Mini SSB Receiver TECSUN PL-330⚡️Hidden Features⚡️

The TECSUN PL-330 (firmware 3306) is wideband LongWave , MiddleWave and ShortWave pocket receiver + FM Broadcast band.
In this video I will show you how to turn the hidden features on. In the second part of the video you can see and hear how this nice little radio receives on different bands and modulations.
Tecsun PL-330 Radio FM/LW/SW/MW - SSB all-band radio:
a.aliexpress.c...
Here you can download the english guide:
www.tecsunradi...
Yenkee tripod used to support the radio:
www.yenkee.eu/...
Please if you like the content on my channel don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
Thank you for watching, 73!
#tecsun #PL330 #hiddenFeatures

[@o00scorpion00o]

I can forgive the imperfections in the PL-330 due to it's cheap price and also it's tiny size but I can't forgive the PL-880 ( cost at the time of release ) the S-8800 or the PL-990x and especially Tecsun's ( flagship ) H501x due to the poor audio quality on SSB, the distortion and the fact much of the bass frequencies have been cut making the audio very thin sounding. There's plenty of space in the 501x for an improved analogue design with analogue components but these engineers think that a Radio-on-a-chip is fantastic because it minimises component count and cost but the real cost is to the consumer due to the awful sounding SSB audio quality. These engineers have no idea how a radio is supposed to sound especially on SSB and the sad thing is that many People will never have had an Analogue radio with no DSP and might think this poor audio quality is "normal" ! What's really remarkable about the PL-330 is how well it handles strong signals with external antenna, it does have it's limitations and there's no attenuator but if you compare the PL-310et with the 330 especially at night with external antenna, the PL-310et falls to pieces with strong signals, the 330 can handle much stronger signals. For long term use the 330 tuning muting would drive me insane especially for listening to radio Hams, the auto tune function does work well though and the neat thing about the auto tune is that it remembers the time of day you do a scan so when you recall in the afternoon it recalls the stations that were scanned in the day and when you do a night scan when you recall the stations in the night it will pull in the stations it scanned whatever night you scanned them. When doing auto tune/scan "ETM" the bandwidth determined the sensitivity of the scan, for example, if you have the bandwidth set at 1 Khz that's the most sensitive, 6 khz would be least sensitive and pull in only the stongest stations. The Belka is a really good receiver and it's incredibly small with none of the distortion or bass cut off in the audio, the only real negatives I would give it is that the audio filters are limited to 4 Khz even on AM which is a shame but ECSS really does sound good on the Belka. Another thing with the Belka is the tiny design means less buttons and more multi function buttons but it's understandable due to it's tiny size. The best sounding would be the Malahit DSP 2, the DSP 3 is available to oder now, the Malahit is really amazing but it really needs an external antenna. It's an amazing radio though, I just wish someone would make a similar radio in a big box with big forward facing speakers, knobs and buttons. One of my favorite radios is the Tecsun PL-680, due to it's pure analogue design, the audio is as you would expect, "pure" free from bass cut-off on SSB and free from distortion, there is no way I would recommend a DSP radio over a PL-680 because the PL-680 allows proper SYNC detector and ECSS works amazingly well, ECSS on DSP radios sounds awful and for the serious DX'ew and SWL enthusiast ECSS is essential. The Pl-680 and a good external antenna like the Bonito MA305 will make an excellent DX SWL radio that sounds great. On a positive note, the 330, 990x and H501x work well with external antennas on LW/MW once you enable the function in the hidden menu. The 680 has no connectivity to external antenna on LW/MW.

[@OM0ET]

Thank you very much for your very informative comment! Your comment was pinned to the top of the chat. 😉👍

[@sidneycavalcant]

O que acha do xhdata d808 ?

[@o00scorpion00o]

@@sidneycavalcant o D808 é ok, mas o PL-330 é melhor na minha opinião, porque não sobrecarrega tão mal com antena externa expecially à noite. Na minha opinião, o "único" positivo que o D808 tem é o RDS para FM. No entanto, ambos os rádios têm silenciamento ao sintonizar e isso é um grande problema para mim. O D-808 e o PL-330 também soam muito mal no SSB devido à distorção, que é causada por este chip DSP. Todos os rádios DSP têm esse problema. Eu aconselho você a obter o PL-680, sendo puro analógico sem DSP tem excelente áudio no SSB, sem silenciamento ao sintonizar, ung SSB na estação AM Shortwave torna muito mais fácil encontrar estações DX, chamado ECSS. Espero que o Google Tradutor funcione ok?

