Tecsun PL-660 AM FM Shortwave SSB AIR & LW Portable Radio Review
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- Опубліковано 23 лис 2024
- A full feature unboxing and review of the Tecsun PL-660 Shortwave SSB portable radio. It includes quite a few features for a respectable price.
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Features I like about this radio:
Easy to read LCD.
Shortwave SSB performance is where its at.
AM Sync function.
External Antenna input.
Tone Control.
Headphone audio is good.
2000 Memories, enough to get by with .
Dual Alarm Feature.
Clock.
Fast/Slow tuning actually works well on this radio.
Carrying Case.
AC Adapter.
Rechargeable batteries.
External FM/SW wire included.
Vertical stand.
Nice Amber lit display.
Features that could be added or improved on:
FM Band, it's ok but could be improved.
Air Band, it is so quiet and not fun to use.
Larger SSB and Sync buttons, since I want to use them all the time.
Auto Tuning System, misses to many stations to be useful.
Overall, with the above issues, this radio still gets a recommended buy from me. It does so well on Shortwave with SSB, and its AM band that I will look past the poor FM selectivity and quiet Airband.
Thank you for watching. Watch for band scans and a instructional video on how to calibrate the frequency offset on the SW, FM and MW bands.
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My dad is a plane geek. Gave this to him for Father's Day and he uses FlightRadar in conjunction with the air band to watch flights coming into their metro airport. The 660 is all around fun and solid. Thanks for the detailed (series of) reviews. Keep up the great work. - Julia (KF8JBB)
Thank you Julia, that is a cool gift. My radio has a quiet airband, but seems to liven up with an external wire attached.
Yup. FlightRadar is great. Planes flying right over my house.
There is also the ship radar app. Very similar.
I love this radio. It's always in my bag. It's fun tuning in to shortwave and using the air band reception function. It's a bit heavy, but for a reason--it means business. The batteries that came with my unit seems to be enough for two hours of listening, which is just enough given that I mostly listen to NHK World Radio here in the Philippines--most SW stations I receive are Chinese and the occasional Indonesian and Korean, with a sprinkling of English.
poor air band no good
Yeah, air band reception is only good in open spaces... But that's the only one available within my reach.
I am in the Philippines also and thinking of picking up an all band radio. Still searching for the best at a medium price point.
Just got a PL660 a couple weeks ago after watching this review and a few others. Good job! Thanks! Very happy with the radio so far. The only little negative I found so far is that it is sort of static sensitive. I was using it while sitting on my sofa which has some synthetic fabric (and it's winter, 20% humidity in here!). I'd move around and it would cause the radio to shut off. Fortunately the ESD didn't appear to damage anything, just create a "snap" sound in the speaker and shut the radio off. Moved it to the coffee table and it was fine after that.
One possibly undocumented feature that I just verified after watching a PL-365 review (because that radio does this) is that when switching from one SW band to another using the SW up and down buttons, if you have SSB selected, it will switch between Amateur radio bands. With SSB off, it will switch between Broadcast bands. Also, not sure if this is undocumented or not, but when scanning the SW bands if you had last tuned up in frequency with the tuning knob, it will scan up in frequency. If you had tuned down with the tuning knob it will scan down in frequency. Cool little operational characteristics!
Thank you Steven. Those features sound correct, glad your enjoying the radio.
Thanks for this video. I have had this radio for several weeks. By accident, without knowing it, I turned off the long wave band. I already thought that the radio broke, because I didn't think that the LW ON / OFF button works only when the radio is OFF. You told me that.
Tecsun PL660 and Sangean 909X are my 2 most favorite radios :) I wish I were a magician and could combine the best of the two into one single radio 🙃🤗... Holy transceivers , 73
I bought this radio about 2 months ago. It is a very nice radio. Pro's include Great Short Wave with SSB, great FM response (sensitivity and volume), Plenty of presets ( I have used presets to help me listen and DX in AM, FM, and SW), nice tuning options (slow and fast and memory and direct usage), price good for value. Cons include (poor Air Wave volume and can't find any stations in my area), no working LW, the AM sensitivity is not that great but selectivity at night is good! Sound quality is pretty good but be careful with it as I'm sure it is relatively fragile against bumping or dropping!
With the radio off, you have to press button 2 to add bandwidth to AM.
