Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill (WD9EQD), who writes:
I’ve owned a Tecsun S-8800 for about eight months and have come to enjoy it more all the time. It, along with my PL-880, have become my main work horses for shortwave listening.
The S-8800 is perfect on the desk connected to a wire antenna and the PL-880 is perfect for carrying around.
Since I knew of the hidden features of the PL-880, it got me thinking on whether the S-8800 had any hidden features.
A quick Google search turned up the following Web Page:
http://swli-05940-mi.blogspot.com/2017/03/tecsun-s-8800-hidden-features.html
I used Google Translate to get a rough translation and then spent some time testing the features out and also just pressing and holding buttons to see if anything else showed up.
Following is what I have come up with:
(Note: some of these are in the manual)
With the radio off
Toggle Longwave on/off: With the Radio OFF, Press & Hold 2
Toggle backlight permanently on/off: With the Radio OFF, Press & Hold 3 – Note that this means the light will be on even when radio is off. While the light does go out when radio is turned off, any operation of a control will turn the backlight on and it will then stay on. Too bad they just didn’t install a slide on/off switch. Plus I know of no way to turn the backlight on permanently without the remote.
Toggle Seconds display on/off: With the Radio OFF, Press & Hold 8
Displays “0888”: Maybe this is version?: With the Radio OFF, Press & Hold “Back”
Displays all segments of display: With the Radio OFF, Press & Hold “AM NORM” – Displays all segments of display. Press & Hold again to display “H802”
With the radio on in FM mode
Displays “75US”: With the radio ON, Press & Hold 5
Squelch Setting: With the radio ON, Press & Hold 9 – Range 0-5. Use Tuning Knob to set. Press 9 again to set.
With the radio on in SW/AM mode
Toggles Extended functions on/off: With the radio ON, Press & Hold 4
With extended functions on:
Press & Hold 6 – Toggles DNR (Dynamic Noise Reduction) on/off.
Press & Hold 9 – Squelch Setting. Use Tunng Know to Set. Press 9 again to set.
Squelch ranges:
MW: 0-40
MW with USB/LSB: 0-30
SW: 0-25
SW with USB/LSB: 0-30
So far that’s all I’ve been able to find. Has anyone else found any others?
Post readers: please comment if you’ve discovered other hidden features on the Tecsun S-8800! I’ll compile a complete list and post it separately.