| KB3GGC |
Rating:      |
2006-09-12 | |
| FANTASTIC RADIO....EXCEPT |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
I have read several reviews of this radio...on Amazon...on eHam.net...on Yahoo user webs and in Passport To World Radio, etc. In reading the reviews, it is unlikely that I can offer much more of a technical overview than what has already been offered. However, as an avid user, I hope to offer a perspective that may not have been fully satisfied. I am a regular short wave listener and ham radio operator, having purchased my first short wave radio at the age of 14 and have now been listening regularly over 34 years. During that time, I have had the priviledge of using everything from my original DX-160 to the use of my Drake SPR-4 which I then sold to purchase a Sony ICF-2001 when I attended college. Since that time, I have used scads of Grundig, Sony, Radio Shack, Icom, Kenwood, AOR, Lowe, and Sangean radio receivers. My wife and I literally have at least one shortwave radio in every room of our home and they are operating continually throughout the day to receive alternative and international programming. Yes, I am aware of selectivity, sensitivity, and the myriad of features that have been incorporated in radios over the years. I mention all that to demonstrate and list my familiarity with world band radios and with my ability to offer a review that is not merely based on bench results, but squarely on listening results.
Here are some observations:
1. This is absolutely one of the best short wave receivers I have ever used. It has wonderful ergonomics and offers many user friendly features. I used to rely on my Sony 2010 as my main travel radio, but now use this Eton instead. The radio goes from my home, to my car, to my office, then back to my car and then back to my home each day. At home, I use a 75' inverted L antenna. In my car, I use a magnetic roof mount antenna that connects to the Eton using a PL-259 connector converting to a European connector that the Eton requires. This is a nuisance, but is better than the miniature plug that the 2010 uses as it is more sturdy. The adaptor plug for the antenna was purchased from Universal Radio and I use both one at home and one in my car. In the office, I use the on board telescoping antenna or Sony AN-LP1 Loop antenna on tough reception days.
2. As mentioned in previous reviews, the absence of a travel handle is a serious oversight. Apparently Eton wanted to project an upscale instrument like a laptop computer that was not needing such a handle...what a mistake. This radio needs a handle badly. It is medium sized and cannot be palmed so the user is relegated to grabbing the radio by the scruff of the neck to transport it. I recommend further that Eton design a proper size carry case as an option for the buyer to store and to transport.
3. The rubberized coating on the radio is nice for gripping and for protecting the radio from minor bumps, but don't expect it to do much beyond that. It is merely a coating and I have already seen two places on my unit that the coating is wearing off. Expect this problem to progress on the E1 as time goes on and the radio receives regular use. I recall the bubbling on the aluminum of my old Zenith Trans-Oceanics and know that the problem did not really appear for a few years. No one has mentioned this pitfall in design and expect much to be written about it in ensuing years as the radio receives regular and hard use.
4. The large screen is just wonderful to use while in motion in my car. Additionally, the buttons are ergonomically varied enough in position that between the glances at the large screen and the feel of the controls while my eyes are on the highway, I have been able to scan and tune the receiver safely. At night, the display lights up brightly to allow me to see what frequency I am tuned in to...quite a change from the Sony 2010 that had me guessing much of the time.
5. The scan feature in this radio is very handy. In other short wave radios I've used with such a feature, the scan would halt on practically any signal and thus was virtually useless as a function. The Eton E1 has a squelch feature that allows the user to set a threshhold for the scan to stop. I have used some high end scanners over the years, like my AOR 3000A that have squelch. This difference with the E1 is that the threshold is VISABLE. That is you can see the signal strength compared to the squelch threshhold and set the squelch accordingly. The scan is exceedingly efficient and will cover several frequencies per second so that you will likely move past dead frequencies to hot ones in a short period of time. During travel in my car, this is a great way to tune as I have dozens of stored frequencies in memory that allow me to use the radio most of the day without needing to bandscan for an English channel. A feature that Eton should consider is offering a scan function based on time of day. I have a few duplicate frequencies stored and the morning scan on 9515 may be Canada, but evening scan on 9515 may be from China Radio in Chinese. This is frustrating. I am not an expert on how this could be done, but it seems that with all the shared frequencies, that some sort of scan based on time of day could be incorporated in the unit.
