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| Reviews Summary for Eton Mini 300PE |
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Reviews: 10
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Average rating: 4.0/5
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MSRP: $$30
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Description: AM/FM/Shortwave Radio
When you’re crisscrossing the globe, you don’t want to have to haul extra weight or worry about power adapters. That’s why this lightweight, battery-powered radio is the ideal choice for the world traveler. Though this radio is small, its sound is mighty. You get AM and FM reception, plus access to seven shortwave bands, so you can keep up-to-date wherever your travels take you. The LCD display, clock, and built-in alarm mean you’ll be on time, no matter what time zone you’re in.
AM/FM-stereo and 7 shortwave bands (49, 41, 31, 25, 22, 19 and 16 meter)
Analog tuner with classic dial knob and digital display
Rotary volume control
Digital display shows frequency, time, sleep time and symbols for sleep timer and alarm activation
Clock, sleep timer, alarm function
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More info: http://www.etoncorp.com/eton
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write your own review of the Eton Mini 300PE.
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N3NXD
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 10, 2009 17:24
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Excellence for the money
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought mine to replace a worn-out mini 100. I carry this thing everywhere. Nice to be able to hear Worldwide programming while waiting for Dr. appt. I even listen to it in car, jammed to seat top with headrest. Amazing unit.
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NV7F
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Rating: 3/5
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Jul 20, 2008 07:45
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OK for the money
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Recently purchased a Grundig Mini 300 from Radio Shack. Same radio as picture. The radio is made in China by Tecsun. The back of the radio says it is designed and developed by Eton of Palo Alto. The first radio I purchase had a bad headphone jack. Radio Shack exchanged it for another one that was okay.
The main problem of the radio is the vfo (analog type) drifts quite a bit. It does receive surprising well off the telescoping antenna. The AM receiver is excellent. A ferrite core is incorporated in the radio. FM stereo sound is very good. AGC is practically non-existent. But that is expected for a radio in this price range.
The Radio Shack version of this radio comes with a nice soft case. This radio makes a good starter SWL radio. I would recommend that they change the vfo the PLL. There are other radios that Tecsun makes that are similar that do have a PLL (phase lock loop) tuning system. They cost about $10 to $15 more.
The display shows time or if on frequency readout. There are no memories. My recommendation is to spend a bit more and get a Tecsun PL-230.
Happy SWLing
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KD7BWB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 19, 2008 23:31
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I'm Extremely Pleased!!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I've been a Ham for over 10 years, been doing shortwave for 40 years, so I've used a lot of radios. This little Eton is surprising, so surprising that I often wonder what people are looking at when they criticize it. I compare it to my $350 Kenwood TH-F6 .
This Eton Costs less than the antenna on my Kenwood (catalog price for a replacement is $50), and hears a lot more shortwave than the Kenwood, with just the antenna on the Eton.
The radio is more stable than a AM/FM table radio I use in the office. Is the Eton rock steady? No. Is it supposed to be rock stable? Also no. You want stability? Spend enough money for a product with either a twin-tuned phaselock or a TCXO. Just the tuner parts for such a product will set you back more than the Eton costs as a finished product.
Those of you who gripe about this product need to understand what you are buying. This product uses a conventional tuner because firstly, it can be built very cheaply. Second, it is fairly noise free.
This means this type of tuner does not contribute rf energy to the rest of the radio, that requires extra cost to filter out of the receiver circuits (believe me, digital racket from a cheap digital phaselock tuner makes a lot more birdies and general racket than you might think).
The fact that this radio has a digital display, has much less to do with the radio's tuner, and much more to do with the notion that it incorporates a digital clock. The fact that the digital display reads frequency, is essential to understanding the radio. It displays the frequency, it has nothing at all to do with creating the tuner frequency.
If I really want to do a comparison, I'll just say, the Eton M300pe hears nearly as well as my Icom R-75 with a vertical antenna on my roof; while sitting here typing this letter, on the ground.
Do I have gripes? Sure. I'd love the radio to equal the performance of my R-75, or the receiver in my Yaesu FT-857d, filter hetrodynes, get rid of pulse racket, include a DRM converter, and generally satisfy a huge laundry list. But I'd have to spend thousands of dollars.
So my conscience is clear, and I sleep easy, knowing I have purchased a small jewel that hears well, stays on frequency well enough for me to listen to a conversation on Radio China International, provides excellent punchy audio, plays FM Stereo through the included earphones; and still contains a fully functional digital clock radio, with auto-turn-on, and sleep timer. And it even comes with a belt holster for the radio that everybody thinks contains a cellphone.
All that for $30, at Radio Shack; and can be had for less elsewhere. People complain, and I shake my head in disbelief.
