I just received my new Tecsun PL-330 in due partially to your opinion as well as Todlebert and several others and I must tell you that this is the best shortwave radio I've ever owned! The ETM+ is without question the best tuning method I have ever used! I've been SWLing for nearly 50 years and owned several Realistic models including the venerable DX-394, Kenwood R1000, Malachite SDR and a Eton Field Elite (formerly Grundig??). The Eton shouldn't even mention shortwave in its description because it brought almost nothing in regardless of what I tried. The Tecsun stands head and shoulders above all of them. I carefully made a random wire antenna and couldn't get anything short of RHC here in Central Florida on neither the Eton nor the Malachite. With the PL-330 its a whole new world! I truly thank you for having spoken so highly of this device, this is the best $80 I've ever spent on electronics! Keep up the great work!
Agree!!! I’m in New Jersey. After having the 3505 version for almost a week, I’ve posted a few comments in another of your videos a couple of days ago. Terrific radio!
Thank you for this great product update video! I am currently about to pull the Trigger on the PL-368, and love that this radio also comes with the same BL-5C format battery, love these little things, great form factor to stack together for spares! Thank you for your time, knowledge and best efforts!
I got the PL 330 from Anonco (new version with 3305 firmware) based on your reviews. Having a lot of fun with it ! Little in size but large on performance and features. Love the ETM +. Seems to pick up signals as well as my old SONY ICF 2010.
I can confirm this is a fantastic little radio. I made two mods to enhance it : replaced ferrite antenna with a home made one (way better LW sensitivity) and replaced the bl-5c battery with a 2500mah li-ion battery (you must remove plastic under the battery).
Replaced the bl5c battery with 2500 mAh battery? What kind of battery? An 18650? I just bought a BL5C battery with 1500 mAh because a standard BL5C has 1092 mAh.
just fyi for people unwilling to modify the battery compartment. Amazon sells 2200mAh BL-5C batteries. the brand is GOBAT and they come in a pack of 2 for $9.99. i've only had them for about a month so far but they seem to work very well. I am getting easily double the battery life compared to the stock battery it comes with.
Start with 30-50' of wire. I'm still using that (50, in a tree, then along a fence) and it works great. A ground wire or rod would make it even better. For a commercial self-contained antenna, the MLA-30 active loop is a popular pick, for about $50.
59,99 Dollars? Damn inflation sucks. I paid 98 euros for my Tecsun PL330. That is almost a hundred euros for a small radio receiver! But it is a good radio receiver!
I have just pulled the trigger for a 3306 Firmware version on Ali. I also plan to replace the battery for a higher capacity one and also the telescopic antenna with a longer one I have here (98cm length). We´ll see as soon it arrives
Would you be interested in posting your results/experience with the A-100? I was looking at the 100 and 200 and couldn't decide which to get. It will be my first attempt at using one.
I quite prefer the Lithium Ion to the AA or AAA batteries. The only think I'd rather have on this radio is USB-C for the charging, but that's minor. I also got the charger with the two batteries as well.
I bought mine for this reason. In Spain, during tropo E sporadic openings I´ve heard radios from eastern Europe and... Italian radio at 73´6 Mhz. But 73 not is a place for a comercial radio transmissions or radio links.
They're both brand new models just coming onto the market in the last few months. The PL-330 is a low cost, travel-sized portable with good performance for the price. The PL-990 is a more premium receiver with presumably better performance and additional features - it's physically larger as well.
660 is PLL analog whereas this 330 is DSP. The 330 mutes when tuning and you can use an external antenna on all bands. The 660 has air band, but you can only use an external antenna on FM and SW.
@@miklostomka7617 You know, you don't even need a charger. Just plug in the mini/micro USB jack and let it charge in the radio while you are at work or doing a chore. I have spare batteries but no charger that I use in my little XHDATA D-328. Now that I have my spares, I won't have a problem when my PL-330 is delivered next week. (Though a charger is a good idea; as with my digital camera, i charge my battery outside of my camera instead of running charging voltage across the circuit board of a $2000 piece of gear. I was never concerned with damaging a $15 radio, though.)
Hi mate. Im waiting on mine to arrive. From what ive seen on numerous videos is that it is a good radio. My last similar radio was a dx400realistic by radii shack. My question is do you sell the stand you have yours sitting on? Cheers
Can't find them in Canada. Amazon lists it but does not have it available for shipping in Canada for some reason. The only U.S. seller I can find on eBay uses UPS for shipping which means ridiculous brokerage charges. I never knew it would be so hard to get my hands on them.