6. The sync feature on this radio is superb. At home, I also use my Icom 737, Drake SPR-4, Lowe HF-150 and Drake SW8 as my primary receivers. The SW8 and the HF-150 also use a sync. However, the lock on the Eton is dead on strong. In choosing between USB, LSB and DSB, the user is often able to eliminate a good portion of adjacent interference, manmade static, and signal hetrodynes. If the sync is not enough to rid of noise, you also have bandwidth filters and a passband filter to assist. Operating this radio is like driving an Indy racer down the track...it just leaves all other radios in the dust, especially with a long wire antenna for additional signal gain.
7. I discovered while driving in my car that the Eton radio can be my universal car radio. Yes, I have an AM / FM car unit, but by patching in the Eton through the car sound system using a tape in the cassette player, the FM on the Eton sounds significantly better than that of the on board radio. There is more bass and presence with the sound that defies description. I discovered this advantage while traveling on a business trip and doing a side by side comparision and have refused to use my car radio for any listening since. I am not sure why such a variation in the sound quality, but suspect it is due to the improved circuitry in the Eton.
8. I have seen a lot of fuss about the price tag on the radio. However, comparatively speaking the early Zenith R-1000 Trans-Oceanics sold for about $300 in the 70's and would be sold for about $1200, if they were to be purchased in today's dollars. This radio offers virtually commumications grade reception for the price of a high end portable. I often go camping several miles off of the grid up in the mountains near my home and haul a couple of receivers along. I also use my Dressler antenna and my multiband dipole that I have installed on top of that mountain. The noise floor is low and my radios really gain their ears in such an environment. The Eton is a great all in one radio that offers me fantastic dxing capabilites that I cannot easily find elsewhere. Most of my other radios either require a 12 volt power supply which I operate off of solar power or instead chew through the on board D cells. Not so with the Eton...I can operate the radio for the weekend on my 4 rechargeable metal hydride D cell batteries. While using the MFJ active antenna gain box, I feel like I am using the epitomy of high end communications grade receivers as I get even the very low powered tropical band and African stations in the early morning hours.
9. I love my Sony 2010 and have used it hard over the years. It has held up well and has only needed repair of the transistor located on the antenna jack. This is a noted weakness of the unit. The controls are as good today as when I first purchased it and all the controls are flush...including the tuning knob. The Eton, however, has knobs that stick up all over the place. This does help you "feel" the controls in the dark or when traveling down the highway, but does not give the sleek appearance of the Sony 2010. Additionally, I have had to return the Eton E1 back to Drake twice for repairs. There was no cost to me under warranty except for the shipping costs, but I am concerned about the long term viability of the unit as time progresses. The first repair was to replace the power jack which indicated a power failure when the unit was either operating off of house mains or fresh batteries. The resulting noise from the power failure alarm was driving me insane until I disarmed the alarm in the menu options. I also asked Drake to verify sensitivity of the receiver which seemed to be uneven at times. They replaced the coil on the 4-8 Mhz circuit that was defective. The second repair was to restore the scan function which ceased to work properly. Both times the repairs took about a week and the radio was returned using UPS second day air...a nice touch. Just be forewarned that this radio may show signs of fatigue much earlier than it's Grundig or Sony predecessors, if my constant use and subsequent failure rate is any indicator.
10. The DX button on the radio turns on the preamp and this measurably increases signal strength. It reminds me of the turbo I had on an old car of mine that give you the extra power when you need it. Eton notes in the user manual that it will increase the power consumption and thus reduce the battery life by a few hours, but the feature is well worth the extra consumption. On short wave and AM, you will see the signal strenth go up a few bars which can make the difference in signal intelligibility. On FM, it will bring in signals that otherwise do not show up at all. With strong FM signals, you will get a steadier signal for stereo reception, but it will also bring the band alive on otherwise dead band space...amazing.
11. A word of caution on battery storage. Due to the fact that this radio requires the user to load the batteries in the front of the unit and that the batteries are virtually invisible to the eye, you will need to be careful not to let batteries in the unit for long periods of time. Leakage is bad with any radio but will be a disaster with this one as it will require you to literally tear the radio apart to clean it up and restore the contacts. If the radio will not be in use for a few days, it is advisable to remove the batteries entirely as a precaution.
12. Eton should consider increasing the size of the tuning knob slightly and adding a finger spinner. If you set the receiver to fast tuning, you can whiz across the dial quickly. However, the spinner would give a more professional feel and even out the tuning speed while not likely adding but a penny or two to the cost of the unit.
