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Reviews For: Grundig Satellit 750

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Grundig Satellit 750
Reviews: 64MSRP: 300
Description:
The Grundig Satellit 750 with Advanced DSP technology is an exciting portable that brings the world to you! You will get complete coverage of all long wave, medium wave and shortwave frequencies as well as FM (stereo to the earphone jack). Plus the Satellit 750 also receives the VHF aeronautical band (117-137 MHz). Your shortwave coverage includes the reception of the single sideband (SSB) mode allowing the reception ham radio operators, maritime and shortwave aeronautical stations. You can select either wide or narrow selectivity to reduce co-channel interference. You can tune your favorite stations by the conventional tuning knob, quick keypad entry of via the 1000 memories. And you will enjoy the fidelity you have come to expect from Grundig enhanced by separate bass and treble controls. The radio features both an Earphone Jack and a Line Output Jack. Long distance Medium wave (AM band) reception is possible because of the built-in rotatable, directional ferrite antenna. External antennas may also be attached. 14.65 x 7.24 x 5.75 inches. There is even a USB (5V) outlet for MP3 or mobile phone charging function
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=351064
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00643.9
PERRY Rating: 2011-01-23
I like it Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
No bad review here. My Satellit 750 replaces an RS DX-160, and it is a pleasure to use. It is fed by my choice of a diapole,vee or long wire, and tuned with an MFJ 901B. Mine is not for portable use as my G6 Buzz Box or Sangean 505P will handle that task. I can not however compare it with these two radios as I feel they were designed for a different style of use.

Pros
I love the look.
I like all of the antenna inputs.
The rotating AM antenna works quite well.
The line out is super for FM in to a stereo amp.
The 4 inch speaker deliveres that Grundig grunt.
The S meter is very handy.
The pre-sets are a pleasure to use.
Cons
To much background white noise.
The line in for mp3 is of no value as it feeds the internal mono speaker only[not line out].
It will not charge an mp3 [or any thing else].

Yes, I would buy it again ..........
TURBO68 Rating: 2011-01-01
Excellent Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought the Grundig Satellit-750 in october 2010
so far its been an excellent receiver the bfo is good mainly monitor aero/utilities as with all hf radios if u havent got a decent antenna u are not going to get anywhere mine is hooked up to a Wellbrook-ALA330S active loop and does an excellent job i do have other receivers from alinco,aor,icom,palstar,ten tec and it performance just as good have used the radio as portable in backyard hood up to a Diamond-BB6W
hf wire antenna and it was a pleasure to be able to sit in the backyard and enjoy listening to hf aero for 3 1/2 hours non stop.
FORMER_K0PD Rating: 2010-07-23
Not So Bad. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just received mine a week ago also. Not claiming to be a SW radio expert all i can say is i'm pleased and will agree with the fact you get what you pay for. So far my two only complaints is the radio needs feet to lift the front up slightly and the clock is not easily set. I've not messed with setting any memories and like many have stated the manual is almost worthless.I did not find the BNC connectors a problem as i had adapters. The ssb stations i listened too on it seemed decent enough. So being as i never played with a 800 or any of the newer SW radios i feel i got my moneys worth and would have given it a 4.5 if such a rating choice was offered.By the way the best prices i found for this radio was on Amazon.com as i paid $276.00 with shipping.But i think the supplier that they were using for the radio may be out of stock.
KA2SHU Rating: 2010-07-23
Worth what you paid Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just received this radio last week and have given my sample extensive tests and comparisons to the Satellite 800 and other HF receivers.
The GOOD:
•Unlike the 800, this radio is half again the size and is more portable.
•Has a nice digital display and analog S-meter
•Nice looking rig with metal knobs
•Rotatable MW antenna
•Easier on batteries than the 800
•Reasonably sensitive on MW and parts of the HF bands
•Plenty of memories with capability of memory review via use of the main tuning knob.
•FM reception is very good.

Not SO GOOD
•Instruction manual is small booklet with an incomplete sentence and not so clear memory operation instructions.
•Page memory system and memory functions can be confusing to operate.
•Use of BNC connectors for FM and SW external antenna hook up inappropriate for the casual user.
•The volume control seems to be misplaced, way to the left of the main tuning knob.
•The 750's timer set up is confusing.
•Telescoping antenna on my radio cannot pull out to slant and rotate.
•6 Volt input does not lend itself too well for mobile operations.


