| LRDHEAT |
Rating:     |
2006-11-06 | |
| decent |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The DL (Deluxe) version is a better set than the 350 regular. Images rejection is still nonexistent, and dynamic range is not sufficient to elliminate overloading...my sample seems a bit better in this regard although I experienced some overloading in the 15 Mhz. band late in the afternoon. So far, I've been surprised to avoid overloading in the 6,7, @ 9 Mhz bands. RF and LP filter switch can help with overloading. Sensitivity is very good; the sensitivity below 4 Mhz of Band 1, 15 Mhz and above of band 2, and especially 23Mhz and above of band 3 seem to drop off, but the noise floor seems to lower as well which compensates. The 15+ Mhz dropoff is much less noticeable than the 23+ Mhz dropoff.
What makes the radio better than the regular 350 is the frequency lock that takes hold 3 seconds after the listener has stopped tuning. I really like analog tuning as opposed to pll digital tuning for bandscanning. The frequency lock works great! The radio will stay on frequency unattended. The 350 regular would drift 2-4 KHz within the first 5 or 10 minutes of being left alone. Another nice item is the dial lights up automatically while tuning is in progress. Nice for nighttime use.
The audio through the larger speaker (than the regular 350) is nice; headphone audio is nice as well.
Filters are chosen well...narrow does not sound as muffled as many while rejecting nearby signals pretty well; wide is better only when the signal is in the clear, and not fading in and out.
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|
| CRAIGRADIO |
Rating:      |
2006-10-12 | |
| My friend |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned the S350 for 2.5 years, and it has been tried and true and used practically every day. It's biggest strengths are a large sound, a easy to use alarm function (it has become my permament portable alarm clock)a strong sensitivity to local stations, a nice backlight, a cool look, SW capabilities (though I have rarely used them), and an incredibly small drain on the 4 d batteries (they will last 1-2 months with daily sporadic use) Its carrying strap is also quite handy.
I recently purchased a grundig ovation system, and you can tell the difference between the solid "german" grundig models, and the Asian manufactured items, but the S350 is still an excellent radio, great sound, great functionality, and a downright lovable personality. |
|
| AB7JK |
Rating:   |
2006-09-27 | |
| Cheap Grundig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I've owned this radio over a year and have discovered a few new things about it besides the awful drift reported on earlier.
When I tried to use it with batteries it was DOA. Test yours to see if it's battery capable. Probably a bad solder joint in the radio.
The audio is not good - it lacks a crispness even with the bass turned down and the treble turned up. When you tune slightly off frequency to get crispier audio you get heterodyne squeals.
Lacks sensitivity - much fewer weak signals are heard than even cheaper shortwave radios such as the Kaito and Tecsun models.
Right now I only use this radio on AM and on shortwave stations below about 10 mhz. When I get sick of the audio I change to another radio.
----------------------
Earlier 3-star review posted by AB7JK on 2003-10-08
During the 1950's and 1960' cheap poor quality SW sets were produced which drove thousands
of people away from SW listening - a fine pastime given the right equipment. During the 1980's
people slowly came back to the hobby with the advent of stable tuned, double conversion sets.
This radio appears to be a homage to those hateable old sets- trouble is it's performance is just
as bad if not worse. This is quite possible the worse SW BC set I've ever listened to.
This set is very sensitive and picks up thousands of signals. Some signals like those portrayed
in the movie "Contact" sound like the are coming back to earth from deep in space many light
years later - just ghosts of the original signals - if there are any extraterrestrials out there you
will hear them with this set. Trouble is all those signals are on the same frequency. Even Radio
Netherlands on 21590 has radioteletype signals going off in the background. If I had the right
equipment I could copy important message from somewhere while listening to RN!
Seriously, this set could drive SW listening back to the stone age. I give it three stars for
AM/FM performance only. I'll probably just cut the wires going to the SW section and
pretend I'm using a $100 Superradio with digital readout. |
|
| KC8TBY |
Rating:   |
2006-05-28 | |
| Fades in quality over time... |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have owned the Grundig S350 for a(about) two years.