13. The radio can sit up on it's edge, lie on it's back or canter on it's flip down rest. However, the thin plastic rest is flimsy and sometimes gives out when the radio is mobil in my car. Surely Eton can come up with a better design than this for cantering the radio while in use.
And with that, my friends, my user's review comes to an end. I thank you for staying with me and recommend that you consider adding this radio to your shack. The concerns that I have enumerated are not enough for me to give this exceptional receiver anything but a high five. Eton deserves much credit for a unit that is superior in most respects. Any questions or comments are welcome. Happy Dxing!
SWRadioman |
|
| K9HDT |
Rating:      |
2006-03-31 | |
| One of the best ever! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
Let me start by saying I have owned many portiable shortwave radio's. From the DX-440 all the way upto the Satellit 800 (including the great 700). This is simply the best portiable radio I have ever owned. It does have one majoe flaw, no carrying handle or strap. But I keep it on a well padded case when I travel with it.
It's not a NRD-535D or an R8B but its good.
The radio is right on frequency, with no drift. Zero beat on Am is perfect. My SW77 was off by a 100Hz. The sound is fantastic. As good as the 7 and 800 Grundigs. Ease of use is great. There is no learning curve on learnig how to use the radio and its memory features. The AM SYNC with double sideband is great at cutting out noise and fading. I wish it had RDS for FM, like the 700 though or the 909. Which speaking of the 909 this radio is not dead off the whip on shortwave, it comes alive with signals and with an external antenna it's even better. Its nice to have the squelch control to cut out signals or interference that hampers the good signals. Just set it and start scanning and it only stops on signals above the threshold. Trebel and Bass controls are very good as well. You can really tailor the sound to your liking.
I think where this radio stands out from other portibles is its pass band tuning. You can really cut off interference from other stations with it. I think its something that should have been put into the portibles along time ago. It really helps. Also it's nice to have a tuning knob on the front thats big, tunes easily with no chuffing. You hear everything with no breaks in coverage.
While some have complained about the display, I personally like it. I find it very easy to read. Its even better with the stand from Universal Radio. Having all that information on the disply is very useful. You don't have to guess about anything, it's all there for you to see.
I know it's not music to everyone ears but its a really great radio. Its been worth the wait. The quality of the radio speaks for itself. It's worth the 500.00 new. Hope it helps someone make a decision about buying one, I don't think you'll be disappointed in it.
A simple man's point of view.
73,
Harry
K9HDT |
|
| WDM11A |
Rating:      |
2006-01-12 | |
| Worth the wait!!! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I am a portable shortwave radio "nut". Group owner of Grundig Satellit International (Google Groups). I own (or have owned) just about every "better" portable shortwave radio made in the last 40 years. While my group is small in number, we are BIG in "expertise" (31 members over 6,500 radios). Over 1/8th MILLION emails have been sent in our Grundig Satellit group since we started in 1999. So I have also learned a lot from my fellow group members/friends. We presently have 20 E's owned by 16 different members. After 6 months of extensive usage I have to say that Eton E1 (as a SHORTWAVE RADIO) ranks up there with the very best EVER made (SW performance per dollar). Certainly "IN" the class of the Sony 2010, Grundig Satellit 700, etc. This easily could have been the Satellit 900 planned (but never produced) by Grundig in the mid 1990's (excluding XM capability). If it were, and Max Grundig was alive...he would be proud!!! Without question the BEST NEW PORTABLE SHORTWAVE RADIO SINCE THE GRUNDIG SATELLIT 700 was introduced in 1992!!! Thank you Eton Corporation (and Drake) for not giving up on this and for keeping great portable SW radio alive.....Mike P (Ballston Lake Radio Labs) |
|
| KC2OYZ |
Rating:    |
2005-12-18 | |
| Poor Quality LCD Display |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Great Radio, but I'm returning it. Why? I refuse to pay $500 for a radio that has a display that looks like an Etch-A-Sketch drawing! |
|
| KJ6MC |
Rating:     |
2005-11-26 | |
| Pleasantly surprised! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
E1 vs Sony 2010
This is a totally, non-scientific survey, and stems from more
curiousity than anything else. I wanted to see how my circa 1989 Sony
2010 would hold up compared to the 2005 vintage Eton E1.
We (the radios and I) went out to the backyard, far away from the
cheap light dimmers that the former homeowner had installed. The test
was done off of battery power, using only the supplied whip, from my
home in San Diego.
