|
New to Ham Radio?
My Profile
Community
Articles
Forums
News
Reviews
Friends Remembered
Speak Out
Strays
Survey Question
Operating
Contesting
DX Cluster Spots
Propagation
Resources
Calendar
Classifieds
Ham Exams
Ham Links
List Archives
News Articles
Product Reviews
QSL Managers
Site Info
eHam Help (FAQ)
Support the site
The eHam Team
Advertising Info
Vision Statement
About eHam.net
|
|
You can
write your own review of the Grundig Yachtboy 400.
|
W5ZZG
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Feb 13, 2005 20:46
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
good
|
Time owned: 3 to 6 months
|
This was a cheap purchase at Radio shack. (About $120) It works much better than my old Panasonic (RF2200)did for monitoring the ham band and some shortwave. It copies SSB without much problem.
Given the price, I would recommend this radio.
|
|
VE3GMU
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Feb 4, 2005 10:58
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Excellent value and Fun
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Hi;
Got one of these for christmas and for my purpose is great. I am on the road each and every week and this fits the bill as a motel receiver.
It performs well on MW (sensitive)for my talk show passion, and the mix and match memory for all the bands is great.
On SSB it's not the greatest as other reviews have stated, but usable.
For shortwave even among all the noise generated by tons of motel computers and laptops it performs quite admirably, picks up tons of stations.
Pick one up ... you wont be disappointed for the money.
Great audio from a small unit , and fits in a suitcase without much room.
Happy Listening
|
|
SCANNUT99
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Jan 26, 2005 00:06
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Go with the Sony 7600 GR
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
I got this from Radio Shack. Actually you can get this and the Grundig 350 just about anywhere. Now I know why. It is subpar for the price. Although the signals on SW aren't as prone to fade as the s350 (Which isn't saying much) this radio is far from what it should be for $150. The Degan 1102 is a better radio. It lacks sensitivity, picks up strong AM signals where it shouldn't and the wide/narrow band feature is useless. The single sideband is pretty subpar as well. I don't understand why people like this radio. I suppose if you do not have much to compare it to you might like it but you can do a lot better and should stay away from this one.
|
|
RADIODORK
|
Rating: 1/5
|
Dec 31, 2004 12:05
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
So what is so good about this ?.
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I either got ahold of a lemon, or this radio is
grossly overated. I had asked for this at Christmas time because of all the good reviews
and the fact that it looked sharp. WRONG.
Until now, my only shortwave radios were the
Grundig S350 (which is 10X better than the Yacht Boy), a vintage Radio Shack Patrolman CB60, and a cheap COBY. For one thing, with the antenna
fully extended, it becomes top heavy and wants to sway (the antenna), and when it sways, the radio pops and crackles, it even pops and cracks
with the slightest touch of my finger on the face. The included reel antenna is of no help.
What really was the icing on the cake was when I
began noticing that there were several frequencies that my S350 was pulling in, that the
Yacht Boy didn't even hint at. After setting both units up at the same time in an upstairs room without any other electrical appliance on
and the reel antenna in place, I began compiling
a list of the stations the S350 picked up, and tried to duplicate with the Yacht Boy. I gave up after nine. I am also disappointed with the sound
quality as compared to the S350. The only redeeming quality I noticed is standard FM reception. But even at that, it is too expensive
to pass off as a portable FM radio. Of course, trying to get ahold of the technical support as listed in the manual is a joke.
So back to Amazon it goes. I only wish it had come from the local Radio Shack so as not to get burned with shipping costs and Amazon's famous re-stocking fee. Live and learn.
|
|
SWLABN
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Oct 9, 2004 09:43
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
I love it!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
But I'm giving it 4 out of 5. I agree with the previous reviews I think they give a very accurate account what you are getting for your money.
I'm comparing it with the HF RX of my Yaesu VR500 scanner.
I have found the yaesu to overload very easily with a longwire but when using the longwire on the yb it has pulled in signals with little overloading. Secondly, the audio output is much clearer and LOUDER the yaesu is so quiet and required constant use of headphones. Now I can listen comfortably through a speaker!
I have found overall performance on most bands very good pulling in signals from hams in Japan, West coast, middle east with considerable ease using a long wire antenna although the whip is very effective too.
It is a bulky piece of kit with batteries but feels nice and I love that metallic look on the PE.
I know it seems difficult to compare the yb400 with the vr500 but I'm trying to put its performance into perspective and if you own a vr500 i'm sure you'll understand what I'm saying here
I feel the Grundig is a good buy
|
|
KF4WDZ
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Oct 2, 2004 10:22
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Better than I thought
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
Picked one up on closeout at a Radio ("Rat")Shack ,not realy expecting too much out of it. A cheap radio with a bfo...why not?
Much better radio than I thought it would be.
The good stuff:
-BFO for SSB
-will tune in 1 KHz steps
-very very good sound through phones( if you have good ones)
-very good sound with built in speaker
-FM stereo through phones
-very good FM
-good AM/MW
-good SW with whip ant.
-handy reel ant.
-very good owner's manual with frequency guide for ameteur,aironautical,and maritime.