First the good news:
1. Looks Great!
2. Best sounding portable receiver I have ever heard!
3. Great sensitivity on MW and shortwave bands.
Now the bad news:
1. Frequencies VERY unstable. Drift..Drift...Drift!
2. After about two years of owning this radio I started experiencing sudden power problems. The unit's LCD flickers and begins fading. The unit suddenly shuts down...etc.
I have tried "resetting" the unit per the tiny reset button, but to no avail.
The unit seems to be built for somewhat reliable performance for a few years at best.
OK...that's one man's opinion BUT beware of this potential quality problem if you are in the market for a portable reciever that you hope to use and to last for more than a few years time!
----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KC8TBY on 2003-12-31
OK...I want to weigh in with my opinion of the newest Grundig receiver, the S350 "Field Radio".
I have owned quite a few general coverage receivers down through the years...everything from the smallest portables up to and including the heaviest of "boat anchors", and just about everything in between!
The Grundig S350 is, by far, one of the BEST receivers I have ever owned, bar none!
First off, it is a very nicely designed radio. It is lightweight AND it seems durable as well. The knobs and buttons do feel a bit "light to the touch" but, given the price Grundig is asking for this radio, one cannot expect the same level of craftmanship as one would find on a more pricey model such as their "Millenium 800" model.
Secondly, it seems to be a VERY SENSITIVE receiver. I have listened to a least three Spanish language broadcasts on the tropical bands using only the supplied whip antenna. (I live in the mid-west where reception of any tropical DX with a small portable receiver without the use of any outdoor antenna is difficult at best!
On the MW band this receiver really performs! Unlike my Sangean 818 or my Super Radio III I can listen to WOR radio, the 50,000 watt powerhouse from New York City, on any given night! (Being a transplanted New Yorker I can only say...I like it, I like it!).
Lastly...it is NOT AS DIFFICULT TO TUNE as some other people seem to think!
So it is an analog receiver...so it drifts a little...so what? It is a $99.00 receiver folks!
All to often I think we are too spoiled by all of our high tech digital toys. Once in a while it is fun to tinker with an analog rig like the Grundig S359! Hey...memories, memories, like the singer said! :)
OK...I'm not a real "technical guy" but I do know a fun little radio when I see one AND listen to one.
I like it...my kids like it...and, to be honest...its the type of radio that brings back all of the fun and excitement that many of us remember when we think back to our very first rig.
By the way, did I mention...I LIKE this rig!!
:) |
|
| KC2ANE |
Rating:     |
2006-01-23 | |
| Good buy |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I like to play on the SW bands with x-tal-
homebrew recievers and wanted a "BAROMETER"
to compare with. The S350 fit the bill and
then some.Granted it's not the best on SW but it's
darn good and easier to use than my MONARCH HAM-1
boat anchor. On AM it is amazing ,pulling in
stations nation-wide with no external antenna
or ground.
On FM it can pick out stations 1 KHZ apart.
I like the analog tuning and the drift is just
good practice for ham applications.
Overall, A great buy for $100. |
|
| KN4LF |
Rating:     |
2005-08-19 | |
| Good on AM and FM, bad on SW |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The Grundig S350 reminds me allot of the old Sony ICF-6500W, an analog portable radio with digital readout from the early 1980's and my first receiver with a digital readout! My memory may be failing me but I'm pretty sure that the ICF-6500W was a single conversion IF receiver too.
Good Features-
1.) No VCO phase noise as it's an analog receiver.
2.) No discernable noise from digital readout circuitry.
3.) No hash noise from included outboard switching power supply wall wart.
4.) Excellent audio.
5.) Has FM AGC off position.
6.) Very Sensitive.
7.) Dual bandwidth feature, though only moderately effective.
8.) Large internal loopstick antenna with sharp null on AM.
9.) RF gain control.
10.) Accurate clock.
11.) Dial light that will stay on indefinitely.
Bad Features-
1.) Made In China at near slave wages. (personal opinion)
2.) Lousy carrying handle. (personal opinion)
3.) Tuning knob backlash.
4.) Poor dynamic range allows for intermodulation on AM and SW, even with built in antennas but remedial with RF gain control.
5.) Unstable but it is an analog receiver and stabilizes pretty good on AM after a one hour warm up.
6.) Poor image rejection on AM and SW due to single IF frequency. (455 kc)
7.) Whip antenna doesn't lock in place when retracted and placed horizontal.
