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Reviews For: Grundig G3 with SSB

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Grundig G3 with SSB
Reviews: 41MSRP: 169.95
Description:
The Grundig G3 Globe Traveler is an innovative portable radio covering long wave, AM, FM, continuous shortwave plus the VHF aircraft band. It features dual conversion AM/SW circuitry for exceptional sensitivity and image rejection. It offers S.S.B. - Single sideband reception. It has an large 700 channel memory system with memory scan and auto tuning storage. Unlike other portables in it class, the Globe Traveler offers Synchronous Detection. This special feature addresses the issue of selective fading and co-channel interference on shortwave. RDS (radio data system) shows FM callsigns, artist, song title and messages when available. External antenna jack for SW, FM, VHF Air. Requires four AA cells (not supplied). 6.614 x 4.13 x 1.1 inches. Supplied with manual, protective pouch and AC adapter/charger.

Product is in production
More Info: http://www.etoncorp.com/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=916030
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
14413.5
N3OJD Rating: 2009-08-11
G3 vs. SW7600GR Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Howdy Gang --

This is a preliminary review after only a week of ownership but because this is a brand newly released receiver, I know there are a lot of you out there who wanted to know... so here it is. I'm comparing it to a Sony ICF-SW7600GR which is its closest competition.

The short answer is yes, it's definitely worth buying, and I would try to get it from Universal Radio simply because they have a deal which includes the Grundig AN200 antenna.

Now the details. It's not a simple call where one could quickly say that the G3 is a quantum leap above, etc., etc. As I try the '7600GR next to the G3, some very interesting things arise. Some folks have said that the sync is nowhere near as good on the G3 as the sync on the '7600GR. Well, that's true BUT: Let's take a typical weak AM SW signal that the Sony can just barely hold a lock on as it QSB's up and down and let's listen to it on the G3. It turns out that in most situations, the higher sensitivity of the G3 makes the signal much more listenable WITHOUT the sync so that in the end you're frequently better off with the G3 that can't lock onto the signal than the Sony that's got a firm lock on it. Yeah, I know sounds crazy and I suggest that you try it yourself. I may be all wet on this.

The G3's better sensitivity seems to hold through in the SW SSB ham bands as well. BTW SSB performance is excellent. Almost stable enough to use ECSS on some of the weaker AM stations.

And where the '7600GR definitely beats out the G3 is on medium wave AM bands. No question. BUT if you get the free beautifully designed Grundig AN200 antenna from Universal Radio, that difference is overcome. At first I was bummed that the antenna comes with a 3.5mm stereo plug to plug into an antenna jack on any radio that might accept that. Because the antenna jack on the G3 only works for SW, not MW or LW. Hmmph. But then there's this other trick of just bringing the AN200 NEAR to the G3 and BOOM! it works like a champ to bring in distant AM stations via coupling. This is very cool. The super smooth frequency selector knob on the AN200 has a very sharp Q and thanks to the bar-graph S meter on the G3, it's easy to tune for max signal, day or night time. It's actually re-ignited my long dead interest in commercial medium wave AM.

The audio: I'm not a big fan of the speaker audio on the G3, but it IS a smaller radio than the '7600GR so it's to be expected that the speaker will suffer. My strong recommendation would be to use your favorite set of headphones. If you're strictly a speaker listener, then yes the Sony definitely excels.

Obviously I have not used the unit long enough to intelligently comment on battery life but after 5 or 6 hours the battery meter still reads full strength.

I love the S-meter, such as it is.

ONE BIG CAVEAT: I've owned dozens of SW portables and am sensible about their telescoping antennas BUT after about the second time I closed the telescoping antenna on the G3, it collapsed at the joint of the second section. NOT GOOD. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be very flimsy toward the end. Nothing like the build quality of the antenna on the Sony. I had to order a replacement from Grundig/Eton for $15 and nobody offered to send it out for free. A word to the wise. NEVER grab this antenna at the end. Always collapse it from the middle down if you get my drift.

The physical build quality of the G3 in general doesn't seem to equal the Sony.

Zero luck with the aircraft band so I can't comment there. I DO love the wide/narrow bandwidth selector switch on the side of the G3. While I believe the default bandwidth on the '7600GR is a better choice, it is nice to be able to attenuate adjacent signals when listening to the SSB ham bands. The narrower filter does NOT have particularly tight skirts but, oh well. We'll take what we get, eh?

So... is it fun? Is it worth checking out? NO QUESTION. I'm loving it. Let's see what other enthusiasts have to say!

73's
N3OJD