Grundig S350 and S350DL

[Brian]

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.