Tecsun PL-880 Hidden Feature Chart

Here is a consolidated version of the Hidden Feature List for the Tecsun PL-880.

Thanks to Thomas over at The SWLing Post for publishing all of the hacks in one list.

Function	Key	What to do	Radio State
Synchronous Detection	USB/NORM LSB/NORM	Hold button in until change occurs. One push to change back.	ON
Muting Threshold for AM/SSB, also sets FM Threshold on some versions	9	Select mode to adjust first (AM, SSB, FM). Press and hold, then adjust with either tuning knob. Press 9 again when done to save.	ON
DNR (Automatic adjustment of bandwidth, etc?)	6	Press and hold till display says 'ON' and again for 'OFF'.	ON
Display Firmware Version, and date	AM/BW	With radio OFF: press and hold until display turns on. Then press and hold again to get firmware. Press one more time for date	OFF
FM De-emphasis	5	Press and hold to toggle between 75 (USA) and 50 (Europe)	ON
Line-Out Level (only works on FM?)	7	Press and hold till current level begins flashing. Adjust with either tuning knob. Press again to save	ON
Adjusting Seconds on Clock	8	With radio off, press and hold, and then adjust seconds	OFF
Calibrating on AM (MW)	Snooze	Tune a strong MW station. Turn on SSB mode (USB/LSB). Move fine tuning till zero-beated and pitch matches non-SSB. Press and hold the snooze button till correction value appears in display, then press snooze again to save.	ON
USB/LSB Calibration	0	PRESS and HOLD the 0 button. Look at the UPPER RIGHT corner of the display. A 2-digits number is BLINKING as well as the Hz digits of the tuned frequency. RELEASE the 0 button, and adjust the FINE TUNING. Tune, de-tune and re-tune before calibration is perfect. Play a bit with it to understand how it works. Change is effective AFTER you press 0 again. Do for both USB and LSB modes. Check the tone when tuned to xxx.95 USB and xxx.05 LSB. They should sound exactly the same.	ON
Forcing External Antenna on MW/LW	Several	Visit http://goo.gl/AXSgMI for instructions and video	ON

Shortwave Primer

Panasonic RF-2200

I had a fellow Ham ask about Shortwave listening the other day, and I told him I would put together a collection of links and radio reviews.  A lot of this is my own opinion, but much of it from reading the sites listed below.  Enjoy!


I've been listening since I was a little kid.  My first radios were National Panasonic analog models, given to me by a family friend.  I have owned many of the legendary portables from the 70's and 80's including the Panasonic RF-2200, Sony ICF-6500W, Sony ICF-2010, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR.


Current inventory:  Radio Shack DX-160, Redsun RP-2000, Tecsun PL-390, Eton E100, Degen DE-1123, Degen DE-321, Sony ICF-SW20, Kchibo D96L, Bulova 885.  The first SW radio I ever bought (at age 15 I think) was given

Some Good Radio Reviews

Mark Roberts, over at The Cosmos Monitor has 2 nice reviews of the new Tecsun PL-606, and a review of the Degen DE1123 (A radio I carry in my backpack).