RadioBanter - Eton (Grundig) S-350 drift.

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- - Eton (Grundig) S-350 drift. (https://www.radiobanter.com/shortwave/43379-eton-grundig-s-350-drift.html)

Arthur Pozner

June 20th 04 04:55 AM

Eton (Grundig) S-350 drift.

Have used it for about 3 months now. Seems like a good
sounding and well thought out portable .
However, why does it drift down in frequency as the temperature
increases? As a test, I had it set to a station in the 21 MHz broadcast
band and to my horror seen frequency set go down...30 to 60 KHz as if
something was moving it ! What kind of gremlin did Tecsun,the OEM, plant
in it? Why it is not modified; as far as I know this is has been a
problem since its inception- nearly two years ago!!

Jay	June 20th 04 01:55 PM

You have to realize that all analog radios drift somewhat. Some say the
S-350 drifts more than most, but it is my belief that the main reason for
this is that you can SEE the drift on the digital display. I own several
analog radios (GE SRIII, Zenith Trans-Oceanics (tube and transistor) and
several small portables and find that they ALL drift audibly under some
conditions. Drift seems to be most the higher you go in frequency, so on the
GE SRIII, I don't notice any drift at the low end of the dial but there is
drift I can hear at the high end of the dial. If I can hear the drift enough
to have to retune it I can only imagine that, if the radio were equipped
with a digital readout, it would be on the order of 10 to 20 KHz near the
top of the am band.

On shortwave drift is noticeable to an even greater degree. On my
Trans-Oceanics (all well esteemed radios), if I tune to the BBC at 15190
when the set is first tuned in, I can hear the frequency drift during the
first 10 to 15 minutes of operation and when I retune slightly, the signal
comes back in.

The S-350 was designed to give a lot of performance for the money, and I
don't think anyone can deny it surely does. Also, recent production (I think
the date of manufacture starting around April of 2003) has a small change to
help minimize drift when the radio is kept plugged into the AC by keeping
one critical IC at operating temperature. I don't use mine plugged in,
though, and I still find the drift is within the first few minutes of
operation. A small amount of drift is normal, and generally I think the
whole drift issue has been blown way out of proportion.

Just my two cent's worth!

Jay
"Arthur Pozner" wrote in message
...
Have used it for about 3 months now. Seems like a good
sounding and well thought out portable .
However, why does it drift down in frequency as the temperature
increases? As a test, I had it set to a station in the 21 MHz broadcast
band and to my horror seen frequency set go down...30 to 60 KHz as if
something was moving it ! What kind of gremlin did Tecsun,the OEM, plant
in it? Why it is not modified; as far as I know this is has been a
problem since its inception- nearly two years ago!!

mike0219116

June 20th 04 02:03 PM

I had an early production model of the S-350, which I subsequently sold,
that drifted badly. I bought another model late last year and it drifts
much, much less than my first model.

"Arthur Pozner" wrote in message
...
Have used it for about 3 months now. Seems like a good
sounding and well thought out portable .
However, why does it drift down in frequency as the temperature
increases? As a test, I had it set to a station in the 21 MHz broadcast
band and to my horror seen frequency set go down...30 to 60 KHz as if
something was moving it ! What kind of gremlin did Tecsun,the OEM, plant
in it? Why it is not modified; as far as I know this is has been a
problem since its inception- nearly two years ago!!

Joe Analssandrini

June 20th 04 02:35 PM

Dear Arthur,

ALL analog radios drift. Even the Hammarlund HQ-180 and others of its
class drifted to some extent! The very best analog radios, such as
that Hammarlund, however, will "hold" their settings for a long time,
sometimes even hours on SW, but even a "rock-steady" analog-tuned
radio will drift. This is the nature of the beast and is the reason
that I shall NEVER again buy ANY analog-tuned radio (unless, of
course, someone comes up with some "locking" feature that prevents
drift). So far, no one has been able to eliminate this drift entirely,
even in an expensive analog radio.

As you have found out, the Grundig S-350 certainly does not belong in
the class of "the very best analog radios." (What do you expect for
$100? eton/Grundig/Tecsun "ain't" Hammarlund or Drake engineering!) It
does have good sound and is good on MW and FM so appreciate it for
what it does well and, if you really want a portable for semi-serious
SW listening, you'll have to go elsewhere.

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR along with a good amplified speaker (your
choice) attached to its line output is a good SW/sound performer, and
even more so if you get an AN-LP1 antenna.

The S-350 sure "looks" impressive, though, even if it doesn't
"perform" impressively. That is eton/Grundig's "ace-in-the-hole" and
why many people buy their less-than-stellar radios (exceptions: the
Yacht-boy 400 and the S-800, both digital and both more expensive).

The real advantage of an analog-tuned radio is its quiet circuitry,
but even that can be overcome in a well-designed digital radio, such
as the Sony.

Please note that the above is my opinion only. Others may disagree.

Best of luck,

Joe

(Arthur Pozner) wrote in message ...
Have used it for about 3 months now. Seems like a good
sounding and well thought out portable .
However, why does it drift down in frequency as the temperature
increases? As a test, I had it set to a station in the 21 MHz broadcast
band and to my horror seen frequency set go down...30 to 60 KHz as if
something was moving it ! What kind of gremlin did Tecsun,the OEM, plant
in it? Why it is not modified; as far as I know this is has been a
problem since its inception- nearly two years ago!!

