Tecsun

[yagiman]

Does anyone know if the tecsun 680 is a good receiver set or not

[ch25]

Compared to what?

[yagiman]

To any just if it’s a good HF receiver or not

[ch25]

I wouldn't buy it as HF receiver. There are better ones in that price tag.
https://swling.com/blog/2019/11/the-new ... -receiver/

[scanhermit]

Excavating this thread rather than start a new one, I've just bought a Tecsun PL330 via AliExpress. I bought it specifically as a carry-around radio that goes in a coat pocket and accept the limitations that go with that. The CC Crane SSB version is supposed to be very good but I'm not feeling rich at the moment.

Cons first - clunky tuning due to the "soft click" tuning knob action. It's those half-sunken knobs so it's not really possible to speed tune with just the thumb.

LW not great, unsurprisingly.

Pros - Nice sound for the size. FM sounds good.

The BFO is tunable in 10khz steps so has much better control than my old PL660

Plugging in the 5m wire antenna improves the signal but doesn't drag in as much hash as the PL660.

I've only used it indoors so haven't tested it in a place where's there's much less interference but I'm happy with it so far. I'll give it a whizz outdoors at some point.

[scanhermit]

I've just picked up a V3 call sign on 10m, which the RSGB page tells me is Belize. I'm reasonably happy with my purchase, though there is another con to report - no button backlighting.

Edit: I slung it in the saddlebag and went for a ride. From the top of a hill I had hams CQ contesting from Europe, American CBers and aircraft on 5649 USB, nice and clear. Away from urban interference the radio did quite well. It's a nice little carry-around.

[scanhermit]

A handy feature of the PL330 is that the MW antenna can be switched from the ferrite, which allows the telescopic or a random wire to be used.

[scanhermit]

A handy table of the PL330 hidden features.

https://swling.com/blog/2020/10/a-tecsu ... nce-sheet/