I have a Sony 7600GR. Will I get much better performance from a new
Grundig SAT 800? I think I can get a reconditioned Grundig for around
$400. I am just wondering if it's worth nearly $300 more than the Sony.
Any help appreciated.

Ducky wrote:
I have a Sony 7600GR. Will I get much better performance from a new
Grundig SAT 800? I think I can get a reconditioned Grundig for around
$400. I am just wondering if it's worth nearly $300 more than the
Sony.
Any help appreciated.

A Satellit 800 will be a step up from a 7600GR, but will it be worth
$300? I sure don't think so. Why not spend that money on a used
tabletop? You'll get way more bang for the buck that way. Several Lowe
HF-150s have gone for around that on Ebay recently.

Mind you, it's a little weird to call the 150 a tabletop in contrast to
the 800 when the 800 is about 15 times the size of the 150.

Best,

Steve

the satellit 800 is a desktop

A friend of mine is upstate new york sold his 150 to get an 800, says
it is a better radio

Everyone has a right to their own opinion, of course. I personally find
your friend's decision to be absolutely mindboggling, but hey...it's
not the first time my mind has been boggled and it sure won't be the
last!

Steve

Hello Ducky!

Both radios are superb within their categories. When considering
absolute reception, the Satellit 800 is a superior radio to the
ICF-SW7600GR.

HOWEVER --- have you tried using a really good antenna with your '7600?
Please remember (and note well) that the ANTENNA is far more important
to good reception than is the radio.

A good DXer can achieve far more with a '7600 and a good antenna than
someone else with a Satellit 800 and a mediocre antenna.

Though it would be overkill to buy a Wellbrook ALA 330S antenna for a
Sony portable, just for the "heck" of it I attached my Wellbrook to the
Sony. You should have heard the signals "pouring" in! (Of course the
Satellit 800 is better yet.)

That said, if you are truly interested in good short wave reception and
are willing to erect a proper antenna, then "yes" the Satellit 800 is
EASILY worth the $300.

Best,

Joe

Ducky wrote:
I have a Sony 7600GR. Will I get much better performance from a new
Grundig SAT 800? I think I can get a reconditioned Grundig for around
$400. I am just wondering if it's worth nearly $300 more than the
Sony.
Any help appreciated.

Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Hello Ducky!

Both radios are superb within their categories. When considering
absolute reception, the Satellit 800 is a superior radio to the
ICF-SW7600GR.

HOWEVER --- have you tried using a really good antenna with your
'7600?
Please remember (and note well) that the ANTENNA is far more
important
to good reception than is the radio.

A good DXer can achieve far more with a '7600 and a good antenna than
someone else with a Satellit 800 and a mediocre antenna.

Though it would be overkill to buy a Wellbrook ALA 330S antenna for a
Sony portable, just for the "heck" of it I attached my Wellbrook to
the
Sony. You should have heard the signals "pouring" in! (Of course the
Satellit 800 is better yet.)

That said, if you are truly interested in good short wave reception
and
are willing to erect a proper antenna, then "yes" the Satellit 800 is
EASILY worth the $300.

Best,

Joe

Are you saying that the SAT 800 is more sensitive than the 7600GR?

Dear Ducky,

It is FAR more sensitive. But remember - sensitivity per se is not the
most important attribute of a good short wave radio, at least nowadays,
when virtually all short wave radios have sufficient sensitivity. A
sensitive receiver will pick up local electrical noise even better than
an insensitive one! A radio/antenna combination which will minimize
that problem is better than one that won't.

Take my advice about buying the AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna (on a
returnable basis) first and try it with your Sony ICF-SW7600GR. If you
see an improvement in reception quality, then the Grundig Satellit 800
will certainly outperform (on an absolute basis) the Sony, due to its
far superior image rejection, IF filtering, AGC action, etc.

In order to improve your reception quality, first you must increase the
signal-to-noise ratio. Only an antenna can do that. If you find one
that will work well in your location (and I believe the WL500 is one
that will), then you can upgrade your shack to a better receiver with
the knowledge that you are getting your money's worth.

