{"id":27287,"date":"2017-07-20T11:06:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=27287"},"modified":"2017-07-20T11:06:03","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:06:03","slug":"the-tecsun-pl-880-triple-conversion-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/the-tecsun-pl-880-triple-conversion-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tecsun PL-880: triple conversion architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Larry Thompson, who writes:<\/p>\n

There’s been some confusion on my part whether the Tecsun PL-880 is a dual conversion or triple conversion receiver. Amazon and eBay list the receiver as double conversion, whereas Universal Radio doesn’t mention either.<\/p>\n

After scouring the Instruction Manual, I was pleased to learn that the PL-880 uses the Silicon Labs si4735 DSP microchip and has 4 Intermediate Frequencies.<\/p>\n

1st IF: 55.845 MHz
\n2nd IF: 10.7 MHz
\n3rd IF: 45 kHz
\n4th IF: 128 kHz (exclusively for FM)<\/p>\n

To me, that looks like a triple conversion architecture. The combination of the DSP microchip, and the triple conversion would explain why my Tecsun PL-880 is so much more sensitive and selective than my Sony ICF-SW8600GR.<\/p>\n

My CountyCom GP-5\/SSB emergency portable also has the same Silicon Labs DSP chip and it is almost as sensitive as the Tecsun PL-880, far more sensitive than the Sony. I’ve owned a Japan Radio JRC-525 and a Yaesu FT-900AT transceiver for many years, and the PL-880 digs out weak signals better than both those tabletop receivers, both dual conversion.<\/p>\n

To quell the speculation, yesterday I contacted Anna at Anon-Co, the worldwide distributor for Tecsun radios. Her quick reply confirms my suspicions that the Tecsun PL-880 is indeed a triple conversion receiver. That would explain why it blows my Sony ICF-SW7600GR out of the water in senitivity and its ability to pull out weak stations.<\/p>\n

Among all the other great attributes, this is an welcome discovery and one never mentioned in the specs by the various retailers of this receiver!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you Larry, for shedding light on this–Anna would certainly know.<\/p>\n

Your note makes me realize that I really should order a second, current production model PL-880. My PL-880<\/a> is from one of the first batches produced. I imagine I could benefit from some of the firmware tweaks that have been made to this receiver over time. \u00a0Perhaps it would even be a good time to compare the 1st generation with the current generation?<\/p>\n

I just checked and Anon-Co is selling the PL-880\u00a0on eBay for $153.99 US shipped<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have any SWing Post<\/em> readers compared early and late model PL-880 units? Please comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Larry Thompson, who writes: There’s been some confusion on my part whether the Tecsun PL-880 is a dual conversion or triple conversion receiver. Amazon and eBay list the receiver as double conversion, whereas Universal Radio doesn’t mention either. After scouring the Instruction Manual, I was pleased to learn that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"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":[3,3196,26,43],"tags":[2749,6357,2065,34,479,2066,6356],"class_list":["post-27287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-portable-radio","category-radios","category-shortwave-radio","tag-anon-co","tag-larry-thompson","tag-pl-880","tag-shortwave","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-pl-880","tag-triple-conversion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-767","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45023,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/tecsun-pl-990-initial-assessment\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":0},"title":"Tecsun PL-990x Initial Assessment","author":"Thomas","date":"August 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, and I have been evaluating a pre-production model of the Tecsun PL-990x portable shortwave radio--the same model which will be soon sold by Anon-Co. Dan has just completed his initial assessment and included a long-format video. Many thanks to Dan for sharing the following: Tecsun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tecsun-PL-990x-PL-990-7.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7004,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/the-new-tecsun-pl-880-sounds-promising\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":1},"title":"The new Tecsun PL-880 sounds promising","author":"Thomas","date":"August 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night, I discovered news of the new Tecsun PL-880 on Jeff's excellent blog, the Herculodge. Out of all of the current shortwave radio manufacturers, Tecsun seems to be one of the only companies making new models for the radio hobbyist--models with important features like SSB, bandwidth control, fine tuning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Tecsun PL-880 (Photo: bbs.tecsun.com.cn\/)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/TecsunPL-8801-300x164.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23567,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/tecsun-s-8800e-availability-in-europe-and-bertrands-first-impressions\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":2},"title":"TECSUN S-8800e availability in Europe and Bertrand’s first impressions","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bertrand Stehle (F6GYY), who writes: Hi Thomas, The new SSB portable receiver TECSUN S-8800 has been available from Germany, since the beginning of 2017. Supplier:https:\/\/www.wellenjagd.com\/\u00a0has the S-8800e, a Europeen version. I have one unit here and also being an owner of the PL-880, [I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Tecsun-S-8800.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Tecsun-S-8800.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Tecsun-S-8800.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Tecsun-S-8800.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16501,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/george-demonstrates-the-pl-880-tuning-bug\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":3},"title":"George demonstrates the Tecsun PL-880 tuning bug","author":"Thomas","date":"January 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"[19 January 2016: Please read this updated post.] In response to Pawel's post about a tuning bug affecting a recent batch of Tecsun PL-880s, SWLing Post\u00a0contributor Georges (F6DFZ) comments: I have posted a new video about this important bug of the PL-880. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3KZFlO-C-Gk I did so because it seems some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PL-880-Tuning-Bug","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/PL-880-Tuning-Bug.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/PL-880-Tuning-Bug.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/PL-880-Tuning-Bug.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8149,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/video-tecsun-pl-880-vs-pl-660-on-a-local-am-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":4},"title":"Video: Tecsun PL-880 vs. PL-660 on a local AM station","author":"Thomas","date":"December 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In the following video, I have tuned both the Tecsun PL-880 and the PL-660 to a relatively local AM station (880 kHz).\u00a0Note 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14449,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/tecsun-pl-880-evans-notes-signal-meter-and-other-discrepencies\/","url_meta":{"origin":27287,"position":5},"title":"Tecsun PL-880: Evans notes signal meter and other discrepencies","author":"Thomas","date":"August 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Evans (in Greece) writes: I would like your opinion regarding two strange points we noticed in two different Tecsun PL-880 models, which a friend and I\u00a0have recently purchased. In particular: The signal meter is supposed to measure up to 99dBu (my Tecsun PL-390 s-meter goes indeed up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PL-880 (1)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-880-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-880-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-880-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27287","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27287\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}