Even back in the "Hay-day" of World Band radio, I always needed to add a long length of wire (50-75 feet!) to hear much of anything. But then, living on the west coast of North America, the signals were always very weak to begin with. My PL-330 does great with any reasonable length, out door antenna. Great for listening to the "Ham Bands". Day or night 🌙.
I recently purchased the Tecsun PL- 330 & am impressed beyond all imagination. I also have 2 Sangean ATS 909Xs, a Tecsun PL-660, 880 & as of last week got a Tecsun PL-310ET (I felt I could have 1 radio without SSB). For the little bit of money spent on the 330 & 310ET am very pleased.
@@StratmanII I wanted another small radio & this one was cheaper but it didn't have SSB. The 330 does & I have 4 other quality radios that do have it. I listen to SSB (hams, military, maritime, etc.) almost every day. Since then I also bought a Sihuadon R-108. I can't fit any larger radios into my operating position, LOL.
@@ambush1sg Shortwave radio listening is a great hobby during these times of the pandemic! I already bought four Tecsuns within the last three months - PL-660, 330, 990 and the el cheapo R-909 analog. Was contemplating the Sihuadon D-808 when you mentioned the PL-310ET, which I believe is the first model with the ETM function. The R-909 isn't worth buying IMO, it's too sensitive to household electrical noise especially from WiFi routers and extenders. I should have bought the PL-310ET - it's worth the price of two R-909 pocket radios. The Tecsun S-2000 is also on my hit list - it's the most affordable tabletop receiver that isn't a Yaesu or an Icom rig, which are way out of my budget! 😒 BTW, if you use your 310ET's ETM feature a lot try setting its bandwidth to 1kHz before refreshing the next ETM scan. You'll get more stations during the day compared to the widest bandwidth setting!
Amazing reception with a 30 ft wind up wire antenna plugged into the antenna jack. Was receiving pirate radio stations on 6935 usb earlier tonight around 6pm.
I've had the PL-330 for a month and it comes with the 3306 firmware, not the 3305. Mine was purchased from a China based XHDATA online store and it's identical to Tom's version, except that the sticker that reads "High Sensitivity", "Memories", "Detection" and "Lithium battery" are in Chinese characters. Some of the text on the back of my radio are also in Chinese instead of English. The supplied owner's manual is oddly in English language. I don't think there are any differences in features or performance between the China market and the export version. They're both the same radio. Anyway, I think what makes the PL-330 extra special is its ETM+ band scanning and I use it more than the ATS tuning method. The ETM+ corresponds with the hour of the day when the band scan is invoked and its memory slots are separate from the ATS memory channels. It's useful for browsing through broadcast frequencies on specific times of the day. For example if I wake up at 4 a.m. and want to listen to stations that are active at 4 a.m., I'll just press the ETM button to switch to the ETM mode. The radio will present me only the frequencies that it has memorized at 0400 hours since the previous ETM scan performed during the same hour. The ATS tuning method on the other hand, doesn't take into account of the time of day it finds active frequencies. It merely records the frequencies it finds and stores them, irrespective of the time of day the ATS band scan was done. ETM+ also has its share of shortcomings. ETM+ will sometimes mistake RFI background noise for legitimate stations and mostly selects strong to medium strength signals. It's also meant for broadcast stations and will not scan ham or utility bands and stops scanning at 26100 kHz.
@@bcarr1122 You're welcome. I forgot to add that the only other Tecsun model that has the Enhanced ETM (ETM+) function is the vertical form factor, PL-368. If I'm not wrong, the PL-368 shares a lot in common with the PL-330, electronics wise. The older PL-365 model appears to be an SSB capable version of the PL-360, with a Si 4735 DSP chip instead of the Si 4734. 📻👍
Pretty impressive for such a small radio. The level of sophistication is really something. The only thing stopping me from getting it, is the small battery. Waiting for your battery test. 📻🙂
I've found that the battery lasts as long or longer than any other rechargeable. For a few bucks I got a charger & several spare batteries giving me a total of 4 for the 330.
