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write your own review of the Grundig Mini World 100 PE.
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AB2T
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Rating: 3/5
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May 17, 2009 10:17
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Wow this thing drifts!
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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You get what you pay for with the Grundig. It's very portable, frugal with the batteries, and fairly sturdy. It's just that it's not really "digital", but analogue tuned. So don't expect to be right on frequency at any time. Usually the radio gets within 1.5 kHz, which is fine for casual listening. Sometimes it really wanders away and needs a bit of tuning touch up.
The SW section will pick up anything that's S9+ on a tabletop with a decent antenna. I was able to get All India Radio once pretty strong when propagation was just right, so it can pull in some interesting stuff once in a while. Most of the time I use the radio just to listen to strong MW outlets.
I see that you can get cheaper Chinese radios on eBay -- I suspect the performance is about the same so maybe it's good to shop around.
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N3NXD
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 10, 2009 17:34
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Truly a Classic
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had this given to me for Christmas 2000, by my wife. I used this daily, averaging probably 4 hrs.daily. Excellent reception. First to go was the dial tuner string. Then the on-off, volume wore out to loud all the time. Fell off dresser countless times. Bounced back for more. I probably put 20 yrs. of average use into 8. Stingy on batteries. Average 2 per yr.
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KB2NAT
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Rating: 4/5
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Oct 13, 2008 18:04
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Very good for the price
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is a neat little radio that (as mentioned) is as practical as it is pocket-sized. In my unit ($4 at a garage sale, new) the FM is very good, SW fairly good and the AM is mediocre in sensitivity-noticeably less than a 6-transistor 60's portable. For many, that may not be a big issue. The rest is without complaint and is worth the normal street price. I do find that I use mine frequently because it is so easy to carry, although it is more and more supplanted by the very impressive Kaito 1102. You will not be angry with yourself for buying one...you will find a use for it.
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K1WJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 13, 2008 09:36
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Real Good for $20
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Purchased from HRO about 2 months ago. Paid $19.99. Small tuning dial is a little odd to fine tune but works ok. Receives signals fairly well for a pocket SW radio. Little speaker works fairly well also.
I really like the radio, nice price, seems well built. 73 K1WJ
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MARTESQUE
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 12, 2008 11:21
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Update - 3 years later
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have bought and returned this radio twice. Six months later, I bought it again and promptly sent it directly to Eton in Palo Alto, CA asking them to explain the stereo problem (I detail this in my earlier post below). The one they sent back to me still had the same problem, but on this unit I noticed greater sensitivity on MW and a fairly decent dial calibration. After finally rectifying the stereo problem myself (see below), I carried the Mini 100 around for 2 years until it was stolen a month ago. So I went out and bought two more.
Why do I come back to this little radio time and time again? I have a few FM/MW/SW portables at my disposal for listening, most with better reception and sound. The biggest reason is that none of the others will fit in my pocket; I mean ANY pocket, even when attire is simply a tee shirt and shorts. And for a radio this size and cost, it delivers as good as I would expect.
First, that annoying stereo problem: As I mentioned in an earlier post, when listening to FM through the speaker, only the right channel plays. That’s OK for talk and most music recorded before 1964, but it’s a major design flaw. I finally fixed the problem by taking a ballpoint pen cartridge (standard size), clipping off most of the tube, cleaning out the ink and inserting the tip into the earphone jack. This will “mono” the sound (L+R), but not mute the radio. Make sure you leave enough tube to pull it out in case you want to use the earphones.
After that was solved, here is why I really like this radio, again giving consideration to its size and cost.
Performance: FM/SW performance is more than I would expect from a comparable radio. Sure it suffers from overload if you’re near a local signal, but take it to the beach and you’ll be surprised at what it pulls in. MW is iffy depending on the unit, but the last three I’ve had have been satisfactory.
Sound: Keep in mind the speaker is about an inch in diameter, but it packs some punch. The amp to speaker ratio is as good as it gets and this baby will put out a decent amount of volume before the distortion takes over. Now, plug in a pair of good headphones; the best pair you have, and tune into the local FM station. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Looks: I’m being subjective here, but even though the tuning dial is high to low and the volume is backwards, this is an attractive radio. Plus, along with the radio you get a belt clip, a pair of ear buds, a leatherette pouch and batteries!
Those comparing this radio to anything outside the Mini World 100 size and price point aren’t being reasonable. This radio doesn’t measure up to the G5 or G4000 (YB-400), but would make a great compliment to either. Right now this unit goes for $20-$25 and for that price, you get a heck of a little radio.