-nice case
-built very well with good quality feel to it.
Things that bug me,but not too much:
-Bass and Treble would be nice,but if not CAN'T WE AT LEAST HAVE A TONE KNOB? Not even the famed Sony 2010 has one! Why not? The hi/low switch is better than nothing,and does an ok job.
-No rf gain control.Two way dx/local switch only
-no tune knob just up and down buttons,so it's a bit of a pain to band scan.Push push push push push push push.Can tune in 1 KHz steps.
-BFO only. No usb/lsb.Tunes in 1 Khz steps with bfo "fine tune" knob.Still ok for ssb ,just could be better.
-no sync detector.Hay,what do 'ya want for $125?
-Cheezy "earbud phones". Then again, did you ever get a decent pair of headphones with anything? Not me.Spend a little and get some Koss "Porta-pro" phones.You will never go back to cheap ones again!
-dial light only stays on for 10 sec.
Don't let all of this talk you out of one though.What it does it does well....
All in all: A fine little radio esp. for the $. Quite good sound with the speaker,and very very good through phones.Good MW/Am dx( not a 2010 or RF-2200 but,still a lot better than you might think).Good with just the whip ant. for SW.Very good FM.I think it's by far the best radio you can get for the money....grab one while you can still get a new one....8)
|
|
WR2W
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Jul 30, 2004 18:48
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Price...Performance...Size...Sound...All Great!
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
|
The price, performance, size, and sound on this YB-400 are all great. I don't mind not having a tuning knob because the fine tuning with tuning step control work just fine for me. I find the SW performance to be quite good with the telescoping antenna, and better with the provided wire spool antenna. The size is great for all kinds of use, and the sound from this YB-400 is excellent. It's a hard act to beat for $150...
|
|
ZIPPER
|
Rating: 3/5
|
Mar 14, 2004 16:12
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Not Strong Enough
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
I live in a Chicago apartment, where signals are weak. The YB400PE sounds great on AM & FM, but it isn't strong enough to pull in a decent SW signal. Not only do SW signals fade, there's an unbearably loud hissing noise on weak signals. Called Grundig. They said to buy a Sony AN-LP1 active antenna. Called Universal Radio to order it. They told me that an active antenna will only exacerbate the noise -- I don't need one.
Went to eBay & bought a used Sony 7600G. What a miracle! Signals came in easily -- no problems & no hiss! Hardly ever even have to use the synch detection. If you live in a weak signal area, get a Sony. If you're in an area that gets good reception, get the YB400. The sound is MUCH richer than the Sony, and it's easier to use. I really loved the YB400, I just couldn't get a decent signal on it.
|
|
KF6WNL
|
Rating: 5/5
|
Mar 11, 2004 17:28
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
A very good portable
|
Time owned: more than 12 months
|
|
This radio is my workhorse. I use it on my overseas trips due to its size and portability, customs inspectors seem to get friendlier when they see it. The reception is good on shortwave, excellent on FM, and very good on AM. The shortwave does improve with the reel antenna, very handy by hanging out the hotel window. It could use a fine tuner or a rotary knob. Some shortwave stations like Habana Cuba seem to wonder off or be off their frequency and radio can't tune them back in. Overall it delivers a punch for its size and cost and being small enough to put in a backpack or overnight bag is the icing. If I want better reception I go to my Drake R8A.
|
|
N1LF
|
Rating: 4/5
|
Jan 9, 2004 14:23
|
Send this review to a friend
|
|
Good value
|
Time owned: 0 to 3 months
|
My wife purchased this as a birthday gift for me,
not realizing that I already own a Sony 2010,
a Radio Shack DX-398--and not to mention the Drake
R8B, and Palstar R30CC in the shack! Her heart
was in the right place...
My main interest is in MW DXing, and I found
this to a respectable for that purpose. It is
sensitive and the filters are very good for
a stock radio. It took the Kiwa replacements to
get that kind of performance out of the 2010.
The audio is quite good, and I had no trouble
using it as a bedside radio (I like to sleep
with talk radio programs on). Not tinny or
uncomfortable to listen to at all.
But it's no DX machine either. The lack of
a sync detector, and not being able to use
an external antenna (only works on SW) hurt
it's usefulness there.
Worse is that tuning in SSB mode (ECSS) is a
disaster. I found better results using the
narrow filter and tuning off the frequency
by a khz or two. This works very well on the
crowded graveyard channels.
Good nulls on strong stations can be produced
using the internal loop antenna, allowing the
reception of weaker stations underneath.
Controls are very easy to use and there are
a few "mods" on the Internet to improve
it's performance a bit.
As many have pointed out, it probably outperforms
my Kenwood R-2000 and many other desktop
SW receivers that I owned growing up...at
bargin basement prices. But if you compare
it to the Sony 2010 or other real DX
machines, you'll be disappointed.
Accept it for what it is...a good performer at
a great price. Perfect for travelling or as
a bedside radio.
|
|
If you have any questions, problems, or suggestions about Reviews,
please email your Reviews Manager.
|
|
|
|
|
