above). But not entirely. We were unable to do a side by side test (PL-660 sample was not available during test period). Conditions & Time: Overall, very similar to yesterday. hamqsl.com reports fair conditions from 3.5–14.35 MHz, and poor for higher frequencies. SFI = 72, SN = 26, A = 3, K = 1. Same time of day as yesterday’s testing. If you’re a medium-wave DXer, you might skip over the PL-680. That is, unless Tecsun makes a good iterative design improvement. If you’re a casual medium-wave listener, on the other hand, you’ll probably be pleased with the PL-680. Paging through Passport to Worldband Radio from 1990 (wow, that’s 30 years ago!) you see others such as the SONY SW-1, Panasonic RF-B65, and of course, the SONY ICF-2001D/2010 which introduced killer synchronous tuning technology in the 1980s and remains popular today decades after it first appeared. To be fair, however, it’s worth noting that the Sangean performs admirably if connected to an external antenna. Again, I resisted connecting an external antenna in this particular series of tests because I believe a good portable radio’s performance should first be judged upon what it can receive with only its telescoping whip antenna, considering that, when traveling, it’s not always possible to use an external antenna.

Would you like to buy a shortwave radio as a gift, but don’t know a thing about radios? Or want help leaving a hint for Santa or Ms. Claus?The last receivers I reviewed included the Tecsun PL-990x, which has developed quite an enthusiastic following since its consumer version was released in 2020, and the Tecsun S-8800.

I was also able to locate schematics for the PL-600 and PL-660 radios - both printed in (what I am guessing is) Chinese. I no longer can locate the URLs for those, but they can hopefully be found with some Googling...

Strong Signals

Conditions & Time: Clear local weather. hamqsl.com’s nowcast of band conditions were fair from 3.5-14.35 MHz, and poor for higher frequencies, with SFI = 72, SN = 26, A = 5, K = 1. Time was 21:00-21:30 UTC, or 4-4:30 pm local CDT. I have come to enjoy using the PL-330 here in my house, though like other portables in my collection I need to position it in one particular corner of my home away from incoming cable TV lines.

Honestly, I need help with an external antenna. Outside is not a good option, plus where I am there are enough thunderstorms from late spring to early autumn to give one pause. I have an attic with a decent amount of room and the usual amount of household wiring (ridge as well as floor), plus two TV antennas (cut the cord years ago). The available attic space is about 40′ long with the ridge being about 7′ high but going out to the eaves with a wire isn’t very practical. I could make a loop, about 25′ to 30′ long on two sides, with the sides separated by 10′ or so, mid-way between floor and ceiling without too much trouble, if that’s an option. Alternatively, Thomas was kind enough to suggest a wire of no more that 25′– 30′ because he was uncertain about the electrostatic discharge protection in the 330. He also suggested a tuner, which I’ll certainly get. I’ve also posted a medium-wave listener survey since many of you asked that I provide an evaluation of the medium-wave band.An informal comparison between thePL-680 and the PL-660 also leads me to believe that they are both excellent FM performers and seemed to compare favorably. I would certainly welcome FM DXers to comment with their own evaluations of the PL-680. Medium Wave Performance Don’t wait for Santa: Buy it directly from Ten-Tec–the factory where it’s made in the USA–in Sevierville, Tennessee. On Friday, I managed to set aside an hour to finally do a video comparison of the Digitech AR-1780 and the new XHDATA D-808. Results: For the vertical 19′ wire, 31 stations were found by the auto-scan function between 2380 – 15770 kHZ. Electrical noise was low but audible in the 3 MHz region, fading to none at higher frequencies, and not a significant source of interference with any stations. For the horizontal wire, 15 stations were found between 9265 – 13630 kHz. Electrical noise was barely audible. With the whip in use only 1 station was found. Switching the antenna gain to its DX (most sensitive) setting, 6 stations were found. The only requirements of the radio are that it tunes the frequency ranges of interest. A general purpose communications receiver tuning 0-30 MHz is ideal, SSB marine radios may also be used, if they can receive the frequency bands of interest. The radio must be able to tune in USB (upper sideband) mode. Inexpensive portable radios are not as satisfactory, although higher-end units can work well. The radio must be able to tune in small steps (10 Hz), or have some sort of a fine tune adjustment.”

Let’s put it this way: every time I dream of Santa leaving a radio under my tree…it’s the RX-340. (Seriously, I must have this dream at least twice a week.) The PL-380 has a pathetic (just joking) 550 memories, 100 each for AM/FM/LW and 250 for SW. It also can scan and automatically store stations. I am not happy at all with my PL-880 or S-8800 and their dodgy AGC is terrible on SSB, no SYNC detection, poor sound quality on SSB. The PL-330 and the Belka DX are currently king of the pile when it comes to my smaller travel portables. The Tecsun PL-680 looks like the Tecsun PL-600 body, with the Tecsun PL-660 features and layout. Indeed, the full complement of buttons, switches and dials are identically positioned to those of the PL-660.

Shortwave performance

While I give priority to a receiver’s sensitivity and selectivity, there’s obviously more to evaluate here–for example, the more sensitive radio may be less pleasing to the ear. If your new review has not been Approved after several days you can assume that it was found to not be within the product review T's&C's shown below during screening. Still, I do like the PL-880. Its audio and overall quality make up for any annoyances. I suspect it will have a long product life and a loyal following over the coming years. Evaluating performance I provided a total of four sample broadcast recordings for comparison. Below, I have embedded one of them–a recording of 940 AM in Macon, Georgia, for your reference.