Arthur Pozner

June 20th 04 08:43 PM

Well said. But, even my older radios did not have a drift of such a
magnitude, especially the really fine tube sets!
Again, Tecsun/eton/Grundig should have corrected the temperature drift
problem by now. How many of them did they make so far? The serial
number on mine is S35031039210...

RHF	June 21st 04 08:56 PM

= = = (Arthur Pozner) wrote in message
= = = ...

Well said. But, even my older radios did not have a drift of such a
magnitude, especially the really fine tube sets!
Again, Tecsun/eton/Grundig should have corrected the temperature drift
problem by now. How many of them did they make so far? The serial
number on mine is S35031039210...

AP,

S35031039210

S350 = Model Number

3 = Year: 2003

10 = Month: October

39210 = Ordinal Serial Number

Read "UP-DATE: SERIAL NUMBERS"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grundig-S350/message/1967

yilgr ~ RHF
..
Grundig S350 "Super Radio" Tecsun BCL-2000 eGroup at YAHOO !
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grundig-S350/

..

RHF	June 21st 04 09:16 PM

Pete	June 22nd 04 02:28 AM

"Jay" wrote in message
. ..
You have to realize that all analog radios drift somewhat. Some say the
S-350 drifts more than most, but it is my belief that the main reason for
this is that you can SEE the drift on the digital display. I own several
analog radios (GE SRIII, Zenith Trans-Oceanics (tube and transistor) and
several small portables and find that they ALL drift audibly under some
conditions. Drift seems to be most the higher you go in frequency, so on
the
GE SRIII, I don't notice any drift at the low end of the dial but there is
drift I can hear at the high end of the dial. If I can hear the drift
enough
to have to retune it I can only imagine that, if the radio were equipped
with a digital readout, it would be on the order of 10 to 20 KHz near the
top of the am band.

On shortwave drift is noticeable to an even greater degree. On my
Trans-Oceanics (all well esteemed radios), if I tune to the BBC at 15190
when the set is first tuned in, I can hear the frequency drift during the
first 10 to 15 minutes of operation and when I retune slightly, the signal
comes back in.

The S-350 was designed to give a lot of performance for the money, and I
don't think anyone can deny it surely does. Also, recent production (I
think
the date of manufacture starting around April of 2003) has a small change
to
help minimize drift when the radio is kept plugged into the AC by keeping
one critical IC at operating temperature. I don't use mine plugged in,
though, and I still find the drift is within the first few minutes of
operation. A small amount of drift is normal, and generally I think the
whole drift issue has been blown way out of proportion.

Just my two cent's worth!

I have an S350 and I totally agree with the above assessment. I've been
listening to shortwave since the early 1970's, so, I've used a number of
analogically-tuned radios in my time. People like me who have are generally
not fazed or surprised by a bit of drift like that. It's expected. Since the
350 has both an analog tuner AND a seemingly very accurate digital frequency
readout, the drifting is just more obvious because of it. Retuning was
always expected and even part of the fun in the old days. Just retune it
occasionally when you have to, and enjoy the great performance of this
radio. It's hard to beat for the price. Just as an example, a couple of
summers ago, I returned three Sat-800's because I wasn't satisfied with
them. But, I'm not letting go of this S350. I absolutely love it! I find
digitally-tuned radios boring, and I hate scanning through the bands with
those things.
Pete

Pete	June 22nd 04 02:34 AM

"Pete" wrote in message
gers.com...

I have an S350 and I totally agree with the above assessment. I've been
listening to shortwave since the early 1970's, so, I've used a number of
analogically-tuned radios in my time. People like me who have are
generally
not fazed or surprised by a bit of drift like that. It's expected. Since
the
350 has both an analog tuner AND a seemingly very accurate digital
frequency
readout, the drifting is just more obvious because of it. Retuning was
always expected and even part of the fun in the old days. Just retune it
occasionally when you have to, and enjoy the great performance of this
radio. It's hard to beat for the price. Just as an example, a couple of
summers ago, I returned three Sat-800's because I wasn't satisfied with
them. But, I'm not letting go of this S350. I absolutely love it! I find
digitally-tuned radios boring, and I hate scanning through the bands with
those things.
Pete

BTW, to add to my own post above, I should mention that my S350 has the
updated power-on switch, like the later Tecsun version. I don't know if that
means it drifts less than earlier models, since I've never had one of those.
Pete

Arthur Pozner

June 22nd 04 06:09 AM

Yes, that is what I have. An updated S350 . But, despite being
plugged in at all times to to 120VAC outlet it still drifts enormously.
I keep a record of frequency displayed over an extended period (several
weeks) versus approximate ambient temperature.Tuning dial is
untouched. At one point it went down a full ... 59 KHz(!!!) from the
original setting. Again,this is
NOT a mechanical drift and is definetely NOT normal. I have a tube
based Grundig type 4570U/stereo table receiver. Though it doesn't posess
a digital frequency readout ,it dosn't seem to drift anywhere near like
a brand spanking S350 does.
BTW both of my Drakes, the R-7 and TR-7 seem to have a relatively
'innocent drift' due to humidity changes ,not temperature variations
affecting the VFO. Drake used to carry a modification kit to cure
that problem,but it was not very serious-1 to 2 Khz in the most extreme
cases. I can live with that. Nobody is perfect.

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