Tecsun PL-880 only noise on SW & SSB

[Franziska]

Hi,

I got a Tecsun PL-880 delivered today.
It's got, by enlarge, great reviews here elsewhere and looks promising.

We've bought it got also to receive weather faxes when either offshore or a location without cell or VHF signal, as we have been in this very situation before.

While I can get it to store FM stations with automatic scan, I only get noise on the SW, SSB USB and LSB when running a scan.
No stations found, external wire antenna plugged in gain on DX.
Antenna signal max 0-6.

I tried this with the antenna hanging out of the window, but also 100m from the house (obstruction free farmland, no high tension wires around).
Im located in Saxony Germany Europe.

Has anybody had similar issues with the Tecsun Pl-880?
Did I get a faulty unit? Any way I can check this?

[S/V Illusion]

Try the SW bands at night. Often too much absorption during the day on HF due to solar flux conditions which don’t have the same effect on VHF.

[Franziska]

Thanks. Tried it right now. Still the same outcome.
Only noise on all bands except of FM.
I'll give it another shot later today.
If it fails I'll ask the seller for an exchange unit...

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Try the SW bands at night. Often too much absorption during the day on HF due to solar flux conditions which don’t have the same effect on VHF.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Thanks. Tried it right now. Still the same outcome.
Only noise on all bands except of FM.
I'll give it another shot later today.
If it fails I'll ask the seller for an exchange unit...

As it's name implies, the S/N (signal to noise) ratio might be effected by ambient noise from any number of things on a boat. If the noise is greater than the signal strength, all you will hear is noise.
Try disconnecting the antenna so see if the noise decreases. If it does, try moving the antenna/radio to a less noisy location. Also try shutting off everything onboard to see if the noise decreases.



Noise is actually a good sign - it indicates that the radio is (probably) working.

[Jim Cate]

I don't know what sort of AM broadcast stations are in your country, but likely there are some... so, can you receive any of them? This would be on AM settings, tuned to a local station. If that doesn't work, I'd say it is defective.

Good luck!

Jim

[DaleM]

If there are any florescent or led lights near the radio the noise can overwhelm the signal. So try it away from interference. Also you are using the long wire dipole antenna, correct? Also try manually tuning on ssb. There is a ssb switch on some of them that changes something, I'm not near the radio and working from memory.

[JD-MDR]

Try getting the time stations Over here I get them on 5000 and 10,000



Most of the time I can get at least some noise from the weather fax broadcast from Pt Reyes CA but not always. I'm still experimenting.

[AlanR]

In Europe the AM stationa are 9KHz apart, and in the USA, 10 KHz apart, so you need to check the steps when you scan.

[Franziska]

Thanks, I did try 9&10 as well as time signals. Nada.

An old SW receiver got reception which I also tried got reception.

99% convinced now that it is a faulty unit.

Thanks to all.

[JD-MDR]

I got mine working pretty good with the $5 blackcat app

[Symphony]

Originally Posted by JD-MDR

I got mine working pretty good with the $5 blackcat app

what frequencies did you tune to receive the WFAX?

Richard

[JD-MDR]

From Pt Reyes 8680 sometimes 4344

[ka4wja]

Richard and Andrew,
I posted a very detailed, very real-world report, of my recent (March 2021) WeFax reception, right at the dock, in S. Florida....

Originally Posted by Symphony

what frequencies did you tune to receive the WFAX?

Richard

Have a look here:
Good HF WeFax Reception on-board, at the dock, March 2021, real-world
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ld-248424.html

This, along with the "stickies" at the top of the Marine Electronics page here, should answer all your questions!

FYI, from CT you will be too close to NMF (Boston) to receive WeFax from them on anything other than their 4mhz channel....so, have a listen for NMG, New Orleans, as well...




Andrew, if you're in S. Florida (as I am), you should have the same results as I do....
If not, I suspect two things:
a) You haven't spent much time perfecting your HF Voice reception.
b) You have an abundance of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) on-board....(too much noise!)


Please, Please. Please.....read my thread linked above....
Then read it again....(and watch the videos linked, therein)
Then understand that it is the noise that you need to get rid of....but, unless you're aware of what is "noise" and what is the WeFax signal, you're chasing-your-tail!
Please, Please, Please, learn and perfect your HF Voice reception first....and, only then attempt to receive non-Voice / digital signals (WeFax)....
I cannot stress these points high enough!!



I hope this helps.
But, you're going to have to do the work....read the linked thread, and all links therein....and watch the videos....it's all up to you to learn this....just like you learn sail trim, anchoring, splicing/knots, head repair, diesel maintenance, etc....HF radio comms is actually VERY predictable and pretty darn simple (heck my late, very non-tech, father learned it!), but, it's NOT like swiping on an iPhone, you need to learn how to make mothernature work for you!

Fair winds.

John

[Franziska]

John, thanks, but I had zero SW on a plain field with zero interference sources around. An old short wave radio I took along too had reception.
So, the Tecsun went back and they agreed to replace it with a more thoroughly tested unit....

Originally Posted by ka4wja

Richard and Andrew,
I posted a very detailed, very real-world report, of my recent (March 2021) WeFax reception, right at the dock, in S. Florida....

Have a look here:
Good HF WeFax Reception on-board, at the dock, March 2021, real-world
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ld-248424.html

This, along with the "stickies" at the top of the Marine Electronics page here, should answer all your questions!

FYI, from CT you will be too close to NMF (Boston) to receive WeFax from them on anything other than their 4mhz channel....so, have a listen for NMG, New Orleans, as well...




Andrew, if you're in S. Florida (as I am), you should have the same results as I do....
If not, I suspect two things:
a) You haven't spent much time perfecting your HF Voice reception.
b) You have an abundance of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) on-board....(too much noise!)


Please, Please. Please.....read my thread linked above....
Then read it again....(and watch the videos linked, therein)
Then understand that it is the noise that you need to get rid of....but, unless you're aware of what is "noise" and what is the WeFax signal, you're chasing-your-tail!
Please, Please, Please, learn and perfect your HF Voice reception first....and, only then attempt to receive non-Voice / digital signals (WeFax)....
I cannot stress these points high enough!!



I hope this helps.
But, you're going to have to do the work....read the linked thread, and all links therein....and watch the videos....it's all up to you to learn this....just like you learn sail trim, anchoring, splicing/knots, head repair, diesel maintenance, etc....HF radio comms is actually VERY predictable and pretty darn simple (heck my late, very non-tech, father learned it!), but, it's NOT like swiping on an iPhone, you need to learn how to make mothernature work for you!

Fair winds.

John

[hpeer]

How do you know your antenna is working?

Try this, while listening to the radio lay your hand in the antenna, do you hear ANY change in the noise? You should. If not then it is likely the antenna is not making connection.

Maybe a stupid simple thing but is easy and costs nothing.