Tecsun PL-880 AM/FM/SW/SSB

Portable Radio
The newest radio from Tecsun is the new, feature-rich PL-880. Described on Tecsuns website as
their new flagship model it is said to be an upgrade to the still available and much-lied PL-!!0.
"m not sure where that places Tecsuns #-$000%&'( version of the )rundig #atellit *+0 in the
pecing order but " assume the, were e-cluding that model as a table top from direct comparison
with the PL-880, PL-!!0 and smaller portables, of which there are man, in the Tecsun line.
.fter seeing pictures of the radio " e-pected it to be larger than the PL-!!0 but actuall, the, are
ver, similar in si/e with the 0880- being about 1234 longer. "t loos chunier because it does not
have the curved, sculpted design of the 0!!0 with its narrower side panels but overall si/e is not
much different. The radio seems ver, solid and has an ama/ing number of new features, man, of
which are 5hidden6 7 that is, the, are not referred to in the Tecsun28aito owners manual and
there are not specific e,s labeled with most of these functions. 9or e-ample, #,nchronous
Detection is present but accessed via the ##: e,s. . short press enables either ;#: or
L#: ##: mode%a longer press enables s,nc mode. .nother press restores normal reception
mode. That one is eas,%others re<uire that ,ou press a specific button, sometimes with power
on and sometimes with power off, to change other settings. " will present a list at the bottom of
this review for hand, reference%sort of a =uic #tart )uide. " am indebted to members of the
>ahoo PL-880 group who discovered these before m, radio even arrived. " would hope that
8aito will revise their owners manual to reflect these. Perhaps one reason wh, the, are not
referenced is that some of these features can change when the firmware is updated%the first
batch of 880s sold were of two different firmware? versions @881A and 88$0B and there are some
feature differences between them. :asic performance seems the same lucil,.
Firmware Udates! &8%so there has been a virtual torrent of discussion on the PL-
880s firmware version%so what is firmwareC 9irmware is the software that the hardware runs
on. @" cant believe " said thatB. #impl, put, toda,s radios are computers and most now use D#P
@Digital #ignal ProcessingB chips to perform man, of the functions that used to be handled b,
discrete components. .lthough improvements are still to come, D#P chips have alread, become
the defacto standard and the results can be phenomenal, but there are sometimes undesirable side
effects too. (an, of the functions of these chips are fi-ed, but man, others can be controlled b,
the radios associated circuitr, and the firmware that the whole radio is operating under.
9irmware updates can add or change operating features and performance. The initial release of
PL-880s to the public featured firmware version 881A or 88$0 with subtle differences in some
features%,ou can read literall, hundreds of posts about this on the >ahoo PL-880 )roup -man,
are important to be aware of if ,ou want to get the most out of ,our PL-880D
httpD22groups.,ahoo.com2group2TecsunPL-8802
9irmware updates are the norm rather than the e-ception 7 the well-nown 'ton '1 evolved
through several firmware iterations but much less was ever said about it because most people
werent aware of it until relativel, late in the life of the radio. Eell Fust have to wait and see if
Tecsun or 8aito mae an, further changes%some could mean real differences in usabilit,.
The PL-880 is unusual in that it runs on a single @suppliedB 18!+0 Lithium "on cell which
recharges in the radio. The radio has a smart charger which will not over charge the batter,, and
the radio tells ,ou when charging is complete. 9inall,%a smart charger built into a radio. . ;#:
charger and ;#: cable were included with m, 8aito version but it uses a standard ;#: mini-
plug so the radio can be charged from an, standard ;#: adapter or a computer. "n addition m,
radio came with the t,pical wire antenna, earbuds and a carr,ing case%the Tecsun Ghina
website shows a more delu-e leather case. >ou cannot operate the radio on .( or #E with the
supplied charger%noise obliterates even strong signals. "t is meant for charging onl,. " got da,s
of operation before m, batter, had to be charged 7 it recharged full, in Fust over + hours which is
ver, convenient. The supplied charger sports two ;#: charging outputs, labeled 1. and $.3..
(, first + hour $$ minute charge was done with the 1. port. Ehen charging completes the radio
tells ,ou how long it too%interesting.