If, after following my advice, you ultimately do buy a Satellit 800,
well then you can aspire to someday owning a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active
Loop Antenna, the finest antenna being made today. But that will be far
into the future.

You should find that the Grundig Satellit 800/AOR WL500 combination
will afford you excellent reception and many hours of pleasant
listening.

Best,

Joe

Joe Analssandrini wrote:

Dear Ducky,

It is FAR more sensitive. But remember - sensitivity per se is not the
most important attribute of a good short wave radio, at least nowadays,
when virtually all short wave radios have sufficient sensitivity. A
sensitive receiver will pick up local electrical noise even better than
an insensitive one! A radio/antenna combination which will minimize
that problem is better than one that won't.

Take my advice about buying the AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna (on a
returnable basis) first and try it with your Sony ICF-SW7600GR. If you
see an improvement in reception quality, then the Grundig Satellit 800
will certainly outperform (on an absolute basis) the Sony, due to its
far superior image rejection, IF filtering, AGC action, etc.

In order to improve your reception quality, first you must increase the
signal-to-noise ratio. Only an antenna can do that. If you find one
that will work well in your location (and I believe the WL500 is one
that will), then you can upgrade your shack to a better receiver with
the knowledge that you are getting your money's worth.

If, after following my advice, you ultimately do buy a Satellit 800,
well then you can aspire to someday owning a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active
Loop Antenna, the finest antenna being made today. But that will be far
into the future.

You should find that the Grundig Satellit 800/AOR WL500 combination
will afford you excellent reception and many hours of pleasant
listening.

Best,

Joe

Please elaborate on why you think the Wellbrook is better than a well
built inverted-L with a good grounding system, a la 'Doty'.

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Dear "Starman,"

The person who initiated this post cannot have an outdoor antenna of
any type. He lives in an apartment which, of course, has restrictions
(read the first letter in this post). That is why I did not even
mention an outdoor antenna.

In his particular case, he wanted to know if a Grundig Satellit 800
would be "better" than a Sony ICF-SW7600GR. I recommended that he FIRST
try an AOR WL500 Window Loop Antenna, the best antenna of its type I
have found (it delivers a better signal and affords a better
signal-to-noise ratio than, for example, the Sony AN-LP1 antenna,
though I like that antenna, especially for travel). I said to him that
if the AOR antenna improves his reception on the Sony, the Grundig will
definitely offer an improvement. If, however, he notices little or no
difference in reception with the AOR antenna over the "wire clipped to
antenna" he is currently using, then forget about the Grundig until he
moves to a different house.

But to answer your particular question, a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active
Loop Antenna will probably outperform ANY "real-world" short wave
antenna any of us are able to afford due to its great improvement in
the S/N ratio of the received signal. Certainly that is the case in the
summer when atmospheric noise is at its highest and, of course, in many
houses and neighborhoods with nearby electrical wires, street lamps,
buried cable-TV wires, computers, fluorescent lights, outdoor
"low-voltage" (read: transformers made in China) lighting, etc., etc.,
etc.

The Wellbrook is far less sensitive to the "electrical" component of
the particular frequency to which you are tuned. That makes all the
difference.

A well-built outdoor antenna - a random wire, a sloper, a dipole - will
receive more "signal" but will ALSO receive more "noise," thus
degrading the listenability of the received signal. If you are in an
electrically-quiet area, where there is little or no noise problem of
the types described above, the outdoor antenna is definitely the way to
go, at least at first.

I personally cannot have an outdoor antenna either due to homeowners'
association restrictions. The Wellbrook antenna has been like a miracle
for me! If I lived in an "ideal" world, however, I would have BOTH - an
outdoor long wire AND the Wellbrook. I can tell you, however, that I
would probably be using the Wellbrook more, especially in summer!

For most people in most situations, I feel that the Wellbrook ALA 330S
is positively the best antenna yet designed, certainly the finest
antenna I personally have experienced in well over forty years of short
wave listening.

Best,

Joe