It was 7:30p local time on the west coast, and anything above 10mhz
was dead and gone, so only lower HF was tested. I didn't get into
bandwidth, passband tuning, sync or preamp settings. Here are the raw
numbers based on standard plain-jane listening:
STATION FREQUENCY SONY 2010 ETON
KFI/Los Angeles .640mhz S7 S8
KGO/San Fran .810mhz S7 S9
KNX/Los Angeles 1.070mhz S8 S9
WWV 2.500mhz S2 S3
80 Meter SSB 3.970mhz S1 --
WWV 5.000mhz S4 S4
WWV 10.000mhz S1 S2
I was pleasantly surprised that the E1, without the internal AM
antenna, was able to hold it's own, and then some, against the Sony on
MW. On SW, the E1 typically bested the Sony by about a single S-unit,
although given the lack of standardized "S" meters, this sounded (at
the time) like a toss up. The Sony, while more difficult to tune on 80
meter LSB, did a better job on picking up some of the weaker mobile
stations on a 80-meter net. My of the hams that were inaudible on the
E1, were at least marinally readable on the 2010...although this may
be due to the Sony Kiwa narrow filter mod I did about 10 years ago,
while introduces some gain, and well and tighening up the filtering on
SSB.
Highlights:
Eton E1: Solid construction. A joy to tune, a pleasure to look at.
Nice punchy audio amp and well-matched speaker.
Sony 2010: Excellent SSB reception, DX-friendly audio response, easy
to read "S" meter.
Lowlights:
Eton E1: No handle. I hate that. Seemed noisier at times than the 2010.
Sony 2010: No handle here, either. Doh! Side-to-side with the E1, the
construction seemed flimsier (this however, has never bothered me for
the last 16 years...)
Summary:
A toss up. Perhaps an edge to the E1 with passband, three filters and
XM. I still remain loyal to my 2010, and will never part with it. For
a 16-year-old radio (heck, for the brand-new radio) it does a hell of
a job. |
|
| RADIOHIGHFREQUENCY |
Rating:      |
2005-10-18 | |
| Truly a Great portable AM/FM Shortwave Radio - Par-Excellence ! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
What the Eton E1 Radio "IS" !
-=V=-
What It Is Not !
and What Not to Expect [.]
SIDE-BY-SIDE TESTING - Of the Eton E1 XM Radio
with other 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios :
ETON E1 =>
FIRST - OVERALL - If you want to know "How Good" in General
the Eton E1 Radio is; then have a Stand-a-Lone Shoot-Out
between two 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios. My pick
would be the "Legendary" Sony ICF-2010 -verses- the Eton E1
Radio for Sound Quality; Signal Handling; and Overall Utility.
- - - IMHO the Eton E1 Radio WINS! over the Sony ICF-2010
as the better Overall 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
SECOND - SIGNALS - For "How Good" the Eton E1 Radio is with
an External Shortwave Antenna try a 75 Foot Long Inverted
"L" Antenna using a Matching Transformer plus Coax Cable
Feed-in-Line and an Antenna Switch to run the two Radios
off the same Antenna and Listen to them Side-by-Side.
Now get a Sangean ATS-909 which is usually consider to be
one of the best 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios when used
with an External Shortwave Antenna; and Test it Side-by-Side
with an Eton E1 Radio.
- - - IMHO the Eton E1 Radio WINS! over the Sangean ATS-909
as the better Signal Handling 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
THIRD - SOUND - For "How Good" the Eton E1 Radio is when it
comes to Sound Quality in a 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio
listen to the Grundig Yacht Boy 400PE -verses- the Eton E1
Radio. The Grundig Yacht Boy 400PE is generally considered
to have one of the best sounding Speakers of these average
size 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios.
- - - IMHO the Eton E1 Radio TIES with the Grundig Yacht Boy
400PE as a Very Good Sounding 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
FOUR - BUILD QUALITY - For "How Good" the Eton E1 Radio is
as far as Build Quality and 'feel' of the radio; after having
done the three above tests and Handling the Four Radios.
Note - They all have Plastic Cases; Small Knobs and Buttons;
LCD Displays; Whip Antennas; and small Speakers; since after
all they are 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios.
- - - IMHO the Eton E1 Radio has ever-bit 'as good' Build
Quality as an the Sony ICF-2010, Sangean ATS-909 and the
Grundig Yacht Boy 400 PE.
