My DP-666 finally arrived today. It’s based on the NXP TEF6686 chip, designed for automotive applications. The contents of the box bore an uncanny resemblance to the seller photo (what we call a “good thing’), and here it is:
Contents are:
- DP-666 LW/MW/SW/FM Receiver
- Donut antenna
- Carry bag
- Telescopic antenna
- Stylus
- USB-C charging cable
- 5000 mAh battery (internal)
Usually my first impressions are a bit more extensive than what follows, but there was no manual. I’m sure I can find one somewhere, but I’m winging it for now.
For some documentation, refer to the firmware projects on Github:
- PE5PVB project: https://github.com/PE5PVB/TEF6686_ESP32
- DP-666 project: https://github.com/flyoob/TEF6686_ESP32
- SPARKELEC firmware on Github
Left side
The first peculiar thing is the controls on the left side:
There is both an ON/OFF switch and a POWER button. The switch totally removes power from the device. The button powers it up and shuts it down. The purpose of the switch seems more of a Lock feature, to prevent the radio from being turned on accidentally.
The surprise is that if the radio is on and the ON/OFF switch is turned OFF, flipping it back ON turns the radio on without having to press the POWER button. It remembers whether it was on or off.
Front view
The second thing that impressed me was the big bright color display:
The display is touch screen and I muted the sound with the stylus with the obvious speaker X icon at the top of the screen. And the “0” key also mutes (except when in the middle of inputting a frequency). Muting the speaker is something you might not want to do very often because the speaker is really good.
While a touch screen is cool, the other controls are so well-thought out that I wonder how much use the touch screen will get. Direct frequency entry couldn’t be simpler, just punch in the numbers and press the enter key (assuming the band is already selected).
The BW button toggles between bandwidths in SW mode, with the value conveniently on screen. The BAND button switches between bands.
Back view
The bands and frequencies are shown on the back:
I listened to FM, and noted (as seen in the image above) that RDS works. MW got a local station on the telescopic antenna.
Top view
There are two knobs on the top:
The VOLUME knob is for just that. The TUNING know is for tuning and it also can be pressed down, but didn’t seem to do anything at first, but it actually functions rather like the Raddy RF860, allowing the user to specify which digit of the frequency will increment when the knob is turned. It’s useful on the RF760 because that radio has no number keys, but it has less value here. A long press of the TUNING knob is a LOCK function, disabling the keyb0ard and the touch screen.
Down in the menus, the TUNING knob switches between options and advances values. Pressing the tuning knob also acts as a “select” button in the menu system and the Band button is the “Accept and Return” function.
The Antenna jack is SMA.
Right view
The right view includes the squelch control (“SQL”) to mute the receiver when there is no strong signal.
Update: The ESP32 Boot button is for firmware installation.
The LED charge glows white when the radio is on, red when the radio is off and charging, and both when the radio is on and charging (sort of pinkish).
Performance
I ran the Daytime Band Scan. FM results were very good, receiving 78 stations. I don’t publish MW numbers on radios without internal MW antennas because results vary widely depending on the antenna; and generally, any sort of external wire antenna will far outperform an internal ferrite loopstick. I will just say that the DP-666 with a telescopic antenna got quite a few stations.
Settings?
OK, I cheated and looked up the manual for the competing DEEPELEC DP-666 and found that a long press of the MODE button brings up the settings menu:
- Main Settings (10 sub items)
- FM Settings (11 items and step can be set to 200 kHz)
- Auto Search (19 items)
- Audio Settings (8 items)
- AM Settings (10 items)
- Operation Settings (15 items)
- Display Settings (19 items)
- Connectivity (8 items — includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Other Settings (9 items)
- RDS Settings (12 settings, Region defaults to Europe)
- Frequency scanning (10 items)
- My Settings (10 items)
That totals 141 settings. First impression: That’s a lot of settings. If an item has more than 10 settings or options, the list will scroll to the second page after reaching the end of the list.
One setting that we in North America will have to set is the MW step from 9 to 10 kHz. I also had to reset this when I flashed different firmware. Another first-time setting is the FM de-emphasis that should be changed from 50 to 75μS (this is under Audio settings, not FM). One may also want to change the FM step to 200 kHz for NA under FM settings and perhaps tinker with the FM range. Under RDS settings, set the Region to “America” for Region 2 (the other value is “Europe”).
There were some hours delay in the middle of this writing, and during that time WWV on 15 MHz was received on the telescopic antenna. I went out on the porch and got quite a few stations with the telescopic antenna, including CHU on all three frequencies from Ottawa, Canada, 538 miles from here.
Conclusion
I was worried about the quality of the product based on Fred in the Shed’s video, but in person it felt good and I liked the upright alignment. The buttons were solid and reliable. The knobs were nice. Based on maybe a half an hour total use, I think this is a nice radio to use. It has a ton of options. It receives signals well. It has a very nice speaker. Operation is convenient. It is not frustrating for the first time user. [Update: Frustration happens later when one tackles advanced features.]
It has no kickstand and the included telescopic antenna does not fold or bend. One might want to make a stand and buy a different telescopic antenna.
I never liked that ATS25 max (Decoder) much because of its inconvenient operation. It relies far too much on the menu system. The Si4742 ATS Mini was cute, but without direct frequency and hardly any controls and hardly any speaker; it wasn’t all that serious a contender. This one, the DP-666, is a totally serious receiver that so far has been fun to operate, and I’ve only skimmed the surface of what it can do.
I’m thinking that after I get my daytime band scans done, I’ll try this beside my Qodosen DX-286, which also uses the TF6686 chip — maybe call it “The Battle of the Sixes.” [Update: First part of what has become a two-part article is posted, The Battle of the Sixes: Part 1.]
Questions
What’s this AIR band thing I found in settings? What does Bluetooth do? Does the noise blanker help? [It’s under AM settings.] This should be interesting. [Update: There is no AIR band on the radio, but there is support for an external frequency converter that converts AIR band to Shortwave.]
Update
Fun has turned to massive frustration because there is no [string of foul language included by reference] manual I can find. I’m spending hours trying to find stuff.
There is a bad joke of a manual here.