So I’m going on vacation for a while, and of course I have to pick a radio to take along.
Tecsun PL-660
I was digging in the cabinet and came across the vinyl fold-over case for my Tecsun PL-660 and felt a spark of affection and for a brief moment I thought I might actually take it on the trip. Practicality reared its ugly head: the radio is heavy, I can’t charge the batteries in the radio itself thereby requiring a separate AA battery charger and ATS isn’t useful on this radio. It’s still a very nice radio that I should get out and use more.
WOW (Wire Out Window): the WOW antenna is 40 feet long stretching E/W terminating in a 1:9 earth-grounded balun. With the balun, the radio performs just about equally whether I set it for 50Ω or HiZ
WUT (Wire Up Tree); the WUT antenna is 20 feet long, stretching N/S diagonally up a tree. The lower elevation where the radio sits is about 6 feet above the ground. It has an earth ground also connected to the radio using it when possible. I set the radio for HiZ or this antenna. I have found on other radios that the ground connection on LW and MW make a world of difference.
MLA-30+: This is a commercial amplified loop antenna.
Telescopic: whatever comes with the radio. The MLite-880 antenna is 72cm.
Reel: Sangean ANT-60 wire antenna about 23 feet long. I set the radio for HiZ or this antenna.
Donut: This is a loop antenna about 4 inches in diameter, often bundled with some of the ATS4732 mini radios. I have a red one labeled for 10kHz – 180 MHz. Mine isn’t tunable.
Frequency coverage
The graphic above from the Elecevolve website is supposed to indicate the frequency coverage of the radio; however, the frequencies between 108 and 118MHz can also be tuned but I haven’t received anything there. The range between 30 and 64MHz cannot be accessed.
This is my review of the MLite-880 SDR receiver from Elecevolve. It is based on V1.5 of the firmware and V2.2.0 of the Product Manual. Disclosure: the manufacturer provided this unit to me at no cost and without obligation.
The device has some outstanding strong points and some problems that I hope will be addressed in the future. Before getting into the weeds, I want to preview my conclusion:
This is a very good radio. Its noise reduction is a deal maker. Operation is somewhat complicated and the “grab and go” listener might be frustrated. The serious hobbyist will be rewarded. There are better and far more expensive MALAHIT radios. This manufacturer sells direct and has fair prices.
With the firmware flashed back to its original V1.4 and the radio operating again, I resume my first impressions post with a warning I recall from some manufacturer’s website that goes something like:
If it isn’t broken, don’t update the firmware!
Buzz on the internet showed that experienced MLite-880 users found the V1.4 firmware a backwards step in some respects. Not having experience with earlier versions, I can’t judge that. Nevertheless, the manufacturer, Elecevolve, certainly advertises firmware updates as an important feature. I’m not the only person who “soft bricked” their radio trying to update the firmware.
Impressions
The question I’m asking myself is whether this is a radio experiment or a shortwave listening appliance. A different way of putting it is: does this radio just receive well, or is it useful and convenient? Stay tuned.
I rarely use my Rd239, although it has some nice features, including backlit keys, weather band and VHF. The company has always been responsive when I asked for firmware updates.
I’m interested but not today because of this warning:
Please exercise caution when making your purchase, as the product currently has two defects that will only be rectified by the end of May. You must accept these two defects before proceeding with the purchase.
Currently, the manual is only available in Chinese, and the English manual is only available in electronic format. The English manual will be provided after May 25th. If you need the electronic manual, please send an email to 393688798@qq.com
In the SSB function of the radio, the step size is currently 5K. We plan to modify it to 0.5K. After May 25th, a version with 0.5K step size will be available. Other bands will remain unaffected.
The second is a deal breaker. Whether a firmware update can change the step is unknown. It’s also not clear whether SSB can be decoded without the “W2 outdoor unit.”
Nice box, well padded. I was at first concerned by the empty plastic battery case included, but the battery was included, already installed in the radio. The battery was about half charged. It comes with a manual, USB charging cable, and an SMA to 3.5mm phone jack adapter.
The size is smaller than a Tecsun PL-990.
When I first turned it on, the FM band was selected. I couldn’t quickly figure out how to switch bands — need manual. I did find that the single tuning knob toggles between frequency and volume setting, and that it does not do anything to select from the menus.
Next thing for a receiver geek was to check the firmware version. The website manual says Version 2.2. The supplied manual on paper said 2.1.0. The unit itself, if I ‘m reading it right, says 1.4.
This is just quick note about some new commercial firmware for the ATS25 series of receivers. I hope to take a look at it soon, but in the meantime interested owners of these radios can take advantage of a free trial look through a link on their website, https://golden-radio.com.
ATs25 with Golden Radio Firmware
According to the website, it’s tested on:
ATS25, ATS25+, X1, X2, max, max-Decoder, max-Decoder II and variants with digital-modes modifications. ESP32 + SI473x hardware with ILI9341 display.
I refer the reader to the website for a full list of features, but I noticed EiBi database and FT2 support right away.
I don’t do much with my ATS25 max-Decoder — just too many radios and so little time — but this does look intresting.
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