Tecsun PL-880 Portable Band Radio Receiver with AM/FM/SSB Modes

It's all been said for this multi-band radio; lots of excellent reviews as this radio is a real winner, especially for any serious shortwave listener... even with the telescopic aerial/antenna, it produces good signals across the HF band; FM has great sensitivity too, and long-medium wave is a little above most average receivers, which is a same; if an additional RF amplifier stage or even better, a longer/diameter ferrite-rod, would have been the cream on top for this great receiver.Where this radio comes into it's own, is the ability to change the filters to reduce or remove interference QRM, and in some cases QRN; LW-MW can also select filter band-pass too, and there are a number of unofficial un-published button functions, that will provide some useful tweaks to suite your own preferences; search SWLing for this information at:http://swling.com/blog/2014/06/complete-list-of-tecsun-pl-880-hidden-features/The two changes that need doing for shortwave is, the DNR Dynamic Noise Reduction, and MUTE... however, for most general users, they will be more than happy as the radio comes out of the box, without any tweaks required.If I compare my Icom IC-R75 that's now a little long in the tooth, regarding it design life; the Icom falls short along side the Tecsun PL 880 portable, and so compact with very good sound quality, from such a small package... for the price you get a lot of quality radio technology, considerable thought has been put into this receiver, with great results. I Highly Recommended this receiver.Unfortunately I have now to state one caveat ! after several days of enjoyable use, the pre-charged battery discharged without any indicator showing it was depleting ? I did think this was odd, but now is evident of a faulty charging problem within the receiver; thus had to return to Amazon... having said this, it's still a great receiver and hopefully, my replacement will be as good.

The media could not be loaded. A great radio, very good quality, it is very sensitive and can pick up channels really well, I put on the SW antenna that came with the radio, hooked it outside my window, I live in a very built up area so not much space for a good signal but this little gem picks up stations really well, the fine tune button is very handy, I am still learning but it’s a cracking radio. It’s got a good reputation for a reason. Buy one.

Tecsun PL-880 Portable Band Radio Receiver with AM/FM/SSB Modes This is a premium price worldband radio. It comes in a solid packaging box with a rechargeable battery that you fit in to the radio, a short wave antenna an earphone and a charging cable. There is an instruction book with the radio that you will need.The radio has Long Wave, Medium Wave, VHF and Shortwave. Air bands are not covered, and there is no DAB. Confusion about Long Wave coverage in some reviews probably stems from the fact that you have to toggle it on and off, while the radio is turned off, and then access it via an 'AM' button. I have no idea why this arrangement is used.The Long Wave and Medium Wave bands use an internal antenna. I was disapointed in them at first, but then discovered on line that you have to turn off a muting function - there are any number of internet pages explaining what to do. That made a big difference, and I was much happier with it after that.The Short Wave bands are easy to use, although there is not as much on them as I remember from the last time I had a Short Wave radio in the 1980's. Difficult to blame the radio for that! There are a very large array of adjustments you can make to the radio, and it's worth spending some time reading the relevant webpages if, like me, you are not expert in this.The sound is good, and the radio charges easily using a USB lead. No plug is provided, so have to use your own USB charging plug (I used one from a Kindle). The battery life is good, and I have used it on three trips away for a total of about ten hours, and it is still on the first charge.Another reviewer noted how fragile-seeming the attached aerial looks. They are absolutely correct. The second time I used the radio, the topmost length of the aerial broke away. I used no more pressure than would be normal. A quick look on-line found a number of sellers who sell replacement aerials for the radio (usually with advertising beginning, 'has your Tecsun 880 aerial broken off?) so this must be a common enough shortcoming for there to be money to be made from it. This is, obviously, disappointing in a radio costing over £150, and must be worth some attention from the makers. I could have sent it back, but it seemed to make very little difference to the operation of the radio - more of a cosmetic and convenience issue.There are various posts on line about the firmware (programming that is embedded directly on to the memory of the device). There were problems with earlier versions. You can't update it yourself and you can't check what version you are getting until it arrives. In my case, it was the most recent firmware, but some reviews suggest this varies depending on where you buy it.Still, it's a good radio. It came with a leatherette case which fits it well, and protects it in my case when I take it away with me. I'm pleased I bought it, but I'm not looking forward to replacing the aerial when I get round to it.

Everything as it should be, no radio this size has the right to sound and perform this well, I was stunned!Whilst not quite keeping up with my SONY ICF-2010 (which in real terms cost a lot more a long time ago) most certainly is close in the technical abilities. This is a portable stunner and worth every single penny!Interestingly if you look for "Tescun PL-880 hidden features" on the internet it becomes an even better set, utterly unbelievable.If hesitating on a purchase please do not, this is a veritable bargain to say the very least!!!Link: http://swling.com/blog/2014/06/complete-list-of-tecsun-pl-880-hidden-features/

After posting a question regarding soft muting on this radio and receiving a very helpful answer, I took the plunge and ordered it. This radio is fantastic and well above my expectations. Filtering for such a portable is better than any other of it's kind. Great sensitivity on the whip antenna and an amazing sound for it's size on fm. I am totally blind and there are none of it's functions I cannot access, (apart from back light "ha ha"). I have many receivers but this is the one I reach for most of the time. It was purchased from Amazon with the latest firmware and without the fine tuning bug so all smiles from here.