Tecsun PL-680 Portable World Band Receiver with AM/FM/SSB Modes and VHF Airband

Impressive piece of kit. Can use recharageable or non recharageable batteries, dependent on switch setting. Lots of presets. Excellent value.

The Tecsun PL-680 is surprisingly good for it's price. On short wave it has a very low noise pre amplifier and low noise when tuning. It has a high impedance antenna input, but it benefits from an earth connection, which may be wired to the sleeve of the antenna or the ear phone connector. It has a good AM synchrounus demodulator with a wide capture range of 2 kHz in bad signal conditions. It has a narrow band / wide band selector which works fine, but in wide position the center frequency is not in the middle of the band. The antenna connector puts out voltage, probably designed for an active antenna. Use a capacitor for isolation if you are connecting a home brew antenna. The SW receiver has few birdies and great performance. Even the SSB is useful, i have listened to DX amateurs on 80, 40 and 20 meters with it. for its price I believe it is the best you can get

Pros + Air band (I live in Athens and I can easily listen to the Athens arrivals/departures) + An indoors antenna (you don't need to buy an extra) + A leather purse comes with radio. Cons - Not very good MW receiver (I do not receive all international stations I receive with my old National) - Not very good for listening to 80 m ham band (maybe this has to do with the antenna)

This radio works well, the agc could be a bit slower for ssb, a 3.5 mm Jack with coax would be good for an aerial tuner, and attenuator. For the urban UK environment you will need a good DSP to reduce the very high noise level from VDSL Broadband, an outdoor aerial is a must otherwise it will pickup noise from other sources, such as lighting, and most other equipment, a loop aerial could improve things with regard to the above.

Five Star Product. I've used it almost everyday since purchase - on a wide range of frequencies. Not tried it yet with an external antenna as I'm in a good reception area for most of the bands I listen to. I use two sets of high capacity rechargeable batteries (2000mAh). One set is charged ready to swap when the other set in the radio needs changing. The battery sets last a long time between charges.

Great radio but the microphone socket doesn't work properly.

Well made feels a quality product, the case is nice and padded , one of the best radios I have bought to date over the past 50 years , including grundig , hacker, Roberts, and zenith, has plenty of features to replace my old Sony digital radio bought in 1985, the reception and sound quality is superior to the Sony which is about the same size and appearance

Every so often I take it out of its box and try it again, only to rediscover what an awful radio this is. I hardly dare think what might is inside the box. It must be extremely cheap. A scam. It does seem to work on FM, but that's about it.

Da appassionato di elettronica e di frequenze amatoriali sono rimasto sbalordito dalla sensibilità di ricezione e comprensibilità dell'audio, è un ricevitore straordinario, molto semplice da usare, praticamente dopo mezz'ora non aveva segreti senza leggere le istruzioni (che sono solo in inglese) utilizzando la seconda antenna in dotazione (un pezzo di filo lungo circa 5mt) si può ascoltare di tutto su tutte le bande. L'audio stereofonico in FM sulle frequenze commerciali e limpidissimo, praticamente per due giorni da quando mi è stato consegnato è stato acceso da mattina a sera tardi perché crea dipendenza. Sono assolutamente soddisfatto dell'acquisto, lo consiglio a chi ha un pò di esperienza per poterlo sfruttare al meglio visto il costo non proprio economico, unico disappunto è la mancanza delle batterie, ho acquistato a parte 4 stilo AA NI-MH ricaricabili (circa 10€) la radio ha la predisposizione per la ricarica, oppure si possono usare batterie normali usa e getta. (chi ha bisogno di istruzioni in italiano online si trovano quelle del PL-660 che era il modello precedente) AGGIORNAMENTO: le batterie usa e getta dopo due giorni di uso intenso erano quasi scariche, le NI-MH ricaricabili dopo una settimana si è spenta una tacca.... fantastico!!

