• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Tecsun PL-660 REVIEW

C

crainbebo

I just got a Tecsun PL-660 from the mail last night, from California. Here's my review on it.

The box is nicely packed with the radio, instructions (in ENGLISH!), four batteries (didn't work unfortunately, had to buy Duracells from the store), an external antenna for FM/SW (works GREAT) and a pair of earbuds.

Antenna is about 35 inches (I measured it), way more than the G8.

FM-the regular antenna works OK, but is prone to lots of bleed and intermod from local Seattle stations. I have to switch the gain to Normal, or even Local, to get KXXO/KGY etc. External antenna works very very good. KSER 90.7 is like a local from Everett, and I got CFMI 101.1 from Vancouver briefly, with a variable bar level (up to 3 at the most).

AM-the 640 KXPA IF is gone. (YAY!) Bad news is that KIXI, KXPA and KKNW still bleed on a few frequencies. 610, 660, 760, 1270, 1420. KIXI bleeds on 980 and 990 rendering those frequencies useless. KXPA bleeds on 1640 and 1650 also making those frequencies useless. I wonder if the box loop we are building will help. I was getting lots of normal stations last night. Heard CBK, CKMX, etc. as well as KFI up to a 4/5!

SW-works very good. With the whip, the SSB works very good. 20 and 15 meters had activity today, and the SSB BFO really works. The external antenna works even better. 6160 CKZU is very listenable from BC in the day, and I still heard a couple of Asians on 49m 3+ hrs after sunrise. One was 5930 (maybe Radio Rossii Russia).

LW-was getting some BC beacons last night but it seems to be poor. Reception is not good here anyway due to KIXI being two miles away at 10kw night and 50kw day.

Aircraft-Only have heard Sea-Tac on 123.900 right now, but it seems to work.

Anybody else have a PL-660? If so, what do you think of it?

-crainbebo
 
I love the PL-660. I've had 2 of them for about a year. I have the early & later versions. Newer version has more options on the backlight control & the 3-position antenna attenuator switch on the left side also works on MW & LW, in the newer version. On the older version, the switch only has an effect on SW & FM. I've also noticed that the MW sensitivity is ever-so-slightly less on the newer.

DON'T TOSS THOSE BATTERIES JUST YET!!

Both of my PL-660's came with NMH rechargeable batteries from Tecsun. Yours may have, as well. The radio can also charge them.

I live out in the sticks. There is only one lock AM & an FM out here.

When I took it to Minneapolis, I also noticed that the FM tends to overload.

The SW is superb. Sensitivity is excellent. The sync detection helps a great deal in selectivity, as well. SSB is a great, too.

I haven't had any spurious signal problems with the MW, though...Even in MN.

The LW performance isn't uniform throughout the band. It's very sensitive down to about 300 KHz, but starts to fall as you go lower. I have 2 beacons on 242 & 404 that are the same strength, but the 242 is very weak on the PL-660, while the 404 is fine.

The performance on the AIR band is exceptional. The problem is scanning for active frequencies is painfully slow & often misses action, due to the non-continuous nature of AIR-band signals. You're best bet is to look up active frequencies in a scanner frequency look-up service, and put them into the PL-660's memories. You can always manually tune till you find something interesting.

Have fun. You'll love this radio.
 
Anyone know how the MW reception compares to the Grundig G5?
I'm assuming the MW reception can't be as good as the Sangean PR-D5 due to it's size.
Comments from anyone who has used these three radios are appreciated.
 
I've noticed the AM is very slightly less sensitive on the 660 compared to the G5. Right now on 1290 I can hear a barely-audible voice (likely KUMA, it's 90 min after sunrise). The G5 picks up the barely-audible voice, but the 660 picks up mostly a carrier.

I don't think the PL-660 has a DSP chip, correct? I know the G8 does, and there's only maybe one spot where I can get some weak FM overload, around 87.5 and again around 102.1. That little radio is IMPRESSIVE for FM.

-crainbebo
 
crainbebo said:
I've noticed the AM is very slightly less sensitive on the 660 compared to the G5. Right now on 1290 I can hear a barely-audible voice (likely KUMA, it's 90 min after sunrise). The G5 picks up the barely-audible voice, but the 660 picks up mostly a carrier.

I don't think the PL-660 has a DSP chip, correct? I know the G8 does, and there's only maybe one spot where I can get some weak FM overload, around 87.5 and again around 102.1. That little radio is IMPRESSIVE for FM.

-crainbebo
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
I connected the external antenna which came in the box. However, it seemed to increase noise. Keep in mind that this is inside the house. I hooked the same antenna to my RSDX-390 and improved the reception greatly on the AM band. There is no external for the AM band on the Pl-660, only shortwave/FM. Using the whip antenna, it does get good reception on SW and FM. I agree that the AM is not the best. When I DX the AM, I use the DX-390.

Overall, I am pleased with the unit. I had the same problem with the batteries, which were alkaline and not rechargeable.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom