{"id":47708,"date":"2021-02-11T08:29:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T12:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=47708"},"modified":"2021-02-11T08:29:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T12:29:19","slug":"michaels-impressions-of-the-tecsun-pl-330","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/michaels-impressions-of-the-tecsun-pl-330\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael’s impressions of the Tecsun PL-330"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Michael Sharpe, who writes:<\/p>\n

Hi Thomas,<\/p>\n

Here are some personal observations after playing with the Tecsun PL-330 for a couple weeks, maybe an hour or two a day. I made a point of picking up the 310ET , the CCrane Skywave SSB and the G6 Aviator at the same time for some comparisons.<\/p>\n

These comments are in no particular order.<\/p>\n

The PL330 is very lightweight compared to the other three. This could be perceived in two ways.<\/p>\n

A. The case seems less sturdy than it could be, it creaks and ‘gives’ a little when operating some of the controls that require ‘squeezing’ to activate a button. I would prefer a more solid feel.<\/p>\n

B. The radio is very light which is a plus for travelling with hand luggage. You’ll like that \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The backlight can be set to permanently ‘on’, I really like this. None of the other radios do this when on battery power only. I don’t consider any radio ‘portable’ if it is tethered to a power supply. It would be nice if the buttons lit up but let’s stay real here !<\/p>\n

Tuning: I am not crazy about the detented operation of the tuning knob, but I recognise that this is a requirement on the lower cost portables that use digital tuning. However…the PL-330 scores highly because the detent clicking is soft and silent. When compared to the Skywave SSB, there is a world of difference. For me, a clicking knob eliminates the option to tune around the ham bands when my wife is trying to sleep. I did email CCrane to ask if a solution may be suggested, but the response was negative. The G6 Aviator wins hands down in this area, but apples to pears !<\/p>\n

Memory Tuning: I really like the options here, easy to use and the time selective ETM+ is genius. I also like the easy ‘delete all memories’ option which enables a fresh start at any time.<\/p>\n

Audio: It’s not a PL-880 but its Ok for a small portable and the bandwidth option is a big plus. I’m no expert here because I do a fair proportion of my listening with a mono single side earpiece at night.<\/p>\n

AM: Seems to work fine. Pulls in everything I normally listen to and seems sensitive and stable enough.<\/p>\n

FM: Seems to work fine. Pulls in everything I normally listen to (not much!) and seems sensitive enough. Brilliant that it will suppress stereo unless the headphone socket is used.<\/p>\n

SW: I spend a lot of time here and it seems good enough. I did compare reception with the Belka DX and had nothing to complain about. I have learned that keyboard tuning to a frequency near the frequency of interest and then final tuning with the annoying detent knob is the way to go. Also, memory tuning is easy and makes the detent truly functional.<\/p>\n

SSB: This my main area of interest as I love to tune around the ham bands, especially when travelling with no access to real ham gear. The fine tuning at 10 Hz with suppressed soft muting is a real winner. It would be nice if soft mute could be disabled completely but I understand this is limitation of the DSP hardware.<\/p>\n

Calibration seems easy too with just a long press on the USB button when the audio is zero beat (note the calibration option is for the AM band but utilizes the USB or LSB to zero beat and set). I don’t do this any more, after all, what’s the point when tuning around to listen \ud83d\ude42 Just twiddle the knob until it sounds good and Bob’s your uncle. I think the ‘Step’ button should replace the ‘Sync’ button and not be shared with the sunken ‘lock’ button. Too squeezy.<\/p>\n

SYNC: Don’t bother. I tried it several times, not so much any more. Waste of a perfectly good button. (See SSB above.)<\/p>\n

Battery: I actually like the battery choice. I get that AA’s or AAA’s are a good choice for emergency use because of availability but in an emergency you would probably have your phone with you, and some means of charging it. Just have an appropriate cable or adapter in the bag and you are good to go. My current phone uses the usb micro, as does the PL330 so I may be a little biased at this time.<\/p>\n

Antenna: For portable use, the existing antennas work fine. The SW input jack works and the ability to switch the AM signal source between the internal ferrite and the external jack is a nice touch if you want to experiment.<\/p>\n

I cut the wrist strap off, not sure what benefit this offers but they all have them. I must be missing something ?<\/p>\n

