Hi all. Currently I own a YB-400PE that I'm happy with. However, it
gets much better reception outside than in. We live in an apartment
building with thick walls and lots of RF noise. The YB picks up the
stronger stations well; however, with weaker ones it has problems.

I like the idea of the 800. However, I am wondering if in my current
surroundings I will get enough of a performance boost to justify the
400-500 bucks for a Satellit 800. I like the idea of the large whip
because putting up an outside antenna is really not an option in our
building. I was thinking the 800's filters and other controls would
probably help me get more listenable signals as well. Usually I use
the reel antenna with my YB-400.

Would appreciate any and all input. Also, where is the best place to
purchase the 800?

Thanks in advance.

Not to mention the fact that the 800[s whip has a preamp behind it. Good
luck in getting a functional one the first time around. It's NOT uncommon
to have to exchange it for one that actually works. If you get a good one,
you'll probably love it...



"Invader3k" wrote in message
om...
Hi all. Currently I own a YB-400PE that I'm happy with. However, it
gets much better reception outside than in. We live in an apartment
building with thick walls and lots of RF noise. The YB picks up the
stronger stations well; however, with weaker ones it has problems.

I like the idea of the 800. However, I am wondering if in my current
surroundings I will get enough of a performance boost to justify the
400-500 bucks for a Satellit 800. I like the idea of the large whip
because putting up an outside antenna is really not an option in our
building. I was thinking the 800's filters and other controls would
probably help me get more listenable signals as well. Usually I use
the reel antenna with my YB-400.

Would appreciate any and all input. Also, where is the best place to
purchase the 800?

Thanks in advance.

Good point. SOmeone mentioned buying a reconditioned one from
Universal Radio. They're 100 bucks off the normal price, and are
supposedly retested and look the same (basically). Anyone have
experience with these units?

Thanks.

Not to mention the fact that the 800[s whip has a preamp behind it. Good
luck in getting a functional one the first time around. It's NOT uncommon
to have to exchange it for one that actually works. If you get a good one,
you'll probably love it...

In article ,
says...
Good point. SOmeone mentioned buying a reconditioned one from
Universal Radio. They're 100 bucks off the normal price, and are
supposedly retested and look the same (basically). Anyone have
experience with these units?


I do. I got one Drake reconditioned from Universal Radio for a
$100 off. It works perfectly. I really like it for the purpose I
bought it...band cruising...I'm not after rare DX. I have the advantage
of a really good, well grounded outdoor antenna, but I'm not sure WX
you'd get a $200 improvement over a YB-400 PE.

Thanks.

Not to mention the fact that the 800[s whip has a preamp behind it. Good
luck in getting a functional one the first time around. It's NOT uncommon
to have to exchange it for one that actually works. If you get a good one,
you'll probably love it...

Invader3k wrote:

Good point. SOmeone mentioned buying a reconditioned one from
Universal Radio. They're 100 bucks off the normal price, and are
supposedly retested and look the same (basically). Anyone have
experience with these units?

They are reconditioned by Drake, so getting a good one should be a near
certainty.


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Would appreciate any and all input. Also, where is the best place to
purchase the 800?

Thanks in advance.


I've owned a SAT-800 about 3 years and find it to be a decent
performer for broadcast sw stations. I also live in an apartment
bldg. brick, 1st. floor.
The performance of the whip alone is dismal for me, it is amplified
and electrical noise is amplified. To rectify this, I took a 20 ft.
peoce of magnet wire and put an alligator clip onnm onje end and
clipped to ro rhe whip just above the swovel and did NOT extend the
whip.The rest of the wire I placed around the glass on the upper ha;f
of the wondow, securing with wide transparent packing tape. The
results work very well. I can even receive and decode various digital
modes (rtty/fax/sitorb/sstv) with careful tuning.

I purchased mine from Universal and asked them to test it before
shipping and have had no problems with it.
Drake, Grove and possibly AES are all reputable dealers. I'd be wary
of purchasing a NIB on EBat only because the earlier SAT-800s had
quality control problems. I prefer dealing woth people who have
knowledge of SW/Ham equipmwnt.

Hope this helps.

In article ,
(Invader3k) writes:

Subject: Thinking about buying a Satellit 800...
From: (Invader3k)
Date: 12 Aug 2004 19:12:43 -0700

Hi all. Currently I own a YB-400PE that I'm happy with. However, it
gets much better reception outside than in. We live in an apartment
building with thick walls and lots of RF noise. The YB picks up the
stronger stations well; however, with weaker ones it has problems.


Becker:
Try this...

Outdoor Antenna for Apartment Dwellers . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MATERIALS

Some Stranded, Insulated copper wire from Radio shack
Colors so it matches the bricks / outside of your building

Some stick-on Cord holders
One tube clear Silicone sealer glue
One black magic marker
One Rusty red magic marker
A roll of Duct tape color of outside of apt.

One Mop
One piece of twine or string.
One Small soft edged weight.