Worst things about it are NO KICKSTAND, and a tiny hard-to-press, frequently used, STEP button. Otherwise, it's incredible. Anyone have aftermarket holders to recommend? The one I have for an iPhone is too flimsy to hold the 330.
I just picked up a new one this week for $64, which is amazingly close to the price Giles got 2 years ago on the same mark. This is my 2nd PL-330. I had one 12 years ago. Because I actually carry a radio around most of the time, they take a lot of wear and tear. The first held up very well, so I look forward to this one, and look forward to seeing what improvements they did to the firmware and circuit.
I have an XHDATA-D328. It was my first radio to get me into SWL. I still have it. (I now have an H-501, among other models.) Actually, I can't believe what a great radio it is for under $20...actually, barely over $15. That being said, I ordered 2 extra spare batteries for it, not knowing what kind they were, as I had never seen nor heard of them before purchasing this little radio. My point being, buy spares now, instead of panic-buying at the last minute with the rest of the sheeple trying to find AA batteries, water, etc., during an emergency. Having preparations ahead of time, especially knowing that they could be scarce, is the smart thing to do. With such little drain that they have in these small receivers, a handful of them would last through the duration of an emergency. I only say this because I see this comment in every thread I have read about the PL-330. Please don't take offense, I'm not patronizing you.
@@ZommBleed I find it kinda funny how many people talk about emergency use battery problems, on a hobby channel like this. Are there really many commenting here who don't have a bunch of radios, plenty of which run on AA? I don't need _every_ radio able to run forever in an outage. I also imagine any reasonable power outage kit includes plenty of USB power outlet backup power for phones and such, any of which can charge this radio even if you didn't have more than the included battery. I have AA-to-USB things, too, but it'd truly be an apocalypse by the time I ran out of power banks.
Already tested: using it from an external battery (power bank for mobile phone) through the charging port it puts almost time noise to the audio in all bands, even in FM. No comfortable listening in this condition. If BL-5C battery is extracted, sometimes the radio goes off itself and the display indicates "LO" (low battery) even with the power bank at full charge.
I know that you probably dislike these types of questions, but perhaps I'm able to ask it in a more palatable way? Were you making the purchase, which SW portable receiver would you choose? I'm replacing the Tecsun given to my brother. Of course, no dollar amount is specified. Just after something really nice, even if waiting a little longer is indicated. Don't know what may be coming along in near future. Thank you, O'Wizard of the Air Waves. Grin.
@@OfficialSWLchannel OK. Just felt I might get you to narrow it down a bit. GRIN. My approach is more a take-it-with-me, listen-around kind of usage, with size not really a major concern. Probably tune mostly to SSB on Ham Bands, then utility stations, followed by SW broadcasts. Watched your evaluation of the Tecsun 990 (or 909?) and you didn't seem "all in" with it. Sangean has an updated unit on the market, I seem to remember? Tnx for ur reply!!!
Im very happy with D-808 and have no desire to change. Its great. Only if it goes bad would I consider changing or maybe even just buy another one. Seeing how this one operates compared to D-808, i would stick with XHDATA. If XHDATA updates or upgrades to like a D-809, then thats what id take. Also, the D-808 uses a 18650 battery of the flashlight type thats high quality and easy to replace if you needed. The battery easily gives 70 hours of UP time, I dont even see the need for a spare.
I know, it's not a $60 radio. I saw it for that (without shipping included) back when it was china only. It's basically an $80 (including shipping) radio these days. For the latest firmware, and a chance to read the reviews first, I can't say I mind the extra $20.
I got a Tecsun PL-330 from Amazon UK but the FM is from 87,80 to 107,60 not from 64 to 108..and FM reception is not that great.. I have an Roberts radio R9993 English brand that is performing better on fm than Tecsun...
