Tecsun PL-660 Review: A 138-Euro Radio for Shortwave and Air Band

Tecsun PL-660: The Radio That Listens to Planes, Ships, and North Korea

There is a device for 138 euros that receives air band, shortwave, medium wave, long wave, and FM. It is called the Tecsun PL-660, and in the prepper subculture, it has long been the transistor one buys when wanting to listen to more than just the morning radio. The appeal is not in FM: it lies in the 1,711 to 29,999 kHz range, where stations range from Voice of Korea to weather teletypes. An enthusiast summarizes it plainly: "It’s like having 50 bands."

What Frequencies It Covers and Why It Matters

The breakdown is simple. From 100 to 522 kHz is long wave; from 522 to 1,710 kHz, medium wave; from 1,710 to 30,000 kHz, short wave; from 76,000 to 108,000 kHz, FM; and from 118,000 to 138,000 kHz, air band. With this, one covers, according to circulating calculations, 95% of the most interesting spectrum. Here fall control towers, ships, ham radio operators, weather fax, and numbers stations.

The difference from a bargain bin transistor is not ergonomic, but range. A normal device only picks up FM and medium wave. This one reaches where communication equipment reaches. And that, for someone wanting to start in ham radio by listening and building their first antennas, is the cheap entry door.

The Price: 138 Euros and the Question of Worth

The PL-660 moves between 100 and 150 euros. Some argue that in this range lies the virtue and that spending more is not advisable. The alternative that appears in conversations is the XDATA 808: digital filters, rechargeable lithium battery via USB, and, according to a user who has tried both, better performance on air band. "The Tecsun PL-660 on air band is deaf," he states.

The upper tier disappoints. The PL-990X, more expensive, does not justify the jump: "I expected better reception quality." At these prices, the argument is that one should go for a second-hand communications receiver. The repeated conclusion: the PL-660 is better made and has a better speaker, but with a large antenna, performance equalizes.

The Factor No One Controls: Electrical Noise

Here comes the disconcerting fact. An enthusiast with a large dipole, several SDRs, and a Kenwood TS-590 for HF recounts taking the radio on vacation and getting no use from it. The campsite was "paradise for cheap Chinese switched power supplies." The electromagnetic noise from chargers and cheap transformers eats up reception. It is not the radio: it is the environment.

This explains why the same device that pulls stations from the US and Puerto Rico in the countryside with a 30-meter wire, in the city amounts to nothing. The external antenna is not an accessory: it is half the equipment.

From Ham Radio to Mad Max: What Can Be Heard

The range is broad. Some have picked up a North Korean station broadcasting in Spanish on 9,875 kHz. Others trinc digital image transmissions emitted on weekends on shortwave and decoded with free software. And there is the possibility of receiving a QSL, the confirmation card, from Radio Pyongyang or HAARP.

The prepper interest is explicit. For the scenario of infrastructure collapse, a multi-mode FT817 rig is mentioned, which receives the entire band and transmits on HF, VHF, and UHF. The legal warning also appears: transmitting beyond a commercial walkie requires a license, and locating a transmission is so easy that the game becomes artillery-vs-counter-artillery.

The Fine Print: License, Batteries, and Noise

The practical advantage of the PL-660 is that it does not need a license to listen. The disadvantage is that it does not transmit. For that, one needs a course, an exam, and practice hours, as occurs in Argentina, where the hobby remains alive. The cheap path starts with a 5W Baofeng in VHF/UHF.

On the technical side, the XDATA 808 has the advantage of using BL-5C batteries, the standard of old Nokias, found for two euros. The Tecsun does not. And the squelch when changing frequency is the recognized drawback of the XDATA.

The Disconcerting Fact

The PL-660 costs 138 euros. A 16-bit SDR with high sampling rate runs around 150. A 30-euro walkie picks up shortwave. And a North Korean station in Spanish can be heard with a low-end DEGEN. The barrier to entry to the full spectrum is not money: it is knowing what to do with it.