@@ambush1sg Hi, I did the same thing as you had done too. Bought an inexpensive universal charger for flat shaped lithium ion batteries and three original Nokia BL-5C batteries (1020 mAh). However I ended up topping the battery charge via the USB charging port each time and have no issues so far. The PL-330 didn't seem to feel warm during the charging process. For my PL-660 I never use its built in USB charging and prefer to recharge my Sanyo and Panasonic Eneloops externally. I use a Nitecore UM4 charger for the job. Still, having fully charged spare BL-5C batteries is a good idea for traveling with the PL-330.
Thank you. Ordered one today, was going to get Tecsun 2000, but changed my mind. It see seems the 2000 has too many problems. I wasn't going to risk it.
Hello Tom. For the money I don't believe there is a better radio built today for under 100 dollars. Just a very good radio. My only issue is with the sync Function. Which is poor. Take r
Tecsun really have some nice products. The battery should last a while, although I have had some BL-5C get "puffy" ie: swell up and refuse to hold a charge with in a short time (less than a year) Good show Tom, thanks for keeping it real
One thing that I like this Tecsun radio is the ETM feature. But I'm still tempted to get the XHDATA D808. 😅 Could you help me, which one is better to choose? ☺️
I had a PL-660 and couldn't receive SSB worth a hoot. Sold it and got the PL-330 and can get SSB. The only thing a little wonky is switching between tuning steps to fine tune in to the SSB signal.
Even back in the "Hay-day" of World Band radio, I always needed to add a long length of wire (50-75 feet!) to hear much of anything. But then, living on the west coast of North America, the signals were always very weak to begin with.
My PL-330 does great with any reasonable length, out door antenna. Great for listening to the "Ham Bands". Day or night 🌙.
I recently purchased the Tecsun PL- 330 & am impressed beyond all imagination. I also have 2 Sangean ATS 909Xs, a Tecsun PL-660, 880 & as of last week got a Tecsun PL-310ET (I felt I could have 1 radio without SSB). For the little bit of money spent on the 330 & 310ET am very pleased.
Thanks for the report.
@Glenn
What do you like about the PL-310ET compared to the PL-330? It's cheaper than the 330 and I'm tempted to order one. 🤔
@@StratmanII I wanted another small radio & this one was cheaper but it didn't have SSB. The 330 does & I have 4 other quality radios that do have it. I listen to SSB (hams, military, maritime, etc.) almost every day. Since then I also bought a Sihuadon R-108. I can't fit any larger radios into my operating position, LOL.
@@ambush1sg Shortwave radio listening is a great hobby during these times of the pandemic! I already bought four Tecsuns within the last three months - PL-660, 330, 990 and the el cheapo R-909 analog. Was contemplating the Sihuadon D-808 when you mentioned the PL-310ET, which I believe is the first model with the ETM function.
The R-909 isn't worth buying IMO, it's too sensitive to household electrical noise especially from WiFi routers and extenders. I should have bought the PL-310ET - it's worth the price of two R-909 pocket radios.
The Tecsun S-2000 is also on my hit list - it's the most affordable tabletop receiver that isn't a Yaesu or an Icom rig, which are way out of my budget! 😒
BTW, if you use your 310ET's ETM feature a lot try setting its bandwidth to 1kHz before refreshing the next ETM scan. You'll get more stations during the day compared to the widest bandwidth setting!
Amazing reception with a 30 ft wind up wire antenna plugged into the antenna jack. Was receiving pirate radio stations on 6935 usb earlier tonight around 6pm.
Just purchased this radio off you site, adding to my collection.
Awesome. Thanks and have a great day.
some have and addiction to drugs, for me it is shortwave radio receivers and computers.
I've had the PL-330 for a month and it comes with the 3306 firmware, not the 3305. Mine was purchased from a China based XHDATA online store and it's identical to Tom's version, except that the sticker that reads "High Sensitivity", "Memories", "Detection" and "Lithium battery" are in Chinese characters. Some of the text on the back of my radio are also in Chinese instead of English. The supplied owner's manual is oddly in English language. I don't think there are any differences in features or performance between the China market and the export version. They're both the same radio.
Anyway, I think what makes the PL-330 extra special is its ETM+ band scanning and I use it more than the ATS tuning method.
