Grundig Satellit 3400 Score

[SoCal Sam]

I just scored a Grundig Satellit 3400 in good working and cosmetic condition. I cleaned her up and she looks great. The counter and ANL switches are busted off but they work and that is the only problem I can see.

I am wondering if you guys know anything about the 3400 and what SW stations are your favorites.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by SoCal Sam

I just scored a Grundig Satellit 3400 in good working and cosmetic condition. I cleaned her up and she looks great. The counter and ANL switches are busted off but they work and that is the only problem I can see. Not bad for $20.

I am wondering if you guys know anything about the 3400 and what SW stations are your favorites.

I just did a Google search for the Satellit 3400 and found out that it is one great receiver. It was made between 1978 and 1982, and was the last of Grundig's traditional receivers, with an FM section that's much better than many if not most FM receivers made these days. There wasn't much of a description of it beyond what I just mentioned, though. If you only paid $20 for yours, you got a bargain. I would guess these radios sold for well over $100 U.S. when they were new, so you did well.

Depending on how the counter and ANL (automatic noise limiter) switches are "busted off" as you put it, it may be possible to superglue an extension onto the remaining parts of the switches if you can find enough of a piece still on them to attach something to. I did that once some years ago with the minute hand on a clock I had at the time; it held for several more years, then broke off again. I mention this to point out that gluing extensions onto the switches of your Satellit 3400 may not work for long, as Super Glue is not meant to be used on joints which are or may be subjected to any kind of pressure. The first time you tried to operate the switch after the glue sets, the extension might snap off again. It's probably a better idea to try to find replacements for these switches, if the counter and ANL functions are important to you. Of course, you can always use the receiver without these functions; it will work just as well without them as with them. You may be better off without the ANL anyway, as these systems weren't much good in most small Japanese imported portable AM/FM/SW radios.

I don't know for sure how good or bad the ANL was in Grundig's portables, though, as the only Grundig radio I ever owned in my life was a model 2168 AM/FM/SW table model (tube type) I got from an old friend some 30 years ago. I have had no experience whatsoever with the company's transistor sets, although I have heard and read that they are (or at least were) good receivers. In fact, I am not even sure Grundig radios, etc. are made in Germany any longer; in this age of outsourcing and established U.S. firms going out of business right and left, and the former company's products being manufactured by offshore plants, all the while maintaining the former firm's name (this has happened more times than I care to remember with televisions that are now manufactured offshore, but still bear the names of former American companies such as RCA, Sylvania, Emerson, etc.) it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the same thing is going on in Europe as well.


73 (best of regards),

[SoCal Sam]

Excellent information and thanks. I've been trying to figure out what is what the last few days. Of the broken switches, the counter lever turns on the large red LED frequency display so it stays on. Good to know what ANL is. The switch can be moved so not a huge problem. Is it similar in operation to FM muting?

Aside from the broken switches, my 3400 is in beautiful condition and very well made for a portable. Happily, the 3400 is made in Germany by real Germans so that bodes well. The FM receiver works well but sadly, there is only one speaker. Of SW broadcasts, I've found only gospel, political (fringe stuff), and foreign language so far. Reception is lousy where I live (hills) so my selection is limited.

Anyways, my 3400 is a wonderful looking and interesting radio.