Grundig S350 and S350DL
 

Nothing is built good these day! Recently had a chance to try out a couple of Grundig Eton S350 and S350DL radios. Both are Analog but have digital readouts. I guess that would be good if the radios didn't suffer from severe drift problems. If the temperature changes slightly the radios will drift several KC's up and down the band! They seem to work best at around 70 degrees. Both have basically the same tuning knobs that are larger and work well with American hands, but again they have problems with backlashing. Both are single conversion radios but offer decent SW experiences using the built in antennas. Its useless to hook up and out door antenna because both the radios overload have problems in seperation. Both are Rock bound on AM SW and you can hear anything SSB so really as a shortwave they are short on the wave! LOL Both radios have RF gain and a Low and High filter but these are worthless as I see it. The both have attnedators which are pretty much useless. Using both the filters, rf gain and the att, you might get some decent reception! Might is the key word!

FM and AM proformance is lacking but the sets can produce a good quality sound! Again its useless to use other antennas due to seperation problems which leaves the stations grabbled and jumbled.

Removing the covers, which are cheaply made and easy as smack to brake you'll find a radio that is very cheap in constuction and the electronics, other than the digital display and a couple of chips reminds me of early 60's technology. Worse even than the cheapest Japanese radios of that era.

Over all I would rate the radios as junk and wouldn't recommend buying unless you could pick one up for less than $20 bucks new, not used.
Both suffer from bad electronics, terrible craftsmanship and really are not worth the amounts being asked at Stores Like Radio Shack or other vendors. Even on Ebay they ask way to much for them! For a lot less money you can get a better radio with more options. Although the S350 with its retro field radio design will grow on you. I don't know who came up with Field Radio unless they planned on you throwing into the field because its junk and certainly isn't rugged enough to claim that name. It isn't a radio one would carry outside or bang around. If you do it will break and never work again!

The S350 goes for around $60 bucks on Ebay
THe S350 DL which is the delux model goes for around $80 to $100 and neither are worth much over $20 brand new in the box, infact a better price would be $10 maybe for the both! I still have not figured out where they got delux at, its the same radio in a bigger box and speaker. Oh it does have some sort of new add on that is supposed to make it stable and help with drift, it doesn't help! It still drifts! All you have to do is breath! :thumbsdn:

:smoke:

There is a following for these radios on Yahoo and experiences vary due to spotty qc. Yes, cheap, yes flawed, yes why would anyone shell out the money? The DL fixed or reduced some of the issues of the non-DL but introduced an AFC lock that can be challenging.

I was lucky with my first DL that I've named red as that is the color. Bought off eBay when they were in the stores for CDN$199 for the DL. Did not have most of the issues reported by others. Held my breath and left it on for 24/7 almost continually from when I got it to see what would happen and it simpply got better. Drift is non-existent unless I turn it off for some time and then on and then only by a KC or so and for about an hour. Sensitivity is very good and I'm having fun with both AM Dx'ing and reintroduced after just under 50 year to short wave listening that is very good. Drift is minimal and less than the other analog sw portable I have.

The unit is worth the price just for the am and fm tuners. The fm has stereo line outputs as through the headphone and works well, as good as some of the vintage receivers. I've got it plugged into the Sony receiver in the bedroom.

Case feels fragile and will not take the impacts of same my candle so it is portable but not for everyday outdoor use unless you really are careful. The Candle feels like you could drop it and it would sustain no damage.

Recently The Source here reduced the price to CDN$69 on sale. Looks like they are reducing inventory to drop the model so decided to pick up a 2nd for the office. The office is an interior space in a building with 12 floors housing IBM and 2 servers systems within a short distance from me. It is the 1st radio I'd had there that will pickup the local am stations and does so well enough that I can listen to them.

The silver unit has more drift than red but it is only a week or so old and I'm not buring it in. Neither has backlash that is noticable in tuning. The flywheel action on silver feels better than on red but also the mechanism feels looser but not as bad I noticed on some others. Other contols and switches on mine are flimsy feeling but are positive in switching. The RF gain on each works while I can not hear any difference with the filter. Bandwidth control is really a vernier with a different turns ratio and not a true bandwidth but does okay and better than many radios with nothing.

A couple of things are then ac adaptor, wonder if they have any filtering in them. A good level of hum comes through. Both adators have the same level and I'm thinking of getting a better unit. There is no terminal for an external am antenna, wish there was as I'd like to do more AM DX'ing. The internal antenna is pretty good and I'm getting acros the US and into Florida without trying hard. The FM/SW whip is LONG and very good as is but, I've run a 15' within the house and pick up a bit more with it. Am considering a longwie outside.