A rear stand would be nice but it stands on its base reasonably well.<\/p>\n

So….for around $60, it’s a no-brainer in my book.<\/p>\n

Hope this helps. I’m no expert when it comes to deviation ratios, 3rd order intercepts, microvolt sensitivity etc. etc. but these are my impressions from a guy who just likes to play with radios.<\/p>\n

Best wishes<\/p>\n

Michael (N9YZM)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you for sharing your impressions of the Tecsun PL-330, Michael! I’ve also been testing the PL-330 and find that it is a great value for $60–certainly a low-cost alternative to the C.Crane CC Skywave SSB (although I much prefer the build quality of the Skywave). My family life has been so busy this past month, I’ve had little dedicated time to do comparisons, but it appears to me that the PL-330 is a solid performer.<\/p>\n

Thanks again for sharing your assessment, Michael!<\/p>\n

Click here to check out the Tecsun PL-330 (export version) at Anon-Co.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Sharpe, who writes: Hi Thomas, Here are some personal observations after playing with the Tecsun PL-330 for a couple weeks, maybe an hour or two a day. I made a point of picking up the 310ET , the CCrane Skywave SSB and the G6 Aviator at the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[3,129,43,154],"tags":[6718,8078,479,8076,8843],"class_list":["post-47708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-michael-sharpe-n9yzm","tag-pl-330","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-pl-330","tag-tecsun-pl-330-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cpu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":47203,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/export-version-of-the-tecsun-pl-330-now-at-anon-co\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":0},"title":"Export version of the Tecsun PL-330 now at Anon-Co","author":"Thomas","date":"January 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The export version of the Tecsun PL-330 compact shortwave radio is now available at Anon-Co for $59.99 US. Anna, at Anon-Co, notes that they will begin to take orders on January 11, 2021. Click here to check out the PL-330 at Anon-Co.\u00a0","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\/2021\/01\/Tecsun-PL-330.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tecsun-PL-330.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Tecsun-PL-330.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47169,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/frank-translates-the-tecsun-pl-330-manual-into-german\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":1},"title":"Frank translates the Tecsun PL-330 manual into German","author":"Thomas","date":"January 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank, who writes: Hi there, I have written a manual for the Tecsun PL-330 in German after getting only a Chinese one. Perhaps it is helpful for somebody? With friendly regards Frank from Germany Click here to download Tecsun PL-330 Deutsche Bedienungsanleitung (PDF 1.8\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-05-at-07.17.39.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":45940,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/a-tecsun-pl-330-features-reference-sheet\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":2},"title":"A Tecsun PL-330 features reference sheet","author":"Thomas","date":"October 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0 Jaap de Goede, who shares the following as an update to his Tecsun PL-330 review. Jack writes: I discovered several features that are not displayed on the keyboard both on the Internet and by fiddling with the radio. Maybe these features are in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Reference-Sheet.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Reference-Sheet.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Reference-Sheet.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Reference-Sheet.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40291,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/photo-of-the-new-tecsun-pl-330-pl-990-and-h-501\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":3},"title":"Photo of the new Tecsun PL-330, PL-990, and H-501","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"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?\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\/2019\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62431,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/jeff-takes-a-look-at-the-tecsun-pl-330\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":4},"title":"Jeff Takes a Look at the Tecsun PL-330","author":"Thomas","date":"March 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he\u2019s published a new article on the Herculodge reflecting on his latest impulse radio purchase: the Tecsun PL-330. Jeff shares how this venerable compact portable seduced him \u2014 despite an already impressive collection of Tecsun greats. Click here to\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\/2025\/03\/Jeff-PL-330.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jeff-PL-330.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jeff-PL-330.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jeff-PL-330.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Jeff-PL-330.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46170,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/how-to-find-the-tecsun-pl-330s-firmware-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":47708,"position":5},"title":"How to find the Tecsun PL-330’s firmware version","author":"Thomas","date":"October 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jaap de Goede, who shares the following note: Thanks for posting the hidden feature table to the Tecscun PL-330. I see more and more videos of the PL-330 popping up on YouTube. I\u2019m wondering what firmware they run. It\u2019s easy to identify the firmware\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Firmware-rotated-e1603630945990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Firmware-rotated-e1603630945990.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Firmware-rotated-e1603630945990.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Tecsun-PL-330-Firmware-rotated-e1603630945990.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47708","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=47708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}