![[4K video] TECSUN PL990X, PL880,PL660,PL330 AM ATS](/img/n.gif)
I just received my new Tecsun PL-330 in due partially to your opinion as well as Todlebert and several others and I must tell you that this is the best shortwave radio I've ever owned! The ETM+ is without question the best tuning method I have ever used! I've been SWLing for nearly 50 years and owned several Realistic models including the venerable DX-394, Kenwood R1000, Malachite SDR and a Eton Field Elite (formerly Grundig??). The Eton shouldn't even mention shortwave in its description because it brought almost nothing in regardless of what I tried. The Tecsun stands head and shoulders above all of them. I carefully made a random wire antenna and couldn't get anything short of RHC here in Central Florida on neither the Eton nor the Malachite. With the PL-330 its a whole new world! I truly thank you for having spoken so highly of this device, this is the best $80 I've ever spent on electronics! Keep up the great work!
Agree!!! I’m in New Jersey. After having the 3505 version for almost a week, I’ve posted a few comments in another of your videos a couple of days ago. Terrific radio!
Thank you for this great product update video! I am currently about to pull the Trigger on the PL-368, and love that this radio also comes with the same BL-5C format battery, love these little things, great form factor to stack together for spares! Thank you for your time, knowledge and best efforts!
Looking forward to more videos on this radio. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
So glad I watched your videos. Just bought mine. Can't wait to get it. Thank you for sharing.
I got the PL 330 from Anonco (new version with 3305 firmware) based on your reviews. Having a lot of fun with it ! Little in size but large on performance and features. Love the ETM +. Seems to pick up signals as well as my old SONY ICF 2010.
I can confirm this is a fantastic little radio. I made two mods to enhance it : replaced ferrite antenna with a home made one (way better LW sensitivity) and replaced the bl-5c battery with a 2500mah li-ion battery (you must remove plastic under the battery).
What battery did/do you use?
I would like to know too thanks :)
2500mah sounds cool! could you please share a pic of your battery mod?
Replaced the bl5c battery with 2500 mAh battery? What kind of battery? An 18650? I just bought a BL5C battery with 1500 mAh because a standard BL5C has 1092 mAh.
just fyi for people unwilling to modify the battery compartment. Amazon sells 2200mAh BL-5C batteries. the brand is GOBAT and they come in a pack of 2 for $9.99. i've only had them for about a month so far but they seem to work very well. I am getting easily double the battery life compared to the stock battery it comes with.
I have had some time lately so your videos have been informative.
Thanks!
Just ordered one of these based on your review. Thank you.
you gonna like this one
Order yesterday from Anon. Great video thank you
Along with this radio, what is a good external antenna that I can use to receive better reception for shortwave broadcasts?
Start with 30-50' of wire. I'm still using that (50, in a tree, then along a fence) and it works great. A ground wire or rod would make it even better. For a commercial self-contained antenna, the MLA-30 active loop is a popular pick, for about $50.
59,99 Dollars? Damn inflation sucks. I paid 98 euros for my Tecsun PL330. That is almost a hundred euros for a small radio receiver! But it is a good radio receiver!
I have just pulled the trigger for a 3306 Firmware version on Ali. I also plan to replace the battery for a higher capacity one and also the telescopic antenna with a longer one I have here (98cm length). We´ll see as soon it arrives
What battery do you suggest for this model ?
@@rameshsubramonian977 I'm still investigating. Apparently, if you want to install a 2500mA battery you have to cut some plastic of the chassis.
@@perseus068 how is the FM reception of this? Will it pick up faint stations?
Sold out at Anon. Glad I received mine today (with an A-100 antenna) 🙂
Would you be interested in posting your results/experience with the A-100? I was looking at the 100 and 200 and couldn't decide which to get. It will be my first attempt at using one.
@@ZommBleed both are the same antenna. Just a different design. I find it works brilliant for picking up MW stations.
How do you compare this to the XHDATA D 808 in terms of SHORTWAVE SENSITIVITY? Who wins?
I quite prefer the Lithium Ion to the AA or AAA batteries. The only think I'd rather have on this radio is USB-C for the charging, but that's minor. I also got the charger with the two batteries as well.
For home use.with no power available impossible to use. And AA or AAA batteries available everywhere
new L-330 have usb-c
I ordered a PL-330 recently from anon-co and it has USB C charging!
Thanks for this update. $59.99? I wish......it's at least $20 over that now, which takes it out of my reach, unfortunately.
Hej Gill thanks for your thoughts and review of Tecsun PL 330 take care.
