{"id":50504,"date":"2021-10-10T15:21:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-10T19:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=50504"},"modified":"2021-10-10T15:21:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T19:21:45","slug":"guest-post-jock-explores-the-tecsun-pl-880s-ats-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/guest-post-jock-explores-the-tecsun-pl-880s-ats-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Jock explores the Tecsun PL-880’s ATS system"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0contributor, Jock Elliott<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Oh, no, it\u2019s broken \u2013 NOT! And other observations on the PL-880<\/h1>\n

by Jock Elliott, KB2GOM<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Okay, okay, I\u2019ll admit it: I\u2019m an oldster, currently enjoying well over 70 trips around that Big Orange Ball in the sky. Further, I\u2019ve been out of SWLing for a while.<\/p>\n

Coming back into the hobby after more than a decade\u2019s absence, has been eye-opening. Back when I wrote for Passport To World Band Radio<\/em>, my main interest, equipment-wise, was tabletop communications receivers hooked to serious outdoor antennas.<\/p>\n

Today, however, tabletop communications receivers are hard to come by (there are few new offerings), and, in my situation, serious outdoor antennas present a series of logistical problems that aren\u2019t going to get solved quickly.<\/p>\n

So that has brought me to today\u2019s crop of portable shortwave receivers, and \u2013 bottom line \u2013 they are pretty darn cool, offering worthy performance on a number of levels. My latest acquisition is the Tecsun PL-880.<\/p>\n

Like many of the current SW portables, it offers a system for scanning the SW bands and automatically storing the stations it finds into memory. On the PL-880, it\u2019s called ATS (for Auto Tuning Storage.) Oh, you knew that. Yeah, but did you know that the PL-880 has, essentially, two ATS systems?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The down arrow activates ATS Mode A, and the up arrow activates ATS Mode B.<\/p><\/div>\n

Check it out: If you press the DOWN arrow button (in the SW-METER BAND rectangle), the ATS Mode A system searches the band you are in (FM, MW\/LW or SW, including ALL the SW meter bands), automatically stores stations it finds, and \u201cpreviously stored radio stations will be replaced automatically by the newly found stations.\u201d Each band has its own set of memories, so that SW stations will be stored in SW memories, FM stations will be stored in FM memories, and so forth.<\/p>\n

ATS Mode B, however, behaves differently. You can activate it by pressing the UP arrow (in the SW-METER BAND rectangle). If you are in SW frequencies, ATS Mode B will search and store stations only within the current SW meter band. Further, it will NOT overwrite memories, but will start storing stations it finds, starting with the first available unused memory. Pretty neat.<\/p>\n

You can, however, fool yourself. I ran ATS Mode A on SW frequencies one night and found a station that was broadcasting unusual stuff (Kennedy assassination, UFOs, and the like). A couple of nights later, I wanted to see what the night\u2019s topic was on that station, so I punched the button to access memories and found . . . nothing! Oh, no, it\u2019s broken!<\/p>\n

Then I realized I was in SSB mode, and, it turns out, the PL-880 has a separate set of memories for SSB. (And the manual says that explicitly.) I switched off the SSB mode, and \u2013 tah-dah! \u2013 the SW memories reappeared. Sometimes it really does pay handsome dividends to read the manual.<\/p>\n

One of the slick things about the PL-880\u2019s memory setup is that, when you are in memory mode for a particular band, you can easily scroll through the memories simply by turning the tuning knob.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Wire antenna reels come in different styles. PL-880 (left) and CCrane Skywave SSB. But both improve performance for their respective radios.<\/p><\/div>\n

The PL-880 has a nice long whip antenna (nearly twice as long as the CCrane Skywave SSB\u2019s antenna), and it seems to be quite sensitive operating off the whip. But if you take the time to deploy the external wire antenna that comes with the PL-880, there is a considerable gain in sensitivity. Tuning around the 40-meter ham band, with the external wire antenna plugged into its socket, I could hear two stations in conversation, one louder than the other, but both copyable. When I tried to listen to the same pair of stations with just the PL-880\u2019s whip antenna, the fainter station disappeared entirely, and the louder station was \u201cdown in the mud\u201d but copyable. So the external wire antenna is clearly worth using.<\/p>\n