8.) Shafts on potentiometers are flimsy and will probably break easily with rough handling.
9.) RF gain control potentiometer is not linear.
Observation/Comments-
Using the whip antenna on SW the radio is terrible. It is very unstable and much more so than on FM and AM. It is full of images and suffers from front end overload. Geez I even had signal overload on 31 meters at day time! As we used to say in the 1970's and 1980's a real howling dog.
Using the whip antenna on FM the radio is good. Mind you I haven't DXed the FM band since the 1970's (that's going to change soon though) and I can only compare it to my only other FM radio, an old Panasonic solid state analog from the 1970's. Sensitivity is very good and the AGC off position allows for copy of weak adjacent signals. I was able to copy many stations further then 75 miles from their transmitter site, many past the fringe reception area.
Examples:
92.1 mc WFNK Perry, FL, 166 mi. 6 kw, HAAT 328 ft. Had to be intermittent tropo. and meteor/lightning ionization trail propagation.
96.1 mc WTMP Dade City, FL, 33 mi., 2.8 kw, HAAT 483 ft. Full quieting stereo reception.
99.9 mc WGNE Palatka, FL, 115 mi., 100 kw, HAAT 1202 ft. Stereo reception!
101.1 mc WJRR Cocoa Beach, FL, 75 mi., 95 kw, HAAT 1599 ft. Stereo reception!
Using the internal loopstick antenna on AM the radio is darned good but I did hear a few weak images at daytime. I also had a little intermodulation from nearby stations but the RF gain control took care of it. The nearby flame throwers are 910 kc, 5 kw, 4 miles and 1010 kc, 50 kw, 6 miles.
Today I copied:
WWL 870 kc 50 kw New Orleans, LA
WQAM 560 kc 5 kw Miami, FL
WJCC 1700 kc 10 kw Miami Springs, FL
WKII 1070 kc 3.1 kw (Solano) Port Charlotte, FL
WOKV 690 kc 50 kw Jacksonville, FL
WCNZ 1660 kc 10 kw Marco Island, FL
All stations were at least 100 miles away and good copy through lightning QRN.
Last night:
Some recoverable audio from Saudi Arabia on 1521 kc but actually had to use the narrower bandwidth filter and tune up to 1523 kc.
KOA 850 kc Denver, CO was strong like a single hop station
KTNN 660 kc Window Rock, AZ with deep QSB.
KSL 1160 kc, SLC, UT with deep QSB.
These day and night time catches are comparable to my Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark V Field transceiver using my inside two foot box loop. Note though, propagation last night was unusually good!
BTW reception did not improve using my two foot box loop, as far as signal strength and nulling capability. But the high Q LC circuit that makes up the loop did removed daytime intermodulation of the two above mentioned powerhouses and allowed me to run the RF gain control wide open.
In my personal opinion the radio is well worth $100 for AM and FM listening and semi serious DXing. On SW it's a dog and should be avoided for something with modern PLL circuitry and dual IF frequencies.
I hope that someone finds this review useful.
73 & GUD DX,
Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF
Plant City, FL, USA
27 58 33.676 N 82 09 51.674 W
kn4lf@arrl.net
KN4LF Amateur & SWL Radio History: http://www.kn4lf.com/index.htm
KN4LF MF Radio Propagation Theory Notes: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf8.htm
Florida Daily Weather Discussion Blog: http://www.kn4lf.com/flwx1.htm
|
|
| SHORTWAVE_RADIO_GEEK |
Rating:     |
2005-07-26 | |
| Pretty good...but short of great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I am generous in giving this a 4. It's really more of a 3.5 in my book.
First, I'll discuss the pluses. The digital numbers are very easy to read, and the backlight is also bright and well proportioned. Volume, treble, bass, and rf gain controls are solid. The sleep feature makes this receiver handy at nightime. Battery life seems to last for quite awhile. The signal strength meter really is a great feature to have too! The carrying strap makes the unit to be very portable for its size. I am not sure why this thing gets a bad rap for DX'ing. Radio China and Radio Netherlands came in clear as a bell. Middle Eastern signals can be heard in the daytime! I heard plenty of signals in the 13 mhz range which are not audible with my Sony 7600GR. The FM dx'ing is no slouch either. I live in any area only 4 miles from an FM powerhouse(104.3 in Detroit), and it does not bleed over to other frequencies like all of my other radios. I can finally hear 103.5 without being in the car! Canadian FM stations ride in nicely at night as well. Once again, the FM band on the S350 outperforms my 7600GR! The sound quality is very good when tuned properly as far as the narrow/wide features.
