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#1
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Got The Eton E1 Today
From first impressions only, I like it a lot.
SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. The build quality is actually superb for a rig classified as a portable. The sync detector work very well IMO but remember I've only used one night, a couple hours now. It also has double sideband like the HF-150. The PBT on a portable is really a nice touch. The thing that amazed me was how well it's implemented. They really took their time to do this one right. I think it will be a big seller for them even at 5 bills. Prices will probably drop $75 by the holidays. This is also because of the build quality. This doesn't stink from a cheap China clone factory product. Once people realize it's a very respectabl built rig, they'll buy it. The sound quality is very good and clean. A real pleasure for BCB so far. Being able to knock between 7khz and 4 is nice and comes in handy. The bass and treble controls work very well especially with the bandwidth choices of 7/4/2.3. I can't comment on the sensitivity yet cause I don't have a PAL connector for the external antenna. Don't know why they chose such a adaption. I have my main antenna hooked up to the whip for tonight. There is choice of "DX" which acts as active antenna to boost signals. You can chose from internal antenna {whip} to ext ant. with side switches. One for FM and one for HF. The case seems to be made of some type of hard, but rubbery feeling material. I think it could handle a moderate drop. The eronomics are good on the very front though the buttons seem a tad on the tiny side. But, I found that the knobs like the volume and PBT, bass and treble to not be as recessed as much as I'd like. Turning the knobs sides is very easy but if the radios back stand is pulled out and it's rested tilted up, you feel there is not enough debt to them. You do get used to it pretty quickly but it irritated me somewhat. The whip can be rotated at a 90 degree angle so the it can point straight up when resting on it's back. What I didn't like was the whip wouldn't stay on it's side or at a 45 degree angle. When I let go of it it fell all the way to one side. Perhaps it can be tightened a little to keep in exact position. Now I didn't go thru the whole manual yet, but in ECSS the frequency seemed to be off like 7kHz.. It didn't zero beat on certain known local stations here in Florida. I don't have that with my other rigs. Looking thru the menus I can't find a offset for it. Only an offset for the time and clocks. I have to look into this more. The AGC has a slow/fast and Auto mode which keep the AGC in fast mode between tuning so you don't miss weak signals. Too bad you can't turn it off. That's about for now. I need to spend more time with it and read the complete manual twice before I can really give more observations. The only thing that really bothered me was the ergonomics. They should have made sure there was a 360 degree recess all around any knobs. It's not like it's a tiny portable with little real estate to work with. If this was priced at $300, it would fly off the shelves. But, I think since it's considered a "sat radio", people have to pay for added XM components that they don't need. Like I said before, I believe XMSR helped Eton out to some degree with the quality of this radio. I'll tell you one thing this makes one hell of a portable if you got the energy to power it. They say many of the fuctions drain battery life more then the others so. It's a pretty big portable. It's man's tote! Lucky |
#2
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"Lucky" wrote
SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. I'm not surprised at all. Taiwan companies are now beginning to move their factories out of China and into other countries. |
#3
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On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 03:39:04 -0400, "Lucky"
wrote: From first impressions only, I like it a lot. SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. The build quality is actually superb for a rig classified as a portable. The sync detector work very well IMO but remember I've only used one night, a couple hours now. It also has double sideband like the HF-150. The PBT on a portable is really a nice touch. The thing that amazed me was how well it's implemented. They really took their time to do this one right. I think it will be a big seller for them even at 5 bills. Prices will probably drop $75 by the holidays. This is also because of the build quality. This doesn't stink from a cheap China clone factory product. Once people realize it's a very respectabl built rig, they'll buy it. The sound quality is very good and clean. A real pleasure for BCB so far. Being able to knock between 7khz and 4 is nice and comes in handy. The bass and treble controls work very well especially with the bandwidth choices of 7/4/2.3. I can't comment on the sensitivity yet cause I don't have a PAL connector for the external antenna. Don't know why they chose such a adaption. I have my main antenna hooked up to the whip for tonight. There is choice of "DX" which acts as active antenna to boost signals. You can chose from internal antenna {whip} to ext ant. with side switches. One for FM and one for HF. The case seems to be made of some type of hard, but rubbery feeling material. I think it could handle a moderate drop. The eronomics are good on the very front though the buttons seem a tad on the tiny side. But, I found that the knobs like the volume and PBT, bass and treble to not be as recessed as much as I'd like. Turning the knobs sides is very easy but if the radios back stand is pulled out and it's rested tilted up, you feel there is not enough debt to them. You do get used to it pretty quickly but it irritated me somewhat. The whip can be rotated at a 90 degree angle so the it can point straight up when resting on it's back. What I didn't like was the whip wouldn't stay on it's side or at a 45 degree angle. When I let go of it it fell all the way to one side. Perhaps it can be tightened a little to keep in exact position. Now I didn't go thru the whole manual yet, but in ECSS the frequency seemed to be off like 7kHz.. It didn't zero beat on certain known local stations here in Florida. I don't have that with my other rigs. Looking thru the menus I can't find a offset for it. Only an offset for the time and clocks. I have to look into this more. The AGC has a slow/fast and Auto mode which keep the AGC in fast mode between tuning so you don't miss weak signals. Too bad you can't turn it off. That's about for now. I need to spend more time with it and read the complete manual twice before I can really give more observations. The only thing that really bothered me was the ergonomics. They should have made sure there was a 360 degree recess all around any knobs. It's not like it's a tiny portable with little real estate to work with. If this was priced at $300, it would fly off the shelves. But, I think since it's considered a "sat radio", people have to pay for added XM components that they don't need. Like I said before, I believe XMSR helped Eton out to some degree with the quality of this radio. I'll tell you one thing this makes one hell of a portable if you got the energy to power it. They say many of the fuctions drain battery life more then the others so. It's a pretty big portable. It's man's tote! Lucky Radio Shack has a Euro to F adapter. http://www.radioshack.com/search.asp...search&S RC=1 |