Your review convinced me to choose the 660 and it is a great radio
I may have to get a 310ET too though ..... for reasons
UPDATE! (There was no issue with any of the radios. It was a BATTERY CHARGER in the next room silently interfering with them and detuning the radios somehow. Very strange but I solved the mystery. LOL! The burn in period is still important)
I love this radio. Excellent reception and performance! I had some weird issues with my 660 at first but they cleared up. I`ve had temporary issues with a number of new radios. The solution? Put alkaline batteries in them or plug them in and use them for a few hours. It`s called a "burn in period." My CCrane EP PRO had bad FM reception when I turned it on. Now it`s perfect. My Panasonic RF-562 had FM problems that cleared up. My 660 had FM and air band issues that went away. I really REALLY love this radio!
Just got it. It's like going from a 53 Chevy to a 2020 nessan. It's all automatic. Ie I had to carry a Mistry box that sent a .455 signal along with the recived signal. To give the detector some thing to chew on( Ie the 608). Now I'm carrying far less. Good rig audio.
Looks great, I wish I would have saved up for this instead of getting the PL-380 a few years back! Still definitely a worthy upgrade though, I see Amazon still has them.
I had the Grundig G3 for a long time. AM broadcast band was terrible on mine. Shortwave was great even on the ham bands. Added 25 ft. of wire to it. It had the sticky surface thing and the whip finally broke off. Time for a new updated one. Currently Universal Radio has the 660 for $109.95. Tim N4TCM
todderbert
Good to hear that they have included frequency readout calibration.
Many Tecsun radios suffered from inaccurate readouts that were usually either
1 kHz low or 1 kHz high depending on the unit. I consider that defective if you can't calibrate it.
Mine was way off on FM, and it was about 3kHz off on the SW wide band mode .
todderbert
I was consdering this model what is the serial number on your unit? I want to make sure I get a unit with the frequency calibration feature, and there are plenty of older new in box units floating around still.
Just bought this unit new about 2 months ago and no issues whatsoever with frequency readout. My AM and FM are right on the nose even to the nearest 1 kHz on AM and .01 MHz on FM. So far so good on this newer unit.
@@diaczund What is your serial number? Thanks.
@@watershed44 SN 39620200301029. Can you ID the date from that?
Nice review, I considered this radio before but passed, on the G3 I have one always used it and at one time did not use it for a month or so then when I picked it up stuck to my hand. lol I left it sitting around and was actually going to toss it then one day I saw an article online on how one guy cleaned his I bought the same item and cleaned all that rubber coating off and the radio is now better than new.
Hi can do a comparison between PL 660 and PL 680 and PL 880 for SW on weak signal and also on SSB. THANKS FOR GREAT VIDEOS
I've got a 660, and 880, Both good radios, and lots of fun- I also got a loop antenna for AM- I also got a sangean AM-FM 40 Aniversity ,another good radio- I do beleive all these radios will become harder to aquire-
Great video. Very accurate too. Love my 660. Looking at 880 now and 8800.
@7m28s: Yikes, negative center on the DC power coaxial connector. Only an issue if you're using a car DC adapter and the power cable with the +6VDC on the outside surface of the coaxial connector touches any metal surface in the vehicle.
I`m very impressed with AM reception so far. Very weak daytime signals that can barely be heard on the Sangean PR-D4W register on the 660 which is impressive for a Tecsun radio. SSB seems to work well. Shortwave reception seems fine. It`s a joy to tune thanks to no muting while tuning. I don`t currently have a long outdoor antenna to test the gain switches. I don`t understand the sync detection but I think my radio isn`t exactly on frequency but don`t want to mess it up trying a failed calibration and they say sync doesn`t work otherwise.
It’s looks alot like my Eton E10 that I bought about 12-13 years ago. Of course the E10 does not have SSB or Air bands, but that’s ok. I have the Grundig G3 for those. The G3 is a good radio except for a few imaging problems on the AM band. One example, I can hear WABC on both 770 & 1540. Great review. 👍
De_Cos1972 The E10 is there same as the Tecsun PL-550.
I'll review the G3 when I get time. The individual decided to give it to me. They said it does have button issues..will see if its something I can fix.
I am just starting to get into SW, and just acquired one of these. Still learning all the terminology. This radio, the PL-660, is the radio used by youtuber TheReportOfTheWeek, aka Reviewbrah. Interested to learn all it can do.