The ETM+ corresponds with the hour of the day when the band scan is invoked and its memory slots are separate from the ATS memory channels. It's useful for browsing through broadcast frequencies on specific times of the day. For example if I wake up at 4 a.m. and want to listen to stations that are active at 4 a.m., I'll just press the ETM button to switch to the ETM mode. The radio will present me only the frequencies that it has memorized at 0400 hours since the previous ETM scan performed during the same hour.
The ATS tuning method on the other hand, doesn't take into account of the time of day it finds active frequencies. It merely records the frequencies it finds and stores them, irrespective of the time of day the ATS band scan was done.
ETM+ also has its share of shortcomings. ETM+ will sometimes mistake RFI background noise for legitimate stations and mostly selects strong to medium strength signals. It's also meant for broadcast stations and will not scan ham or utility bands and stops scanning at 26100 kHz.
Thanks for your comments.
StratMan, thanks for the info.
@@bcarr1122 You're welcome. I forgot to add that the only other Tecsun model that has the Enhanced ETM (ETM+) function is the vertical form factor, PL-368. If I'm not wrong, the PL-368 shares a lot in common with the PL-330, electronics wise. The older PL-365 model appears to be an SSB capable version of the PL-360, with a Si 4735 DSP chip instead of the Si 4734. 📻👍
Pretty impressive for such a small radio. The level of sophistication is really something.
The only thing stopping me from getting it, is the small battery.
Waiting for your battery test.
📻🙂
I've found that the battery lasts as long or longer than any other rechargeable. For a few bucks I got a charger & several spare batteries giving me a total of 4 for the 330.
@@ambush1sg Hi, I did the same thing as you had done too. Bought an inexpensive universal charger for flat shaped lithium ion batteries and three original Nokia BL-5C batteries (1020 mAh). However I ended up topping the battery charge via the USB charging port each time and have no issues so far. The PL-330 didn't seem to feel warm during the charging process.
For my PL-660 I never use its built in USB charging and prefer to recharge my Sanyo and Panasonic Eneloops externally. I use a Nitecore UM4 charger for the job.
Still, having fully charged spare BL-5C batteries is a good idea for traveling with the PL-330.
Don't hesitate, it's an amazing radio for the price.
Battery last a long time.
Two of the stations you mentioned as Spanish, 7420 and 9730 are actually Romanian. This is amazing taking into account he distance.
Thanks for the correction and have a great day.
Thank you. Ordered one today, was going to get Tecsun 2000, but changed my mind. It see seems the 2000 has too many problems. I wasn't going to risk it.
Hello Tom. For the money I don't believe there is a better radio built today for under 100 dollars. Just a very good radio. My only issue is with the sync Function. Which is poor. Take r
Neat little radio, Tom!
Tecsun really have some nice products. The battery should last a while, although I have had some BL-5C get "puffy" ie: swell up and refuse to hold a charge with in a short time (less than a year)
Good show Tom, thanks for keeping it real
Sounds like you have more than one. Where did you purchase the extra BL-5C's from?
@@darrenrogers5174 I have bought them from Ali express, Amazon and eBay
@@craignehring Ok. Thanks.
One thing that I like this Tecsun radio is the ETM feature. But I'm still tempted to get the XHDATA D808. 😅
Could you help me, which one is better to choose? ☺️
I am no expert but I would choose the Tecsun.
Great receiver for the money, it’s a tough call between this and the Xhdata which is the best at the price point.
Can we put a longer antenna that antenna is to short
Definitely
Nice review and tests!! Thanks! Could it scan all the ham chatter stations at, let’s say, from 7.000 mhz up?
I don't think you make it scan a range.
I was the one that hit the 73 thumbs up - lol🙂
1500mAh batteries and greater are available.
Can I change the antenna with longer version if where I find one
Sure
I bought it and still don`t know how to tune SSB properly. I have the PL-660.
I had a PL-660 and couldn't receive SSB worth a hoot. Sold it and got the PL-330 and can get SSB. The only thing a little wonky is switching between tuning steps to fine tune in to the SSB signal.