[@StratmanII]

" the PL-310et falls to pieces with strong signals" I had this radio for a week. Ended up returning the PL-310ET to the seller due to this drawback. It was my first Tecsun model that had this AGC pumping problem and strong stations result in the speech becoming slightly distorted. It's painful to listen to after a while. As the PL-310ET doesn't have an RF attenuation switch (Local/Norm/DX) like the PL-660/680/880/990/501x the only workaround is to off-tune the station frequency by 1 or 2 khZ. That solved the distortion problem but the audio drops off as the VFO is not centered on the carrier frequency. 📻😐 Later on I bought a Tecsun PL-398MP and it also suffered from the same problem but chose to keep it. Its AGC couldn't handle strong stations like the PL-310ET. I suppose it might be the same thing with other Tecsun DSP radios that happen to use three AA cells, e.g. PL-380, PL-390, PL-360. PL-310. The recently released PL-320 (the PL-330 without SSB) doesn't have AGC problems though. I have one myself. ☺👍

[@sidneycavalcant]

@@StratmanII O que acha do Sangean ats-909x2 ?

[@CarlosFelipeRequiao]

Thanks for your helpful video. I think I found two other 'Hidden Functions': When the radio is ON, pressing the number 7 on the keyboard activates a type of RF Gain that can be set from 30 up to 63. Additionally, when in SW and ETM modes on the screen, pressing and holding key 6 for about 5 seconds enables a sensitivity scale from 1 to 4 for the ETM scan.

[@josesebastian5986]

When the radio is ON, pressing the number 7 on the keyboard you can select volume level, this is not an RF gain. When in SW and ETM modes on the screen, pressing and holding key 6 for about 5 seconds enables the speed selection for the ETM Scan. Turn tunning wheel to select from 00 to 04 and any other control to set; 00 is the fastest speed and 04 the slowest. At fast speed some weak stations can be not detected. 02 is a good balanced value speed>accuracy.

[@CarlosFelipeRequiao]

@@josesebastian5986 Thanks for explaining those functions. It´s a pity that on key 7 is not a RF gain but just a volume level that ofc by default is on the lower wheel

[@OM0ET]

Carlos Felipe Requiao I have to say that this reciever is amazingly resistant against overloading, even when I listen my self very close to the antenna 👍

[@amercalifa5592]

Thank you so much! My TECSUN PL-330 (firmware 3306) with tipe-C and 1200ma battery. Very good works. I just soldered a 4F and 5.5V supercapacitor in parallel to the battery. This way the battery lasts longer.. I also have a Retekess TR-110, but it’s a very dull sensitive baby, a toy and not a radio.

[@tomcruiser2407]

All Tecsuns are pretty much the same. But this one has a really cool size. Thanks for the great video.

[@sherlock1895]

This was very informative. My Tecsun PL330 arrives tomorrow. Cheers!

[@SangiTariq]

I also have this radio. But I do not use it in detail. Your video increased my interest in this radio. I will usually use it. Thanks for the informative video

[@Steven-re7xt]

My 330( tec sun) running co piolet with my dx 394. (Rs) Its a win-win. Deal. .😊. I run 20' of 400ohm tv wire as a antenna .tks fer second set up every bit helps😊

[@Ross13ful]

muted tuning can be overlooked the tecsun pl-330 is an excellent receiver and beats out many other radios

[@sidneycavalcant]

Supera o Xhdata d-808 ?

[@karlbel4992]

Xhdata d 808 and Tecsun 660 are the same performances maybe à bit better sélectivity in Fm mode both are incredeable. Tecsun 660 sound à bit better . I need to buy 330 to compare .

[@sidneycavalcant]

@@karlbel4992 Não gosto do tipo de bateria usado no 330, foi este motivo que não comprei ele e preferi o d808

[@awaismushtaq5719]

Nope! It doesn't. I luckily own Sony ICF SW-7600GR and Panasonic RF-B45 and none of Tecsun receivers gets close to these although most of their receivers are copies of them.

