| KC2DIS |
Rating:   |
2010-04-03 | |
| poor performer |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Well, I am stuck with this one now! After paying 400$ for one the seller called "perfect" and "better than new", because warranty work had been done to it, I find that the VFO makes a strange clicking at certain spots. At some frequencies you can "hear" the tuning plus compared to my dx390 which I had to repair it couldn't pick out the weak stations any better or with any more strength under exactly the same conditions. I am really disappointed. other people have had good results but not this guy! |
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| KA2EEV |
Rating:   |
2010-02-28 | |
| Disappointing / Over rated. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Perhaps I'm not so easily bowled over by a receiver that is supposed to impress by its physical appearance and big size. I think Grundig lost their touch with the Satellit 800 because this radio just seems to miss the mark in so many different ways. Yeah, I know, it's a real fine receiver that has many people singing praises to its name, but honestly it left me with only a disappointing sigh. Quite frankly, I believe the 800 is far over rated beyond what it deserves and over priced as well. I won't bother hashing through all of the technical aspects, but suffice it to say that its overall quality just doesn't measure up. Sensitivity across the tuning spectrum is about average but certainly nothing to brag about. Audio quality is only fair with kind of a boxy sound to it, actually lacking on the deep lows and on the highs too. This is a nice looking big receiver that will look pretty on the desk and it will serve well if you're willing to settle for mediocre performance along with a few peculiar quirks. I also have owned a Grundig Satellit 700 for many years and guess what? The 700 easily blows away the 800 on every count! |
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| WB8UHZ |
Rating:      |
2009-12-02 | |
| Great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Great radio, but only after going to Drake three times. Purchased a mint 800 locally. Brought it home and the audio kept dropping out. Drake was very good in backing up their work and continuing to look for the problem. S/N notes made in October 2002, hence suppose to be beyond the poor workmanship numbers but not so. Now after Drake fixed it, I must say this one will stay with me, I really like the audio. It does a great job on the ham bands, both on SSB and AM phone.
Tim WB8UHZ |
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| GI0ZGB |
Rating:     |
2009-11-20 | |
| Classic Portable |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I've had mine for some time now, and I like the rugged styling and the RX performance. I've had no problems with mine, build 08/04, but I've heard of problems with the encoder behaving badly, due to possible excessive lube or a bad factory batch.Whatever the truth, quality control seems to be a contributory factor, especially if built in China. Those that are refurbished or new models given a QC check in the USA tend to be reliable and work well.
I hooked mine up to the Datong FL3 multi mode filter, SSB, CW, RTTY, auto and manual notch adds greatly to the interference rejection capabilities. I modified mine to lower the cutoff frequencies below 200Hz and this greatly improved the audio quality and filtering capability. I'll be looking at adding an effective noise blanker later on, but its absence is a serious omission in my view. The internal speaker is adequate, but hooking up to an external amplified speaker system entirely transforms the sound quality especially FM broadcast. Overall I like the SAT 800 very much, it is a great workhorse and its styling has a certain unique charm to it.
Recommended, but get a QC bill of health from the retailer before parting with your hard earned cash. |
|
| BARRYED |
Rating:      |
2008-12-30 | |
| Excellent radio for the price |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| This is an excellent radio for its price. The reception outpeforms my Sony sw-77 and unlike my Sony the Grundig has no audio muting during tuning, making it much easier to find distant dx stations. All modes(am, fm, sw and sideband) work very well. The display is very easy to read due to is large size and the sound is excellent due to its large speaker and seperate bass and treble controls. The sync selectable sideband works wonders for weak reception and the large analog signal strength meter is a nice feature. I have had my 800 for about four years now and I have not had any problems with it. |
|
| IGOR |
Rating:    |
2008-08-02 | |
| Problem with tuning knob |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I bought this unit new at Radio Shack about 4 years ago. I paid somewhere between $400-500 US, if memory serves right.
PROS:
* Good sound. Very clean and neutral, and the tone knobs work well. Easily enough volume to fill a room, and the sound quality is as good if not better than the average boombox or mini stereo system.
* Good construction quality. Pots are smooth, everything feels solid. (See, however, my gripes about the tuning knob and silkscreening).
* Easy to use.
* Everything is BIG; no dinky knobs, buttons, or switches, no tiny text or display that you have to squint at to read.
* Tuning knob capable of fine steps.
* Lots of options for using external antennas (though I haven't, unfortunately, had the opportunity to try any).
* The AM Sync mode works well at isolating a signal from adjacent channel interference without degrading its clarity. It does this much better than the sync on the Sony 7600GR. Engaging this mode can also slightly improve clarity on some weaker signals.
* The narrow filters are useful for digging out weak signals that would otherwise be drowned out by noise or adjacent-channel interference.
* FM reception exceptionally good. It gets stations in clearly that come in poorly or not at all on other radios.
* Came with free headphones. Though they're cheap (the plastic outer layer of the earpads has started to wear off), they're perfectly usable and work well with the radio.
* Looks cool (appears to be modelled after the Grundig Satellit 650, which was produced in the mid-80's and has become a coveted collector's item).
CONS:
* Some weirdness with the tuning knob; sometimes the frequency goes in the *opposite* direction from the one you are turning in, and refuses to go in the direction you want it to.