The negatives are few, but they are significant. Like many others, I have experienced drift pretty badly. I experience it even after the set has been on for 45 minutes. You really do have to baby the knob, and it really tests your patience. A PLL feature would improve this unit a lot. I heard that Tecsun came out with a new model(BCL 3000) to try to correct the driftproblem. It should be interesting. The band switches(am/fm/sw) and the narrow and wide ones are pretty flimsy. The AM reception is decent but not outstanding in regards to dx'ing.
This is still a good value for $70. |
|
| DJSTONE |
Rating:     |
2005-07-05 | |
| Simple. Fun. Sounds Good. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I'm not a ham operator or electronics geek -- just a guy who's latest obsession is collecting radios. I bought the Grundig S350 because I had read many (mostly) favorable reviews from others, so I gave it a shot. At 100 bucks total, I'm very pleased with this purchase.
Strong points:
1. Very good sound -- as good or better than I've heard in any world band radio in it's class.
2. 2-speed analog tuning knob is fun to operate.
3. Reception on all bands is very good.
4. Easy and intuitive to operate.
5. Exceptional battery life.
6. Convenient external antenna connections.
Not-so-strong points:
1. No presets.
2. No direct frequency entry
3. Tends to drift at times, but usually when first starting up.
4. It's too big to stick in your pocket.
This radio is one that I tend to keep coming back to when I just feel like cruising the bands and seeing what I can find. I own about 10 other world band radios, so that says something.
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|
| ROTTENANIMAL |
Rating:      |
2005-05-31 | |
| This radio goes everywere with me. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
S350 review
I currently have about over a dozen shortwave radios.
3 large floor models from the thirties. 2 Deforest-Crosley’s and a Westing House. Plus 12 or 15 other smaller tube radios.(30’s & 40’s)
Most of the radios are have tubes and receive shortwave.
I have 2 large table top German radios from the fifties. a Grundig and Saba .Both are perfect.
I've been a telecomunications technician for 20 year but my hobby is to rebuild and recondition old radios and most of mine work good and they are they are in excellent condition as well.
The newer shortwave radios I have are Grundig Satalite 700 (mint condition), a FR200 , a Sony ICF-SW7600G and a S350.
I liked the S350 from the start.It plays music as good as a boom box.
I’ve used it for my shortwave Listening for the past few weeks and I like it more and more every day.
I love my Satellite 700, but I enjoy the S350 more because of the analog tuning.
I’ve used both the Sat700 and the S350 side by side for comparison and the 350 is not equal to the Sat 700, but it's not that far behind.
The problem I find it has drift that becomes irritating, but I use a large outside antenna and it seems to help.
The S350 is not in the same class as the Sat700, but it’s a great portable radio to lug around every day and I’m not afraid of losing or damaging it. I’ll buy another one. I cannot get another Sat700 the next day for $100.
My Sat700 stays at home on my night table, so it won’t fall or get banged up or be lost.
I take the S350 with me to work, to the park, the back yard, Every were I go. I also carry a portable shortwave antenna I made out of wire and a fly fishing reel. The wire winds up into the fishing reel. At the end is an alligator clip, which connects to the s350 antenna.
It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that the Sat700 has, but I love this radio and I take it everywhere.
It also sounds great as well.
What more can you ask for in a radio.
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|
| N3WFY |
Rating:      |
2005-05-28 | |
| A good radio ! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have been listening to shortwave for about 40 years and was surprised by the results of this at Radio Shack for a $99.00 bargain. I have had Yaesu 8800 and FRG 100b along with Drake R8 and some old Hallicrafters including the SX100 and quite a few portables, synthesized and analog. For the money this radio holds it's own very well. I do not have any problems with images ect as mentioned in the previous review. I bought this for my son on his 12th birthday and he loves it. All I can say is we are very pleased. There could be some bells and whistles added but it would cost more. All in all good value and a good performer! |
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