Nice radio, tons of presets. Easy to tune in HAM radio operators.
The transformer seems to have the date when it was made too. Good radio to use .
I have the Tecsun 680 and love it. This radio is a solid performer and I got from Anon today the Tecsun 330 for $59.99 and looks like its a very promising radio. This should be arriving in 2 weeks. The one I most curios about is The Tecsun H 501 this radio should be here by early Feb and I will let you know what happens.
how is your pl660 compared to the pl330. any mention-able differences? thanks 73
I just bought one of these used this week... we’ll see. Thanks! 👍🏻🙋♀️🥂
It was my second digital receiver. It has a nice Sync Detector. Only my ICF-2010 and my Eton E1 are over the 660 in this area. Nice review Pete. Thanks for sharing. The PL-660 has became a classic multiband portable receiver. 73!
It's a decent radio. I'm finding it works very well on SW and AM. Just what I wanted.
I'd agree that sync detector-wise it's pretty good but not quite as good as the Sony ICF-2010, the Eton E1 and I'll add the Grundig Satellit 800 to that list. Those are three of the best radios I have ever used so it's quite a compliment to the 660. Pity the sync detector in the 880 was darn near useless. :(
That's why is only a hidden feature. Really it has not a Sync Detector function declared
True enough. It's harsh of me to criticize the quality of a function that the radio was not advertised as having. That aside, I've always felt like Tecsun sort of gave up on the 880. It could have been so much more. I get the same feeling about my S-8800. I think my Tecsun buying days are over.
I just ordered my Tecsun PL-660 Radio. I can't wait to get it!
What do you think about it now?
In ur opinion is this a good option to hf radio if i wasnt going to be transmitting, instead of spending 500-1000$ to get an hf rig ?
I have watched most of your videos and found them to be most informative. I wonder which SSB radio that you think tick most of the boxes for a good price? I already have ham gear but I want something to travel. I consider your opinion to be the undisputed truth. You have handled most of the radios on the market. Thank you for your time.
The ones I find myself using the most are the XHData D-808: ua-cam.com/video/qAlLvsgpl9w/v-deo.html and the Digitech AR-1780: ua-cam.com/video/j3T_cheffC8/v-deo.html . I still have my 660 and Sangean 909X, but find the above radios easier to use and transport. I also use my CC Skywave SSB for ultra portability: ua-cam.com/video/5dQ3FWrBkmE/v-deo.html
Thanks for this thorough review, I really appreciate it.
Got one of these recently and the air band is just as loud as everything else.
Awesome review! Just wished you had covered longwave :)
Alas, you have got it! Very nice, Todderbert!
Thanks Chris, did you notice if yours had a quiet airband? mine is way too quiet. My skywave blows it away. The SW is amazing on the 660 though, and I'm thinking of keeping this one.
Yeah, I wasn't able to pick up much on the Air band, but it did receive a few signals. I looked up some local frequencies and managed to snag a couple of signals near the Memphis International Airport.
Aside from that, not much at all. It is possible that the PL-660 is deaf in the Aircraft band, but I wouldn't rule out that possibility that many signals couldn't be found because no one was transmitting that those times I tuned in. However I find my RTL-SDR is more capable on finding them than the 660, especially since you get a visual representation of any signals coming in and out.
Otherwise, the Tecsun PL-660 is quite the performer and hope it serves you well!
If had my pl-660 for 5 months: I use it every day for about 3 hours. This morning was the first hiccup. I went to turn it on nothing. It was early morning. Couldn’t see. Held the #5 button down to turn the lcd light on (I usually have the light turned off) and tried to power on and the lcd lit up with “ON “ showing on the lcd. Took the batteries out and the light went off. Still said “ON”. Waited 5 minutes and still said “ON” with no response from the radio. Put batteries I. And all had been fine all day. Contacted anon and they said this happens sometimes? Thoughts?
Try the reset button.
Nice video thanks. How is the battery life? Average hours before rechargeable is depleted?
The only downside for me with this radio is on FM with a good set of headphones, there's some distortion. Like it's overloading. I've tried changing the DX switch and lowering the antenna, doesn't help. Not really a problem. I didn't buy it for FM. For everything else it's great.
