LITEMALADSP MLite-880: Review Part 1 — Hits and Misses

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.

This is a product review based on my radio, experience and interests, but it wouldn’t be fair to ignore the fact that there are negatives reported by others on the internet that I don’t see myself, ones that seem to be tied to different hardware and firmware versions. One significant issue is that some units seem stuck on the highest display brightness setting, something that is brighter than anything someone would want to use in an indoor setting. Others report significant overloading, while others say it is extremely resistant to overloading. And of course there are the failures in updating firmware that can leave the radio temporarily disabled (see First Impressions: MLite-880 Interrupted!). There is a widespread belief that the new V1.5 of the firmware will straighten out many things.

V1.5 became available on the Elecevolve website as of May 9, 2026). Users report that V1.5 did fix their brightness issue. Also V1.5 added a frequency offset for CW, so now you can tune the CW signal exactly, and still hear a tone. It and V1.4 also extend the top VHF frequency to 165 MHz, but it appears that V1.5 is required to extend VHF on older hardware. And now (May 10) there is talk of yet another firmware update in a week or two.

Many years ago I attended a seminar talking about features and functionality. The presenter argued that more options added to a product made it less functional. The idea was that being required to set many options to invoke features made the product do less on its own. Who does the work — the radio or the user? The MLite-880 pushes in the direction of more options: antenna impedance, multiple AGC settings, bandwidths, multiple Noise Reduction settings, multiple Noise Blanker settings, multiple audio filters, equalizers, squelch, and LNA settings. There’s a lot more to do than to turn on, tune in and set the volume. My point here is that the MLite-880 is more for the type of user that wants control more than simplicity of use.

Hits

Noise Reduction

The MLite-880 has both noise reduction (NR) and noise blanking (NB). Noise reduction sounds startlingly good when pressing the button. More on this with examples later on in the performance review in Part 2, but let me say up front that Noise Reduction is a reason someone might decide to buy this radio. It’s the primary standout feature.

Recording

The MLite-880 is the only shortwave radio I have encountered with a record feature that stores the actual date and time in the MicroSD card directory data. This is from Windows File Explorer:

Notice that in addition to the date and time, the file name includes the frequency plus the decoding mode. Just WOW! Think of how much notetaking that saves.

The volume level (gain) for recording is not automatic, but a user setting. Use the knob to set the gain level. When I recorded the first time, the level was too low, so test this out before doing something important. More control, less convenience.

Bluetooth

Many consumer portable radios can act as Bluetooth speakers, and some can even answer phone calls when paired with a phone. The MLite-880 is the first I heard of that hosts Bluetooth devices and can broadcast to wireless headphones or Bluetooth speakers. It cannot be used as a Bluetooth speaker. This offers the option of better speakers and remote operation.

Calibration

I’ll count the ability to calibrate the radio as a hit, although the need to do it might be considered a miss. I noticed it when tuning to NOAA weather on 162.450 MHz. The radio was about 17 kHz low. (Oh yea, the new version of the radio I got tops off at 165 MHz rather than 148 MHz stated on the back of the case, manual and web site marketing info.

Calibration is accomplished by the Freq. correct item under the Radio Settings menu (under button 3). The manual gives no hint, but there are actually two settings–one for VHF and one for HF. HF calibration is in 0.1ppm units and 0.5PPM for VHF. Calibration on mine seems OK so far on lower frequencies already. I set it at -88 for VHF. There is no calibration option for the FM broadcast band.

FM Sensitivity

I found the FM sensitivity outstanding, on par with the best radios I have like the Tecsun PL-990.

Biasing T

More and more listeners are using magnetic loop antennas at home with integrated low noise amplifiers. I sometimes use an MLA-30+. The LNAs need power and typically a powered device called a biasing T is installed between the radio and the antenna to insert DC (typically 12V) into the antenna line. For portable use, the biasing T with its power supply and cabling is a bit clumsy.

The MLite-880 has the ability to insert the DC power directly into the antenna lead without extra equipment. LNAs typically don’t consume much energy, so it’s not an issue for the radio’s batteries.

