Be smart, stay dumb.

Back to the sheet Electronics Radio · E3
Tecsun PL-880
E3 · Level 2 · A quiet chip Dependable doofus

Tecsun PL-880

Tecsun PL-880 portable shortwave radio.

$180Buy on Amazon
Amazon US, October 2026. Prices change.

A world-band receiver that radio enthusiasts rate far above its price. A digital tuner listens to FM, AM, longwave and shortwave on one rechargeable cell. Receive only, as radios should be.

Off-grid
Runs on battery, crank or solar, so it survives a power cut.
Calm
Does not compete for your attention: no notifications, feeds or endless content. Does its job and gets out of the way.

Where to buy

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Survival checklist

What it survives, next to the smart one it replaces.
1
=SURVIVES(threat)Survives…
ThisTecsun PL-880
What it replacesSmart oneAmazon Echo Dot
2
Power cut
TRUE
FALSE
3
Wi-Fi goes down
TRUE
FALSE
4
The company switches off its servers
TRUE
FALSE
5
Someone tries to hack it
TRUE
FALSE
6
A firmware update goes wrong
TRUE
FALSE
7
Twenty years from now
#DEPENDS
FALSE
8
=COUNTIF(TRUE)Total
5 of 65/6and one maybe
0 of 60/6

The smart one is the Amazon Echo Dot.

Row 3

See it in the sheetIn the sheet
You are here

A DSP chip pulls in the world on shortwave. It sends nothing back.

Tecsun PL-880

$180
Off-grid · Calm
Tecsun PL-880$180
Buy on Amazon