{"id":8289,"date":"2013-12-13T19:12:51","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T23:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=8289"},"modified":"2013-12-13T19:12:51","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T23:12:51","slug":"important-note-about-tecsun-pl-880-firmware-versions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/important-note-about-tecsun-pl-880-firmware-versions\/","title":{"rendered":"Important note about Tecsun PL-880 firmware versions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_8188\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/tecsun-pl-880-how-to-display-firmware-version\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8188\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8188\" alt=\"Click here to learn how to display your PL-880's firmware version.\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101-300x147.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101-100x49.jpg 100w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101.jpg 638w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8188\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click here to learn how to display your PL-880&#8217;s firmware version.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>It seems that there are some important differences emerging between PL-880 firmware versions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You may have noted that the PL-880 I reviewed yesterday has a firmware version of <strong>8820<\/strong>. I purchased my PL-880 through <a href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?ff3=4&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5337416934&amp;customid=&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F121218984748\" target=\"_blank\">eBay seller, Anon-Co<\/a>. As far as I can tell, most, if not all of the units <a href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?ff3=4&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5337416934&amp;customid=&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F121218984748\" target=\"_blank\">Anon-Co<\/a>\u00a0has sold have the same (i.e. latest) firmware version: <strong>8820<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Several readers have contacted me with concern about units they&#8217;ve purchased from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaitousa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kaito Electronics<\/a> and from their\u00a0Amazon.com vendor account\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/browse.html?ie=UTF8&amp;marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;me=AMH4W1K8OCGMX\" target=\"_blank\">Electronnix<\/a> which have firmware version <strong>8819<\/strong>. (Not sure what firmware version you have? <a title=\"Tecsun PL-880: How to display firmware version\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/tecsun-pl-880-how-to-display-firmware-version\/\">Click here to discover<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>It seems that firmware version <strong>8819<\/strong> lacks a few features that I mentioned <a title=\"A review of the Tecsun PL-880 portable shortwave radio\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/a-review-of-the-tecsun-pl-880-portable-shortwave-radio\/\">in the review I posted yesterday<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The muting threshold <em>cannot<\/em> be properly adjusted <a title=\"Hidden feature: Adjusting the Tecsun PL-880 muting threshold\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/hidden-feature-adjusting-the-tecsun-pl-880-muting-threshold\/\">as I describe in this post<\/a>. To be clear, this would lead to a very annoying and constant shift in audio level while listening to all but the strongest of AM\/SW signals. <em>I would recommend returning your PL-880 if the muting threshold cannot be adjusted.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Bandwidth cannot be adjusted using the tuning or fine tuning controls. You can only cycle through filters by continuously press the AM BW button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It also seems that Kaito&#8217;s PL-880s are not shipping with the same carrying case\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/rover.ebay.com\/rover\/1\/711-53200-19255-0\/1?ff3=4&amp;pub=5574879351&amp;toolid=10001&amp;campid=5337416934&amp;customid=&amp;mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2F121218984748\" target=\"_blank\">Anon-Co<\/a>\u00a0ships.<\/p>\n<p>On a side note, I don&#8217;t think Kaito is to blame for this as they probably had no idea there were different versions of the PL-880 firmware. I&#8217;m sure they will work with their customers to correct this.<\/p>\n<p>If we found that the PL-880 firmware could be updated by users it would eliminate this problem. \u00a0So far, I have not heard that this is the case.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Please comment if you notice other differences in firmware versions and I will amend the list above.