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write your own review of the Grundig Satellit International 400.
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KC7JBB
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 13, 2009 02:09
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Great old radio
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I bought this radio off of E-bay about six months ago, and have been enjoying it since then. It has become one of my favorite radios and is one of my two most favorite radios. Why?
Tone and audio quality
selectivity
sensitivity
features
All of these I give an A+. While some rados may be better in one area or another the Sat400 is what I call, well balanced and excellent in all areas and not a slouch in any. I was surprised by this radio, as I am not a fan of slider controls at all! I was looking for a 500 or 700 but could not pass the price up on this 400, so I thought I would tolerate the sliders but WOW! smooth sliders, I have never seen any that operated like this before. I still dont like sliders but Grundig got it right on the 400.
As I said it is one of two of my favorite radios the other is my CC shortwave aka:Redsun 2100, about the same size but no digital freq. entry. otherwise very close radios in performance.
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KC2OQG
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 23, 2006 12:45
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Very nice radio.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought the (brand new) Grundig "Satellit International 400" (made in Portugal 1986-1989) on May 22, 1989 from Rowe Photographic in Rochester, NY. The price was $399 (plus tax) which was (and still is) a lot of money for a radio. It was one of the first radios to have a digital tuning readout. Other (less expensive) radios did not begin to include this feature for another ten years. Digital tuning readout is a nice feature because the desired frequency is simply entered with the keypad. One negative thing about the digital readout is that I tend to loose the sense of where I am within the band spectrum. The old-fashioned "slide rule" tuning dials allow the listener to "see" where they are on the dial. The radio is surprisingly heavy for its size. Note that the Satellit "Professional 400" (not made for export) only covered up to 26.1 MHz. In 1989, the top of the Grundig line was the Satellit 650 which seemed to be more radio than I was looking for (or could afford) at the time. Search the internet for photos, and you will see that the Satellit 650 is about three times the size of the Satellit 400. I have been very pleased with the Satellit International 400 and it still gets a lot of use. Sensitivity and selectivity are excellent. No other SW radios I have tried compares to it.
Notes:
When changing the three "AA" clock and station memory batteries, leave the AC power plugged in. Otherwise, the station memory and clock times will be lost.
On 20-apr-2005, I replaced the antenna. The antenna fits the Satellit 400, 500, 700 models from 1986-1996. I purchased a new antenna from German eBay (ebay.de). Price was €28 EUR plus €10 EUR for shipping. The total (€38 EUR) converted to just less than $50 USD. The www.ebay.de.com description was: "Teleskopantenne Grundig Satellit 400,500,700.
Here is a link showing the various Satellit antennas. The web page states that the Satellit 400 takes "Type F" antenna.
http://www.classic-worldband.com/pages/info/projects/parts_info/antennas/sat_ant_inf.htm
External antenna connection:
The external antenna jack for the Satellit International 400 is a "PAL" (also known as: "KOK") type connector. It is commonly used for TV antenna connections in Europe but is unusual in North America. Radio Shack sells a PAL to F adapter. PAL connectors can be purchased on eBay (plastic body) or from MCM Electronics (metal body) for those who want to make their own antenna cables. Universal Radio has a very nice adapter consisting of a in-line SO-239 (female) connector and female PAL (KOK) connector joined with 10 inches of coaxial cable. This permits using the common PL-259 (male) connector and the short length of cable takes the strain off the antenna jack. Universal Radio part number: 1052. Universal Radio is selling the part as an accessory to the Eton E1 radio (originally announced as the Grundig Satellit 900).
References:
http://universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0101.html
http://universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/1052.jpg
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