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LEATHER
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Rating: 4/5
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May 19, 2008 19:34
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Good, compact radio.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got mine as a free bonus when I purchased my S350 DL. The S350 DL was the star attraction and I shoved the mini 300 PE away in a drawer and forgot about it. A couple of months later I came across it and tried it out. For a radio of its size and price it works amazingly well.
Tuning it can be a little tricky until one gets used to it. Also strong, local FM stations have a way of appearing at different parts of the dial where they don't belong. Sometimes shortening the antenna can help that problem.
I was most surprised at the short wave reception. It performs as well as some of my more expensive receivers.
My job involves a certain amount of travel and staying in hotels. This radio takes up very little space in the carry on bag and works better than the radios in most hotel rooms.
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KE4GRP
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 15, 2008 15:15
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Nice Little Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Was standing there in Radio Shack and turn this radio on. The display started to go, so I figured that the batteries were going. Anyway, I tuned to the shortwave bands and pick up about 3 stations inside Radio Shack. Thought that was pretty good for almost dead batteries.
Took it home, hooked it up to the YO-YO Vee outside the bedroom window, and it works fine.
Gave it a 4 because I have had it only 4 Hours.
Oh, by the way, I bought a pillow speaker so my wife can watch tv while I liston to the radio.
73
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AA5JG
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 7, 2008 22:39
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Good for the price
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I would up with some credit at Radio Shack after returning some Christmas presents I received-how many digital picture frames does one need anyways? After looking around the store some, I found one of these for $29.99 and it seemed like something I wanted more than anything else they had for the amount of credit I had.
My Yaesu VX5R had died, so I missed having a hand held AM/FM/SW radio and this fit the bill nicely. Absolutely great sounding audio, and the receiver is very sensitive. Brought in some FM stations better than any HT I had owned. It has a rubber type case on it, but it is a nice size and shape with a telescoping antenna.
The only drawback is that it has a digital display, but it isn't PLL or digital tuning. It has the same analog tuning as any old AM/FM radio, it just shows you the frequency in a digital readout. It also didn't include the 5mhz shortwave band, which I would have liked.
For $30 you can't do much better.
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N3HAM
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 7, 2008 16:01
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Another fun little SW
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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It seems to be as sensitive as my Mini 100PE. The antenna stalk could be done away with, but the trade-off is you get digital read-out and maybe that makes it a better gift for a SW newbie than a 100.It has the same surprising audio as the 100 so for the price, two of these orphans have found a home.
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G4EDY
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 3, 2007 10:46
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Ideal Travel Companion
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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K2AF; you probably had a faulty one, my first set had no FM unless you squeezed the case. The replacement has been working absolutely fine.
For the size and price this set is an ideal travel companion, thats what is designed for after all! Its not going to have top notch performance, it cant have at this price. What it does have is remarkable sensitivity and great audio, the image rejection is the limiting factor in performance.
I took mine on holiday to Menorca where it worked fine in the 30 degree heat, there was some drift on the higher frequencies but not enough to take the signal out the IF passband, tuning is a little rapid and suits smaller fingers but you soon get the hang of it.
As I said a perfect travelling comnpanion, cheap enough that it wouldnt be a disaster if it got lost or smashed, but good enough performance to keep you entertained while the kids splash in the pool.
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K2AF
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Rating: 0/5
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Mar 30, 2007 17:48
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Terrible, junk
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Even at $30 this thing is not worth it! The AM radio drifts worse than a $1 radio. I tuned to a sports talk station, put it on the window sill and hopped in the shower. The radio started changing frequency, to the point that I looked out to see if my kids were playing with the radio, it actually tuned itself right up the AM band. There is no backlight, and there is no way to see the time while the radio is on, so while I'm getting ready for work, I have to rely on the radio announcer to tell me the time. Not that the clock is going to win any design prizes - it looses about three minutes a week. I have really good quality lithium batteries in it by the way. I actually wrote to Eton, and they said that they'll take my suggestions under advisement.
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WB7SWB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 21, 2007 14:52
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Great bargain!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I gave this a 5 based on the price to performance ratio. This is a great little radio for casual shortwave broadcast listening. The manual offers no technical description but it appears to be an analog radio with a digital (50KC on SW) frequency display. Sensitivity is not far below my Sangean ATS909. I am amazed they are able to sell a radio with this sensitivity for this price! Selectivity is poor but adequate for listening to strong stations. Its not documented in the manual but the FM tuner provides stereo when connected to headphones. This is my first experience with a handheld shortwave receiver and its got me thinking I would enjoy one of the high-end versions. Its great to relax in your recliner and tune through the bands. LL Bean is discounting this radio in their outlets for $20.
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