If you get one that doesn’t perform as I’ve described, bring it back and get another. Repeat as often as necessary.
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TOBYDOG
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Rating: 2/5
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May 5, 2007 20:17
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Small size, small performance
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I own 12 shortwave radios and, after reading reviews on EHam, decided to do side-by-side comparisons of all the models, ranging from the tiny Mini World 100 PE to a couple of massive Zenith TransOceanics. I tested in the back yard, well away from the computers and power lines. I checked sensitivity on MW and 25m SW by noting the number of "listenable" stations at mid-afternoon.
Top performers on MW were the Grundig G5 and Kaito KA 1103 with 45 "listenable" stations each followed closely by the Zenith TO 7000Y with 43. Dead last -- with a dismal 6 stations received -- was the 100 PE. The similarly sized Eton E-100 pulled in 26 stations on MW.
On 25m SW the KA 1103, G5, Zenith TO, Eton E 10 and E 100 all pulled in 20 or more stations. The 100 PE managed only 10, last among the 12 radios.
No doubt its small whip and small built-in MW antennas accounted for the poor sensitivity of the 100 PE. But even when connected to a long wire antenna, the 100 PE didn't come close to the performance of the E 100 on its built-in whip.
Granted, the 100 PE, in its day, was considerably less expensive than the E 100 is today. But the E 100, for its size, gets the job done where the 100 PE falls far short.
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N3HAM
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 13, 2006 16:58
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It doesn't get any smaller, does it?
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I didn't think this little radio was going to amount to very much, but when Radio Shack had it on sale for twenty dollars I couldn't resist. For casual listening, walking round radio security blanket, it works. No ssb? who cares. It's surprising how well it does off the small whip. Can't wait to take it to the beach.
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N5IVZ
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Rating: 2/5
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Jul 12, 2005 06:49
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you get what you pay for!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Would not want to depend on this receiver if i was a serious short wave listener. MW band was very poor, fm ok but short wave stations very hard to tune because of tight tuning control. Would recommend for the 8 and under crowd.
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SLIDERULEX
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 11, 2005 22:41
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Mighty Mouse!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I thought a lot before buying this at Radio Shack. But I got a deal on it as it was a Demo. I could tell that it was kinda beaten up and had smudges and stuff on it. It's lived on the 'street', and yet it survived.
I like this radio and I bought it mainly for listening to SW broadcasts. Though I live on the West Coast, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it received many SW stations. It's very small, and fits in my small hands nicely. Maybe it's because I have small hands, but I have no trouble tuning it with just my right hand. It's no Sony 2010 or Sangean 909 or Grundig Satellit 700, but it does a good job at receiving all the strong stations and a number of weaker ones too.
I also own a Grundig FR200 and Mini 300PE. The FR200 outperforms the other two, and because it is also a crank radio with flashlight, and picks up SW even better than the other two, it would be my favorite if I had to have just one of them. But for portability, the Mini100 is perfect and does a good enough job at SW that I'm happy with it.
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BLACKKNIGHT
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 3, 2005 21:16
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Good receiver at a good price!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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In my 9 years of listening to shortwave radio, this is my fourth receiver and the best one I have. My previous ones were a large multiband radio from Sears that I bought off a friend for $10, RadioShack DX-397, and one of the Grundig Yacht Boys that cost around $80. I am currently waiting to receive a Klonda K-939 that I bought on eBay for $19. It has a tuning knob with digital display and high sensitivity. I would like to compare it to this good radio.
When I bought the Yacht Boy in October 2003, I receive great signals but I thought it may had been a waste of money. I returned the Yacht Boy at RadioShack and exchanged it with the $30 Mini World 100 PE and got $50 back. When first put the batteries in and turn it on, I was amazed that this little receiver received signals as well as the Yacht Boy. It has good reception on SW, FM, and AM in the Memphis, TN area. Its speaker is pretty loud and its size makes it easily accessible. It also include earphones and a belt clip. The antenna is long and stable and the radio also has a good battery life.
There are a few problems with the receiver though. It has a good number of SW bands but you can except not to find the frequencies you want to tune in. The analog tuning makes it harder to find a signal since the scale is a bit off. The radio does not have an adapter socket, which means it only takes batteries, but the batteries can last a long time. I can't remember changing batteries. Another problem I found is sometimes you have to hold the receiver while listening to some stations because if you set it down, then the station fades away. Overall, the Grundig Mini World 100 PE is a inexpensive receiver that is great for receiving stations such as the BBC (which no longer broadcast to the USA on SW), Voice of Russia, Radio Australia, WWCR, and many major stations.Pick up on today at RadioShack.
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