* Local AM stations sometimes break through in the lower shortwave frequencies.
* The AGC could be more transparent; I sometimes hear a "pumping" effect when listening to programs on the shortwave bands.
* No auto scan feature. (Don't be fooled by the presence of a SCAN button; this only scans through the frequencies stored in memory.)
* Clock gets reset during power outages, which seems all the more silly since the frequencies in memory don't.
* Silkscreened lettering on the top of the unit has started to slightly wear off. I kept a CD player on top of the radio, cushioned by the radio's thick user manual, for a couple of years, and this is what must have rubbed some of the lettering off; still, I was surprised to discover this and would've expected the paint job to be more durable.
FEATURES I WISH IT HAD:
* A remote control. With everything except the volume and tone knobs (and maybe the light button) under microprocessor control, and with a huge display that can easily be read from across the room, this radio was begging to be remote controlled.
* A mid-range tone control would've been great for bringing out signals that are hard to make out.
CONCLUSIONS:
Though I love this radio for its sound, ergonomics, feature set, and the relatively low price it sold for, I am only giving it a 3 out of 5 due to the tuning knob problem, which is a major annoyance. At first I thought that maybe I had gotten a defective unit, but after asking around on the net, it appears that this problem is quite common (I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it in these reviews until now). I'm not sure if on my unit the problem only developed recently, or if it's been there all along but escaped my notice. If it's been there all along, I could kick myself for not noticing sooner, since I could've returned the radio or at least have gotten it examined under warranty.
It's been suggested to me that this is a problem with the radio's mechanical encoder (apparently, optical encoders are inherently more reliable than mechanical ones). This explanation seems reasonable, and I'll be sending the radio in to Drake to have it looked at and hopefully repaired. However, if the encoder has indeed gone bad, I'm not impressed, as the tuning knob has seen little use in the four years I've owned this radio.
Were it not for that, I would have given this radio a perfect score. |
|
| KB1ONC |
Rating:      |
2008-07-26 | |
| Old Faithful |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my bedside radio. With the whip I can sometimes pull in WGBH from my home in Maine; 75+ miles away. But propagation has to be just right. I've also spent many happy hours cruising around the SWL, ute and ham bands with the whip. I really appreciate the ability to tune by direct entry or by using the dial, something neither my Degen 1102 or DX 302 could do. I've always used the wall wart without any problems. Absolutely not a "portable" receiver, but my Satellite 800 will always be a treasured rig.
Pete W1SLP
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|
| K9VC |
Rating:      |
2007-04-02 | |
| Excellent for what it is! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
When you consider this is a consumer SW RX, and not some professional radio, it is very good. Now admittedly, they did have quality problems with the first batch, (so CAUTION: if you buy a used one!). It is much simpler to use than my ICOM R-75, (and the Grundig's SYNC detector does WORK!) The audio is very nice, and the display is LARGE and easy to read! Hears the aircraft band as well. This is a very nice radio to have around, to listen to! I've had mine since 2001.
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|
| W6UXB |
Rating:      |
2007-03-02 | |
| It's a classic |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Well first of all I can't believe I have not left a review of this radio before, and second I was at qualms about leaving a 4 or 5 rating, decided on the latter, because you have to accept what this radio was intended for. we all know the build quality was dodgy at best they all required going back to Drake for an overhaul, I bought mine on eBay as excellent (yes right!) FM didn't work right , volume control dodgy, etc, etc But when I received it back from Drake it was another machine, the FM performance is not short of brilliant and the sync detector on AM SW is nearly as good as my Lowe HF-150. There is quite a bit of interference from the display electronics when you use the whip, I have been using a Palstar AA-30 preselector with the lowe HF-150 whip antenna plugged in the back and moved it away from the radio that solved that problem. I have put this radio away many times and then think I will sell it pull it out fire it up and can't make myself put it up for auction it is a big old lovely beast, pretty much like my '75 Cadillac Coupe Deville I used to own (had to sell that puppy). Anyway a great classic radio you either love or hate |
|
| KE5BGE |
Rating:      |
2007-01-27 | |
| Great Bang for the Buck |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased this Grundig 800 brand new from Universal back in December 2004 and it really opened up the shortwave freqencies for me and brought in a new world. I am very satisfied with the audio speaker and am kind of surprised by it's "big sound". In fact it's much better then the Sounds Sweet speaker I have attached to my Yaesu 920. The 800 has ease of operation with simplistic ergonomics. Nice big digital numbers on the display and a faily good analog S meter. I really like the many antenna connections in the back of the unit which gives you all the options that you would need for any kind of antenna you may wish to use. I have mine attached to a 140 foot longwire which gives exceptional worldwide coverage.
I'm just like the previous reviewer; I enjoy sitting out on the patio with this big receiver in the late afternoons and tuning in to the world while enjoying a few drinks and grilling some meat and watching the mockingbirds play in the backyard. It will definitely eat batteries like candies. So, I bought some 11500 Accupower NiMH rechargable batteries from Thompson which last 5 times longer then regular batteries. That cured the problem. I plan to enjoy this receiver for many years to come. Knowing that Universal Radio backs it gives me some piece of mind if anything were to break down. Its a great receiver in that price range and with it's receiving capabilities and portability it really is is a good deal for any SWL hobbiest. |
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