Category Archives: Technology

Phase Locked in Battle: Tecsun PL-990 Against All Comers

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Kevin

Someone made a comment on the Official SWL Channel Facebook group: So I’ve got the modern raft of DSP and SDR radios, just the same as anyone else. I was wondering whether, in 2025, there’s any point in picking up … Continue reading →

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Rambling on some old and new radios

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Kevin

I usually talk about radios I’ve used or intend to buy. This is is different, mostly about radios I didn’t and won’t buy. Retekess V115 The Retekess V115 radio has been a very popular “starter radio” because of its low … Continue reading →

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The Battle of the Sixes (DX-286 and DP-666): Part 2

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Kevin

Continued from The Battle of the Sixes: Part 1. In this part I discuss reception performance and audio quality, with my final conclusions. Performance MW The first barrier in comparing MW performance is that the DP-666 doesn’t have an internal … Continue reading →

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The Battle of the Sixes (DX-286 and DP-666): Part 1

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Kevin

A Comparison of two radios based on the TEF6686 DSP chip This post title was inspired by my new Sparkelec DP-666 radio based on the NXM TEF6686 DSP chip. That’s a lot of sixes. Here I compare two radios based … Continue reading →

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Upgrading the Sparkelec DP-666 Firmware

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Kevin

Don’t That’s my advice. There is a newer version with the Megatron M17 mods and I was led to get it from the Deepelec website. After installation, the new version showed a Deepelec logo when I boot the device, but … Continue reading →

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Radio Silence

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Kevin

No posts for a while. I have two projects in the works and they aren’t progressing as fast as I would like. One is a comparison between the Sparkelec DP-666 and my other TEF6686 radio, the Qodosen DX-286. The other … Continue reading →

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First Impressions: Sparkelec DP-666 (Updated)

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Kevin

My DP-666 finally arrived today. It’s a knockoff of the Deepelec DP-666, 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 … Continue reading →

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