THE BOTTOM LINE - Do these Side-by-Side Tests of these Four
'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radios and then Decide for Yourself.
IN SUMMARY - The Eton E1 Radio - Hey its just a 'portable'
AM/FM Shortwave Radio; and a very good one at that [.]
NUMBER RATING : I Rate the Eton E1 Radio as a "5" out of '5' ! (5/5)
ONE LINE RATING IN WORDS : Truly a Great 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio - Par-Excellence !
NOW ON TO : WHAT THE ETON E1 RECEIVER WITH XM SATELITTE RADIO IS NOT !
1. The Eton E1 Radio is NOT a Table Top General Coverage High
Frequency Receiver like the Icom IC-R75 or Kenwood R-5000.
* It is a Shortwave Listener's 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
Therefore - Expect a Lighter Plastic Case not a Heavy Metal Box.
OBWT : I Own All Three Radios.
2. The Eton E1 Radio is NOT a "Big" Table Top Shortwave
Listener's Radio like the Grundig Satellit 800 or Grundig
RTV-320U.
* It is a 'smaller' Shortwave Listener's 'portable' AM/FM
Shortwave Radio.
Therefore - Expect a 'smaller' Radio with smaller controls.
OBWT : I Own All Three Radios.
3. The Eton E1 Radio is NOT a AM/FM 'portable' Radio designed
for Big Sound Radio Program Listening like the GE Superadio I,
GE Superadio II and GE Superadio III or the GE Digital Superadio
or the GE Superadio Cassette Radio or CCRadioPlus+ with Kiwa Mods.
* It is a Shortwave Listener's 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
Therefore - Expect a 'smaller' Speaker and a little less audio
quality.
OBWT : I Own All Seven Radios.
4. The Eton E1 Radio is NOT a AM/FM "Bed Side" Radio designed
for that "Nice & Full" Sound from a Radio with an Alarm Clock
for Music Program Listening like the Cambridge Sound Works 740CD
Radio; Tivoli Model One Radio, KLH Model 100 Radio; Sangean WR1
Radio; Audiophase SkyBox XM Satellite Radio.
* The E1 is a Shortwave Listener's 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
Therefore - Expect a 'portable' Radio Sound and the "Nice & Full" Sound
of a Bed Side Radio.
OBWT : I Own All Six Radios.
FWIW - The Eton E1 radio also does not have the Great Old Sound
of the 'old' "Tube" Kitchen Radios like my : RCA Victor Filteramic
Model 3RC76; GE Musaphonic Model T265; Sonora Model RCU-208;
RCA Victor Model 9-X-571 Radio.
CONCLUSION :
The Eton E1 Radio is "IS" a 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio
designed to be a nice sounding high quality 'portable' Radio
like the Sony ICF-2010; Sangean ATS-909; Grundig Yacht Boy 400;
Sony ICF-SW7600GR; and Grundig S350.
* Now this "IS" what the Eton E1 Radio "IS" simply a Shortwave
Listener's 'portable' AM/FM Shortwave Radio.
Therefore - Expect a nice sounding high quality 'portable' AM/FM
Shortwave Radio and you will be happy with the Eton E1 Radio.
OBWT : I Own All Six Radios.
e1'ing you all ~ RHF
ETON E1 =>
. . .
.
. .
.
. . .
All are WELCOME and "Invited to Join" the
ETON 'Elite' E1 XM Radio eGroup on YAHOO !
Where the Topic is the Eton 'Elite' E1 Receiver
with XM Satellite Radio. =>
.
.
. .
|
|
| N3OJD |
Rating:      |
2005-09-12 | |
| Superb Engineering |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I've had it about 3 weeks and there has been a minor problem, but more on that later.
When first taking the radio out of the box there was about a 20 minute learning curve. That's probably because although I've owned maybe 50 shortwave receivers, I've never owned any of the Grundig Satellite series. The unit is basically quite intuitive to use. A couple of things that I had to go to the manual for were the battery location and the display contrast control. Both are concealed behind a door on the front of the radio.
After initially learning my way around the unit, my first reaction was amazement at how beautifully it was engineered. The quality of the signal and the ease of operation were superb. Judging by the competition that ain't easy to do. Their sync beats the socks off both the Sony '2010 and the Drake SW2 both of which used to be some of the best sync available. The bandwidth selections are first rate with ease of listening at any selection. The skirts must be super tight on these filters.
