| WA7JFO |
Rating:  |
2021-06-01 | |
| Use what you’ve got |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| Sometimes something is better than nothing. Well that’s only the case for the S350 if you want very limited capabilities. This was my first receiver. I just wanted some thing I could take a long in the car, and listen casually to a few conversations in the amateur radio bands and maybe some tunes. This did allow me to do that, so if that’s your only goals, then it works ‘ok’. The speaker is subpar, so using a small pair of headphones was needed. With the headphones, no problem! I would carry a long piece of wire to clip onto the antenna. It made a pretty big difference. Especially when I would clip it onto some large metal. |
|
| N4AEQ |
Rating: |
2019-03-05 | |
| Where's the bfo |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| Ok for a cheap am/fm/sw radio, but over priced for a radio dosen't have bfo. My Kato 1103 runs circles around this one, so it has become my loner radio. |
|
| KC8LBF |
Rating: |
2017-02-14 | |
| A few good points but mostly junk |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I don't think this radio deserves to wear the Grundig name. Compared to the quality of German manufactured Grundigs, this falls way below. The sound quality is quite good but the large tuning knob wobbles like a dollar store product. Also when you try to set the frequency you want, it drifts and you must retune. The dial light is ok but constantly turns off. There should be an option to keep it on. There are much better radios available. I would not recommend this imitation Grundig. |
|
| K7DXT |
Rating: |
2015-10-02 | |
| Unusable: Display Failure |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
My father bought this radio new more than 10 years ago and the display has completely failed. The radio would work fine otherwise, but you have to guess where you're tuned.
The faceplate around the display has fallen off as well.
Otherwise...hey, a decent radio. Meanwhile, my old Sangean keeps humming along. I'm not impressed with what I've seen from Grundig. |
|
| WA7SGS |
Rating: |
2015-10-02 | |
| Dual battery setup perfect for emergency prep! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a review for the Eton-badged 350DL but it is the same thing as the Grundig.
When I went to put in the batteries I got a real pleasant surprise. You can install 4 D-cells and 4 AA's, with a switch to pick between the two sets. How's that for battery backup in a battery powered radio? I have never seen such a deal before. That will pay dividends for a radio I intend to set aside with my emergency supplies.
People have commented on the sound. Yes, it really is that good! You have bass and treble knobs to work with as well.
Living on the south coast of Oregon means it takes some wing-stretching to pick up the fringe area signals. Compared to the many radios I have, this one is as good as any of them at AM and FM reception when trying to pick up weak signals.
You can set the clock for 12 or 24 hour display. Since there is shortwave capability in this radio you just need to tune to WWV on whatever frequency is coming in and voila, you'll be ticking along.
The carrying handle is thick and well put together. No problem area here!
Downsides: As amateur radio operators we are used to dealing with quality tuning mechanisms. This is not a high point of the 350DL. There is no BFO for SSB/CW. Frequency coverage ends at 28Mhz so no 10M band.
Kinda-sorta: With the case being plastic and not as sturdy as the big portable multiband radios of the Sixties and Seventies, it does not strike me as a rugged unit. On the other hand it is much lighter than those were even with 8 total batteries installed.
If you need a radio for your emergency collection, this is one of the best I have seen and especially so given the price of them on the used market. A better one would cost much more (Think Sony ICF-2010) and not offer enough to make it worthwhile if you are just looking for an emergency radio. |
|
| K4AXF |
Rating: |
2014-12-11 | |
| Good Listening Receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
i've had my G350DLX for a couple of years and just used it as an alarm clock/radio at my bedside. It recently became my only general coverage receiver and I've been using it a lot.
I like to tune in music programs on shortwave, R. Habana, V. of Greece, R. Romania, VOA, etc. For hours of listening at a time, this receiver has very pleasing sound quality. Ditto on FM and AM bands.
The sensitivity is good enough with the onboard whip antenna.
It will not handle an external antenna (50' of wire outdoors). Strong signals elsewhere in the spectrum seriously overload the receiver's front end, making the radio unusable. However, if I hook up only the grounded shield of the external antenna's coax cable, the overloading is gone, and I get some extra (induced) signal into the radio.
Being a single conversion receiver, the thing is plagued with images - signals appearing 900 KHz below their actual frequency as well as on their operating frequency. That's so 1950s! You just have to ignore the fact that shortwave broadcast stations can be heard in portions of the spectrum where they shouldn't be.
The VFO tuning is sloppy - no other word for it. There is mechanical backlash and overshoot in connection between the knob and the tuning capacitor, making tuning a station in more of a chore than should be. I disassembled the tuning knob and find that it's planetary drive works very well, so the issue is behind the front panel. However, with practice, I've gotten the hang of tuning and can live with it.
In spite of its shortcomings, properly used, the G350DLX is really a very nice shortwave set. It sounds great, picks up lots of stuff, and is pretty good looking.
----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by K4AXF on 2011-02-05
I bought my Grundig S350DL used, but like-new condition, from Universal Radio for $60. I was bummed at first by the tuning knob which had a lot of wobble and backlash (like the old dial cord days). After playing with it a while I realized that the "backlash" was mainly in the outer, coarse tuning ring on the concentric knob. By using the coarse tuning just to get to the frequency range I wanted then switching to the fine tuning (inner knob) to tune within the chosen band, things went a lot better. If the tuning knob slop were fixed I would give this radio a 5.0.
