Welcome to 2021 - TECSUN PL-990X Review 

Nearly forty years as a licensed Amateur Radio Operator and I learn all the time. I like these videos, it's like stopping by a friend's house for a cup of coffee and a chat about radio equipment and antennas. Please keep making these. Very well done! 73, de KI7YY

I had this radio for one year and I concur, this is one of the best short wave compact radios I ever had...

I have the TECSUN R-9700DX. bought about 4 months ago. watched a lot of reviews on these and this is the one I decided on.

I love the radio that you just showed us ,however, as soon as you said the words “spy radios”…I subscribed!🙌🏻😉🤠👍🏻✊🏻⭐️

I have just ordered the 990x should arrive on the 12-17th cant wait looks a really nice receiver. thanks for all your vids.

You're right about the audio quality of the more recent SW receivers being better than the older ones. I have a Tecsun PL-880 from 2017 and a Sangean ATS-818 from 1994... the first thing I noticed about the PL-880 was the much lower noise floor.

I have also a Barlow radio, from my father. I bought it for him in England on 1978. It still work perfectly.

This has been an excellent review. Thank you very much.

What I like about RU-vid is you can scroll forward to the more interesting stuff.

Just ordered the 990x, looking forward to some good SWL'ing, and for the video. 73

Great presentation... I love this guy... makes his own music !!! :)

Three hail Mary's and an act of contrition old chap for reading an instruction manual. Nice to know you did that, and operated the Tecsun without spectacles or twitching fingers. I sadly can't boast the same level of physical, ( or mental in my case), dexterity.. Perhaps a clandestine radio in POW camp's presentation, as it will seem fitting in the present circumstances. You can be "Big X" ! Happy New Year Peter.. Thanks for your great videos..

Iam really liking this Peter!!! Can take it to work with me on nights:) have put one in my basket so will purchase soon as in stock:) looking forward to the next spy video 👍👍

Great video. By the way, this is one of the few portables where the external antenna jack also works on MW and also discoonects the ferrite! It also receives bluetooth. I love mine!

Great review! The only thing that is stopping me from buying this lovely radio is that the SYNC performance is subpar, as it is in my PL-880. I opted for the PL-680. Cheers!

I love your videos, thank you for the information. New ham here as of 2/2/21, KD2VNP

I've had a Tecsun PL-990 (non "x" variant for the domestic China market) for almost 2 years. If there's something about this model that nearly every reviewer on RU-vid hasn't noticed, the PL-990's 4 kHz bandwidth filter makes no difference compared to the 3 kHz setting. Anyone who has played around with SDRs can tell you that changing the bandwidth from 3000 Hz to 4000 Hz makes A LOT of difference in the sound. In the case of the PL-990, the 4 kHz setting may as well be a placebo. I have no idea if Tecsun is aware of this bug in the PL-990 but they're probably keeping quiet as no one had brought this up.

That’s a charming little wireless.

I got one before Christmas and it is a very nice and capable radio. The synchronous AM feature does allow you to select which sideband to listen to, which can be useful if you have an interfering station on one side. I call it a nice laptop radio because you can relax in an armchair, using just the (1m long) whip aerial and be really surprised at what you can hear. For someone like me who was a schoolboy SWL over 50 years ago, it is astonishing how receiver technology has developed.

I Love pl-990's " Trail-Friendly Radio " Controls..!

I like it. The old receiver I had let out the magic smoke and did a burn out to the point it was not worth fixing. So I had to dig out the small one of around the size of the one you had there, it does NOT perform the same or have half the features that one has. It does do SSB but not so well. My biggest problem is if I plug in the power supply that came with it it wipes everything out! I doubt it is a high quality supply, maybe a half wave rectifier without proper screening or smoothing! I used to listen to the old receiver for hours, a habit I developed when young. We had an old valve radio (Tube for the Americans viewers) that used to pick up everything, if it was transmitted it would hear it. I would sit and listen to these strange transmissions at night, Short wave, Radio Amateurs, Police, Fire, Taxies, strange counting stations, things that were to say the least weird. But it was good fun for me and it kept me out of my mothers feet on rainy days as well. I kept hearing Morse code and went to school and asked the headmaster (three teacher school) what it was all about. That sparked the interest of some other kids in the classes in the room (the classes were up to 6 to 8 kids per class so there were 4 classes in the one room and the head teaches all of them) so he explained it was Morse. It got people so interested that we made wooden Morse keys and we gave up some of out time to start to learn Morse (not very well I have to add as the Head didn't know Morse to any speed, but he did know letters and numbers. There was so much interest that as a surprise he got two gentlemen in one day to demonstrate Amateur Radio (no idea did he know them or did some parent know them) but they came in and set up a radio and ran a wire and tuned it up a bit. We were well warned not to go close to any wires as we would get a big shock from it (no explanation of RF burns! Anyway, it was demonstrated to all our satisfaction. I don't think anyone became a Radio Amateur though. I almost did, but work took me away from the course and my mates at the time found they already held the qualifications. :-(( Of course it was not going to be much fun going to a stuffy Ham Club on my own. There was an Amateur was going to take me on that I spoke to a lot on the CB, but unfortunately he died just as we started :-(( Life can have some cruel twists, now I am disabled and getting around is not so good. Now is the time to go through the test, now that it is online, though the practical would give me no problems at all. Done it all already! Least said about that the better, NO, I was not a pirate. Anyway, I digress. That is a nice small receiver, just a pity they went to all the bother of putting a SD card into it and not making it stereo. That would have been a brilliant radio for everything then. Party anyone?