All I had to do is recalibrate the FM band. It wasn't tuning on the center, strongest part of the channels. I tuned up until the channel started to fade, then down until it started to fade out. Then I could tell how far the tuner was off. In my case I had to go for instance from 94.7 to 94.73. To fix it, I tuned 94.7, hold the Sync button down a few seconds, the screen will flash, then tune up to 94.73 and push 1 to complete calibration. Perfect!
It’s very nice the Tecsun 660 has the edge with more features . The 330 is a very
good radio but I still lthink the pl 660 an pl680 gives you more bang for your dollar
Would an external antenna help out with the FM tuning?
Nice presentation..thanx.!!😎 I wish it came with C-QuAM reception..
Moving away from the wee folk, and venturing in to the 660. (Getting lazy ) don't want to all ways carry a 455 box. For the pups. (Small radios) thanks om Dr kv4li 73
This radio rocks. I have two.
it would be nice if you could set the lcd to stay on... it doesn't work on my new pl-660 (lcd works otherwise)
Very detailed walk-through. How would you compare this with the PL 680 model , is it worth the extra for a step up?
I had the 680 at the same time, and it was identical, just a different cabinet.
I've got the China domestic version of this radio, it's actually the same, but the info plate on the rear is in Chinese, as well as the instructions are only in Chinese.
Thank you very much Your answer help me a lot !
Is this radio better than Panasonic and Japanese Sony and do you recommend me to buy like it
What do you think about the sensitivity at Medium Wave of the pl-660. Is it better than the pl-680?
Can the antenna be adjusted to a vertical position when the radio is lay flat?
I have this radio. The antenna can go to approx 30 degree angle when the radio is lay flat, so no, not vertical, not 90 degrees/ perpendicular to the radio. Hope this makes sense.
@@pennyc7064 Thanks a lot for the info!
My question is: On the PL-310et if I'm turning the dial to look for stations the receiver goes quiet. Is the 660 the same way? I prefer to hear static while tuning so as to not miss a weak signal.
There is no mute on tuning or soft muting on the 660. So you will hear everything as you tune.
@@todderbert Thank you
Your Welcome Darrell.
Considering how old pl660 is now do you think it's still worth buying. In the UK it costs £149.
My friend this is my very first time listening to you, one thing i find bad about your reviews, is that you do not i say you do not scan through the air band, you scan all athers minos the air witch is my most interest band
A nice alternative to Sony ICF-SW7600GR with more updated technology in function. However, its AGC performance is somewhat regretful.
How is the pl-660 doing after having it a while. How about Tecsun products in general?
They hold up fairly well. No issues with this one. I did have a PL-606 die on me though.
@@todderbert I use mine every night with headphones from 2-5 hours. I think this is a very well laid out receiver. I also but the r9700dx on your advice. That would be a perfect radio if it had ssb. What do you recommend as the most sturdy am, ssb and shortwave portable? I have the two above Sony 7600gr, which is a machine but doesn't have a tuning knob, so annoying to use at nite and Eton s350dl.
@@colescuckooclockshop754 The PL-880 is fun to tune on SW. Going to try out the 990 this year.
@@todderbert interesting. I'd like to see if you think the 990 is worth the price over the 880. I actually think the 660 is a pretty excellent unit. The layout is great and I can pretty much use it in the dark, remembering where everything is. My only concern with it is long term reliability.
I have had mine for about a year and a half. No problems other than the time it took to figure out how to access LW ,
Help. I am a beginning and very amateur Short Wave person thinking about purchasing the Tecsun PL-800, but I am wary of the radio's "hidden features."
What do they mean by secret features, or hidden features? I am terrible at riddles and have a hard time understanding evevn the easiest stuff. Is the PL-880 user friendly??
It is user friendly. You will most likely not need to use the hidden features. But I do go over them a bit in this video: ua-cam.com/video/3cZOq239Hd4/v-deo.html
Which one has better SW tecsun pl660 or te DigiTech ar1780 ?
Hello sir, could you review about tecsun pl-600. Thanks..
What is the battery life like with good Eneloops, both on speaker and headset?
Very good videos. What would be the best radio with air band in your opinion?
Federico Hernandez Get a police scanner type radio with air band, battery operated handheld. When you find active airband frequencies you can store them in memory and scan them. That`s the best way to listen to it.
