Review on Tecsun PL880 Portable Digital PLL Dual Conversion AM/FM, Longwave & Shortwave Radio with SSB (Single Side Band) Reception - Silver by Ross Sugden

The Tecsun PL-880 is the first SW radio I own. I wanted something to sit around and scan transmissions on summer evenings. I live in North Central Florida and am hoping to find a place to install where I can receive signals. I was also looking for a radio to take with me when traveling to have things to do in different parts of the country. I did a little research and it seemed to me that this radio suits me. First impressions are that this is a solid radio station, in fact it's quite heavy. Not too heavy but with enough weight to give the feel of something well built. There are many options for this radio. This is a fairly simple radio that comes ready to use. I doubt I'll ever use all the save slots (3050?!? really?), there just isn't much to hear about yet. The controls (setup, volume) are perfectly placed and work well. Very smooth operation. Buttons for options on the front are numerous. The main ones you need (bands, SSB - both USB and LSB, scan) are positioned so that when you hold them with your hand on the tuning knobs, those buttons are easy to reach for thumb activation. Well done. In general, the purchase is satisfied. I still have to do some serious experiments, that will come with time. My reasoning for 4 stars instead of 5 is indeed 4.5 star radio but Revain doesn't allow that and 5 is way too many. I doubt I would take this with me on my travels, a bit heavy. For beginners, there may be too many options. I'm a little overwhelmed with all the options. The manual doesn't explain all the buttons very well and how to activate them. All in all a good radio and I would buy it again.