I purchased the PL-680 in 2020, and it hasn't disappointed me. In the world of shortwave and single sideband (SSB) radios, I think this radio one of the best portable radios you can buy for shortwave band reception - at any price. Features: The PL-680 is essentially an improved Tecsun PL-660, with larger controls, improved sensitivity and a slightly better AGC. It has PLL tuning, digital display, synchronous detection, 3-way antenna gain switch, and it covers the AM/FM/SW/AIR and LW bands. Power: Four AA batteries. There is also a separate dedicated voltage specification for either alkaline or NiMh rechargeables. With NiMh rechargeable batteries installed, the supplied A/C wall wart functions as charger, and once charged, you can run the radio solely on clean DC battery power for many hours. Current production radios also use firmware that allows SW frequency calibration. The integrated slow/fast tuning control knob is easy to use and a definite plus. Shortwave: Outstanding. This model isn't as well-known or as frequently reviewed as other Tecsun models, but in fact it's one of the most sensitive in terms of shortwave reception (much, much better, for example, than the Tecsun PL-880, and it's slightly more sensitive than the PL-660). The PL-680 also has great selectivity on SW. Unlike many radios of this type, it has an excellent synch detector on both AM shortwave and SSB, with a strong lock. The PL-680 also uses PLL tuning, so there's no chuffing or muting when changing frequencies. There is a 3-position antenna gain (attenuation) switch to minimize overloading from strong signals, and you'll need to learn how to use this effectively to maximize the radio's SW capabilities (especially when using long external antennas). I've gotten clear reception of Radio New Zealand (6,770 miles) and Voice of Turkey (6,997 miles) using only the attached telescopic antenna. Also captured readable reception of China Radio International (7,257 miles) and All India Radio (9,300 miles) using a backyard horizontally-oriented wire loop antenna. SSB: Excellent. Very good BFO control. You can use both upper and lower single sideband (SSB) for sync detection. AGC is fast and stable. Medium wave: Mediocre. AM reception has been criticized as atrocious by some reviewers, but I think it's a little better than that. While it's no AM DX-ing superstar, the small internal loopstick antenna in the PL-680 will bring in most regional AM stations. Selectivity is excellent. I picked up WYLL 1160AM Illinois at night from its transmitter at 1,413 miles, which is impressive, considering that WYLL is directional and that KSL 1160AM (50kW) in Salt Lake City is directly in line with my reception path. Still, this isn't your best choice if you want to receive distant or low-powered AM radio stations. AIR band: Good. This band pulls in all local aircraft and tower frequencies in my area using the whip antenna. FM: Very good. One station received from a 180-mile distant city. FM reception is clean and stereo is obtained using the 3.5mm headphone jack. Longwave: No opinion. There is almost nothing to listen to where I live except for a single airport beacon. Audio Quality: Just OK. Similar audio to other shortwave portables of its relative size and price, mostly due to the shallow speaker (there isn't much room for a speaker inside the box). AM audio voice quality is fine, but music quality isn't good. At home, I use an inexpensive BT speaker attached to the PL-680's earphone jack with a 3.5mm cable. Quality Control. There are complaints about quality control with every single portable radio sold these days, and Tecsun is no exception. All I can say about the PL-680 is that I must have gotten a good one. I don't doubt other owners who received a radio with poor soldering, buggy first-version firmware, or other issues. I've owned the PL-680 for several years now and have had absolutely zero problems with it, so I know it can perform well if it's properly assembled and not abused. Bottom line: If listening to shortwave or SSB transmissions is your thing, and you need a portable, this is the one to get.

Das ist das erste Gerät in der Größe, welches den SONY 7600 G ersetzen kann. Auf kleinem Raum ist es gelungen, alle Tasten so unterzubringen, daß sie auch noch greifbar sind. Der Klang ist erstaunlich gut. Die Senderspeicherung ist etwas umständlich, was durch die Bänke für die überflüssigen 2000 Speicherplätze verursacht wird. Nachteilig ist, daß Sender nicht einschl. der Betriebsart gespeichert werden können. Ebenso wäre ein Squelch wünschenswert. Die Empfindlichkeit auf Kurzwelle ist hervorragend. Sogar eine Bandbreitenumschaltung ist vorhanden. Mit Langdrahtantenne trägt sie allerdings auch dazu bei, daß im Flugfunk einige Rundfunkstationen von der Djunke durchschlagen. Das geschieht auch schwach mit der Teleskopantenne. Wer sich daran stört, soll etwas Größeres kaufen. Der BFO hat eine Raste in der Mitte, die aber etwas schwach ist. Die Teleskopantenne ist recht lang. Trotzdem wird man unter bestimmten Bedingungen die Wurfantenne einsetzen müssen. Da die mitgelieferte Wurfantenne umständlich zu handhaben ist, ist noch die Rollantenne von SONY angesagt. Für den Fall einer Übersteuerung gibt es an der Seite einen Abschwächer. Sehr vorteilhaft ist die Möglichkeit, die Akkus zu laden, während sie im Gerät sind, was früher nur mit Löten möglich war. Das geht aber nur beim abgeschalteten Gerät, ein Pufferbetrieb ist nicht möglich. Freude macht die geringe Stromaufnahme von 70 mA. Die Standzeit mit ENELOOP-Akkus scheint endlos. Das Ladegerät hat im unbelasteten Zustand etwas Eigenverbrauch, verbreitet aber keine Störstrahlung. Netzstörungen werden natürlich durchgeleitet. Der Netzstecker war bei der Anlieferung verbogen. Beim Ladestecker ist der Minus auf dem Mittelstift, nicht aussen. Kaum zu glauben! Das gab es mal ca.1969 bei japanischen Magnetbandgeäten. Das kleine engl. Handbuch kann ohne Lupe gelesen werden, und ist sehr übersichtlich und komplett. Angesichts des Preis/Leistungsverhältinisses, der Fähigkeiten und der Größe kann das Gerät gut als Ersatz des SONY 7600 dienen. !ACHTUNG! Interessenten wird dringend empfohlen, bei einem anderen Händler zu kaufen. Das ist eine Erfahrung mit einem anderen Gerät. Das Geschäftsmodell sieht vor: Bei Rückgabe oder Reklamation eines defekten Gerätes muß das Paket auf eigene Kosten nach Spanien verschickt werden. Der Händler sagt dann, ein Fehler liege nicht vor, oder falsche Bedienung seitens des Kunden wäre die Ursache. Zusätzlich wird dann noch ein virtueller Kratzer erfunden. Dafür wird dann der um 30% reduzierte Kaufpreis zurückgezahlt. AMAZON wurde in Kenntnis gesetzt.

Simplestmente é ótimo.

・このラジオを購入した理由 ・BLCラジオのメーカー「TECSAN」の評判が良い ・PL-680はボタンとダイヤルが右側にあり操作が片手で使いやすい ・よかったところ ・単三電池(4本)でエネループが使える ・専用カバーがある ・オートオフ機能で寝落ちしても自動電源オフで便利 ・縦置き、斜め置き(スタンド付き）できる ・だめなところ ・横置きするとアンテナが垂直に立たないので置き場所に気を使う ・暗所の操作はボタン表示が見えない ・説明書が中国語(Google翻訳でカメラ入力を利用すれば日本語に 翻訳するので平気かと) 良い製品です