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You can
write your own review of the Grundig Yachtboy 400.
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WA1UFO
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 19, 2009 16:32
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I like this little beast!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have been a swl for 53 years and have owned many radios from 1926 models to present. I got my YB400pe 3 years ago and really enjoy it. Paid 149 at Radio Shack and it's worth every penny.Remember, it's not a 2 grand tabletop! I would never consider Degens or Kaitos because of a huge gap in coverage. This radio looks great and construction quality is good but not great. Refurbished units can be had for about 99 yankee dollars. Get one--you will like it.
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K8AND
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 29, 2009 11:52
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Get One while they are still in good shape
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hello All,
I have used several portable radios in it's class and must say although the Grundig 400 is discontinued you can still find them on Ebay for
reasonable prices. I have used the KAITO 1103,SONY 7600GR and now have the G4000A which is
just like the 400PE but with a leather case.
I liked the KAITO but it had a VERY SENSITIVE front end and NON CONTINUOUS tuning across the entire spectrum of the shortwave bands. Although the Kaito 1103 charges
it's batteries inside the unit it takes at least 12 hours and while charging the charger/adaptor
introduces a nice "BUZZ" all over the bands.
The Sony 7600GR is nice but doesn't come with an AC power adaptor,no Signal strength meter and not as good sound from it's speaker. Is it really worth the Sync detection to sacrifice those?
For those who like to use a portable SW radio with AA batteries just go to your local Best Buy
and buy those Energizer rechargable batteries that come with a charger. They charge in 15 minutes in this charger unlike the 12 hours in the Kaito. I will list the Pros and Cons of the YB 400 as I see them..
PROS-
1.EXCELLENT sound from it's built in Speaker
2.Good reception across all the bands
3.Simple tuning and no band switching needed when tuning across the entire SW spectrum like the Kaito 1103
4.SIMPLE memory operation(No goofy pages to use)
5.Memory Tuning,Direct Entry,and auto tuning built in
6.Radio when new comes with manual,real antenna,and power adaptor.
7.Signal Strength Meter
8.Two times
9.Sleep timer
10.Good SSB reception,just takes a little patience
11.unlike the KAITO 1103 this guy has a DEDICATED volume knob,the Kaito you had to hit a button and then adjust the volume! Even with the New G5(I have not had) apparently does NOT have a volume knob,you have to adjust the volume with buttons!
12.well layed out keypad
13.Alarm clock to wake up to radio
14.Good location of the "LIGHT" and "Snooze"
button.
15.EXCELLENT SENSITIVITY
16.EXCELLENT SELECTIVITY
CONS:
1.a little large for a portable these days
2.No Sync detection
3.No Dedicated LSB/USB like the SONY 7600GR
4.No Tuning Knob.
5.Display light won't "stay on" but bright enough to see what your tuning in the dark. Light will stay on for 10 seconds and go off. If you tune the radio while the light is on by letting go of a button and then pressing the same button you originally pressed or another one in the ten second window the light will stay on.However if you are HOLDING DOWN a button while the light is on the light will go off in 10 seconds so if you want to have the light stay on you have to let go of the button and push it again in the 10 second window for it to stay on OR tap the light on button.
Don't let the poor reviews fool you. I consider this radio to be a favorite of mine and for me it's a little better then the SONY 7600GR
I liked the Sony but if you want to jog through more then 10 memories you have to change pages,the sound is FAIR at best from it's built in speaker and no signal strength meter.
It is a good radio though but I think you get more bang for the buck with a used Grundig 400.
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TERRYW
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 12, 2008 21:16
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Solid, sensitive and with great sound
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Pros: Great speaker sound, very sensitive off the whip, durable and reliable
Cons: No tuning knob, only 40 memories and all on one page, mutes while tuning, SSB via tuning dial instead of USB/LSB switch
No problems and much good listening over the past two years
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VE1BLL
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Rating: 1/5
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Oct 14, 2007 16:47
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A '2-hour' radio (time from buy to refund)
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I bought one today for Cdn$39.96 at The Source (Canada) on the assumption that it might be a reasonable radio at that sort of discount. Less than two hours later I took it back for a refund.
Build quality and feel were poor (cheap) in my opinion. It seemed to have it's own noise floor as opposed to atmospheric noise as I'd expect. Switching on the BFO was a disappointment (nearly useless). The whip antenna was wobbling in a manner that did not inspire confidence.
All in all I didn't think it was worth even the $40 so I packaged it back up and took it back.
Lest you think I'm being unfair, I bought an Eton E10 at the same time and it's a keeper (subject of my next review).
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IZ8FNY
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Rating: 3/5
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Sep 2, 2007 09:27
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Not so portable...but great audio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I own this receiver for about four years. I purchased it on eBay as refurbished item. I think that it isn't very portable (due to dimensions and weight). It draws a lot of current (battery life is short) so a battery charger should be used. Audio is great, the best for me so far. I will summarize my usage impressions as follows. I always used the telescopic antenna (no whip).
PRO
+ Audio (excellent)
+ SW/MW Sensitivity
CONS
- Dimensions and weight make it not so portable...
- Short battery life (charger is a must have)
- No battery charger system
- No LSB/USB selection
- LCD backlight is weak
- FM selectivity
- Old design (just see what makes Degen...)
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KC9HGJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 5, 2007 14:24
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Great radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This radio is exceptional for the price. It is amazing how someone will purchase a radio and after ten minutes of time give it a zero out of five. In my opinion that is what their review is worth.....0. Great radio does what it was designed to do for the price.