[@larrybragg7406]

Thank you for this demonstration! I have one and enjoy it very much. I've learned alot with the hidden features. I just wish the AM filters were available for SSB

[@DonzLockz]

Thanks for all the info and demo. I have the 330 and the 600 but also want the 660 for Air. I won't be buying any higher models, I don't think they are good value for money unless I find a good second hand unit. Have fun with it. :)

[@L1RW]

Try the XHData D808 or Sangean ATS 909X2 for Airband.

[@DonzLockz]

@@L1RW ok, thanks for that! :)

[@charleshunziker7416]

Same thing with the pl360 everything is in Chinese

[@sidneycavalcant]

@@L1RWo d808 é excelente na banda aérea

[@exodus0612]

More power to you sir paul, i like the way you explained things, your new subscriber from the philippines..

[@PY5257SWL]

Great video. Thanks for sharing with us. I would like to ask if you could make a new video, showing us how to use the SW, LSB/USB, SYNC, ATS and Step functions. Thank you very much. 73 from Brazil. 🇧🇷

[@Sid-mq6dt]

bandwidth change, TY for the lesson.

[@robc8468]

Thank You I plan to buy this radio the initial start up programming information you provided will be very useful.

[@walter9724]

Nice sounding radio

[@wasylbakowsky5199]

Fantastic video. One thing though, about the FM de-emphasis time constant (15:57), you mention that 50 microseconds is for Europe etc., and 70 is for North and South America. At 16:40 you say 70 microseconds is for Europe etc. Looking it up, your first mention of 70 (75 actually) is correct. Had me wondering...

[@HKey_Root]

Excellent video. Thanks. Do you have a link for the stand/clamp used at the end of the review please?

[@OM0ET]

Yes, sure. Here: www.yenkee.eu/universal-flexibile-tripod-3-in-1/ysm-301bk

[@HKey_Root]

@@OM0ET That's great. Thank you.

[@manoffaith2501]

Excellent review of this radio.

[@alvarogaitan2529]

thanks Paul great receiver

[@josealeixes2861]

Muito top seus comentários vou comprar um pl 330 parabéns

[@josesebastian5986]

Not bad radio, but two years after boght it, the charging socket begins to fail contact. With the Tecsun PL310ET the same problem was happens. Tried with a two new cable but problem persists.

[@sidneycavalcant]

Por isso não gosto de usar o rádio para carregar

[@baneverything5580]

Thank you. My tuning steps were wrong.

[@omaral-amoudi2295]

From end best vedio and amizing hehhen fetuers thanxx frend handred like

[@SkyRunner67]

Thanks Paul!

[@JoseArrom]

This might be a little late, but you might find an English or other manual online.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

Is this something you could listen to numberstations and other stuff? Seems like a nice gadget and see if this is something of a new hobby. Cheers

[@OM0ET]

Yes of course. This receiver is very sensitive 😉

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

@@OM0ET cool stuff.

[@CyberBeep_kenshi]

@@OM0ET It's on It's way :-) Like you said, good entry level radio too. See if this hobby sticks. Sooo many hobbies 😎

[@Alexrabat]

can you listen to act communications with this device?

[@fwfefrtefdv4719]

How to cancel the sleep function? Thanks

[@macchi205]

there is no way to turn off the soft mute ?

[@viarnay]

those little radios are plenty..

[@landykwaterski3278]

Wat kind of stand?

[@johanzijlstra2819]

Is the battery easy to replace if it is broken?

[@TRGB1955SD]

YES. Just bought a 2-pack for spares from Amazon for about $8. The battery is old style cell phone and very common.

[@timholtzclaw8930]

Your call sign is not in the database.

[@tonyv8925]

I just received my pl330 on Sept. 1...followed instructions but encountered a problem...I cannot enter any frequency below 3.000Mhz. If I enter the Coat Guard frequency of 2182 the display just goes back to previous entry above 3.000Mhz. What should I do? Return the radio? Help, please?

[@sidneycavalcant]

Resolveu ?

[@carabasbarabas8986]

you need to press “enter” after entering the frequency, the receiver expects you to enter a frequency with a higher bit depth, for example 21820

[@gerardbremond484]

Inférieur à 3000 MHz, donc vous ne recevez rien ;-) !

[@gerardbremond484]

3000 MHz = 3GHz ;-) !

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

There might be new firmware for that radio.

[@Chrish_k]

Cost friendly for a SSB SW

[@StevetheNPC1337]

If I long press the 9 key with the radio off, it toggles something on/off, but I don't know what it does. Does anybody know? I left it on. 😄 Also, if I long press the 9 key while the radio is on, I can adjust something from 01 to 30, but again I don't know what it is for.