I got my station after 20+ years since passing my (full license) qualification test as a young person. License does not expire but I sure needed to check up some changed regulations. :)

Let's have a bit of nostalgia let see the Barlow wadley up and running 😁. cheers Peter enjoyed the video. Adam G7CRQ

This is nice so small can take anywhere where ever I want to go i have radio SONY CRF-230 world zone 23 band radio old version never used it for a while it a big set I've not bothered used it since I've had Icom 7300. Great video

I added TECSUN PL-990X to my "Wish List".

👍 Thanks. Very intresting video.

When will they be in stock? Great informative video. Many thanks.

Hi Peter, Looks like the Sony ICF-7600 or ICF-SW77 on steroids. Seems to be a very nice radio with excellent SSB reception too! It would be good though, if you did a comparison video showing the differences between the PL-680 and the PL-990X and what the advantages are of the more expensive radio.

I LOVE WADLEY LOOP receiver XCR .

Is that the Barlow Wadley XCR-30 Receiver? I want one......... :)

Excellent video of the PL 990 with its cutting edge features. But i will surprise you even more. Know that it has the bluetooth feature too, in addition to filtering hiss between stations, and still other features that are not reported in the manual. I can give you the instructions for jumping the cat if you want. 73!

I love my Panasonic RF-B65!

Hi sir! Here it's not available the 990x version but the 990. I realize that it's the Chinese version. Do you think it is the same to the 990x in terms of quality?

Got myself a down market model, PL 660. A very good radio, but has no card or usb. I do have a feature that is missing on yours though. Mine has a rotaty knob to fine tune ssb signals, although main tuner only has 1KHz resolution.

The "great big receiver" (Barlow-Wadley XCR-30) shown at the video starts looks old, but very classic and well constructed. But it weights more than 4 kilogram!!.

Hello from Birmingham, England! My Tecsun pll 990x has been a disappointment. Sound quality is very good, but unfortunately no SW reception . I tried different times, plugged in the externsl antenna but nothing seems to work and all I got for SW was a couple of unclear stations. I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

Nice video! Does the pl990 replace the old pl880?

radio của tecsun bắt sóng ngắn,sóng trung rất chuẩn

I'm located in England. FM sound quality and reception is excellent. But almost no stations received on all other bands! Why?!

Tecsun make some fine receivers

As I see out of stock....nice radio ....must have ..73

Thank you

Is it harder on an analog short wave radio to lock on to a radio station?

As nice as that Tecsun may be, I'd bet your Barlow-Wadley will still be working long after the 990X has kicked the bucket.

If the radio shows up as a usb sound device on the computer does that infer it also has audio coming out (computer can select it as input) and be used with appropriate software to decode digital/CW signals?

I own one of the Tecsun 990x receivers Yes it is a bit overpriced but it's also a brand new model. I would have to say that it is the best portable receive only unit available currently. It has an excellent speaker and the tuning is closer to a base station than any other portable i have ever used. If you are seeking a radio for MW and SW this is the winner, however if you are primarily interested in FM listening the Sangean ats-909x is a better choice. I would also say that the Sangean has a edge when listening to music with a set of headphones, as it has a internal headphone amp separate from the speaker amp.

I have discovered a major issue with the 990x on SSB on the higher bands. Example tune to some SSB speech on 27.385 Mhz LSB or USB horrible DSP Warbling / wobble not to be confused with AGC issue on the oscillator seems to be the whole top end of the band on SSB rendering SSB useless possibly 25 to 29 MHZ however AM seems ok. Going to be a whole lot of disappointment owner's when the solar cycle comes up opening the top bands. I Believe this was an issue with some early 880's

Can the LINE OUT be connected to PC for recording on-air?

Funny because the 990x is one of the beefier radios out of the lineup. You should see my PL365 it's the size of a candy bar. Great spy rig hehe ;p

Can this radio listen an air band and is it possible to listen a CB radio and some UHF and VHF? Aaand......is there any diference between the 990x and 990..or are they actually the same stuff? Please i need detailed answer. Thanks.

What price is the 990x?

My best radio is a sony ICF 2001.

Hi, you have good old friend ! It was very famous ... Have a good time ！

By gosh! A Barlow-Wadley XCR-30! DX'ers wet dream around.... 1973-1975

I prefer the Grundig over the Tecsun, it has more features and allows listening in on HAM radio in a greater range of SW frequencies

Hellooooo .. What's the best small portable radio that can record fm stations onto mp3 files within the player?

