Blog or Die!

There’s been quite a stir with questions on social media about a new radio model from Tecsun, the PL-520. At first glance, it looks like a PL-330 with rounder corners and gray instead of black.

If at first you don’t succeed, order, order again.

After returning the QFX R-333BT that I paid around $30 for because it was defective, I looked around on TEMU to reorder what I hoped to be a fully working model and came across a very similar device, the only visible difference, the words X-BASS on the speakers and no “disco lights” in the front. With some mystery special discount, plus tax and shipping, this one came in at $14.73. So what I expect, for half the money, is the same radio less the disco lights, one that actually receives MW. The seller said they were “almost out.”

I reordered because I thought the speaker, at first listen, sounded exceptional. I still have to decide how to charge the thing.

Delivery expected delivery: January 23-30.

This thing is HUGE. The second thing is that it reminds me of my Evche EVCHE EC-2110BTS radio, although the latter is considerably smaller and less colorful. Both are MW/FM/SW radios that can be powered by D-cell batteries, both have rechargeable batteries, both come with an AC power cord, both play Bluetooth and MP3 with an AUX input, both have flashlights and both top the MW band around 1600 kHz.

The box and packaging make a polished retail impression and I could easily imagine this on the shelf of a Walmart store. The chrome knobs really shine. There is a shoulder strap, folded, and wrapped in a Velcro closed sheath that converts it to a carrying handle. Nice job on that.

It’s fairly easy to use. I turned the Off – Volume control and it welcomed me by saying “Bluetooth.” The Mode control is prominent and there is an LED MMP3 indicator. The top side has additional controls for the flashlight, front panel disco lights, and selecting MP3/MW/FM/SW. That’s where the AUX input is, as well as the TF/SD card slots and the USB-A flash drive port. There is also a 6V charge port.

So now the first question arises: How can one charge the internal battery without a 6V DC battery charger, not included. Will the AC power work? And there we see the highly visible prompt: “GET OUT THE MANUAL “

The Manual

There isn’t much, just a one line description of each of the controls and indicators; however, the question about charging was answered:

23: Power Supply: AC 100 – 240V 50/60Hz. For continuous use. *This will not charge the rechargeable battery.

So we’re left in a quandary: The internal battery, whatever it is, can only charged through the 6V port, and the manufacturer failed to identify its polarity, not in the “manual,” not on the port. I asked Microsoft Copilot, and it said that it is almost certainly center-positive. The alternative is to just run from AC or buy 4 D-cells.

The Radio

The antenna is about 23.”

Nothing received on SW with the telescopic antenna. FM looked to be quite good. MW was …

There was no MW. The bands switch was broken and both the AM and FM positions received the same FM station.

I don’t return stuff unless it’s broken. This one is being returned.

Not new, but I finally got around to installing v4.21, October 27, 2025, on my ATS25 max-Decoder.

Release Notes

AIR beta 27/10/2025

Supported Models: ATS25 / ATS25+ / ATS25X1 / ATS25X2 / ATS25 max, ATS25 max-Decoder, ATS-Decoder Pocket, ATS120, ATS25AMP, ATS25 max-Decoder II, ATS120D / ATS120 Pro, ATS-Decoder Mega, ATS25-XF, ATS25Ultra, ATS200, ARESQ aq1, ATS25 Pro+, ATS25 max-Decoder II AIR, ATS-Decoder Mega AIR, ATS200D

• The HF-FAX decoder has been added.
• Bandwidth options for 500, 1000 and 2200 Hz Morse code decoder are installed.
• Added a rewind decoding screen for the Morse code decoder.
• Added output of decoded Morse code data to the COM port.
• Added the ability to move the frequency by clicking on the Waterfall indicator in digital signal decoding and Morse code modes.
• Fixed an error with the output of a message about the need to connect an external frequency converter.
• The ability to adjust the BFO in the SSTV decoder has been removed.
• Added support for new receiver models.
• Fixed incorrect display of volume buttons in decoding modes.
• Fixed frequency error when switching VFO.
• Fixed the display of buttons in station search mode.
• Fixed incorrect deletion of the city and stations.
• Fixed the error of displaying the SSTV decoder screen after using other decoders.
• Added support for the ILI9488 IPS display with inverse color display.

Installation

I downloaded the ZIP version from http://www.harduino.ru/index.php/ru/skachat. I let Google Chrome handle the translation.

The EXE wouldn’t download onto a Windows computer, so the ZIP version was necessary. During the installation process, you will have to identify a COM port to the installer.

The one saying CH340 is the one to select when asked for a COM port, in my case COM-9.

When the USB cable is ready, power off the ATS25 and power it back on while pressing the encoder wheel in. If it displays WELCOME, click the encoder wheel.

It was New Years Day 45 years ago when I opened my new Radio Peking calendar to the first page of the new year. And in that January 1 square I penciled in reception notes from what I heard on my new Realistic DX-300 receiver.

• Radio Relojio Brazil
• R. Quito, Ecuador
• R. Progresso, Ecuador
• R. Bare, Brazil 9895
• REE Spain
• VOA, Liberia 17870
• R. Kuwait, 11650
• R. Continente 5030

The DX-300 is long gone, but I still have the calendar, and I’ve hung it on the wall for 2026 as the week days and dates once again correspond.

Sadly, many of those stations are gone. The VOA transmitter in Liberia has been off the year for years, but as the months of 2026 pass, I’ll have warm nostalgia thinking about the younger version of me tuning the bands back when the noise floor was much lower and many more countries tried to make friends across the world through shortwave radio.