Well, I'll review this radio first, then I'll give you a bit of background info about me.
I bought this Tecsun PL-660 on Amazon Prime just last week, and got it right when it should have arrived. All the parts were there, and I had already read the PDF manual from their web site. It tunes surprisingly smoothly for a digital (no audible clicks to speak of,) and it seems very sensitive and selective. I am impressed so far with the synchronous detector. It even helps on the MW (broadcast) band, although not as much as I would have hoped. But it does help. The shortwave is very sensitive, even with just the whip antenna, and seems very selective as well. The buttons and interface are very intuitive once I fooled with them a bit. The Hold feature and the Auto-Light control are quite nice and very effective.
The SSB function is nicer than any SSB function I've seen on any radio I've ever owned. More about that later.
I took some low-self-discharge NIMH batteries out of my Kaito KA1103 that I have had in there for over a month, and they show as full. The audio is quite good for a general-coverage radio, if you use good headphones. The little pull-out metal stand is a nice touch.
Haven't yet tested the air band. I will update when I have.
The only issues I've seen so far with this PL-660 are:
- It seems a little distorted on FM.
- The noise supressor is a little more aggressive than I would like. I wish I could turn it off sometimes. It makes weak signals sound muffled.
- I can't seem to directly enter any frequencies I want. For instance, when I enter 2500 on shortwave (2500 KHz is WWV,) the numbers stay there for a bit but nothing happens. Same with, say, 1920 (in the 160-meter Ham band,) That's really annoying, but actually not as annoying as the way the Kaito wraps around in so many crazy ways. If you tune continuously, you can go all the way from 1710 to 29,999 KHz.
Summary of the review: If you're looking for a good, low-cost shortwave receiver, I cannot recommend this one enough.
Now for some background info. I've been mildly into radio collection since I was a kid. I experienced shortwave for the first time at a friend's house, listening to his father's Allied Space Spanner regenerative radio, and fell in love with it right away. Every chance I got, I would listed to someone's shortwave for hours. I was exposed to the Hallicrafters SX-42 early on, and was very impressed. When I was in high school, I managed to scrounge up all manner of shortwave radios from junk heaps and from people who discarded them. I got a Star Roamer for $2 from a ham I met in high school, then when I got my first job I picked up a cheap communications receiver from Radio Shack.
In college I was exposed to the excellent HRO receivers, and later I had a Drake (don't remember the model,) then a Sony ICF-2010, and finally a Kaito KA1103.
Each of these radios (including the Tecsun) have had some glitch or another that I found annoying, but of all of them, my favorites are the Kaito and the Tecsun.
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From the manufacturer
Kaito ( Electronnix) is the exclusive distributor of the Tecsun Radios in the US
Sold by Electronnix and Amazon comes with English Manual and US Warranty, all the other sellers are selling with manual in Chinese.
For any quality questions, contact us at 1-866 KAITO76 (1-866 524 8676).
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This Item  TECSUN PL-660 Portable AM/FM/LW/Air Shortwave World Band Radio with Single Side Band, Black |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $232.49 | -15% $169.98 List: $199.99 | $45.99 | $209.99 | $329.98 |
| Delivery | — | — | — | Get it as soon as Saturday, Jan 6 | Get it as soon as Friday, Jan 12 | Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 8 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Battery life | ||||||
| Sleep mode | ||||||
| Volume control | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Electronnix | xhdata US | C. Crane | Electronnix |
| power source | Battery Powered | Corded Electric | Battery Powered | Battery Powered | Battery Powered and Electric power cord included | Battery Powered |
| supported bands | FM, AM, SW | AM/FM/SW/LW/Air | 2-Band | FM AM SW LW, 4-Band | 4-Band | Dual Selectable |
| connectivity tech | Powerline | Auxiliary | USB | Bluetooth, USB, Auxiliary | Bluetooth | Wireless |
| hardware interface | usb | usb, 2 5 mm audio | usb, 3 5 mm audio | usb | bluetooth | microsd, 3 5 mm audio, usb2.0 micro a |
| display type | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD | LCD |
| power rating | — | — | 3 watts | 5 watts | — | 6 watts |
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Ian G Shimmin
Tecsun PL-660 Portable AM/FM/LW/Air Shortwave World Band Radio with Single Side Band,
Reviewed in Canada on April 26, 2019