Good👏😎

Does this receiver cover Air Band frequencies?

How does it compare to the Sangean equivalent?

Yes. A good radio. And Tecsun Degan Grundig wow I've lost count of all of the Branding over the years, they are the best. The Chinese make ho hum stuff... AND VERY good stuff, that lands on the dark side of the Moon, and stuff like these radios that pull signals out of thin air from thousands of miles away like nobody's business! Chinese no longer means "cheap" quality. They got better and better. And are STILL getting better and Better. And always at a good Price Point! But there's always room for improvement: 1) Don't you HATE it when you lose the SW Antenna Reel? It would be nice if someone made a built in "pull out" one. After all, the whip antenna pulls out, right? ;-) It would have to be something that wouldn't end up a tangled mess, though... Or at least make a place in the back of the radio to STORE that wire. 2) Mp3 recording, preferably on a continuous Loop. Easy to miss call signs, this would save them and other content for later sleuth work, and no more with the post it notes and the pen that you never have at the ready. (And No Doubt, Numbers Station Operatives will Rejoice, as will counterintelligence when they find an SD card that hasn't been scrubbed of any football games or Church Music on any radio that they might confiscate... ;-)) 3) LIGHTED keys. I don't know why manufacturers haven't picked up on this. Have you ever tried to work DX at night while camping? Yea, you always need a damned little flashlight to see the keys. Which ruins your night vision. This is ALSO a problem at home. At night. While the radio is on your nightstand. 4) Provisions for REGULAR throw away alkaline batteries. Your Dead Radio COULD be charged by a separate phone charger in a fix, IF you forgot to charge the radio. But if you forgot to charge the radio, I'm guessing that you forgot to recharge your backup rechargeable battery, too... Alkalines? Well, they're just....READY. And Readily available. Everywhere. Well? Almost everywhere. 5) Weather Band. You NEED this in the United States. For the Rest of the World? Please watch the VERY American Movie: "The Wizard of Oz", and you'll know why. 6) A CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE bandwidth selector. Hey, you've got DSP there, and four selections of bandwidth. And that's great: But a VARIABLE one would give the BEST choice at any given time or mode. 7) Bluetooth that goes to OR from the radio. Because sending the audio FROM this set to my Bluetooth speakers in my living room OR the waterproofed ones on my porch OR Bluetooth headphones would be awesome. 8) And for a SUPER BONUS FUTURISTIC RADIO? A display for speech to text for the deaf, and all the digital modes and Bob's your Auntie. Add a real time "Google translator" to convert any speech to English or whatever you speak, and THAT'S a radio. Oh...I forgot an led flashlight on the side.... All the Best! 73 DE W8LV BILL

It's a pity it doesn't let you record audio onto the SD card or have bluetooth functionality.

I need one of these in my life. I don't have enough garbled, unintelligible audio around.

Should I buy from amezone America because in india amezone did not sold this radio? What is your suggestion? Or any other best option between tecsun, Eton, Sony?

👍👏👏

So near and yet so far. Even the marvellous little £15 Retekis V115 has record off air and record from mic features. I would really expect similar functionality from a £260 radio.

👍

The Tecsun PL-330 only bigger and more expensive

Micro-USB?? in 2021. It is shame!

It's over 300 euros. I'd rather buy something like the Barlow on used market. It's heavy enough to make you feel you're getting something for the money, with a big speaker.. I think they added unnecessary parts to justify a high price. The SD card offers nothing of the functionality of the radio. You can't record to it. Acting as a PC sound card? That's very odd. Bluetooth belongs with smartphones.

Nice radio. Too bad non-ham shortwave is dying out/has died out. Some Chinese stations and religious stations out of the US remain on the air. In Germany, MW (AM) is dead. In Norway even FM radio is dying out. The country is switching over/has switched over to DAB. There are many "radio" stations now available through the internet. Many people have flat rates, so listening 24/7 doesn't even cost extra. There are even amateur radio listening stations. You don't even need a radio to listen to them. Just your smartphone. As a radio amateur I can listen to the shortwave stations that remain on the air through my amateur radio (and excellent antenna). If a person is interested in listening to ham chat and is not a licensed radio amateur, I can see them investing in a radio like this. 260 pounds vs. 700 pounds and much more for an amateur TRX (on which they are not allowed to transmit) would make some sense.

No air band no no

It wuld be ewen better if it had Bluetooth, so you culd use it like a Bluetooth speaker 🤔 and if it wuld be ip 67 rated so you culd take it to the beach... Ah getting ahead of myself, there is probably not market for analog radio for younger generation 🤔

This radio is overpriced for what it offers. No RF-Gain, No RDS, No VHF Airband, No Alpha Tags, No proper signal meter and AGC pumping on SSB. How can Tecsun justify the high price of what is nothing more than a warmed over PL-880 ? I'll pass and look at the Sangean ATS-909X2 instead.