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Reviews For: Grundig/Eton Mini 300PE

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Grundig/Eton Mini 300PE
Reviews: 34MSRP: 39.99
Description:
Handheld AM/FM/7 Band SW Radio with digital display.
Same size as Grundig Mini 100PE Radio.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.etoncorp.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00344.2
VE5NAT Rating: 2005-02-22
:D Time Owned: more than 12 months.
no problems yet. I like the longwire and adapter included with it. I have picke dup broadcasts that i have not recieved with a couple other recievers I own.
KB0XR Rating: 2004-12-30
A Lot of Radio for $40 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just can't stop buying sw radios. I watched as this little jewel started being sold. I got mine online from Amazon for $39.95 with "free shipping". I find that it is quite a bit or radio for the price of dinner for 2. The tuning is a little fast but it seems to be very sensitive and fairly selective. The bandswitch is a little flimsy as well as the case itself.

But, It plays well. I experimented finding stations with my R 75 and then trying to tune them with the 300pe. Most were audible on the 300 and some were better than the R 75 with long wire.

I'll be taking this with me on trips. Packs right away in a corner of the carry on. No power switch lock so just turn one of the batteries around so it won't come on by itself.
K9XK Rating: 2004-12-28
An improved "100" Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The summary says it all. Anyone familiar with the 100 understands how impressive it is for such a small amount of money. The 300 addresses some concerns that 100 users have, namely, a lack of tuning guidance using the 100's quick tuning and "nebulous" scale.

The 300 has the same quick tuning, which is a minor shortcoming, but with a digital readout so that as long as you don't have ultra-jittery hands, you can tune to a specific frequency and camp out until the broadcast of interest comes on.

It also has some features desirable for travel, which I would guess is the application most commonly seen by this radio. It has not only a clock, but a sleep timer and an alarm. If you stay up too late at the Fairfield Inn Cleveland Airport North drinking cognac and listening to the BBC lamenting the woes of the British working class, you'll still be awakened at 6:30 am by the same radio in time to make the sales call up in Elyria.

The unit is still surprisingly inexpensive and remains one of the great bargains.
LRDHEAT Rating: 2004-12-11
Fun! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio is shirt pocket sized. It is very similar to the Grundig Mini 100PE. The Mini 300PE has a digital display, but retains the analog tuning system of the Mini 100PE. The analog tuning is a plus for a set this small...it tunes with the ease of a 1960's 6 transister radio. There are no tiny buttons to mess with, and the analog tuning means no muting between frequencies, no exhaustive 5 khz press by press searches for an active frequency on one of the 7 SW bands. The Mini 300PE has the 16,19,25,31,41, and 49 meter bands of the Mini 100PE, and, in addition, has the 22 meter band. The 31 and 19 meter bands cover enough frequency range to allow for reception of WWV Time signals.

Reception is (amazingly) as sensitive, perhaps slightly more sensitive on all of the SW bands as my Realistic DX 398/Sangean ATS 909, and although not as selective as the ATS 909, it is not far behind.

The digital frequency display reads to the nearest 5 khz on the SW bands, and I find that my particular unit is usually reading 5khz high across all of the bands. (Again, this is not a PLL tuning system, but is MUCH better than the sliderule analog display of the Mini 100PE...I can deal with being on or subtracting 5khz from what I see on my display). Since this is not PLL tuning, some drift occurs, and requires slight retuning as time passes.

The mediumwave broadcast band sensitivity is no where close to the Sangean ATS 909 due to the much smaller internal loop, but is still worthwhile due to good selectivity on this band. Strong local stations do not cover up the adjacent frequencies...it is possible to tune in stations 10 khz away from a local station, particularly at night. Due to the good selectivity, nightime mediumwave listening is surprisingly good. The mediumwave digital display is right on, and displays to the nearest .5khz.

The FM band does seem not overload as readily as on the Mini 100PE.

Battery drain is quite reasonable. The set requires 2AA batteries.

This is the most fun that I have had with a shortwave set in years!