[@eridan3158]

Merci !

[@OM0ET]

Oh! Thank you so much for your donation and supporting of this YT channel! 😊

[@eridan3158]

@@OM0ET You are welcome. I love your content ! :)

[@OH2EKI]

A real toy, the knobs wobble and the buttons are bad!!!

[@catalincodreanu4372]

sw 15370 khz it,s romania radio

[@skoda324]

16:44 "75 µs for Europe". Not for Europe, for USA... (Je to jen přeřeknutí)...

[@OM0ET]

Oh, dobry postreh, dakujem za opravu. Ano je mas pravdu. 😉👍

[@robinj.9329]

The radios do very well with an external antenna. Even a simple length of wire will help. I use from 30 feet, up to 75 feet or so, for my "Long Wire" antenna. The socket on the left side seems best.

[@UnderTheBigOak]

I love my PL-330. I have looked at review after review on the more expensive models, and except for the muted tuning the 330 does with the VFO, the receive and features are so good (especially on my outdoor antenna). I would easily buy another rather than 'upgrade' to a more expensive one.

[@sidneycavalcant]

O que não gosto no PL 330 é a bateria utilizada por ele.

[@sidneycavalcant]

Qual sua antena externa ?

[@walter9724]

Reminds me of the old Sony silver receiver radios of about 20+ years ago

[@h.joshi_]

ICF SW-11? That was Sony's legendary offering back then..

[@walter9724]

@@h.joshi_ probably 🤣 I can't remember the part number but they are still up around the $400-$500 on e at here in Australia

[@gamlemann53]

Hallo Paul! I have this radio, and your video helped me a lot! Thank's for that. It shoud be fun if you made a video trying the difrence between the internal antenna, and your magnet loop antenna. I tryed this with mine Tecsun 330, and it a huge difrence! (I used a longwire). The best from LB1NH. 🙂

[@richardmerriam7044]

Most, if not all 'hidden' features are explained in the owner's manual.

[@kellyklaask7su990]

Thanks for this fine review! I just bought one and am waiting for it to arrive. Meanwhile I have set up a 140 foot long wire for reception. I'm going to bookmark this video so I can enable the features that you showed. Thanks again! de K7SU

[@antcri730]

Most of these "hidden features" are clearly labeled on the keypad.

[@jcmontecarlo6123]

😂

[@vlatkogacesa]

Tecsun PL330, is it enough for listening to radio amateurs or does it need some malachite........

[@_ZetkaTV]

Thanks for making this video!

[@Juanfernandez-sm8jl]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Muchas gracias por esta comparativa que me parece muy interesante,, para principiantes como soy yo!! desde Málaga, España te mando saludos!!

[@wasylbakowsky5199]

This is one of the best videos on the PL-330 that I've seen, I learned so many of the finer nuances to this radio. However, I must say, you still need to peel off that damn sticker covering the bottom left of the speaker, lol!

[@viarnay]

You should try the Xhdata D-808...

[@henriquebitencourt6853]

Hello friend, it has temperature on the display, because the simplest ones have it. Thanks!

[@deepwoods_dave7368]

Fairly nice radio. But, the 880 is 10 times better for a little over twice the price.

[@ronaldschmid2726]

Very helpful. Ordered it.

[@LionRoars918]

The PL880 is nice too

[@maryrafuse3851]

It's not middle wave. It's medium wave, always has been.

[@grandfathergeek]

Good video

[@markleaman8313]

Just thought that you would like to know that I just purchased this receiver from Amazon in Canada, and the manual is printed in English!

[@markleaman8313]

One point that I forgot to mention when I posted my last comment is that the charge port is now upgraded to usb C!

[@pjo1964]

Just received one and mine came with usb c. I guess they changed it.

[@OM0ET]

Oh, that's great news! Thanks 😊 What firmware you have? Long press VF/VM button and wait for number in upper right corner of the screen. Mine is ver. 3306

[@pjo1964]

@@OM0ET 3306

[@k5wxp22]

​@OM0ET Just received mine yesterday. Mine has the USB C and 3306 firmware. Great video, thanks for posting it up.

[@jackcycling4403]

Too bad it can't accept regular AA batteries like the 660 or 680

[@RosssRoyce]

The long waves button works on mine.