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G3UXB
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 27, 2007 20:53
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A Very Good Portable Radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Well having owned my Grundig 400 for a few years now and reading all the reviews I guess I have to add myt 2 cents worth. For the money I think this is a great radio, construction quality is fairly good I have traveled with this radio on many occasions and the only problem I had was to tighten the antenna swivel joint, it does eat batteries if you use it on the speaker at loud volume levels but the speaker is really good for a small radio. Despite other reviews I have had no problem tuning in SSB signals using the 1 khz tuning and the fine tune bfo with it's center detent, I have not missed the lack of synch AM detection, if there is a problem I use ECSS in the SSB mode, the only good synch detector is on the Lowe HF-150 or the Grundig 800 any way. Sensitivity with the whip I find very satisfactory tuning in many stations on the HF spectrum. Thje only thing that stops me giving this radio a 5 is the chuffing on the tuning but then this is a less than $150 radio and if you use the auto tune on the pre-set HF shortwave bands the muting kicks in and you hear nothing in-between signal. I personally think it looks better than the sony radios. I will not bother upgrading to anything more for a suitcase radio because this one does the job it is designed for
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N9IGP
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Rating: 3/5
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Jun 17, 2005 00:45
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3 words "Get a SONY"
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I own a Grundig 400 and have just received the Sony 7600GR. The only thing going for the Yachtboy 400 is the speaker. Richer sond on FM. For performance save your money for a Sony, any Sony. The 400 is poorly made plasntc and the switches feel like they are going to fall off. SSB reception is a joke! I got the Grundig 1st thinking hey, it's a German made receiver and Grundig has a great reputation. Well, is not made in Germany it's made in China.
Is it a disaster? Well no, it is not. It's just OK. If you get one you'll wonder why you didn't just save up for a Sony 7600GR. Is the 7600GR perfect, no it's not either however, it's FAR better then the Grundig, Far Better.
Three Words "Get a Sony"
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MARTESQUE
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 27, 2005 04:36
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Very Pleased
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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There are more than a few places on the Internet where I've dissed on this radio, but I must have originally had a bad one. I kept reading good reviews and finally thought that 60 bucks on EBay was worth the risk. I'm glad I did.
This one has very good sensitivity; the MW (AM) is superb and FM is excellent. Shortwave is very good and since I'm not big into SSB, I have no big opinion on the YB400 set-up.
I returned the first one because I didn't think the audio was all that great. FM was average at best and AM was horrific. Again, this one is vastly improved. Warm, full FM and nice AM in wide filter. Good amp to speaker ratio.
I do have a few quirks to point out compared to the much smaller Sangean ATS-606, the radio I bought after I'd returned the first Yacht Boy.
Volume Control. The direction of the control is backwards. Down is louder, which although not a biggie, it does mean that the volume is wide open every time you slide it out of the carry case. I'm not a conformist, but I do need some stability in my radio life!
Alarm: If you need to be startled out of bed, the YB400 is for you. I prefer the "humane system" employed by the Sangean.
Pre-sets. I prefer specified pre-sets for each band. Grundig lets you pick and chose any way you want to arrange your 40 choices. I also prefer the ATS-606 way of using the buttons to go directly to your favorites. The YB-400 is set up to that of a keypad to type in information, and then hit another button to go to that frequency, pre-set, or SW band.
Sangean's ATS (Automatic Tuning System). Here, the little radio wins out with this neat feature. Go to a foreign city, hold down the FM or AM button and your memory buttons fill up with the strongest signals. Of course if you're a total radio geek like me, you'll come prepared with a print-out of stations and just directly tune them in anyway!
Batteries: With any digital receiver, I now use the Lithium AAs and they lengthen the lifespan at least 3-4 times. Plus, they're lighter than alkalines, so they're worth the $$$ price. The Grundig likes 6 of them compared to the ATS-606 room for three, but the Yacht Boy has a better battery lifespan.
Sound. No question the YB400 sounds better from the larger speaker, but the Sangean is much clearer because it's flat. This is more noticeable in a good pair of headphones. On the Yacht Boy, you have two tone settings. High is good for the speaker, but a little harsh on the headphones. Low is muddy on the speaker and headphones.
Overall, the Yacht Boy 400PE is a great radio for portability and use. Sound is better than most paortables of this size. I'm glad I gave it a second try.
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LRDHEAT
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Rating: 4/5
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Feb 16, 2005 20:01
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nice set
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Good overall performance. Fine sensitivity, good selectivity although strong sw signals make reception of stations 5khz away difficult. Narrow selectivity not much different from the wide setting. Grundig techs on their helpline confirmed this. They also confirmed that sensitivity of the Mini 300PE, YB 400PE, E10, E100 are ALL similar. The difference with the 400 is a BFO for SSB, and dual conversion to elliminate images (300PE, again, while about as sensitive, is different in that it lacks memories, can only tune 7 sw bands, and has a frequency counter for it's analog tuning system which allows for drift and slightly off frequency displays). Both work well. I was thrilled to tune in SSB aviation weather from New York and Gander Radio as well as Shannon and Honolulu. AFRTS out of Key West was great. Gone are the images! The Mini 300PE picks up CHU on 13760...the 400 picks it up on 14670 where it belongs (actually, since the 300 doesn't cover 14670, that image is actually a bonus!).
A SLIGHT minus is intrusion of local FM on a few spots in the 120m and 16m bands...it was very faint, didn't cover up much of the band, and wasn't a problem on frequencies where signals were discernable.
Very easy set to use, memories easy to program and access. Convenient size. Easy to switch between 1 and 5khz tuning steps. ECSS tuning helped reduce hiss and interference on some of the weaker signals.
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