Audio is very good although I've heard some better. Very listenable for long periods of time.
The real kicker for me is the 'seek' function. I've had lots of shortwave radios with squelch controls and a search or seek function but they were all a joke. This one works like a charm. Find an empty frequency and set the squelch. Push the seek and you hear nothing, dead silence, until the next active station pops up. And that station need not be a boomer. It will stop at fairly weak stations that I may have missed just spinning the dial. That feature alone is worth the $500. Especially during the day now when the sunspot cycle is low and there really isn't a whole lot out there to listen to. Just hit the seek and within a couple of minutes you can relax and effortlessly catch every HF daytime signal out there. I've been looking for that one for years.
Now to the problem. I decided to try the satellite radio feature so I bought the XM antenna unit. It worked for about two days. But after the third day, most of the time when I'd select the XM band, I got a "C ERR" reading and no signal. Thinking it might be the antenna, I replaced that but same thing. A call to Sharper Image sent out both a new replacement radio and a box to send in the defective one. You can't ask for better customer service than that.
Bottom line as has been said before if you can afford it and want a good quality portable HF receiver, run don't walk to the phone and call Sharper Image. Enjoy. |
|
| LUCKYDAZE |
Rating:      |
2005-08-21 | |
| A Pleasant Surprise |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Well guys, it's finally here after all this time and we sure waited on it.
Was it worth the wait? When I got my anxious hands on it and powered it up, was I impressed
and delighted with it's beauty and build quality?
YOU BET I WAS. I was very, very impressed and mostly surprised how well it performed.
**SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. This doesn't
stink from a cheap China clone factory built product. Once people realize it's a
very respectably built rig, they'll buy it.
The build quality is actually superb for a rig classified as a portable. The selectable sync detector work very well. Let me repeat that please. The selectable sync detector is a wonder in itself and works so well you're going to be very surprised. You'll see if you try one. I was so, so impressed by it. What a keeper. It also has double sideband like the Lowe HF-150 but IMO works better. Why? On my HF-150, you have very little wiggle room to get a lock. You have to hit the frequency just right to get it and lose it more easily. The E1 gives you more of a spread to get that DSB locked and the result is just a pleasure. The same with USB and LSB locks.The PBT on this portable is really a nice touch. The thing that amazed me was how well it's implemented. They really took their time to do this one right. It makes a major difference for sure. Not as great as the twin PBT on the Icom R75 I'm spoiled by, but CAN BE compared with each other. Put it this way, it does it's job very well. The sound quality is very good and clean. I never owned the Grundig 800 so I can't compare the two.A real pleasure for BCB. Being able to select between 2.3Khz 4khz and 7khz filters provides excellent selectivity. The bass and treble controls work very well and you can get that talk show or FM music in just the way you want it.
That's one thing that's great about this rig for me. None of my 10 other radios have WFM only narrow. Get sick of SW and Hams relax to FM. I was disappointed by the lack of DRM, but you have the choice of XM satellite radio. You should know this is pay radio by the month and is not FREE. But, the radio is ready for it. Just buy the $50 XM module/antenna and you're good to go. I figure XM didn't want to give end users too many options between free radio and their service if you get my drift and discussed this with Eton.
You can choose from internal antenna {whip} to external antenna with slide switches on the radios side. One switch for FM and one for HF which combines LW, MW and SW. The case seems to be made of some type of hard, but rubbery feeling material. I think it could handle a moderate drop and not crack. The ergonomics are good on the very front though some of the buttons seem a tad on the tiny side. They could have been a little bigger but it's not a deal breaker in any way. You have a "DX" button for weak signals and is the radio's preamp.
One thing you should know is there is no built in ferrite rod for MW. But for me in Florida, I don't have a problem with that at all. The whip can be rotated at a 90 degree angle so it can point straight up when resting on it's back. What I didn't like was the whip wouldn't hold hard at certain angles. When I let go of it, it fell all the way to one side. Perhaps it can be tightened a little to keep in an exact position. But, for best reception a horizontal position is technically better. The external antenna connection uses a PAL connector so you'll need to pick one up from Radio Shack or buy the KOK cable from Universal that is an F connector to SO-239. Yes a rather strange connection I know but minor once you have right part which is easily found. To be ready get yourself part # 278-265B PAL from Radio Shack. It ends in a female F coax connection. You can hook it up from there if you have the right size coax or adapter, or build it up with other adapters for a SO-239 or PL-259 end. The less adapters are better IMO. So, the only other adapter I bought was a male F to RCA female plug # 278-255B. The end of my dipole feed is a male RCA plug for simplicity and easy use on other rigs so the dipole just plugs right in.Mine is only an example if you don't purchase the one from Universal and want to limit the amount of extra antenna adapter/connectors to only 2.