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"All posts tagged Tecsun PL-880\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/tag\/tecsun-pl-880\/\" target=\"_blank\">You can follow all Tecsun PL-880 updates by bookmarking\/checking this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems that there are some important differences emerging between PL-880 firmware versions. You may have noted that the PL-880 I reviewed yesterday has a firmware version of 8820. I purchased my PL-880 through eBay seller, Anon-Co. As far as I can tell, most, if not all of the units Anon-Co\u00a0has sold have the same [&hellip;]<\/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":[836,3,26,129,43],"tags":[2065,479,2066,2411,2325,2340,2391,2410,2412],"class_list":["post-8289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-products","category-news","category-radios","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","tag-pl-880","tag-tecsun","tag-tecsun-pl-880","tag-tecsun-pl-880-audio-problem","tag-tecsun-pl-880-availability","tag-tecsun-pl-880-ebay","tag-tecsun-pl-880-firmware","tag-tecsun-pl-880-muting-threshold","tag-tecsun-pl-880-volume-problem"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-29H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8405,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/kaito-able-to-update-pl-880-firmware-in-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":0},"title":"Kaito able to update PL-880 firmware in-house","author":"Thomas","date":"December 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier we posted that Tecsun PL-880s being sold by Kaito Electronics had an older firmware version (#8819) than those being sold by Anon-Co on eBay\u00a0(#8820). Fortunately\u00a0SWLing Post reader, Tim, has been working directly with Kaito in California. Yesterday, he visited their headquarters where they updated his PL-880 from firmware version\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Click here to learn how to display your PL-880's firmware version.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-101.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8182,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/tecsun-pl-880-how-to-display-firmware-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":1},"title":"Tecsun PL-880: How to display firmware version","author":"Thomas","date":"December 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to SWLing Post reader, Owl, we know how to display the firmware version of your Tecsun PL-880: 1.) With the radio turned off, simply press and hold the \"AM BW\" button and the full display panel will turn on. 2.) Then press and hold the \"AM BW\" again and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-20","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-201.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-201.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-800-Firmware-201.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8335,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/hidden-feature-displaying-the-tecsun-pl-880-date-of-manufacture\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":2},"title":"Hidden feature: Displaying the Tecsun PL-880 date of manufacture","author":"Thomas","date":"December 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to SWLing Post reader, Tim, we know how to display (what we believe is) the date of manufacture for your Tecsun PL-880: 1.) With the radio turned off, simply press and hold the \u201cAM BW\u201d button and the full display panel will turn on. 2.) Then press and hold\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tecsun-PL-880-Manufacturing-date-SWLing-Post","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-880-Manufacturing-date-SWLing-Post.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-880-Manufacturing-date-SWLing-Post.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL-880-Manufacturing-date-SWLing-Post.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8799,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/universal-radio-now-shipping-the-tecsun-pl-880\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":3},"title":"Universal Radio now shipping the Tecsun PL-880","author":"Thomas","date":"February 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Universal Radio is now shipping the Tecsun PL-880--I understand that\u00a0all of their units are firmware version 8820. Click here to check out the PL-880 at Universal Radio's website. To read our review of the Tecsun PL-880, click here.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Tecsun PL-880","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-PL880-SWLing-Post-0526-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8241,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/hidden-feature-changing-the-line-out-level-on-the-tecsun-pl-880\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":4},"title":"Hidden feature: Changing the line-out level on the Tecsun PL-880","author":"Thomas","date":"December 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Joost, for discovering and sharing yet another hidden feature of the Tecsun PL-880. How to change the FM line-out level 1.) Turn on the PL-880 and select the FM radio band. 2.) Press and hold the number 7 for three seconds, the current line-out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo (6)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/photo-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/photo-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/photo-6.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8291,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/hidden-feature-calibrating-the-tecsun-pl-880-on-medium-wave\/","url_meta":{"origin":8289,"position":5},"title":"Hidden feature: Calibrating the Tecsun PL-880 on medium wave","author":"Thomas","date":"December 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This hidden feature was described by Diemtar on the Tecsun PL-880 Yahoo Group: Tune to a strong medium wave (AM broadcast) station Turn on on SSB mode USB\/LSB Move the fine tuning control until you have a good\u00a0SSB signal (i.e. obtain a good zero-beat of the AM station) Press and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;How To&quot;","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tecsun-SSB-QRG-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-SSB-QRG-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-SSB-QRG-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Tecsun-SSB-QRG-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8289","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=8289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}