!<\/p>\n

Anyway, a few months ago I decided to \u201cpull the trigger\u201d and purchased a new Tecsun PL-680 AM\/FM\/SSB\/Air Band radio. This rig has been on the market since around February 2015. So far, it has performed very well for me.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, on the built-in telescopic antenna reception is only marginally better than the Sangean, but the Tecsun is really quite sensitive with an external long wire antenna. In fact, I\u2019ve had it hooked up to my three double bazooka (coax) dipoles for 80, 40 and 20 meters, and the performance has been excellent. The tone quality is not quite a good as the Sangean, lacking richness and depth on MW, FM and SW. But for DXing, the audio appears just right for digging out clear audio from the noisy shortwave bands.<\/p>\n

\"pl680-at-the-beach\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently, I hooked up both portables for a side-by-side comparison using four different external antennas outside the shack with switches between the two radios. I was eager to check how they measured up in terms of sensitivity and selectivity. The results for the Tecsun were impressive, picking up all of the weaker signals that the Sangean could hear.<\/p>\n

Indeed, on several shortwave broadcast bands, the Tecsun appeared to be just a touch more sensitive at digging out some of the weakest signals. The audio also appeared a little clearer for those weak signals, perhaps because it has a narrower audio response than the Sangean. And selectivity for the PL-680 was about the same as the ATS909, generally very good.<\/p>\n

On the ham bands, however, the SSB audio quality of the ATS909 sounds more pleasant to my ears than the PL680. But the Sangean\u2019s tuning process in SSB is somewhat more cumbersome than for the Tecsun.<\/p>\n

The PL-680\u2019s synchronous detector effectively reduces adjacent signal interference. It\u2019s easy to use and is a strong feature in its favor. However, occasionally it can fail to lock on to a weaker signal or when the signal is subject to deep fading. One other characteristic of the Tecsun is that it has a rather overly generous S-meter, hitting S4 or 5 for all but the weakest signals. This is a meter not to be taken too seriously!<\/p>\n

But the PL-680 is not without its faults!<\/p>\n

\nClick here to continue reading the full story.<\/a><\/p>\n

Rob Wagner, VK3BVW, is the author of this post and a regular\u00a0contributor to the SWLing Post. He\u00a0also blogs at the Mount Evelyn DX Report<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I have been procrastinating over investing in another portable shortwave radio to replace my ageing (but still going strong) Sangean ATS909. Also known in the U.S. as the rebadged Radio Shack DX\u2013398, the Sangean has been a most reliable rig for in-the-field DXpeditions. My unit is one of the early first generation versions that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":21740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836,3196,26,129,43],"tags":[3609,600,5531,479,3456],"class_list":["post-21739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-products","category-portable-radio","category-radios","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","tag-rob-wagner","tag-sangean","tag-sangean-ats909","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-pl-680"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/tecsun-pl680.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-5ED","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14005,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/pl-680-and-ats-405-radio-reviews-now-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":0},"title":"PL-680 and ATS-405 radio reviews now online","author":"Thomas","date":"July 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, both Jay Allen and Chris Freitas have reviewed the Tecsun PL-680. If you're considering purchasing a PL-680, you should check out both reviews and also our PL-680 review and radio comparison from February. Jay has also reviewed the Sangean ATS-405 on his website and Keith Perron tells me\u00a0he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PL-680-BBC-Click-Frequency","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PL-680-BBC-Click-Frequency-1024x466.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PL-680-BBC-Click-Frequency-1024x466.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PL-680-BBC-Click-Frequency-1024x466.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45996,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/matt-compares-the-tecsun-pl-990-and-sangean-ats-909x-sharing-an-external-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":1},"title":"Matt compares the Tecsun PL-990 and Sangean ATS-909X sharing an external antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Matt Blaze, who shares the following comparison of the new\u00a0Tecsun PL-990x and the original Sangean ATS-909X\u00a0communications receivers. Like Matt\u2019s recent comparison of the Tecsun PL-990x to the Icom IC-R9500, this review is in audio form and brilliantly narrated by Matt. I highly recommend listening with headphones or,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31525,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/recommending-the-tecsun-pl-880-over-the-sangean-ats-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":2},"title":"Recommending the Tecsun PL-880 over the Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"April 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Direwolf131, who recently commented on one of the Sangean ATS-909X reviews in the Post archives. Direwolf131 writes: I\u2019m a few years after Steve\u2019s comments but I will have a go at it, at least anecdotally speaking. I\u2019ve owned a half dozen Sangean ATS-909\u2019s, which includes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ATS-909X_small.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15953,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/the-swling-post-2015-2016-shortwave-radio-buyers-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":3},"title":"The SWLing Post 2015-2016 Shortwave Radio Buyer\u2019s Guide","author":"Thomas","date":"December 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine: Despite the often-expressed view that shortwave may be on the decline, if one were to look at this year\u2019s shortwave technology alone, the truth would seem to be anything but. Remarkably, 2015 has been a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FourRadiosAbstract2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10124,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/the-mega-shortwave-radio-review-of-the-pl-880-pl-660-ats-909x-and-icf-sw7600gr\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":4},"title":"Mega Review: the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, Sangean ATS-909X, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR go head-to-head","author":"Thomas","date":"July 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This article, which extensively reviews\u2013and compares\u2013the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, the Sangean ATS-909X, and the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of\u00a0The Spectrum Monitor Magazine. Without a doubt, it's my longest and\u00a0most comprehensive review to date. Summer: \u00a0time for travel\u2013and for portable shortwave DXing. As I mentioned in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AllFourRadios","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/AllFourRadios.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48163,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/shortwave-portables-external-antennas-overloading-and-electrostatic-discharge\/","url_meta":{"origin":21739,"position":5},"title":"Shortwave portables, external antennas, overloading, and electrostatic discharge","author":"Thomas","date":"March 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack Dully, who writes: I am just wondering what portable receivers are more susceptible to overloading with long dipoles, say 60-70 ft. I regularly use such and I have never noticed anything unusual happening with a Sony ICF-7600GR, Grundig G3, or PL-880 to name\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sony-ICF-SW7600GR-RA-CO.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sony-ICF-SW7600GR-RA-CO.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sony-ICF-SW7600GR-RA-CO.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}