The PL-880 has the usual 'arphone &utput Fac, Line &ut @both stereo on 9(B and '-ternal
#E .ntenna in. :asic controls include TE& tuning nobs @HB, 9ast and #low for all bands,
which is the most convenient setup "ve seen for <uic access to two-speed tuning%it is a Fo, to
tune. There are the usual Iolume Gontrol nob, a three position Local2Jormal2Distant switch for
#E, a Ki2Lo Tone switch and an unusual Light switch labeled .uto &ff2&n. "n .utomatic &ff
mode the light operates in the usual wa,, remaining illuminated for several seconds following
an, e, press. :ut in &n mode the light is on all the time%even when the radio is off%odd. "t
would be nicer if it turned off with the radio, lie the G. Grane GG Ladio-'P. "ve alread, left the
light on once b, accident.
Tr"in# it $ut! There were no problems initiall, using the radio. 'ver,thing seemed simple and
obvious. " had alread, read about some of those hidden features so that was a help too. (, initial
impression was how wonderful it sounded for this si/e radio. The PL-880 uses a new ind of
speaer, perhaps similar to that in the (eloson (-*, described as a (,lar diaphragm with a front
vent. " pulled out m, trust, PL-!!0 and on all bands the 880 simpl, sounded so much more
natural and e-tended%the PL-!!0 was obviousl, ver, peaed in the midrange b, comparison.
The new speaer producs a ver, flat @accurateB fre<uenc, response. Ehile it does not have the
bass a larger radio can have it is nevertheless ver, satisf,ing sonicall, which maes a huge
difference in listening enFo,ment. (uch as " still lie the PL-!!0 in man, wa,s, its hard to go
bac to listening to it after hearing how sweet the PL-880 sounds ne-t to it. "ts the ind of sound
that catches the attention of non-radio nuts, several of whom commented to me about how great
the radio sounded for its si/e. Ehen " pla,ed the PL-!!0 compared with the PL-880 even casual
observers said there was no comparison and " agree.
Filters! The PL-880 da//les with 8 bandwidths, in two groups, one for .( mode @used on both
.( band and #EB and one set for ##: and s,nc modes. "n regular .( or #E modes the
bandwidths are A.0, +.0, M.+, and $.M 8K/. "n ##: or #,nc modes the available bandwidths are
3.0, M.0, $.M, 1.$ and 0.+ 8K/. "t is unfortunate that the s,nc mode uses the ##: filters%that
limits ,ou to a ma-imum bandwidth of 38K/ in s,nc mode which sounds decidedl, less crisp
than the +8K/ and A 8K/ options available in normal mode. This is the ind of feature that
could possibl, be changed with an updated firmware%perhaps s,nc could be used with the
wider bandwidths if desired.
The unusuall, wide A8K/ filter allows .( to sound remarabl, clear and detailed..it approaches
9( clarit, b, portable standards. Nust be sure to switch to + 8h/ or less when band scanning as
the wide A8 bandwidth will dilute weaer signals with their surrounding noise and
interference%A8 is best for medium to strong signals.
LeftD PL-!!0 7 LightD PL-880
LeftD PL-!!0 7 LightD PL-880
RF Per%ormance! Kere " found some plusses and minuses comparing it with the PL-!!0 and a
few other radios.
AM &MW' er%ormance is a bit better on the PL-880 than the PL-!!0 which " alwa,s felt was
nois, on .( compared with other radios. The PL-880 has the same wea signal sensitivit, as the
PL-!!0 which is <uite good. " tuned into man, ver, wea signals which ranged from barel,
intelligible up to medium strength and the two radios seemed to perform similarl,. :ut as signal
levels begin to increase the bacground hiss disappeared on the PL-880 sooner than on the PL-
!!0. "n m, suburban location that means that man, .( signals which are a bit hiss, on the PL-
!!0 can be received with silent or near-silent bacgrounds on the PL-880. "t is a ver, real
improvement. That, along with the improved audio, maes the PL-880 a far more enFo,able radio
for me than the older model. The PL-880 was also refreshingl, free of the digital noises which
plague so man, modern radios on the .( band%in fact onl, one fre<uenc, @!30 on m, sampleB
showed a minor tone%" was able to remove it b, retuning 18K/ off center.
SW Recetion was alwa,s the strong suit of the PL-!!0 and "m happ, to report that the #E on
the PL-880 seems Fust about as good. " compared man, signals of wildl, var,ing <ualit, and
found that the two radios behaved <uite similarl,%each one occasionall, outpointed the other
but " could discern no clear cut superiorit, of either over the other. The supplied wire antenna
adds lots of signal gain and is highl, recommended when ,ou can use it. " also tried the PL-880
with m, Eellbroo loop, and with the help of the Local Distant switch " got great results.