The UGLY:
•Sensitivity on the LW band is very low. Unless you live near a beacon, forget this band!
•Sensitivity on the aircraft band is poor to fair so plan on hearing little unless the plane is over your head or you live next to an airport.
•This radio would otherwise have good audio if not for a residual background hiss heard on FM and less on the other bands.
•When listening to SSB, the audio has a nasty growl. The copy and stability is reasonable but lousy to listen to.
•With a good SW antenna, this radio's audio will deteriorate with very stong received signals. The attenuator will help somewhat.
•The note of the BFO on CW is terrible and has the same growl as heard on SSB

WORTHY OF NOTE to all MW DX'ers:
•The separate MW antenna input on the rotating loop antenna works EXTREMELY WELL with the Quantum QX Loop Antenna V 2.0 from Radio Plus. Rf radiation from this radio's display is minimal making this loop a marriage in "radio heaven" for the MW DXer. You will need to make cable that is UHF male on one end and 3.5mm. male on the other. It will be worth it.

Summary:
Given this radio's price point, the 750's value is at least what you would expect or better.
JIM1701 Rating: 2010-07-09
Marvelous Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
OK I'm going to slam the negative reviews about this radio.

It is great build quality, after reading bad reviews I thought it was going to be cheap flimsy plastic just like the S350DL, it not.

I like it, it pulls in stations that my Tecsun and my sanyo RP-8880 cannot.

I am going to sell my other 2 radio's.

I had a sat800 and a Eton E1XM recently, many over the years since I was 11 and this 750 is great.

The BFO works great.

It's smaller than what I thought but that is ok...

I'm old school, the more buttons and dials the better but it comes down to sensitivity and selectivity of the receiver and the quality of antenna.

People on eHam and Amazon give -numbers for the unit B/C of the instructions and size of the knobs... NO... I look for what it can do, the performance...

This radio performs.. no radio is perfect but to give a radio -numbers B/C of instructions and knobs is really dumb.

The radio is a smaller radio so the meter and knobs are "Size accurate" for the size of the radio...

I don't think when radios were made in the 40's and such the company really cared about ergonomics, they made radios that worked WELL.

This radio WORKS WELL....

So I give the RADIO, NOTHING ELSE, a 10+.

It sounds great not tinny or overloaded or cheap.

They got it right this time and people should review the radio nothing else...

The sat800 was too big, AM sucked, SW was ok it ate batteries badly, it sounded good but if everything else was ok what good is it... and I had a later version of the unit, I sold it on eBay.

sAT800'S ARE STILL GOING FOR PRIME MONEY ON EBAY, I just do not understand it; basically the radio sucked....and too expensive. Granted it had a couple of more features than the 750 but I can accept it......

The Eton E1XM was a little deaf, AM sucked, SW sucked, sond sucked and it did not look like a classic SW radio.

This unit has a low noise floor which is great!!!! I don't want to hear the noise loud. I want to hear stations!

If people are expecting this to be on par with a 1K or 3K radio- FORGET IT, it's not and why would it, it's a 300.00 radio.

That's my 2 Cents....
JAYM Rating: 2010-04-09
Better than anticipated Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have always like listening to shortwave and Ham radio - going back to the 3 tube(yes Tube) Lafayette Regen radio kit I built as a kid - with a roll of wire hanging out of my window as an antenna. I had a novice license as a kid and never followed up. ( Now that the code requirement is gone I will be getting a Tech license shortly)
I recently had gone through a bunch of portable general receivers :Deegan 1103, Tecsun-pl600, Grundig G-6, G-5 and G-3 before I ordered the 750. Then I read the reviews on eHam and dreaded getting the unit. I was pleasantly surprised however. The unit is solid, pleasant to listen to, with metal knobs and a nicely weighted flywheel tuning knob. Manufacture date was 11/09 .After using it for the past 3-4 weeks, here's what I found:
Positives:
1. Air Band - I live on Long Island in Suffolk County. Using the whip antenna, I pull in tons of air traffic from JFK, Laguardia, the Local ATS and MacArthur Airport - from 118000 - 135750 sensativity seems fine and channels come in nice and clear. Squelch works well
2. Memory system - much easier than the manual (ugh) suggests and better than any of the other radios I like the fact that each type of band has it's own page - for example I set up 12 different aircraft frq's and can switch between using the tuning knob. The other units were not as easy to scan across saved channels
3. Shortwave - using just the whip - no problem bringing in Voice of Vietnam, Radio Havana, PRague, Russia and China to just name a few -
4. SSB - works better than any of the other recievers - BFO is a plus - I routinely pick up a ham in southern Florida on the 20 meter band clear with full power
5. Several of the radios owned previously had a definite AC hum when adapter was plugged in - not with this unit
6. Audio quality is really quite good compared to the G-3 or G-5

