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Reviews For: Eton E1

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Eton E1
Reviews: 8MSRP: 399.95
Description:
Eton E1 withiut the XM radio capabilty
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=6139
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084.4
WB8UHZ Rating: 2016-11-25
Top of the line Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you get one with good quality control as it was made in India its the best of the best high end portables. Designed by Drake, marketed by Eaton but make in India.
KB8DNS Rating: 2012-12-14
Top notch.... but! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine from an on line auction from a pawn shop, 150 dollars in 2010.... came dirty, loosely packed with no manual and D cells still in it! Wonder it made the postal trip! Sticky case problem that I solved with 90% denatured alcohol and lot of cotton swabs! It worked! Looks great! It has always played well on all band with no problems! I read that only slightly more than 10000 were made!
Mine compares with most any other receiver I have and even comes close to my Icom IC-746! I think it is just a bit ahead of the SONY ICF-2010, I guess I am partial! I chanced on a second one new in the box, so now I have two!
I'm wary of the faults but mine is great but needs to be understood.... I do understand the many faults but this first one.... 5 out of 5!

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KB8DNS on 2011-02-27

Since these are not currently made, I was able to find a good one on Ebay for just about 200 dollars.
I call this a true Global receiver as it was in part designed by RL Drake Company and Eton USA with final assembly in India.
Mine suffers from cosmetic quality control issues, namely a "sticky" covering of the cabinet. Not easy to remove, this rubberized coating will oxidize and becomes almost like fly paper, attracting all sort of dust! A coating of talcum powder seems to help and removal with rubbing alcohol by soaking eliminates this. Requires stripping the electronics.... not fun!
Electrically and operationally mine is fine and really works well! Well defined tuning down to 10 Hz, what really shines is the handling of frequency your listening to! Pass band tuning, four filter bandwidths and three mode synchronous detection along RF gain and bass / treble controls allow one to really "pry" out signals from the "aether"! Mine sounds excellent and compares to my ICOM IC-746 Non Pro.
The large dot matrix display it well thought out and has all functions right there in easy menu levels. Plenty of memories and I will never fill them all! It is back lit with dim levels or off.
Signal meter is accurate and has a parallel squelch level meter right along side!
Comparing the E1 to my SONYs, it has advantages over most details and my ICF-2010 keeps pace. The many features of the E1 make it more versatile over the SONY.
Seems only used and referb examples are left, the only way to have one of these fine receivers.
A good receiver for relaxed casual monitoring!

73 Rod KB8DNS
K8JHR Rating: 2012-07-10
OK... Mine had problems Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I rate this rig, just OK, as mine had problems and did not perform to specifications. Eton refunded my money. They may have resolved the problems in later production runs, but mine was not up to par. Too bad, as it seemed like a lot of radio for the money when it came out. Just did not live up to its billing.

That is just MY take, anyway... / K8JHR /
KD7H Rating: 2010-11-20
Superb! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although it is, sadly, out-of-production, the E1XM can, sometimes, be found "reconditioned" at Universal Radio in Ohio. The E1XM is far superior to the venerable SONY 2010 (I own both), and any number of other portable sw receivers. Yes, the 2010 is a terrific receiver, but the E1XM eclipses it because the E1 has several ways to deal with interference, including passband tuning (a first for a "portable"), and it has a much more sophisticated memory configuration. Although the E1XM is certainly large for a portable receiver, it is still "portable" and not as large as a standard table-top receiver. It could easily go on road-trips, for example.
At this time, late 2010, there is nothing in the way of portable shortwave receivers that is comparable, and I hope Eton/Grundig has something in the works to replace the E1XM. The newest "Satellite" certainly does not!
KT3L Rating: 2009-04-14
Great receiver...once you get a good one Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a little heartburn with my E1 purchase. I had to return it to Universal twice; once because all the function keys stopped working after a few seconds of power-on, and the second unit I was sent had a horizontal blank line across the display near the "VFO" key.