Nice review. I wish it had a DSP. Also, is it possible to leave the dial light on, or does it go off after a few seconds? Thanks.
Thank you Seekthetruth3000, I believe you hold down the light button and it will stay on. All of my smaller digital SW Tecsun radios do this. I have this radio in storage atm, but will take it out and see if I am correct on this feature.
I have one of these. Has the "firmware" been updated on this model? How can a person find out? Also, how can a person find out what firmware his radio has?
Hi what radio is better the Tecsun Pl 660 or the Tecsun Pl 680 on the AM and FM bands. What radio would you prefer sensitivity and selectivity better radio for these bands only
I had both radios at one point and found them to be exactly the same on reception. They both had the same firmware. I sold off the 680 and kept the 660.
On the PL-660 could you tell me how to switch the time from 24 hour to 12 hour thanks!
I don't think the PL-660 (or the PL-680) allows 12 hour format. The LCD display simply has no spare segments to display "AM" or "PM", not even "A" or "P".
You won't be able to distinguish between 8 o'clock in the morning or evening and the radio's clock needs to know whether you're setting it to turn on at 8 am or 8 pm, for example. The radio's 24 hour format simplifies time setting; by setting the wake up timer to 0800 hours it will turn on at 8 am and not 8 pm.
Hope this helped. 😀
Todd I’ve got a budget of below $200 for the best radio, reel antennae and everything I need to get going. Kinda want air and ssb too. Which radio sounds the best as I have hearing loss? Thanks for your recommendations!
If you dont need AIR, the PL-880 is the way to go, punchy speaker and SSB: ua-cam.com/video/NV1Z2FgOgXE/v-deo.html
I didn't hear you
Next if i could i want to get a tecsun 2000 witch i found very good for me, now you showed me the skywave smaller integreted with lot of feacher i love
so which one to buy for better performances in FM?
DUCKYDOGKRISS Kooky95 : Buy Sony or Emerson! I have both and both are exceptionally good! 😊
Looks like it does not have mute on search
I have 2 questions:
1) What is the difference between Tecsun PL-660 and Tecsun PL-680?
2) And, which one is better if we compare with Sihuadon d808?
Thank you!
The D-808 is better for me on FM/AIR. MW they seem close. Shortwave is by far a better experience on the 660/680. BTW the 680 is the same as the 660 feature wise, just in a different cabinet/button design.
Some have a problem with LW it wont switch on after switching it over with power off.
I have not had that issue.
I have the same problem with the LW .. I switch in on with the power off and it does not go to LW when I power up. I see no other way to get LW on???? Help please anyone!
Push AM twice.
Hi, I just got this radio and I can’t pick up any of the airport frequencies. I’m about 20 miles from the airport. Is that too far?
Can you charge Eneloops in the radio or just the Tecsun batteries?
I just got today the PL660 , works OK but the 220 volt UK plug in power transformer is RED HOT ! is this normal ?
Does not sound normal at all. Don't use and ask your seller.
Which has better overall performane: Tecsun PL-660 or C. Crane Skywave?
The PL-660, unless you need weatherband and strong air reception. The SSB Skywave is nice but cost much more.
My manual is all Chinese, nothing English. Same with the box, everything in Chinese. Luckily I found the English pdf and saved it.
This radio mentions longwave and when the radio is off there is a button to turn on/off longwave. How do you actually access LW when the radio is on?
With the radio on, pressing the AM button toggles it between MW and LW. As long as you have LW enabled, by pressing 2(LW ON/OFF) when the radio is off.
Great review! Congrats.
Great video, thank you
This year’s revision of FM has been greatly improved
But the air band sound is still small.
Bummer to hear the AIR band still is quiet. I've been using my 660 on SW and MW.
Air band generally isn’t a priority on these shortwave models, you’re generally better with a cheap scanner over a higher end shortwave for that band.
@@hdofu I know, without scan and squelch, air is just an extra they throw on.
Very well done review, is there a way to see the temperature of the PL 660 like you can on the less expensive radios by Tecsun? I like the digital read out for the signal strength like the less expensive Tecsun radio feature doesn't look like this radio has that. Really like the set-up this radio has for presets very functional for keeping track of your favorite stations. Thank you for the informative radio reviews.
