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Reviews For: Grudig 450 DLX Field Radio

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Grudig 450 DLX Field Radio
Reviews: 17MSRP: 100
Description:
AM/FM/3 band SW receiver. Dual het pll replacement for analog 350 series.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00173.4
TURKEYTOP Rating: 2012-03-04
Great radio for its price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Picked mine up just last week at Radio Shack for $79.95. After using it for a few nights, I'm very impressed by its performance. If I compere it with the 350 DL which I also own, this radio far exceeds the 350 in performance.

Right now we're at our winter home in Florida and the 350 is back home in Canada, so I can't make any direct comparison. But just based on past experience with the 350, this one is clearly better.

Whereas the 350 has analog tuning with digital frequency display, the 450 is fully digital. It gives it much greater tuning accuracy and stability.

I have been able to make some direct comparisons with a Radio Shack DX 394 I have here in Florida with me. Using the same long wire antenna the S450 was equal to or better than the DX 394 on all bands.

The S450 also performs admirably on the MW and FM bands. The high quality audio make it a pleasure to listen to
W4AUV Rating: 2011-12-27
Excellent for the $$$ Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Works as expected. No issues. AM broadcast band reception is also very good with NO PLL beeping noise issues when tuning. Took the back off of it and the speaker magnet is huge! Very nice. THe bandwidth control appears to be in the IF and actually works quite well. It is very helpful when tuning in shortwave stations (in narrow mode).

Overall I am pleasantly impressed with this radio...W4AUV
KP4FAR Rating: 2011-12-27
A very basic but usable general coverage "portable". Needs SSB Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I went through three units before getting one that worked OK. The first three had the same problem; inoperative ext.-int antenna switch that only worked for the internal or telescopic antenna plus inoperative light behind the power switch. These were units from Radio Shack. Finally I found one where everything worked as it should. It is a good general coverage set with very good sensitivity using the telescopic antenna. If you connect a big wire antenna, overloading will occur so the dynamic range is not great.The quick frequency change switch works great and is a step up the S350. The power supply produces an audible hum so better work it on batteries. The best attribute is the audio with bass and treble controls + excellent sound. I have to test it with the external aerial using the attenuator or DX-Local switch. A good radio for the night table or the deck or porch. I would not compare it with the PL390 which I think is a better radio and readily portable. BTW is has good MW sensitivity and I would have scrapped the memories for a good BFO.
W8AQ Rating: 2011-12-13
Very Good Portable Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm quite happy with my purchase of the S450DLX. No it's not the best rcvr you'll ever buy but it's solid with good sensitivity and a very nice sound. Bought it for $69 from Radio Shack, brought it home and listened for several hours on the whip antenna. Quite enjoyable. Much better than the ATS-909X I just returned.

Accept it for what it is and you'll love it. Quite fun.

73.
W8AQ
PHO1NL Rating: 2011-12-11
grundig... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the Redsun/K-po 2100 radio in a new box nothing more. Pitty this is the third time I bought the SAME radio in two years of three different brands . Now thinking I bought a Grundig witch was German,Well it's not .As you might gess it had problems to start with. Unpacking. The knobs fell of right away, they are fixed with some sort of tape, the potentiometers are still hanging on the solderingpoints. .It can't have five points or maybe it can becouse since there is nothing portable left to buy.And there is still no ssb on it, as redsun had promised to doo. Easy to write a stunnishing report here, it is so cheap made I could cry if I didn'd had a old Grundig radio 40 y old with ssb and still working.
NADDY69 Rating: 2011-07-30
Nice upgrade from 350DL Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the original S350, the newer S350DL and now I just received the S450DLX. I like all of these radios, but I think the 450 is a worthy upgrade to this very popular line of radios.

PROS:
Large speaker, very powerful sound. Separate bass/treble controls.

Dual conversion, so no images like on the S350.

World's best tuning knob in an inexpensive portable - large, silky smooth, precise, no backlash at all. Plus it has a dimple for fast spinning.

Selectable fast/slow tuning steps.

No drifting like the 350, this is digitally tuned.

Has Line In jack for MP3 player (see cons below).

Has Line Out jack.

Has AM IF out jack.

Has memories, but I never use memories in any radio that I have, so I have no opinion on setup and use.

RF gain control has more range than the 350 series.

Has lighted display and lighted keys.

Even though this is digitally tuned, there is no direct entry of freguencies. Retains the simple "spin the knob" operation of the S350 series. To me this is a PRO and a CON!

Separate SW/FM and MW antenna connectors on the back. Ground connector.

Quick Tune button jumps across the band to get around without having to spin the knob. This is an effective substitute for direct frequency entry. Also has Up/Down tuning buttons.

CONS:
The Line In jack inexplicably does NOT use the bass/treble controls on the radio, resulting in very tinny sound. This seems like an oversight/defect to me, and can probably be easily fixed - possibly as a user mod? Surely a later revision will fix this.

Line In jack is also mono, so you need a stereo/mono adapter plug if you want to hear both channels.

Don't know yet about the battery life, haven't had the radio long enough. Runs on 6 D cells or included AC adapter.

RF gain control does not function on FM. I don't know why most radios work this way. The Radio Shack DX-440 RF gain control works on FM and makes it a great FM DX radio.

No SSB, but then neither did the S350. Doesn't bother me as I have other portables that do SSB, and SSB is not a priority for me. I am mainly into AM/FM DXing.

Even though this is digitally tuned, there is no direct entry of freguencies. Retains the simple "spin the knob" operation of the S350 series. To me this is a PRO and a CON!

Clock does not display when radio is on. Neither did the S350.

==========

I got a good deal on a used model on eBay. They are going for around $90 new, including shipping. I paid $35 including shipping!

This radio is certainly worth $90 and I will probably get a 2nd one at some point.

IMO, the sound quality, the tuning knob, the dual conversion and the line in jack (particularly if fixed to use the bass/treble controls) combined in an under $100 radio make this a good value, and a solid member of the S350 "family".

LRDHEAT Rating: 2011-03-09
Fine Time Owned: N.A.
Essentially the same as the 350 with the addition of pll dual het. Good selectivity. Perhaps a little more sensitive than the 350, similar to Tecsun PL-390, better than old Sangean ATS-909. Voice is clear, better than more muddy sound of the 909. Battery life may only be 40 hours continuous if the Grundig tech was correct (a bit disappointing for 6 d cells). Memory is not worthwhile...I find that using the Q button to advance to bottom of each sw band within the 3 shortwave frequency ranges offered works about as well as tuning around on the 350. When radio is off, a long button press of snooze button disables loud beeps with button presses. It is easy to accidently hit the snooze button or light button while lifting or oreintating the radio.