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Reviews For: Grundig G6 Aviator

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Grundig G6 Aviator
Reviews: 44MSRP: $100
Description:
portable general coverage and airband
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00443.8
NR3G Rating: 2008-05-12
Good radio for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm quite amazed that such a small radio has such good sensitivity and audio performance. It definately will be a good travel radio as it's quite compact.

I have, however, discovered one small problem having to do with the memory function. On occasion when I retrieve a memory number, an adjacent number also blinks and the receiver locks up. When this happens both the memory number that I selected along with the adjacent memory both blink together and you can't select either memory, although other memories can be selected. I find that the only way to fix the problems is to shut the radio off, clear that page of memories and then reincert the memories again. Fortunately each page only accepts seven frequencies.

This is the ONLY problem that I've encountered with the radio so far and I've had it for almost a week.
KD6JBF Rating: 2008-05-09
good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
just receieved yesterday. Smaller unit than what I imagined. audio is good on FM. despite double convwersion receiver, still heard bleed-through on SW bands with some high power local AM stations. Tuning knob works well without muting. Has very pleasant orange glow to display when light is on. sensitivity appears subjectively good for a radio of this size. havn'e tried air band much , but will give this a try over weekend.
N3OJD Rating: 2008-05-06
Lots of fun -- Great Value! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.

I'm giving the G6 a 5 rating for value. While it ain't no R-390A or even an ICF-7600GR, it does have a lot going for it at $100.

Bear in mind that I've only had the rig a few days, but I wanted to get some info out there because I know a lot of folks are curious.

The G6 is rich with features, including FM stereo (with headset), SSB, and aeronautical band. And it does quite a respectable job at all of these for its size and price. You have to understand that the radio is a mere 3x5x1 inches. They've crammed quite a bit in there.

Some thoughts on performance and features:

-- Sensitivity is exceptionally good for a portable this size. Actually, one night when 80M was in good shape I had to retract the 20" long whip a bit to prevent overloading on some of the stronger SSB signals. The next night when the band was just so-so, I could even attach an external antenna and performance was great. My location is out in the country and there are no strong AM signals around me. There's no attenuate function on this radio so you might want to be careful if you live in an urban area near a lot of big guns.

-- Selectivity is amazing (again for its size). AM broadcast signals 5KHz apart are easily separated with no heterodyne. Most SSB signals seem to be easily separated as well. I'm not sure if the "tone" switch is actually a wide/narrow selectivity feature or just high and low tone control.

-- The labeled "mega bass" setting of the hi/lo tone control is a joke but hey, if that's the worst that the sales department got by the engineers, that's OK.

-- Obviously the audio should suck in a radio this small and while it's not great through the speaker, it's not awful. And with good headphones (the included ones are not great) it's perfectly acceptable on AM/SSB and quite grand on FM.

-- There's no squelch so if you're listening to the aero band, you've got to put up with some hiss in between transmissions.

-- The SSB performance is first rate for a portable. My sample was about a KHz off in alignment but this proved to be a non-issue. The fine tuning was simple to adjust and frequency stability seemed to be fine.

-- It's got a clock and day of the week display that's always visible, along with three independent alarm timers.

-- Ergonomics are quite good. There are no "quirks". Volume is controlled by up or down buttons just like the scan function. I believe that the scan works best on FM. I'm not sure it functions in AM. You just slew through the freqs with the jog dial.

-- Build quality and feel are good. While it doesn't have the solid feel of the '7600GR or E5, it's not bad for this price point.

-- The display is small but well lit and easy enough to read.

-- It has a signal strength indicator.

-- It will charge NiCd batteries with the included wall wart. No AA's are included.

Bottom line: If you've got $200 and can only buy one radio, then go with the ICF-7600GR. However if you've only got $100 to spend or if you're looking for a fun 2nd (or 12th) radio, look at the G6. You likely will not be disappointed.
KG4GYL Rating: 2008-05-02
amazing little radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
could not believe the performance of this micro-receiver! The display is awesome and the sound rivals larger radios. Great reception on all bands
and SSB too(using slow tuning jog-dial function).
I like the 'battery recharge' option while using the ac adaptor also.
eton really did a great job on this product...and at the price you really have a awesome value.
I have the radio on my desk at the airport and would highly recommend its purchase.

you will not be disappointed and i am constantly
amazed at how well it works