Thank you Mickey. Now I'm really into SSB radios. Passed my Technician's Class exam...now I want to finish my General Class test...get onto the HF bands.
todderbert well you may be destined for greatness beyond the scope of UA-cam
todderbert
You're going to have some real fun. I'm not sure where you are but if you are in 7 or 6 land I'm sure you'll want to check in on 3.840 evenings and give W6WBJ a shout out. hahaha.
Hello, does the tuning knob makes a click when you rotate it ( like the scroll on a mouse) or is it just smooth? Thank you.
smooth.
@@todderbert thank you! I observed that mine goes thru batteries like crazy, I use it with normal batteties not the rechargeble ones, because I didnt recieved them in the package.
Exact Copy of the Eton E-10...if you don't need ssb or air band you can save yourself $70...a nice Eton E-10 can usually be found for $40 to $50...
does the E-10 have AM Sync?
@@todderbert PLL synthesized...and bandwidth selector and am/sw if set and antenna trim knob..
@Hoy Sum I know that. Point I was trying to make is that Eton version basically same but much less expensive.
Can the DC adapter charge eneloops safely in the radio or would it be better to charge eneloops in the little white charger that comes with the four packs?
I take mine out and charge them in a dedicated charger. The independent cell charging will give you more cycles.
If you still have the box, see if the inside of the flap reads 2010-11 VER. I
Why don't modern SW radios have the marine band on them? I don't want to spend extra money on a scanner or get a vintage radio.
I have a question about the battery selector. Should the ni-mh only be used if the batteries are charged in the radio? What does that selector actually accomplish. I’m asking because I charge eneloops on a Wall charger. What should it be set to? Is it measuring what the radio previously charged a battery to? I’m confused as to what to set the selector to if I charge rechargeable a outside the radio.... thanks
Set the radio to NiMH if you have those cells installed, set it to off if you have Alkalines installed. It gives a more accurate battery level indication and if you hook up your AC adapter with Alkalines installed it won't charge them with the NiMH mode off.
@@todderbert thanks for the clarification!!
Does the air band really suck? If I get close to the airport vicinity, would the signal be any better?
I have tried the air-band setting and beside the volume really weak, I can't pull in any airband Like Todd said don't buy this radio if the air-band is a must have!
Can you get it to scan frequencies (particularly the airband)?
Browse, but it is slow. A dedicated scanner is the only way to go for enjoying the AIR band.
Where is the video on how to fine tune fm?
Did you say the tecsun pl-680 had the hidden feature for offset frequency calibration like the pl-660 has?
The newer version, yes.
Thank you. Was hard to get a straight answer on that
Can't seem to get a happy medium. When I calibrate Frequencies on MW that are distant radio stations it offsets the Frequencies of local stations, and vice versa. Why is that? Thought once you calibrated 1 frequency on a band they all were calibrated
I’ve been using this particular model every night for hours with my headphones and antenna. Do you think the radio is built to be able to have the wire antenna and headset put in each night and removed each morning? I can’t leave this set up next to where i sleep during the day. I easily disconnect
Both wires from the radio and was planning on using it this way.
Should be ok, you may need to clean them once in awhile.
@@todderbert thanks for the reply! I was concerned about ruining the jacks. But I’m very careful. I have no problem cleaning from time to time.
@@franciscole3039 It is when we dont use the jacks they tend to go bad..get gummed up and start to corrode.
Hi Todderberr. I just bought a pl-660. Not impressed with the build quality. Works great otherwise. When I received it the tuning button was loose, battery door rubber was off, antenna was stiff to pull and push but loose in the case. Bought a spare antenna and door. But overall, I’m not happy with this build. What is the best ssb/shortwave radio for $200 or less. Preferably $140ish.
XHDATA D-808 a knock off of the Skywave SSB
Hello, I want to listen to SW ( I already have a radio for AM/FM) I'm thinking of purchasing this model however i want to make sure that it will be ok for indoor use only. I do not have the garden/outdoor area to set up antennas etc. What is your take on indoor use for this radio. Thanks!
Will be fine, I recommend maybe a wire antenna attached to it, and extended out and up to the ceiling near a window.
@@todderbert thank you for your reply!