Now I'd read other horror stories online and thought "nah, the defect rate can't possibly be THAT bad." Little did I know!

Fortunately the folks at Universal were accomodating and the third one was the charm, but you have to wonder about the quality control associated with the production of these units. Don't the assemblers in India (and/or the suppliers of the individual modules) follow the same quality processes the rest of the world have to follow? Can you imagine the uproar if this failure rate occurred on a common consumer device like a car or TV?

So all that said, now that I have a good one I am very very pleased with the E1. I use this receiver with a dipole in the attic and the performance on world band is great. I really liked my old Sony ICF2010 but the E1 is far superior in sensitivity, features, and especially audio. Sync and PBT work well, as do the memories. The combination of the squelch level indicator integrated with the S-meter is fantastic...what a great idea!

The bandwidths are good options, though I don't envision ever using the 7 khz setting, 4 is usually ideal. Memories are a little messy to use but I think that just takes getting used to. The country "banks" really help organize your frequencies.

And the audio...wow. I've always been a Sony fan but now feel I didn't know what I was missing with Grundig-designed units in terms of great audio. Through the speaker or 'phones, even the tape-out jack...real superior sound.

So cross your fingers and get one. At least with a reputable dealer, if you have problems, you have the assurance that they'll be resolved.
AA7LV Rating: 2008-11-01
GREAT WORLD BAND PORTABLE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I GOT A GOOD DEAL ON THIS RADIO WHICH ORIGINALLY WAS DESIGNED TO SELL FOR $700 (LESS THAN THAT!)
ALWAYS WANTED A REALLY GOOD GRUNDIG OR SONY WORLD BAND PORTABLE.
AFTER USING THE ETON E1XM FOR A FEW MONTHS I CAN SAY IT IS A GREAT RADIO. EASY TO USE AND SENSITIVE, GOOD AUDIO QUALITY, NO PROBLEMS.
KT7DX Rating: 2008-04-17
Best portable ever used Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine from Universal Radio in January after trying (in vain) to get one of the cut-rate specials from Circuit City or National Geographic. I'm glad I opted out for the non-XM model from Universal after reading all of the horror stories with these units from various newsgroups, etc. After daily use since then I can honestly report that I have suffered none of the maladies that others have reported; no stereo lock, problems with LCD display, no PBT function. Apparently the list goes on.
I use mine with either a Hustler 5BTV vertical or a 40/ 80 meter trap dipole. I also use the C. Crane twin-coil MW antenna. Luckily, I had a PAL connector (KOK1 from Universal) that I received with a Grundig Satellit 500 that I bought back in 1989. I made an 18 inch RG58/U cable with a PL259 on the other end-slap a barrel connector on and I can connect it to all of my antennas.
OK, this is nowhere near the caliber receiver as my AOR-7030, but then it costs at least 1/3 less. If you add all of options I have added to the 7030 (Collins filters, NB7030 NB/Notch board, etc) then it's a 1/4 the price. Compared side-by-side with my IC-718 there is no comparison. Sometimes I actually use the E-1 for receive instead of the 718 for SSB; it's THAT good! The serial# on my unit is NX-00691, NX=No XM?. Just guessing here.
I was wary of this purchase but no longer. I just wish it had a carrying handle.
W2HP Rating: 2007-12-20
Just a OK radio. XM fine Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm a portable radio junkie. Have had them all. Use my radios with antenna provided. Nothing external. The Eton E1 is not a exceptional radio. I listen to Amateur Radio frequencies mostly and during the day 20 meters. My Sony 2010 which is from 1987 blows it away. My Panasonic RF-B65 equals the Sony for sensitivity but not selectivity. Its just so much smaller than the Sony. The Eton E1 disappointed me except for the XM radio. Its too big to be a portable also. I returned the radio to Circuit City. I do not miss it. To be fair with the Eton I compared my portables side by side only using the internal antenna. Its simply not up to 2010 standard. When I travel I take my Panasonic RF-B65. Very small and compact and perfect SSB radio. Pete W2HP