On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:27:09 -0500, msg wrote:

Search the Sangean ATS803A and Realistic DX-440 resources (Yahoo group,
websites, Usenet archives) -- the rotary encoder can exhibit the same
symptoms and there are recommended cleaning and rework suggestions together
with good photos on the net.

Thanks. Now that I know that I'm probably dealing with a bad rotary
encoder, that should narrow things down quite a bit.

On Sun, 8 Jun 2008 11:35:06 -0700 (PDT), Joe Analssandrini
wrote:

The radio seems to be fine now but, as I
said, I do not use it anywhere nearly as much as I had before I bought
the AOR AR7030 Plus.

Getting something like the AR7030 Plus is certainly tempting if these
are the types of problems one can expect with "cheaper" sets (not that
I consider the Satellit 800 to have been inexpensive).

I'm not sure how useful a tabletop model would be to me, though, since
setting up an outdoor antenna isn't an option where I live. I'm also
not sure how much I would like the LCD menu-driven approach of the
AR7030.

In any event, when it starts going "bad,"
when you tune "up" the frequency jumps "down" at first.

Yup, that's exactly what's happening. And when you try to tune up
after the the frequency has gone down, it refuses to do so for several
seconds; getting it to go past the frequency from which you were
trying to tune up is like swimming against the tide.

What I find really vexing about this is that I've only used the radio
lightly in the 4 years that I've owned it. It's not like I was
spending 2 or 3 hours a day turning that knob. I strongly suspect that
the encoder may have been faulty from day one, but that I didn't
notice it. If I noticed it, I probably assumed it was a quirk or some
minor software glitch rather than a serious problem.

Based on what I have read about
the newer Eton E1[XM], it appears that this problem is endemic with
Eton-marketed receivers and is due solely to cost considerations.

I'm sorry to hear that. The Eton E1 is about the only product out
there that looks like it could be a direct replacement for the
Satellit 800 feature-wise.

Honestly, aside from the encoder problem, I think my Satellit 800
still has many years of service left in it, so I'm not thinking about
replacement. If I had to replace it, though, I'm not sure what I'd go
for. There's a few decent, inexpensive portables out there, and some
professional-grade rack-mount stuff that I could never afford (even if
I wanted it), but everything in the middle seems to have dried up.
Your AOR is one of the last few consumer desktop receivers one can
purchase new.

If I were you, I'd have my set fixed just this once but never again
(unless, when you got it back, it was apparent that the repair was
unsatisfactory; Drake does warrant its repairs for, I think, 90 days).

Of course I'm not trying to tell you how to spend your money.

Nothing you've said has come off as patronizing. You've given me good
advice and I enjoy reading your posts.