FM Per%ormance was remarable in the PL-!!0 and seems a hair better in the PL-880.
Gomparing the two radios side b, side " determined that the PL-880 is slightl, more selective
than the PL-!!0 so it is better at separating closel,-spaced signals adFacent to each other on the
dial. " was able to isolate and receive a few signals on the PL-880 that were tough or non-e-istent
on the PL-!!0 . These are among the best 9( portables around%there are onl, a few that do
slightl, better.
SSB seemed to wor as it should and was in fact easier to tune in on the PL-880 than the PL-!!0
due to the 880s coarse and fine tuning nobs. " was able to get the signal tuned in for best audio
more <uicl, on the 880, although the eventual reception was remarabl, similar on the two
radios. #ome users have reported ##: <uiriness in their 880s%" was not able to duplicate
those issues here on m, initial tests%##: reception seemed free of unusual artifacts and was, as
" said <uit eas, to tune for natural audio%not alwa,s eas, with ##: on portable radios.
S"nc Mode is the onl, disappointment%it is poorl, implemented on the 0880. (an, earl,
adopters have critici/ed the s,nc sa,ing it does not hold loc as well as the PL-!!0 but that has
not been m, e-perience. "t holds <uite well and also sounds s,mmetrical with both
sidebands sounding similar on most signals, whereas most PL-!!0s have one sideband
considerabl, brighter than the other most liel, due to wide circuit tolerances vagaries of
alignment which have been eliminated in the 880. Kowever the recovered audio in s,nc mode is
poor compared with the PL-!!0 so signals almost alwa,s sound better without it. "s it possible
that a future update could improve thisC " dont now. " can onl, comment on the current crop of
radios%speculating about future tweas is impossible but " will let ,ou now if " hear of an,
changes.
So%t Mutin#! (ost of toda,s radios using D#P Technolog, incorporate something called 5#oft
(uting6. "t is generall, a :.D idea. "t is designed to mae the radio <uieter when tuning
between signals. )ood idea " guess but the problem is that as ,ou listen to a signal which is
fading in and out, if it falls below a specific muting threshold the signals drops out suddenl,,
then pops bac in as the signal again rises above that threshold. This so-called pumping is
anno,ing and few serious radio listeners want soft muting. Lucil, ,ou can disable it on the PL-
880%details are in the list of hidden features at the end of the review.
#ome users also report that strong adFacent signals can cause a desired signal to partiall, mute
anno,ingl,%" was not able to duplicate that issue but it could well be an issue in certain ver,
specific circumstances.
Some Recommended (nitial Settin#s! Due to different firmware versions not all will wor on
ever, PL-880 so tr, them out and see for ,ourself.
Mutin# T)res)old 7 Power &n 7 Press O Kold The A 8e, 7 Dial it down to 00 . Press A again
to set. >ou must do this for .(, #E, and ##: modes.
To##le Seconds *isla" $n/$%% 7 Power &ff 7 Press O Kold 8 e,.
*i#ital +oise Reduction 7 Power &n Press ! 8e, 7 set it to &ff.
FM *e-em)asis 7 Power &n . Press + 7 #et to *+ u# ;#. or +0 u# 'urope
Low Batter" Limit Ad,ustment 7 Power &ff Press 3 8e, M.3 7 M.*
To disla" all L-* elements, Power &ff Press 7 .(-:E button
. second press displa,s the %irmware .ersion
. Third Press shows the %irmware date

There are several more arcane adFustments that " wont go into here and some of which did not
wor on m, radio but suffice it to sa, that the PL-880 offers lots of room for personali/ation.
.gain, an unusuall, e-haustive discussion of all the settings is available at the >ahoo PL-880
)roupD
httpD22groups.,ahoo.com2group2TecsunPL-8802
-onclusion! 9irmware versions and the possibilities of improvements aside for now, the PL-880
is overall a worth, performer. Ehile its #,nchronous Detection performance is disappointing, "
thin the PL-880 is a great performer. Gomparing it overall side-b,-side with m, PL-!!0 " find
the PL-880 much better sounding, easier to tune on ##: and somewhat improved on .( and
9( reception. "ts #E is too close to the PL-!!0 to pic a winner so m, overall nod goes to the
PL-880%" thin its a winner.