{"id":45023,"date":"2020-08-27T06:33:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T10:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=45023"},"modified":"2020-08-27T11:16:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T15:16:54","slug":"tecsun-pl-990-initial-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/tecsun-pl-990-initial-assessment\/","title":{"rendered":"Tecsun PL-990x Initial Assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Dan has just completed his initial assessment and included a long-format video. Many thanks to Dan for sharing the following:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Tecsun PL-990x:\u00a0 An Initial Assessment<\/h1>\n

by Dan Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, Thomas Witherspoon posted the first photos of the Tecsun PL-990x<\/a> \u2013 we both received units from Anon-co in Hong Kong for testing.<\/p>\n

I was able to spend some time outside my house here in Maryland, running the 990x and comparing it to the older receiver by Tecsun, the PL-880<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tecsun undertook a thorough re-design of the PL-880, which among other things was known for its superb sound through a large speaker.<\/p>\n

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

The 880 was available both on its own, or in a hard-case kit that also included (or includes assuming these are still purchasable) a separate Tecsun-branded solid state recording device, spare knobs and other accessories including Li-ion batteries.<\/p>\n

So, the long-awaited PL-990, which we have been seeing in YouTube videos being tested by various individuals who purchased pre-production versions from Asian sites such as AliExpress, is finally here \u2013 or will be in coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n

Those who view my videos know that I like to do fairly long hands-on tests of receivers, and this is no exception, at about 50 minutes.\u00a0 My test did not include medium wave or FM, focusing only on shortwave performance and using only the telescopic whip antenna.<\/p>\n

Throughout the video, I do put the 990x up against the older PL-880, which had the well-known issue of poorly-implemented synchronous detection (SYNC was not an official feature in the older receiver).<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT NOTE: \u00a0 On the 990x, hitting the \u201c4\u201d key while the radio is powered on activates DNR (Dynamic Noise Reduction) which then activates auto-bandwidth switching, a feature I found quite annoying in the PL-880 and would no doubt find just as annoying in the 990x.\u00a0 I can’t imagine why anyone would want bandwidths auto-switching on their own.<\/p>\n

I always tell people who come to me for advice about radios that you don’t always have to have the latest receiver to enjoy what’s left of shortwave.<\/p>\n

I am a big fan of classic older portables such as the SONY ICF SW55s, 7600GRs, SW100s, SW-07s, SW-1000Ts, SW-77s, etc along with other classics such as the Panasonic RF-B65.\u00a0 I own one or more of most of these \u2013 they’re a joy to use assuming they are in good condition.<\/p>\n

One more thing \u2013 I did not compare the 990x to the Tecsun S-8800.\u00a0 I think they are really different radios \u2013 the 8800 has that gorgeous remote control and fantastic audio . . . I really don’t put it in the same category as the 880\/990s or even the 600 series Tecsuns.<\/p>\n

I will leave extensive tests of the 990x on medium wave and FM to others \u2013 there are already quite a few YouTube demonstrations online showing this.\u00a0 In the tuning I did on MW and FM, the radio did seem quite sensitive.\u00a0 I noted that whereas the 9 kHz bandwidth is not visible on shortwave, it is on MW.<\/p>\n

Here is my list of high points and low points for the 990x.\u00a0 Since this receiver, and the still-to-be-released H-501, may in fact be the last we will ever see from Tecsun, it’s up to the individual to make a judgment as to whether to buy.<\/p>\n

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

PL-990x High Points<\/h2>\n