Currently I also own a Drake SW-8 and a Statellit 800. Also a couple of HF transceivers with general coverage that I also use for SWL. I have never had a pocket AM-FM-SW portable that I liked well enough to keep. For me the S350DL nicely fills in the portable radio niche.
The big speaker gives the nicest sound this side of a Satellit 800. Once a station is tuned in it doesn't drift off (the earlier, plain S350 evidently had a bad drifting problem - which seems to be fixed in the -DL version).
It works well as an alarm clock if you use FM. But not on SW; it will not come up frequency for the shortwave station to which you tuned the night before.
The frequency display is sometimes a couple of kHz off.
The narrow-wide bandpass switch actually works better than any other portable I've used.
I haven't figured out what the LP (low pass?) filter is supposed to do.
Shortwave sensitivity and selectivity are good.
AM reception is good.
FM reception is very good.
It feels good and solid.
My wife thinks it looks great.
It's a fun radio to tune around on, stopping to listen a while when the program is interesting.
So at $100 I think it's a really good radio. Even better at $60! |
|
| KD5SPJ |
Rating: |
2013-05-30 | |
| Overall a great radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I got mine yesterday. I spent last night listening round the bands and found hundreds of stations. Conditions were not the best, but workable. Mine doesn't drift at all. It is the 450DL model, brand new from RS got it for 10% off and another 10$ off so scouped it up at 74 dollars new! Mine also does NOT have the loose feel to the tuning knob, in fact it is nicely snug and provides a very tactile good drag.
Love the radios looks and sound is excellent for a single speaker middle of that raod sized SW radio. I am going to pick up a Grundig AN200 for it for grins but am using the antenna I made (50ft wire) swapping it between the 450 and my old SX-62A for listening. Works well. I will say the internal antenna isn't BAD.
----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by KD5SPJ on 2013-05-29
I would have givin this radio a 5 if it did the two things I feel are missing at this price point. SSB and AIR band! Why oh WHY can they put all the features of this radio and those two features on their less expensive G3 (which I also have) and NOT on this way nicer bigger radio?
I had read all the reviews and though since I could get this on sale at Radio Shack for a pittance ($74.95) after a 10% discount and 10.00 off, I thought why not try it? I am glad I did. I have only had it for 10 hours, but it is NOT the flimsey feeling radio some have said it is. It has a NICE tactile feel to it, and the tuning knob is very much tight and NICE. All the knobs are except the band width knob which feels SLIGHTLY looser than the rest and is a notch off.
Receiver is sensitive so far for the SW bands I have listened to and I will update my review as I scan more bands and see what goes. I have it hooked up to a 50ft copper 14ga wire antenna so I will play with antennas as well over the next weeks. |
|
| K7RTA |
Rating: |
2012-03-08 | |
| very nice radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| i really enjoy this radio. the audio delivery is crisp and clear, the controls are easy to use and i have had no problems with drifting. i am very pleased with this purchase. |
|
| KB2NZO |
Rating:  |
2011-09-11 | |
| crap |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
GOT MY S350DL NEW,AND PAID $87 NOT HAPPY. IT DRIFTS
DISPLAY JUMPS IN KCS JUST CRAP. |
|
| ZOTZPLC |
Rating: |
2011-07-21 | |
| Very nice SWL radio |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I bought one of the older model S350 (not DL) radios from a local thrift store for $5. It was not terribly pretty, but it worked when I got it home. Had to go buy a power supply for it too (went back to the same thrift store and found one that worked for $2). So for $7 total I am sitting here with an older Grundig S350. Not bad!
I had my doubts when I saw it because of some of the things that others had said here at eHam about this radio. Is mine drifty like so many others have claimed? Yes indeed! But it seems to me every analog SW radio I've ever owned and loved -- including an almighty Panasonic RF-2200, I might say -- was drifty to some greater or lesser extent. My S350 is certainly no worse than average. I think some of the complaints about the S350's drifting may have to do with the fact that it actually has a digital readout, which, perhaps *not* to the radio's advantage, shows exactly how many kHz you've drifted off from your target frequency. I wonder if many old-school analog radios with standard dials and needles drifted just as much, but it was harder to tell with that big wide needle and those little bitty numbers behind it. Just a thought...
Well anyway, sound-wise the S350 is very good, and my dials, though plastic (so were the RF-2200's), all work a-OK. None of my pots were noisy and the RF gain actually works great. It is VERY sensitive too, with just the whip antenna: I found the best way to use it on SW is to set the RF gain to about 3-4 and then search the bands. Setting the gain any higher just brings up all sorts of noise everywhere. FM sensitivity is incredible also. I actually had to put the whip all the way down to keep the local NPR affiliate from being buried by bleed-over from the local FM pop station.
My only complaint is, gee whiz, I wish it had a BFO...but whaddaya want for $7? In summary, I am quite pleased, and I think I would be even if I'd paid $70 for it instead (though for that sort of scratch, I'd expect to get a wall wart too). Guess I musta got a good one, huh? |
|