A couple of days ago I picking up a Hallicrafters S120 (HR500 version) and with the antenna is as good as the DLs on sw but the DLs eat it up on am and of course there is no FM. If you want backlash, try one. Drift is okay but it makes one remember the youth of riding the bandwidth and volume controls to keep a station. It is a tube unit with a typical 4" speaker. But, those 5 scales, the tinny sound through the speaker and the sound from the high impedence earphones that came with it has a sound that has life in it not like the sound from a modern unit that is better but does not harken back to the days of youth. I can not wait until I hear an old time radio program through it.

The 350 is not a radio I'd buy off eBay, though I was lucky with mine. There is a person also who is replacing filters to make then more of a DX'er and/or to increase the audio quality and the price is very reasonable. I'm thinking of sending each in to him to make one of each, 1 for DX'ing and 1 for better audio. I'd also like to have had an aux. input.

The filters
 

I think upgrading the filters wouldn't be a huge chore. If you could get hold of a couple it might be something you can do yourself. When you take the radio apart I think you will get a kick out of it. You ain't seen cheap till you see the insides. I know all about the Yahoo Groups and Belong to several concerning different radios.

I purchased 2 of these DL models brand new and one wouldn't work right out of the box! I am guessing something is shorted as it is frozen on one frequency. You've had much better experiences with your radios than I. I wouldn't consider buying another. I have a brand New Satellit 800 that I've owned a couple of years. The radio died after about 3 months. I sent to RL Drake for repair and it came back worked a short time and died again. Its been sitting on the desk as a clock for about 2 years I guess. I did contact Drake and they will repair it and if they find it to be some faults they missed will repair it for me as a warranty. These DL radios are single conversion and I can't see personally how they would perform well against other more modern radios! I am not impressed at all with anything about them.

I have owned many tube radios over the years from Philco to RCA, Hallicrafters, Drakes, Collins, Several anyway! All sizes and types!

In todays world for a good AM, FM, SSB, CW all mode radio, I would look to Yaesu, AOR, Icom or Kenwood. AOR makes one of the best radios to set on a desk in an office. I have 2 of those and love them both. Very good quality and great receivers. I have a Yaesu I also use as a shortwave and it's all mode and covers about everything out there with a mod or two. Again a great radio.

What I am saying for a few more bucks you can get a good radio that is rugged and handheld has more options and modes and offers far far better performances! My AOR will fit in my shirt pocket and blow either of these radios away!

Eton will never see my home or money again. I had hopes these radios would be better but they are even worse in quality than the 800 and that isn't saying much.

Eton/Grundig is not well known for the quality Grudig used to have. My first venture was the Grundig 360 Classic. Think that is the model. Out of the box, an ac hum that could curl your toes. It is sitting in pieces in the basement and after opening it I lost any interest in trying to salvage it. The DLs I've not opened and from others and the feel of them hve a feeling I never want to.

When I had my Hallicrafters S38C there was something about it that was wonky, and with a store full of test equipment never traced the problem. 2nd S38C, 3rd S38C, acquired a stack and each was a bit diffeent in some way. In those days we felt our cars had personalities, well my stack of S38Cs aso did. I feel the same way about the DLs. In an age of sterile machine made equipment with no soul, the DLs sort of go back to the days of yesterday. Opening them up to see the reality would only destroy that perceptions.

I understand the 800s had 2 versions with the first being a dog and the later that came with phones correcting the majority of issues. I looked at them several times but each time I felt that I'd rather have a tabletop from Zenith Transoceanic, Hallicrafters, NCR, RME, Collins or another old time US unit for the investment. As I am just testing the waters, a bigger investment will wait until I am sure. So for now, the Etons and Hallicrafters will do for me. I'm not interested in walking around with them. If I want a walking radio, myMP3 player has a FM tuner built in but I've never used it.

The company does offer the filters for DIY but I'd end up never getting it done. I think each kit of filters is about $45.