[@ShowAnNDTeLL]

does it have cw receive?

[@ominkan3129]

OM0ET do you know what the display is telling us when you hold the USB button down continuously and -10 comes up in the signal area and 00 when you continuously hold down the LSB button?

[@luisvargas6153]

Es la calibración de frecuencia de las bandas laterales

[@ominkan3129]

@@luisvargas6153 Thank you.

[@mcdeadsquirrel]

Thanks for this!!!!!

[@HeartInLight]

Just a tip, NEVER EVER pull a screen cover on an electric device when its turned on. You can actually kill your device with electric shock if you're unlucky. Cheers!

[@gmcenroe]

Good video, I just bought the 501x and I think it has hidden features as well. So far from west coast of US I have only picked up a few SW broadcasts.

[@Radio_amateur]

Good and inexpensive receiver, especially for amateur radio reception. But it also receives broadcast stations quite well. I made some tests of this receiver on my channel.

[@stevelove-ch9ow]

When the 330 is turned off I see "TIMER A" in very small letters toward the top of the screen.What is that?

[@mr.c8033]

No AA batteries, not for me. Those batteries that come with these are pure junk. Most cant last overnight.

[@sidneycavalcant]

What turns on and off when using the 9 key on the Tecsun PL 330, when the radio is off?

[@AEZAEZEL-187]

Hey OM0ET do you have firmware 3306 on your PL330? Thank you!

[@noncounterproductive4596]

I took one of these radios outside where it got a few drops of water on it and quit working. I was very surprised at how fragile it was.

[@ajchopper]

Excellent review!!!!, i have just ordered one.

[@tnarch]

am i correct that when turning the knob sound stops at each step?

[@OM0ET]

Unfortunately yes

[@tnarch]

@@OM0ET that’s bad… I cannot understand why they make many radios work in this way….

[@LionRoars918]

I find the external antenna goes up like 35 on the radio when using like a tecsun an200 or similar.

[@Neo7-777]

No graphical S-Meter ist the first thing which is a no go for me.

[@Jesusandbible]

When you put in music on the SD card, does it say what the track is? Like "Beatles - Penny Lane" or just a number?

[@josesebastian5986]

Tecsun PL330 don't have SD card and don't have MP3 player funtion.

[@walter9724]

Mine should arrive tomorrow

[@0906mlynek0906]

a czy obsluguje pasmo lotnicze i te co baofengi 136-520 Mhz ? Jesli nie to ktory to wszystko obluguje ?

[@markrosinski4814]

chyba nie PL 660-680 obsluguje

[@8richard862]

😂Thanks for the recommendation

[@NDSMD]

23:00 what antenna is that? 📡📶

[@ggggg4030]

To use the external antenna jack, which contact (tip or which ring) on my 3.5mm plug does my wire need to be soldered to?

[@Potshot3]

Tip

[@doncollins9331]

Thanks Paul. Have just reset FM to our NZ range!

[@michaellynas5511]

Thank you so much great information.

[@SangiTariq]

Great 👍

[@ΦΑΝΗΣΤΣΑΛΚΔΗΣ]

Hi, thanks for the video . Do you believe this would be work satisfactory in the middle of the ocean?

[@blpblp-tj7ux]

anything will work if you really believe

[@PX3G2537]

Show

[@Maxumized]

Godzilla

[@armanahong6678]

👍👍👍

[@Homer19521]

Soft mute ruins this radio, for me. Scanning is no fun at all. Otherwise it could be an amazing radio. I prefer the Belka.

[@OM0ET]

Belka is higher class receiver, should be compared to the Tecsun PL-600 or better. The PL-330 is an entry class receiver. I agree that those mutes are annoying and is pity that all cheap receivers do this. Would be great if I could try also Belka one day 😉👍

[@Homer19521]

Agreed. Belka is way more expensive. Alex got the AGC in the Belka just right. The 330 is amazing at this price level. Thanx for the vid. 73

[@w8lvradio]

Where can I get the TRIPOD that you use to hold the radio? 73 DE W8LV Bill

[@jennifersweet8025]

The only thing hidden here is the hidden features. This guy is making an unboxing review and the video has nothing to do with hidden anything!

[@DCDura]

Guess you didn't watch the whole video. Hidden menu features behind at the 8 minute mark.

[@Andy2e0ree]

Great show Paul thank for sharing de 2e0ree