Grundig Satellit 750 Debuts in March
Grundig’s Satellit 750, export version of the Tecsun S-2000, is scheduled to be released in the United States in March. At a planned $300, it would appear to be a mighty tough choice when stacked against the $400 version of the exceptional Etón E1 (see update) manufactured in India. See Gary Kinsman’s G100 comment of January 6th for more details.
Other new models, including the recordable Grundig G4 (right)—an apparent variation on the Degen DE1102 (Passport 2008, pp. 82-83) and Degen DE1121 (pp. 115-119)—and G6 (below) are in the wings for intro in February.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:57 PM
I have a suggestion for your web site: add the ability to sort the receiver news threads and comments chronologically (preferably in reverse). This way one can easily see all of the latest postings across topics.
Ed.: Great suggestion, Gary, although that and various other features would call for new software, which unlike WorldScan we haven’t developed inhouse; thankfully, too, as WorldScan has been a major and continuing undertaking since 1983. Sometime it may come to that.
Right now this is a definitely work in progress, seeing where it goes from the concept of a straightforward equipment update for readers to possibly something else. Like the present American political campaigns, the future allows almost anything to be possible.
Already, one small change we’ve made is to retain postings even after a new edition of Passport has appeared. Too, we’re occasionally touching on non-equipment topics, but gingerly so as not to lose focus.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Looking at the new Grundig G4, which I’ve seen a photo of as a Degen DE1122 prototype.
I love my DE1102, and the addition of an internal MP3 recorder would be a valuable new feature. Timeshifting shortwave broadcasts and quickly capturing a mysterious numbers station before it vanishes off the air are just two uses that spring to mind—especially if the recording went into a file that was somehow included the time, date and frequency for later reference.
UNFORTUNATELY, reading the PDF, have they removed the DE1102’s SSB? It says the G4 has longwave, which the DE1102 lacks, but somehow I suspect this is within the ’specifications may change’ category. The photograph shows the same ‘FM MW SW’ band selection buttons that the DE1102 has.
The DE1102’s SSB implementation may have been basic, but I still found it very useful and wouldn’t want to lose it just for the convenience of having a built-in MP3 recorder.
Ed.: “Specifications may change” is boilerplate. But if single sideband isn’t mentioned, it almost certainly is not an included feature.
January 9th, 2008 at 11:30 AM
I just read a post on the Yahoo Groups Etón E1 receiver that states that, according to someone at Etón’s booth at the CES, the Etón E1 has been discontinued and Etón has decided to not put the Grundig G1 (heavily advertised in PASSPORT 2008) into production. According to this source, this new model Grundig Satellit 750 will now be Etón’s “Flagship” model.
Do you know anything about this? Are you able to comment?
Ed.: Thanks very much for this exceptional report. Please see “World’s Best Portable Discontinued” for specifics.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:44 PM
The G6 seems a new design from Degen, smaller than the E5/G5 or DE1102. Small, but with double conversion (acc. to specs). Look carefully at the LCD: the FM frequency is displayed up to the kHz! I hope you will test it as soon as possible.
There’s effectively a problem for using the Grundig brand in Europe. Etón sells in Europe only under the Etón and Lextronix trademarks now.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:42 PM
What are the slow and fast, AM and SSB tuning steps on the G6? This info does not appear in the owner’s manual on Etón’s site.
Ed.: Today we started the first phase of testing the Grundig G6 portable. Yes, Gary, its owner’s manual barely has enough information to indicate how to operate the radio. The standalone specifications sheet doesn’t reveal much, either.
Tuning steps: In the single-sideband mode—there is no LSB or USB selection, just SSB—”Fast” is in 1 kHz steps. “Slow” is not straightforward to ascertain, as the tuning-jog wheel is a continuous control. However, it appears to have 50 increments between each 1 kHz/fast increment. This equates to 20 Hz steps, which is pretty decent.
Up/down slewing operates in 1 kHz/fast increments regardless of whether fast or slow has been chosen for single sideband. In the AM mode, fast tuning is in 5 kHz increments, with slow being 1 kHz. Slewing is 5 kHz either way.
Mediumwave AM is 9 or 10 kHz for fast, 1 kHz for slow. Ditto for slewing.
Up/down shortwave slewing works only within predefined world band segments; for example, 15000 to 15800 kHz. Once the upper parameter has been reached, slewing folds back to the lower parameter. Ditto with scanning; a world band segment can only be scanned within its predefined parameters. —David Zantow
May 13th, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Etón advertises the G4 now at $150 instead of $200 (seen in a June issue).