Hello Tod nice review. I am planning to buy this instead of the PL310ET for its best quality. I am from the Philippines living in a province 50 miles away from Metro Manila. I have radios which unfortunately can pick only local stations here in the province not stations from Manila. Now I don't know if having shortwave radio would be the best option for me but I would like to try it. What do you think?
This cost here about 120 US Dollars, isn't a fair price? Then I visited tecsunraiods.com.australlia, it cost 215 Australlian Dollars (87 US Dollars) which is cheaper than Lazada here (120 Dollars). In Amazon it is currently unavailable but you said you bought it for 100 US Dollars few years ago, I do not now if the price of this went down since then?
Sir, i just want to ask. Can this radio be used while plugged into socket, without battery?
Yes u can connect to socket without batteries.
One failing I have noticed is that if you leave the batteries in for about a week they go flat.
This is with minimal to no usage of the radio.
Im wondering if its just my radio that has this issue or do others have the same issue for them?
I have a 606 that the batteries die in two days. Like the radio is on when it isn't. I would say it is a QC issue.
I use NiMH rechargeables and have easily got over a month to 2 months usage. I substitute alkalines while my NiMH batteries recharge. Then go again. I do not trust my charger as my radio was new from Taiwan
No hard mechanical on and off switch.
Please, can you help me with your opinion I'm in doubt between buying the TECUSN PL 660 or PL 680 ??
They are identical, except for the enclosure. the 680 has easier to use buttons, but a more square like cabinet.
Would you recommend this one over the Eton Elite Executive?
Thanks
If you don't like mute on tuning then get the 660. I rarely use my 660, because I enjoy the extra bandwidth filters I get with the Executive. The 660 is mainly used for Shortwave. I use my Executive for all the bands. The 660 falls short on FM and the AIR band.
@@todderbert It falls short on AM too! Compared to the XHDATA D808
I love all your videos. I just bought the Tecsun pl 660. Seems like a great radio. I used the radio this morning and I notice the reception was better without the wire accessory. This surprised me. I noticed the enclosed wire was very thin and had tons of kinks in the wire. What would you recommend for an external antenna? I live in an apartment in Spain. I have a walk out balcony but it needs to be small and something I can put away easily. Thanks again for all the helpful videos.
I was using the SW.by the way.
Sangean makes a decent one, and so does Kaito.
I use a 20 foot long, insulated thin copper wire (phone wire) with an alligator clip on the end that I attach to the antenna. Really makes the shortwave come in clear.
Wish I understood the storage on this thing.
I have a lot more radio stations on FM in Croatia. Or does this radio have poor reception on that band ....?
Can "firmware" be updated with Tecsuns if sent to the service deparment?
Possibly. You would have to contact a Tecsun Sales Rep. KaitoUSA sells Tecsuns in the States and they may know if it is possible.
@@todderbert Thanks.
Can someone verify something for me? I had a defective pl-660 that I bought at Christmas. It had a white sticker (serial number with black numbers) both on the radio under the stand and on the outer box. My new replacement from a trusted seller had the serial number under the stand only and it is sort of permanently inked on under the stand. Was the first radio a Fake?
My Radio has the serial number on a white paper with black lettering. This is normal Tecsun behavior. It will also have an anti-counterfeiting sticker under the stand as well.
@@todderbert thanks for the reply. The one I sent back to the first seller
Had this white serial sticker both on the box and on the radio under the stand, but it was broken. The new one from anon has a serial number sort of silk screened onto the back of the radio under the stand and no sticker on the box.
What is the best portable radio on the market today and what is your favourite choice ?
There are many options, and opinions related to your question. The Best radio is what fits a Person. I personally like the CC Skywave for portability, and long run times. I enjoy my Eton Elite Executive. My favorite choice, would be the classic Sony ICF-2010.
Em 2020, comparando este rádio com o xhdata d808, qual seria a escolha ?
D808 mejor precio - mas chiquito - mejor recepcion de FM/AIR. Muy muy semejante.
@@AguilaEmplumada Não tive sorte com ele, pois veio quebrado o local de fixação da antena e vendi barato.
@@sidneycavalcant a triste, o d808 é um rádio melhor. Você sempre pode mas uma nova antena eu só uso a externa.
@@AguilaEmplumada o problema é que quebrou internamente a base que fixa a antena, então desanimou.
@@sidneycavalcant si se puede reparar. hay un link donde alguien abre el radio y demuestra las partes internas.