Tecsun PL 990x Full review Quick look at the radio PART 1 of 3

What is the Tecsun PL-990x and look at the functions and options of the radio

[@NickelodeonTuber]

Pardon, if I missed your comment on this feature I did watch all 3 parts of review. I learned from your live stream, a member's comment about the pin hole, and this radio's bluetooth mode includes a microphone for smartphone calls. One of your previous videos not included in this series, points out the mic feature. I just wanted to include the microphone feature as a comment here. That was a cool find, live on KZbin discovery, only second to FB page discovering Radio Emma Toc! ;) Thank you for this review series!

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

I mentioned it in the verdict video ..but yes the hole is a microphone when you use for phone calls

[@RJDA.Dakota]

I’ve been really looking forward to seeing this.

[@bubbaschwartz]

You got me excited over this radio I watched all the reviews thank you.

[@abuttieri]

Do you have any idea what I can do. My pl990x will not receive any sw or mw. I can only tune regular fm radio. I haven’t used this radio much. I mainly use my pl680 when I do listen because I didn’t want to scratch this one up since it is my expensive radio. My pl990x is about 1.5 years old. Thanks Love the videos you helped me on my decision to get one of these and I don’t regret it. I tried the reset button and leaving the battery out over night. Still nothing . I reached out to Anon-Co and asked them how to get it repaired and they are going to warranty it even though it is 6 months past the year warranty. I can’t believe this. What a great company! Very happy I purchased from them. They got my business and thank you. I did not know of Anon-Co before I started watching your channel. What a great company!

[@nickrupp2336]

Thanks for the indepth review.

[@rider79cbx]

What the difference between the 990 and 501 other than the 501 having more speakers and better sound? How does circuitry, features and the electronics compare? Is the 501 just a better sounding 990? Is the button layout the same?

[@MarkWilliams-ix1qf]

To add a record function, Tecsun offers a kludge: they sell you another radio (Tecsun ICR-100, $30) that does record via a 1/8 patch cable. Smart for them, because they sell more stuff, but not as elegant as adding the record function to the 990x. Oh well, it works.

[@sidneycavalcant]

Ao inserir um cartão sd não é possível gravar o que escuta ?

[@JeffDeluca-pb7vi]

Hey you have a lot of great stuff

[@Cheetorblz]

Hi I have this radio but no real experience. I am wondering about the signal to noise display shown as dBμ and dB I understand the greater the signal is to the noise the better, but don't understand the two numbers displayed and how to interpret them and use them to evaluate tuning. Is the idea that the first number should be high and the second low or both high? What is a good number for each? I may totally be lost and maybe it is not about tuning. Could you shed some light on this for me? Thanks!

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

I will make a video explaining this later today, hope it will help

[@Cheetorblz]

@@OfficialSWLchannel That would be awesome!

[@Cheetorblz]

@@OfficialSWLchannel I ended up returning this radio. The volume knob did nothing for 3/4 of the range and then jumped very loud at that point. Additionally the light switch didn't seem right either. Felt like it could quit working soon. Amazon had no remains stock so I decided to order the Sangaen 909x. (About $50 cheaper at the momento. I thought about going with a Tecsun 880 bit decided to try Sangaen.

[@Cheetorblz]

@@OfficialSWLchannel well now the volume knob seems to be fine - I must be going crazy - Anyway, I guess I will keep this guy as it is said to be the last top of the libe portable Tecsun will make and your reviews of the Sangean 909x makes me uneasy returning this before my 909 arrives. I guess the 909 will be for FM and eye candy. So, I need that instructional video!

[@whollyunaware5185]

@@Cheetorblz I may be wrong, but I suspect the issue with the volume knob was caused by your battery needing a charge. My PL-880 does the same thing (although not for 3/4 of the range; more like 1/2).

[@bhazzard957]

Can anyone comment on the difference in labeling between the PL990x vs the PL990(no x). The PL990 version is advertised on Amazon for $279. Review here shows PL990x on front. ?

[@garykasper2003]

I have been looking for an extra battery for my Tecsun pl990 note without the x It is 18650 3.9 volt button top rather than a 3.7 volt I would like to find a couple of extras in case the one supplied ever wears out Your help in this case would be fantastic Thanks Gary

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

18650 are all 3.7 Volts... you can get them on amazon

[@alldog222]

I just bought the 990 but no mention of x are they different ?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

absolutely not, 990X is EXPORT version, 990 is Chinese market version, they have very small differences and the non X sometimes comes with a Chinese manual

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

X is EXPORT

[@alldog222]

@@ctny ty

[@alexblue6991]

I'm looking for a new hobby now I'm retired does this radio receive CB and Ham radio

[@tonyperone3242]

How is it compare4d to the S- 8800 ? That seems to be the nearest Tecsun product price wise. Thanks.

[@Radio_Activity]

Interesting comparison between the Sangean ATS-909X and the PL-990X with an external antenna here swling.com/blog/2020/10/matt-compares-the-tecsun-pl-990-and-sangean-ats-909x-sharing-an-external-antenna/

[@vinayfondekar3455]

Is there any big difference in pl 990 and pl 990x ?

[@viarnay]

x for exports

[@ThPappas]

How it is vs Sony 2010 please?

[@clickrukii]

Great video. You just revived my childhood fantasy. What about the battery life. Can I go a day or two on a single charge?

[@clickrukii]

Oh. Got that

[@danvitale923]

Is there any way to update the software of this radio?...just guessing if exists any type of updates around..

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

no

[@briandavis3356]

How long is the antenna?

[@steveambrose1]

Hi good review , in your opinion is it better than the Icom R30. Thanks

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

they are not the same thing, R30 is wideband receiver ... but if we talk only shortwave performance, it is light years ahead of a Icom R30

[@JosephAnthonyJosefius]

Does this radio have SSB bandwidth filters?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

yes

[@OlegBoa]

1. Very expensive receiver, but still with old micro-USB charge connection. Why? Meanwhile its cheaper brother PL-330 was modernized to USB-C in 2023. 2. With introducing very comfortable Tecsun's invented ETM function (ETM+ in the same PL-330), the 990st seems to be obsolete and oldy-moldy. So it's better to wait for a new equal model, but with USB-C and ETM+, may be in a couple of years, and may be without useless multimedia functions such as Bluetooth & MP3 playing... P.S. SD card is reasonable if the radio is able to record broadcasts from the air.

[@DistantLightProd]

No airband?

[@whollyunaware5185]

That's correct, DLP.