FM reception is really sensitive on the 330, will be a great little pocket receiver during tropo and sporadic openings
I bought mine for this reason. In Spain, during tropo E sporadic openings I´ve heard radios from eastern Europe and... Italian radio at 73´6 Mhz. But 73 not is a place for a comercial radio transmissions or radio links.
The same SENSITIVITY ALL BAND for XHDATA D808 +air band and TECSUN PL660+ air band. Sony and Grundig are dead
I love your videos. The radio stand you are using is great! Can you please share where we can get one for our radios?
I have to say I received my cl330 today July 11th and it is the most best shortwave portable for the size.Its the 680 without the air!!??
How can one find the trees through the forest...
How can one know which is the latest model? The PL-330, of the PL-990X...?
They're both brand new models just coming onto the market in the last few months. The PL-330 is a low cost, travel-sized portable with good performance for the price. The PL-990 is a more premium receiver with presumably better performance and additional features - it's physically larger as well.
Any idea what the long press on 9 does?
How does this compare to the pl-660 other than the battery and size?
660 is PLL analog whereas this 330 is DSP. The 330 mutes when tuning and you can use an external antenna on all bands. The 660 has air band, but you can only use an external antenna on FM and SW.
@@L1RW mutes when tuning like Eton Executive ??
People hate but that bl5c is really surprising
BL5C is great. Used in many devices. Just get a spare and a charger and you are good to go.
@@miklostomka7617 You know, you don't even need a charger. Just plug in the mini/micro USB jack and let it charge in the radio while you are at work or doing a chore. I have spare batteries but no charger that I use in my little XHDATA D-328. Now that I have my spares, I won't have a problem when my PL-330 is delivered next week. (Though a charger is a good idea; as with my digital camera, i charge my battery outside of my camera instead of running charging voltage across the circuit board of a $2000 piece of gear. I was never concerned with damaging a $15 radio, though.)
@@ZommBleed which has better FM reception? Pl-330 or Xhdata D-328 ?
Can this receiver listen to the atomic clock from Colorado? JJY WWV
Hi mate. Im waiting on mine to arrive. From what ive seen on numerous videos is that it is a good radio. My last similar radio was a dx400realistic by radii shack. My question is do you sell the stand you have yours sitting on? Cheers
Very good video. How this radio sounds on LF ?
I am looking for a budget portable radio where I can listen stations from all🌏 the continents.any suggestions?
Many thanks
Where can I get a radio stand like you are using in this video?
Hi, I just wonder myself why Tecsun put in the Market the PL320....
Can't find them in Canada. Amazon lists it but does not have it available for shipping in Canada for some reason. The only U.S. seller I can find on eBay uses UPS for shipping which means ridiculous brokerage charges. I never knew it would be so hard to get my hands on them.
www.anon-co.com/
You will have any Tecsun receiver in less than a week
Thank you for the info! I ordered one yesterday and I'm looking forward to adding it to my collection
Worst things about it are NO KICKSTAND, and a tiny hard-to-press, frequently used, STEP button. Otherwise, it's incredible. Anyone have aftermarket holders to recommend? The one I have for an iPhone is too flimsy to hold the 330.
Looks great
I just picked up a new one this week for $64, which is amazingly close to the price Giles got 2 years ago on the same mark.
This is my 2nd PL-330. I had one 12 years ago. Because I actually carry a radio around most of the time, they take a lot of wear and tear. The first held up very well, so I look forward to this one, and look forward to seeing what improvements they did to the firmware and circuit.
The PL-330 only came out around 2021.
The only downside to this radio is the BL-5C battery. In an emergency situation or a disaster it's easier to acquire AA or AAA batteries than BL-5C.
I have an XHDATA-D328. It was my first radio to get me into SWL. I still have it. (I now have an H-501, among other models.) Actually, I can't believe what a great radio it is for under $20...actually, barely over $15. That being said, I ordered 2 extra spare batteries for it, not knowing what kind they were, as I had never seen nor heard of them before purchasing this little radio. My point being, buy spares now, instead of panic-buying at the last minute with the rest of the sheeple trying to find AA batteries, water, etc., during an emergency. Having preparations ahead of time, especially knowing that they could be scarce, is the smart thing to do. With such little drain that they have in these small receivers, a handful of them would last through the duration of an emergency. I only say this because I see this comment in every thread I have read about the PL-330. Please don't take offense, I'm not patronizing you.