PROCEDU

See how far it is in between two windows of your Apt..

Measure out a piece of string this distance + ~ 6 - 8 feet.
Attach a small soft edged weight to it.

( Look Outside to see no one is looking !! )

Secure curious household pets

Open Both Windows.
Insert mop part way out one]
Close that window to secure mop handle

Run over to the other window QUICK!
Take the twine with the weight on it & (without risking life & limb)
Toss the string over the mop sticking out the other window.
Secure the end of that end of the string with a bit of slack
Close that window
Run over to the other window with the mop that has the twine handing down off
it

Pull the mop in
Close the window.

( Breath deeply )

NOW....

Attach the stranded wire to the end of the string.
Slightly open window
Run over to the oher window.
Open it & pull in string until wire / string connection is through..

Pull in enough so that wire will reach SWR
Attach wire to SWR.
Close window.

- That's basically it. Modify as needed.

You can take Square stick -on cord holders
Camouflage them with magic Marker color , &
Silicone glue them to the outside corners of the window,
Then loop more wire

( DONT FALL OUT WHEN DOING THIS !!)

around the cord holders. This makes the antenna longer.
repeat for other windows..This should help lots..

( Works for me !!)

"Invader3k" wrote in message
om...
Hi all. Currently I own a YB-400PE that I'm happy with. However, it
gets much better reception outside than in. We live in an apartment
building with thick walls and lots of RF noise. The YB picks up the
stronger stations well; however, with weaker ones it has problems.

I like the idea of the 800. However, I am wondering if in my current
surroundings I will get enough of a performance boost to justify the
400-500 bucks for a Satellit 800. I like the idea of the large whip
because putting up an outside antenna is really not an option in our
building. I was thinking the 800's filters and other controls would
probably help me get more listenable signals as well. Usually I use
the reel antenna with my YB-400.

Would appreciate any and all input. Also, where is the best place to
purchase the 800?

Thanks in advance.

Hiya...

The Sat 800 will be an advance over the YB-400. The primary reasons it will
be better: audio quality, filter selection, better user interface, more
features for cleaning up weak signals, am sync. BUT... It really isn't that
much more sensitive then the YB 400. If there is no signal getting into the
appartment, no radio will work for DX'ing. Not even an R-75 ;-) As far as
I know, the YB-400 is not a radio that it prone to be very noisy, so I think
you may still have noise problems with the Sat800 too being in an indoor
apartment with electronic noise sources all over the place.

What might help a whole lot is an active indoor loop antenna. Before you
buy the Sat 800, try an indoor active loop first. Even if you still buy the
Sat 800, I think that your antenna is still key. Any way you slice it...
The YB-400 or the Sat 800, you would be greatly served with a loop antenna
that excels at indoor use.

Also.. I have read reports from five posters here that have gotten Sat 800's
that were either DOA or defective in one way or another. If you decide to
buy one, don't buy one from ANYONE that wont agree to test is for you before
it ships no matter how low the price is.

One last idea... I know for sure that the Drake R8 is a GREAT radio as far
as handling noise goes. A few people I know that use their radio indoors
with an indoor antenna have told me that the R8 is close to being a miracle
worker as far as how it stays nice and quiet near noise sources where their
other radios go "snap, crackle, pop". It is also great as a medium wave
DX'ing rig because of how quite it is low on the band where electronic noise
really effects things. You may want to look into getting a used or
reconditioned R8. It will cost about $500 to $550, but for your conditions
it will be well worth it if you like to listen to sw a lot.

Hope that help...

Michael

Michael wrote:

You may want to look into getting a used or reconditioned R8. It will cost about $500 to $550, but for your conditions it will be well worth it if you like to listen to sw a lot.

A used R8 (original model) sells for about $350-400. The R8A is worth
about $500. Early R8B runs about $700-800. Later ones $1000-1400, the
latter price if it's close to new.


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(Invader3k) wrote in message . com...
Hi all. Currently I own a YB-400PE that I'm happy with. However, it
gets much better reception outside than in. We live in an apartment
building with thick walls and lots of RF noise. The YB picks up the
stronger stations well; however, with weaker ones it has problems.

I like the idea of the 800. However, I am wondering if in my current
surroundings I will get enough of a performance boost to justify the
400-500 bucks for a Satellit 800. I like the idea of the large whip
because putting up an outside antenna is really not an option in our
building. I was thinking the 800's filters and other controls would
probably help me get more listenable signals as well. Usually I use
the reel antenna with my YB-400.

Would appreciate any and all input. Also, where is the best place to
purchase the 800?

Thanks in advance.

I personally don't see why anyone would purchase the Eton 800. It's
not all that portable and for a little more money you could get an
ICOM R75. I'd encourage you to at least consider this option. True,
you'll most likely want to purchase a few add-ons for the R75, if not
now then in the future. But even right off the shelf you'll have a
better receiver--at least in my *humble* opinion.