Mute

I really need to mute the sound on my radios sometimes — phone call, switch between receivers …. The MLite-880 has a very convenient button that switches output to the earphones, effectively muting the main speaker.

Firmware updates

Firmware updates are both a hit and a miss (see later on) but the hit is that there are updates, downloadable. They fix things. You’re not just stuck with what comes out of the box. This is offset by the fact that you need updates because there are problems coming out of the box.

Misses

Manual

The manual is a significant disappointment.

The first problem, inexcusable, is that the PDF version of the manual is for the most part not searchable. You can search for “Elecevolve” but not “bandwidth.” The 24-page manual has no index and no table of contents, leaving the user scanning pages until they find what they want (assuming its there).

The second problem with the manual is that it’s not particularly helpful. It is basically screenshots of the display menus with some abbreviations spelled out. It’s rarely informative. It rarely tells the user how to do something. The almost obligatory table of specifications is nowhere to be found.

Not everything is in the manual. The Audio menu (as well as others) is context dependent, and the manual doesn’t cover all the contexts; for example, the CW Pitch setting never appears in the manual. Also the screenshots sometimes don’t show all the things printed below the illustration.

Because the manual isn’t very useful, I haven’t spent a lot of time with it, but I have found mistakes. My radio came with firmware version 1.4 (which I’ve upgraded to V1.5). It shipped with Version v2.1.0 of the manual, while v2.2.0 is available on the Elecevolve website. Both of them say the top frequency is 148 MHz, when in fact it is 165 MHz. The word “turn” is misspelled as “trun” twice. The manual has no page numbers so you’ll just to read until you find that mistake.

Without a manual, inconsistencies in the user interface can be more confusing. For example, under Radio Settings, pressing the “2” key enables and disables the BiasT, but pressing the “4” key next to NR level doesn’t enable it.

The manual identifies the 21700 battery that the radio uses, but gives no no details about it. The supplied INR21700/50E is a 21700‑size lithium‑ion cell using INR chemistry (nickel–manganese–cobalt), which provides a balanced mix of high capacity, stable voltage, and safe high‑drain performance. Rated in the 5000 mAh class, it’s a popular choice for radios, lights, and other portable gear that need long runtime without sacrificing current capability. For devices like the MLite‑880, it’s critical to choose the correct physical variant: the battery must be an unprotected button‑top cell. Elecevolve told me that the cell should be unprotected. Protected 21700s may too long to fit, and flat‑tops won’t make contact.

While the V2.2 manual that I have leaves much to be improved, the manufacturer has reached out to customers through a YouTube channel with tutorials.

Display

The reason I had decided not to buy an MLite-880 was mainly the display. It was black and white and low resolution. In practice, I find the display usable, but the graphic spectrum display not really useful. The main shortcoming is the lack of frequency markings. You see the display but if there is some signal off to the side of what you’re tuning, there’s no way to know what the frequency is, or how to get there. I’ve not seen this in the manual, but online reports say the display is 40 kHz wide, so I guess you can sort of figure it out with a ruler and a calculator, or perhaps make an overlay for the display.

Some users are disappointed at the lack of a waterfall, but this is not something I use much.

Context

This is a personal gripe of mine, but I’m troubled by the way the menu system changes content based on context. You can’t set some things without turning on or off other things. For example, the squelch level is frozen in the disabled setting setting unless squelch is active. You can’t set the CW pitch unless CW is the active mode — the option just disappears from the menu. You can’t proactively set things.

Also, the radio appears to change settings on its own, I think based on frequency or band — not sure which. Yes, it makes sense to set the mode to WFM on the FM broadcast band, and AM for the Weather Band and yes the mode does show on the main display. I just seem to be a little overwhelmed by all that’s going on behind the scenes. Maybe this will recede after use.

This would be OK if there were a user manual that explained such things, a manual that was searchable or had a table of contents, but there isn’t. It’s easy to just get stuck and have to beg for help on Facebook. I will say that Elecevolve customer support has been very responsive, but their replies seem to come on a 24-hour cycle, making social media a faster way of getting information.