@@ZommBleed I find it kinda funny how many people talk about emergency use battery problems, on a hobby channel like this. Are there really many commenting here who don't have a bunch of radios, plenty of which run on AA? I don't need _every_ radio able to run forever in an outage. I also imagine any reasonable power outage kit includes plenty of USB power outlet backup power for phones and such, any of which can charge this radio even if you didn't have more than the included battery. I have AA-to-USB things, too, but it'd truly be an apocalypse by the time I ran out of power banks.
On 5:20 apears to be a serial transmission.
Do you sell stands like the one in the video?
great video...thankyou. Does this radio have a 120VAC adapter or does it only work on batteries?
It comes with a micro USB cable, but you must purchase specifically a low amp charger (0.5 Ah).
Can you use it with an external battery through the charging port....as in charging and use it at the same time..?
I suspect that not, because it introduces noise to de audio, But I can´t prove this.
Already tested: using it from an external battery (power bank for mobile phone) through the charging port it puts almost time noise to the audio in all bands, even in FM. No comfortable listening in this condition.
If BL-5C battery is extracted, sometimes the radio goes off itself and the display indicates "LO" (low battery) even with the power bank at full charge.
@@josesebastian5986 Have you tried a ferrite choke on the cable?
How well does it receive AM?
Greetings, I just bought this little guy yesterday, how can I find out if it uses the 3305 firmware?
I have Tecsun pl600 now. Will you recomend to replace by 330?
that is a interesting comparison. I just can decide either, my choices are XHDATA 808, Tecsun pl365, 330, 600, and the Sony icf 7600GR
Buy them all
Is the PL-330 or pl-600 better? Which one do you recommend.
how is the battery life? more than 10 hours?
they use nokia's 1000mah battery now instead of AAs
Imo Do only downside is the muting when tuning.
Can't you turn it off by squelch?
Just purchased one of these radios. How do you know software it has on it ?. Also can you upgrade it .
Press and hold the VF/VM button when the radio is in standby
Does Anon Co ship to Canada?
Yes they do
Does it catch signals from the 160m band?
yes
I know that you probably dislike these types of questions, but perhaps I'm able to ask it in a more palatable way? Were you making the purchase, which SW portable receiver would you choose?
I'm replacing the Tecsun given to my brother. Of course, no dollar amount is specified. Just after something really nice, even if waiting a little longer is indicated. Don't know what may be coming along in near future. Thank you, O'Wizard of the Air Waves. Grin.
all depends on what you want to listen to
@@OfficialSWLchannel OK. Just felt I might get you to narrow it down a bit. GRIN. My approach is more a take-it-with-me, listen-around kind of usage, with size not really a major concern. Probably tune mostly to SSB on Ham Bands, then utility stations, followed by SW broadcasts. Watched your evaluation of the Tecsun 990 (or 909?) and you didn't seem "all in" with it. Sangean has an updated unit on the market, I seem to remember? Tnx for ur reply!!!
How can you tell which version you have?
ua-cam.com/video/4W6MNwQ0FnA/v-deo.html He made this video about how to check the firmware version.
3306 is the latest version
With the bugs fixed, it certainly looks like a winner.
Tecsun or xdata witch one please
Im very happy with D-808 and have no desire to change. Its great. Only if it goes bad would I consider changing or maybe even just buy another one. Seeing how this one operates compared to D-808, i would stick with XHDATA. If XHDATA updates or upgrades to like a D-809, then thats what id take. Also, the D-808 uses a 18650 battery of the flashlight type thats high quality and easy to replace if you needed. The battery easily gives 70 hours of UP time, I dont even see the need for a spare.
@@cvcoco D-808 has RDS on FM.
sync AM mode is not very good (firmware 3305) because AGC is too fast
$59.99 where? $72 on eBay. I just ordered one.
ya...me too
I know, it's not a $60 radio. I saw it for that (without shipping included) back when it was china only. It's basically an $80 (including shipping) radio these days. For the latest firmware, and a chance to read the reviews first, I can't say I mind the extra $20.
I got a Tecsun PL-330 from Amazon UK but the FM is from 87,80 to 107,60 not from 64 to 108..and FM reception is not that great.. I have an Roberts radio R9993 English brand that is performing better on fm than Tecsun...
You have instructions to change the range to go down to 64 on the radio, FM is actually very good, the problem is telescopic antenna is short
Thank you..
Molto meglio il xhdata d808