So far, I am well pleased with the PL-880.<\/p>\n

PS: Here’s a link to a really good article on extending the wire length of the reel-up antenna that came with the PL-880: https:\/\/www.hamuniverse.com\/shortwavereelantenna.html<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: Oh, no, it\u2019s broken \u2013 NOT! And other observations on the PL-880 by Jock Elliott, KB2GOM   Okay, okay, I\u2019ll admit it: I\u2019m an oldster, currently enjoying well over 70 trips around that Big Orange Ball in the sky. Further, I\u2019ve been out […]<\/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":[3607,627,3,43],"tags":[9390,4342,9323,2065,479,2066],"class_list":["post-50504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antennas","category-how-to","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-ats","tag-guest-posts","tag-jock-elliott-kb2gom","tag-pl-880","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-pl-880"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-d8A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52581,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/the-satellit-800-the-tecsun-pl-880-and-two-indoor-antennas-an-afternoon-of-experimentation\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":0},"title":"The Satellit 800, the Tecsun PL-880, and two indoor antennas \u2013 an afternoon of experimentation","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Satellit 800, the Tecsun PL-880, and two indoor antennas \u2013 an afternoon of experimentation By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A search for \u201cshortwave listening antennas\u201d on the internet landed me on the page for the Par EndFedz\u00ae EF-SWL receive\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\/2022\/04\/TG6-PL880-wire-antenna-001-001-Medium.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TG6-PL880-wire-antenna-001-001-Medium.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TG6-PL880-wire-antenna-001-001-Medium.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50310,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/guest-post-a-horizontal-dxer-explores-the-cc-skywave-ssb-and-pl-880\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":1},"title":"Guest Post: A “Horizontal DXer” explores the CC Skywave SSB and PL-880","author":"Thomas","date":"September 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: Confessions of a horizontal DXer and some initial impressions of the Tecsun PL-880 by Jock Elliott Back in the day when I wrote for Passport To World Band Radio, one of my favorite things to do, while my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/G12-misc-and-radios-005-001-scaled-e1632389819240.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/G12-misc-and-radios-005-001-scaled-e1632389819240.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/G12-misc-and-radios-005-001-scaled-e1632389819240.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/G12-misc-and-radios-005-001-scaled-e1632389819240.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/G12-misc-and-radios-005-001-scaled-e1632389819240.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64272,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/a-huge-difference\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":2},"title":"A HUGE difference . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"October 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM It was a remark from Sebastian Schl\u00fcter in response to this post \u2013 https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/some-really-inexpensive-ways-to-perhaps-improve-your-shortwave-listening -- that sparked today\u2019s post. He said: If your RFI is really high, your best weapon is a magnetic loop antenna aka small receive loop. At home, my RFI is so high\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\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Loop-antenna-002-001-1024x669.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55249,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/a-little-daytime-medium-wave-dxing\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":3},"title":"A little daytime Medium Wave DXing . . .","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"January 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Let\u2019s get one thing clear from the start: it\u2019s all Ken Reitz\u2019s fault. When the search for the guilty begins, the finger should point squarely at Mr. Reitz. Who is Ken Reitz? He is the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Spectrum Monitor. \u00a0 The Spectrum\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\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/photos-for-SWLing-blog-002-001-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10886,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/dave-reviews-the-tecsun-pl-880-pl660-and-sangean-ats-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":4},"title":"Dave reviews the Tecsun PL-880, PL660 and Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has posted reviews of the Tecsun PL-660, PL-880 and Sangean ATS-909X on his website. Dave even includes a review of the Radiolabs \"ClearMod\" version of the Sangean ATS-909X. \u00a0Click here to read the reviews (scroll down to view all). Many thanks, Dave; I always value your reviews!","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ATS-909X","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50891,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/jock-explores-the-essential-listening-post\/","url_meta":{"origin":50504,"position":5},"title":"Jock explores “The Essential Listening Post”","author":"Thomas","date":"November 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: The Essential Listening Post By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Listening to shortwave radio (or any radio, for that matter) is just plain fun. So what do you need to get in on the fun? A radio. With today\u2019s crop of\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\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/G12-SWLing-accessories-001-002.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50504","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=50504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}