In ECSS, the frequency seemed to be off a little. It didn't zero beat on certain known local stations I use often. Take for instance WIOD in Miami at 610. On the Icom R75, it zero beat to 610 *exactly and any change resulted in unintelligible audio. The E1 beat to say 609.93 instead. There is more of "spread" for ECSS that is totally audible even when off beat since I could bring it all the way off the final beat up to 610. So, it actually worked out well.Looking thru the menus I can't find an offset for it. Only an offset for the time and clocks. Now, my original serial number was number 00122. A rather first of the batches. Yesterday, I picked up another for comparison. Serial number 00459. Station 610 zero beat properly to 610 under USB this time with this unit but the spread was still there under LSB. So, either they found there was a minor bug and fixed it, or there is *NO problem at all and it is just a case of varing atmospheric conditions or other variables. But the bottom line is that you would be happy with either serial number and I'm not implying a higher serial # is better in any way. It's just I'm more of a perfectionist which is rather a pain in itself! A typical end user would never even pick this up anyway.
The AGC has a Slow/Fast and Auto mode which keep the AGC in fast mode while tuning so you don't miss weak signals. Too bad you can't turn AGC off completely. SSB is also very good. Of course not as good as the R75, but again very comparable. The sensitivity is right up there with it though. This is a sensitive radio especially for one which is classified as a "portable". More like a good tabletop to me. There is a feature in the radios menu that allows you to enable or disable "Enhanced SSB. When enabled, it adds 30db more image rejection. One thing I noticed just last night is that I have not run into any heterodynes. Yes that's right. Perhaps a couple minor ones but they were eliminated quickly. I'm using a 16 Ft total dipole due to space limitations and a 4:1 current balun on the 23rd floor of a building. The antenna is out on the terrace. The radio comes with a 3 prong OEM power supply and also a manual on a CD as well as print. The manual is well written and explains things plainly and easily.
The matrix dot display is just superb. I love it. Nice and big and clear. You can adjust the brightness and contrast or turn it off completely. What a pleasure to look at during the night. Nice warm glo. You can choose between, OFF, Dim, Medium or Bright. The display stays on Dim when turned off or you can turn it off completely when the Ac adapter is used. With batteries, it turns itself off to save energy. It displays either the local or GMT time when "off". The 4" internal speaker is excellent but will vibrate when volume is peaked out. They chose a very, very decent speaker. I'm using external speakers now but you'll be very pleased with the internal one. It's just great for a portable but I think more people will buy and use the E1 as a desktop unit with good external jobs.
You have 1700 memories in total! There is a "SeeK" for catching stations and is adjustable thru the Squelch control. Also a tagged "T.Scan" that works like it should. There is also a "Country" feature to enter a country's known signals you listen to. This is what we call a major world frequency info database at your fingertips. Add to that the XM database of stations, and you have one total communications receiver to beat all the other units you've come to know. It's definitely your portal to the world's airwaves.
My few beefs are NO carrying handle. It's a big portable. How are you supposed to carry it around comfortably? Also, I would have liked to see an adjustable stand on back of the radio for different angles of viewing. You can only set the tilt stand safely for one angle about 45 degrees but I hear Universal is selling a special stand to help some with this and allow more angles. I'm still giving it a 5 in spite of this and even though there is no MW ferrite rod. The rest of the radio makes up for it.
Well, that's it guys. I think it will be a big seller for Eton even at 5 bills. If this was priced at $350, it would *fly off the shelves. I actually think it will fly off selves anyway at it's present price once word gets around. I believe XMSR helped Eton out to some degree with the quality of this radio due to it representing XM also. I'll tell you one thing, this makes one hell of a portable if you got the energy to power it for outside use. Uses 4 D cell batteries. Haven't tried battery use yet. The manual says some of the functions drain battery life more then others. It's a pretty big portable which makes it a man's tote! Hope I covered most bases for you. Buy one, you'll like it for sure. I own 10 other good tabletops and I'm totally satisfied with my Eton E1. Was worth the wait.
Have fun!
Lucky |
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