Step

The STEP setting is supposed to define the change in frequency that corresponds to one click of the encoder, so if the radio is tuned to 1010 kHz and the step is 10 kHz, then turning the tuning knob should advance the tuned frequency to 1020. The problem with a few radios, including the MLite-880, is that the radio enforces frequencies that it tunes to be multiples of the step. If the step is set to 10 kHz and the user manually keys in “6055”, the radio will tune to 6050. That’s an annoyance. But it gets worse.

FM broadcast frequencies in Region 2 (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) have 200 kHz channel separation. If the radio is set to 88.1 and then the step set to 200 kHz the radio will advance to 88.2, 88.4, 88.6 etc., which are not valid FM channels. They should be 88.1, 88.3, 88.5 …. It’s impossible to correctly step through the FM band in Region 2. This could be fixed in firmware.

Station scanning

As someone who often has limited time for a listening session, I want to focus on what’s there and not what’s not. It tried a HF automatic tune around midday indoors with the telescopic antenna. It picked two noisy signals; the best was what I assume was Radio Exterior de España on 15500 kHz. The search seemed to include only the broadcast bands, which is the best implementation from my point of view. My Qodosen DX-286 additionally picked up WRMI, 15770, an unknown weak station, REE on 15520 and Nauen on 15310. It’s not that the MLite-880 couldn’t pick up the additional stations, it could, but that the automatic tuning feature skipped them.

A search sensitivity control could be added in firmware.

Display Backlight

It would be nice if all interactions with the radio, a button push or a knob turn, triggered the backlight to come on; that’s how nearly all radios work. Sometimes you want to turn on the backlight without actually doing something else and there are keys that essentially do nothing from the main display that could conveniently turn on the backlight. In the current firmware, most button presses do nothing with the backlight. Of course, this can be fixed with firmware.

Time set

It would be nice if there were an option to set the clock from FM RDS/RBDS.

“9”

The “9” button has a useful function — blanking/restoring the display. Under the button is this somewhat cryptic label: “9”. Maybe “DIS” would be better. They need up update the case lettering anyway to change the top frequency on the back.

No wrist strap

I noticed this when I was going outdoors to test the radio compared to another one. It’s too big for some pockets, so basically one has to put it in a bag or fully reserve one hand to carry it.

Firmware updates

The Elecevolve website provides downloads for the current firmware binary file, and two ways to install it: a One-click installer for Windows, and a raw binary image of the firmware. Also included are versions of the STMCube32Programmer tool for various computer platforms (excluding Windows) that can program the radio with more options.

The one-click installer has no firmware in it, but rather downloads the latest version on the fly. In my case the result was a soft-bricked radio because the software on the radio was newer than what the installer downloaded. All I can advise to manually check your radio’s firmware version (press “3A5” to show it) a compare that to what the “GET VERSION” display on the installer says.

On the other hand, the STMCube32Programmer Windows version isn’t on the Elecevolve site (only Linux and MacOS), and getting is involves a non-trivial amount of hassle, account creation, and spam from the developer. At least one person on social media commented that the problem is related to version 2.9 of the update tool.

Wobbles

This is a relatively minor issue, especially for a radio with a kickstand, but when placed vertically, the radio rocks back and forth. There are molded plastic feet that are partly on the case and partly on the back cover. They aren’t flat all the way across, and when I placed the radio on the desk flat with the case, it started rocking back and forth, ending up on the back cover feet. Mine rocks for 9 seconds.

Hidden Features

Who knew?

• Encoder Lock: Long press the “*” key and release. The message “FREQ ENCODER LOCKED” or “FREQ ENCODER UNLOCKED” will appear. In the locked state, the encoder knob can’t change the frequency.
• “Fast Tuning” acceleration. Turning the encoder knob slowly changes the frequency by one step per detent. Turning the knob accelerates the rate to 5-10 steps per detent (depending on band).
• Direct Squelch Access: Long press of the B key (SQL) switches the radio to the Audio setting menu with the Squelch setting selected.
• Encoder switch: As of firmware V1.5 pressing the # key switches the encoder from tuning to volume control and back, duplicating the function of pressing the encoder knob in.

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Stay tuned for Part 2 with performance tests, comparisons, and video!