That's really a shame-Grundig USED to be a pretty good brand-Solid German engineering & craftsmanship. Does EVERYTHING have to be cheap Chinese junk nowadays ? I maintain there's STIILL a market for a good AM/FM/SW table set, that offered excellent sound, good sensitivity, & was nice to look at, & had good tactile response, too-Part of the pleasure of those old German table sets were the big, beefy, counterweighted knobs-& the solid, authoritative feel of the ivory plastic bandswitch buttons when you pressed it to change from FM to SW-& were greeted w/a satisfying "Thunk", like a vault door closing. You felt like you were dealing w/a SERIOUS radio-one that would not fail to impress. These ugly little lumps of silver/red/black plastic are pretty p*ss-poor substitutes for The Real Thing, IMHO.

Sandy, what you are describing is what I first starting looking for. That's how I ended up with the Grundig classic. 1st mistake. While the was Grundig, Telefunken and Saba in Germany, there was really nothing quite like their table radios in the US. Larger were the Zeniths, RCAs, E.H Scott and others in floor standers. To get to table top size, you needed to look at the Hallicrafters, Collins, etc. for the most part.

I agree
 

I do agree I think a good market would be out there for a fair priced well built AM/FM/SSB Radio. These Eton Radios Amaze me how bad they are built! The main VFO or tuning knobs wobble, fall off and slip! The selector switchs are so cheaply made when switching bands, the Frequency will drift up or down a KC or two just by touching the switch. I have a S350DL apart on my desk and it would be easier just to throw it away. The Display section appears to be good and decently made. The display is a really Cheap LCD but it does look nice with its little light on! LOL! The main radio section is a mess and difficult to ID any of the Chips. Most even do not have makers or ref numbers. Even if it could be repaired why bother it would be cheaper to just try again!

You're convincing me never to open mine. I'm seeing some nice stuff coming out of China and many of the digital cameras are from there and older film cameras likewise were produced there. I am a fountain pen person and had a bias against their fountain pens until I was given a Cross (yes, the US icon is having pens produced there) and it was pretty good. Also, have seen some of the newer tube audio pieces and some of it is really good looking and well made. Seems the producers there have the ability to build quality products but are dealing with companies whose are trying to maximize profits or who are building to a spec that can not be supported by the target retail price and hence production costs have to kept down.

Considering my new Hallcrafters and the Eton are basically the same as to the am and sw while the Eton does sport fm stereo, and the Hallicrafters was $60 in the early '60s, it would be not unreasponable to target an equivilent price of about $200 considering than electronic technology has yielded more for less. It seems Eton has taken what I call the Olson approach to products. Keep profits high and allow for a higher percentage of DOAs allowing still for an acceptable profit versus reducing DOAs through better quality and still yielding the same profit. Of course with the latter, there also is a more satisfied buyer. I for one, while not unhappy with my 2 DLs for the price paid, would be far more critical and cautious about investing in the new 750 that is coming out as the investment is much higher.

750?
 

Is the 750 the one that has XM radio? If it is, I have already read several bad reviews. Several have been defects right out of the boxes! Some going dead after only a few days of use. In my experiences with Chinese Machines and other devices. The Chinese are very able to build and design some very good products. The problem they have or at least in my experience is they will take something that has been designed to have heavier electronics and remove and replace with lighter duty. They really like to go cheap to the point they remove needed compontants! I mean to the point it is just funny! Several years ago, I worked in Textiles and had the chance to visit a couple of plants. They have little to no quality control and they really enjoy copying other peoples designs. The main machines we used at my company was Shima Seiki built in Japan and very high in quality. A Chinese Company copied several Shima designs but changed the electronics, and built the machines much lighter. The screws was so badly tapped they would strip out if you removed one. If you got lucky and was able to remove the screws you couldn't reuse them. Most of the parts was so badly fitted it took nearly a month to actually get one machine to run! When it did, it wouldn't knit correctly! The Electronics was so light just turning them on would cause major computer problems! The Company I worked for had us trail these machines for 3 months and the end result was Junk and we sent them packing! You could buy 6 of the Chinese machines for the cost of one Shima Seiki! Later down the road I heard that several companies bought these machines and all had serious troubles with them!

I think its just the mentality of these people if they can get buy with it they will produce junk and then pawn it off cheap! People think they are getting a good deal but they really aren't. Another factor to consider is the safety issues and what some of the materials they use! Some of the stuff they use is just down right dangerous to human life!

I've opened the Hallicrafters and cleaned it out and pumped a little WD-40 in the shaft bushings of the tuning and bandspread controls and cleaned everything else. The band selector took some time to get clean. It has silver plated wafers and they were so tarnished it took quite a bit of time to get clean. Hum is quite low and about what I remember of the old S38c. Drift has all but disappeared and volume levels increased. Amazing what a simple cleaning can do.