The Cons
1 Manual is not particularly clear (memory section especially) Best way is to save a station is just hit the M button
2. Battery failover does not exist - despite manual - checked with Tech support plugging in the adapter, disconnects batteries totally. If power fails, you will lose clock settings
3. It really needs a wedge(I use a wedge shaped ruler to tip it back for easy viewing
4. Would be nice if you could name the memory pages ala the G3
5. Would be nice to be able to turn of the darn beep confirmation
6. It would also be nice to set the light to stay on when the poiwer is on


Take this review for what it's worth - If you shop around, you can get this unit for about $100 more than the G-3 - I think you are getting you money's worth
W8JJI Rating: 2010-01-03
Depending on what you compare it to Time Owned: N.A.
As far as battery powered portable shortwave radios go it is alright. If you compare it to a "ham radio grade HF receiver" it's not so good.

Pros;

It has an actual analog S meter, nice, but difficult to see.

Provisions for external antennas.

Bass and trebble provides decent sound.

LCD display is nice and easy to see.

The high point of the receivers performance is the AM broadcast band.

On FM the receiver actually shows sighns of some selectivity. Suprising for a portable radio these days.

Cons;

S meter is difficult to see.

No noise fighting features. (ANL or NB)

Air band sensitivity is not uniform across the band, the higher end of the band is much less sensitive.

The AM rotatable antenna does not offer much of a null. Very strange.

The radio is overpriced at $300, under $180 would be more appropriate.

OTHER TIDBITS, there is a variable resistor on the circuit board that affects the AGC. I felt the receiver was a bit sluggish in this department so I made an adjustment here and with some receiver improvement. The AGC is still a little slower than I would like.

A decent radio as far as battery powered portables go. If you want serious shortwave performance just spend a little more and get a used HF ham rig for under $500 with 100 memory channels etc... foe example, an Icom ic-718 or a Yaesu FT 747 or 757 GX or a kenwood TS 50.
KB3TQK Rating: 2009-12-12
Fine general purpose receiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Had the radio for about 3 months now, and really like the FM, shortwave AM, and shortwave SSB performance.
K4YRK Rating: 2009-12-11
A nice receiver for under $300 Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have had my 750 now for about two months and for a fairly low cost general coverage receiever it is well worth the cost. The key for this receiver, like any, is a good antenna. The internal pull up vertical is good for only local and strong SW, and the loop is quite good for AM broadcast. Put a good outdoor antenna, and I have several for my ham, and the 750 does very well. I have found the SSB on ham band reception good, but will not compair to a mid-to-top of the line ham receiver; but remember this is a fairly low cost unit. For the money, I am very happy with it and it is a keeper for now.
AE4TO Rating: 2009-12-10
Good SW, MW & FM radio for the money Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio is a very nice looking radio and resently sold at a very reasonable price by RS.The size is just perfect for a table top with rubber feet.
I checked the radio first on SW and found that the radio is very sensitive. As sensitive as my Grundig G5, a very sensitive radio. All the big stations from the entire world came in with very nice audio.Them I checked the tropical 60 M and 90 M bands and all those low power stations were there too.
Them the ham bands and I was confortably listening to SSB,CW signals. Follow the prior directions by other reviewers in having the clarifier BFO at 1PM and using the proper USB above 10 MHZ and LSB bellow 10 MHZ. Most hams use whole frequencies not fractions (7040 Kc vs 7040.35 Kc)If some one is using fractions use the clarifier. Very strong signals 59+10..20 distort the sound a bit. Just use the antenna atenuator and the audio will be fine.
I am in Miami Fl. and the MW was full of local stations and some faray as Atlanta, NYC,Mexico, Cuba,Colombia etc.I fell it was hot on MW. The rotable antenna works very well.The two filter sections are good too.
LW was full of harmonics from MW.Triple conversion could take care of this.
AIR band: Living just 4 miles from the airport, I was able to listen to MIA approach and Info radio with very strong signals.
FM: The stereo sounds very nice and I was able to listen to local and distance stations such as, WIRK 107.9 W.P. Beach and WWWK 105.5 In Islamorada, The florida keys. These FM stations being about 100 miles away.
All of the above while using the whip antenna.
The memories are easy to store and retrieve.
I am keeping the radio. It is not my R75 or Sony 2010. I remember paying $300 for the Sony 2010 back in 1985 and the radio is still working. The battery cover has some tabs that maybe fragil but I do not anticipate any problems. The analog signal meter is nice. Being able to leave the lights on is nice. Over all a nice table top radio for the money. AE4TO