Been listening to China, Cuba, Japan, Rumania, Russia, Checklosvakia (sp?), Lithuania, Turkey and a number of other countries including I think Germany, France and some in Africa but as I only speak English not sure which and guessing a bit.

The Etons pick up the same stations but unless the unit is left on 24/7 they drift far more than the Hallicrafters. On the upper bands the Hallicrafters are picking up some traffic but I've not been able to id it but the Eton is dead. I suspect the Etons above about 12mhz are pretty much played ot why the Hallicrafters keeps humping along..

On AM the Etons leave the Hallicrafters at the starting gate. It won't even give a hint of picking up Boston or Chicago while the Etons pick them up like they were here in Toronto. The FM on the Etons also is very sensitive and while the STR6120 is sensitive, the Etons are great DX'ers in comparison.

Bottom line for me is that the Etons are okay for the money, especially for pulling in AM and FM from the nether regions. SW on the lower half of the band range is as sensitive as the Hallicrafters so good for general SW listening but you have to let the temperature stabilize so just let it run 24/7 and everything is okay. The backlash on mine is not as bad as others I've looked at and after a time you get to feel where to go. I do wish the lock could be disabled as you do need to swing back and forth, the Hallicrafters is easier. The vernier action on mine are good but not a true bandspread.

While the old Candle portable is nice, it is not in the league for SW as either.

I recommend the Eton as a general all around portable and worth the price The Source was selling it for. And considering the going rate for the Hallicrafters, I think the pair for under $100 makes for a fun pair.

Thats long ago. Even my grandparents mid 70s Grundig solid state B&W TV was crap, same for their later early 80 color set. We had a Grundig mini system in the mid 90s where the CD changer unit was replaced TWICE under warranty, the radio part were useless and a cheap 8 track would easily outperform the cassette deck. Well, i can just continue on and on about friends and relatives Grundig products. The only good Grundig products i have seen are 1970s portable radios in the higher price range.

The only Grundig products I've seen over the past decade all were radios and they were very decent compared to the majority of junk available. We saw a falloff after Eton started to jv with Grundig. I'm not sure what the relationship was before eton bought the company or even if it bought the company or just the name.

Now that I've cleaned the Hallicrafters and given it airtime, the cap has reformed and discovered with a different orientation the AM is much better, ightly I can pick up Boston and Chcago as well as Florida. In terms of sensitivity and listening they are more alike than different. The Hallicrafters does not die above 12mhz as the Eton seems to. I thought the bad was dead at first but finding it populated, though sparse, with the Hallicrafters. As the Eton has FM and stereo plus ine outputs plus is a portable there are enough differences where each has a place on the listeing desk.

Some of the others in the facility have noticed I'm listening to AM at the office and 2 also have bought S350DLs to listening to AM for news and traffic. I also found a pair of the PAL to 300ohm adaptors and added a folded dipole for FM on red. It is getting crowed with the AC power cord, a pair of line output interconnects, PAL adaptor, long wire and ground.

Put them on EPay and get rid of them. Grundig recently have just been relying on the old name to sell the product. Even the much touted E1 has now been discontinued. Can't stand the competition. Go to 'tquchina' on EPay and see what the modern product is like. I've had a Degen (that's Kaito to you) 1103 for 18months and it's brilliant. Solid and heavy for it's size with good sound, excellent sensitivity/selectivity and a BFO for SSB too! CCrane just rebadges Redsun so don't get trapped into his prices.

Why go on eBay, you can just go to the Eton site and see the offerings. Grundig has gone out and Eton bought the name but seems to have put it on the shelf. The 350s were strictly for a lower end market and offer a lot of radio for the price. I looked at a number of offerings before deciding on the 350. My biggest concern is that they will not the abuse that say my old Candle can take b/c of the plastic case but I would have the same concern about any new radio I've looked as none come close to say a Zenith Transoceanic Royal 1000.

Eton is learning fast. I looked at an older S350 someone brougth into the office last week and is was working but being held together with duct tape. Mine are late model SLs and construction is much better as are the feel of the controls. At the rate of the Chinese are learning I'd think that within a couple of years they will lose the reputation they've garnered as being iffy in terms of consistent quality.

I'm not a blind follower of Eton. My 1st venture with the company was to buy a Grundig Classic and it sits in pieces in the basement. Never worked out of the box. Only decent thing about it is the case and the little sw portable antenna.