#4
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Will it pick up that radio station in Monticello,Mississippi in the
daytime from over here on the West side of Jackson,Mississippi where I live.If not,I am not interested in that radio.Look in a Rand McNally road atlatlas,Monticello isn't far from Jackson.Build a AM radio for about $300.00 that will pick up Monticello from where I live without an external antenna and I will gladly buy that radio. cuhulin |
#5
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"SeeingEyeDog" wrote in message ... "Lucky" wrote SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. I'm not surprised at all. Taiwan companies are now beginning to move their factories out of China and into other countries. Are you implying that the proceeds from this radio will still serve the CCP unless the Taiwan manufacturer is under it's own control? This time they have to pay rent and normal overhead like everyone else. It's only assembled in India but of course the components must still be Chinese. This is only my impression, but I think the workers in India crank out a better product if only because they don't live under communism and WANT to do their personal best. Their personal moral and attitude has to be more cheerful, positive and geared towards producing a better product then a forced slave, low paying laborer and it shows. It's a solid radio and you can appreciate it's quality in comparison to other Chinese made radios. I never had a Sat 800 or even listened to one, but from the couple people who do own both say the E1 sounds much better then the 800 and they like it much better. My few beefs are NO carrying handle. What were they thinking? If it's a portable, how are you supposed to carry it around comfortably? Also, I would have liked to see an adjustable stand on back of the radio for different angles of viewing. You see the display can be adjusted for contrast, but you lose readability from certain angles. This means you must manintain a certain line of sight setup so you can read it properly all the time especially the smaller print labels near the very bottom of the display. Or, you can just keep the radio in an upright postition eliminating this slight oversight. Now, there are only 2 little rubber feet towards the back of the radio to keep it from slipping. Why they didn't put rubber on all 4 feet doesn't make sense. The cost must be under 1 cent when bought in bulk. I need to run over to Rat Shack to pick up the Pal adapter so I can check on the sensitivity of the rig. ECSS is fine except for the 5 to 7khz offset for the stations I listened to. The double sync sideband works very well. It's comparable to the Lowe 150s implentation of it but I would say the Lowe does a better job of it. Aagin, I have only spent one night with it and didn't read the manual completely yet. I was out all day on friday and was kind of tired when it came to reading and comprehension of the info. I will read it all today and tomorrow. The manual also comes on a CD. Oh, they give you pre printed return lables if you want to return the radio for almost any reason. Here are your choices: 1] Defective 2] Unwanted gift 3] Quality 4] Changed Mind 5] Damaged 6] Wrong size 7] Wrong Color 8] Arrived too late {much too late 9] Not Item Ordered 10] Other reason and you explain why So as you can see they give you 60 days and don't care why you don't want or like it. I'm very, very pleased with that. But, I looks like this is the Sharper Image's policy only. Ok guys, off I go soon to pick up the Pal adapter. Everyone have a safe and happy day. Lucky |
#6
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"David" wrote in message ... On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 03:39:04 -0400, "Lucky" wrote: From first impressions only, I like it a lot. SHOCKER. It's assembled in India NOT China. The build quality is actually superb for a rig classified as a portable. The sync detector work very well IMO but remember I've only used one night, a couple hours now. It also has double sideband like the HF-150. The PBT on a portable is really a nice touch. The thing that amazed me was how well it's implemented. They really took their time to do this one right. I think it will be a big seller for them even at 5 bills. Prices will probably drop $75 by the holidays. This is also because of the build quality. This doesn't stink from a cheap China clone factory product. Once people realize it's a very respectabl built rig, they'll buy it. The sound quality is very good and clean. A real pleasure for BCB so far. Being able to knock between 7khz and 4 is nice and comes in handy. The bass and treble controls work very well especially with the bandwidth choices of 7/4/2.3. I can't comment on the sensitivity yet cause I don't have a PAL connector for the external antenna. Don't know why they chose such a adaption. I have my main antenna hooked up to the whip for tonight. There is choice of "DX" which acts as active antenna to boost signals. You can chose from internal antenna {whip} to ext ant. with side switches. One for FM and one for HF. The case seems to be made of some type of hard, but rubbery feeling material. I think it could handle a moderate drop. The eronomics are good on the very front though the buttons seem a tad on the tiny side. But, I found that the knobs like the volume and PBT, bass and treble to not be as recessed as much as I'd like. Turning the knobs sides is very easy but if the radios back stand is pulled out and it's rested tilted up, you feel there is not enough debt to them. You do get used to it pretty quickly but it irritated me somewhat. The whip can be rotated at a 90 degree angle so the it can point straight up when resting on it's back. What I didn't like was the whip wouldn't stay on it's side or at a 45 degree angle. When I let go of it it fell all the way to one side. Perhaps it can be tightened a little to keep in exact position. Now I didn't go thru the whole manual yet, but in ECSS the frequency seemed to be off like 7kHz.. It didn't zero beat on certain known local stations here in Florida. I don't have that with my other rigs. Looking thru the menus I can't find a offset for it. Only an offset for the time and clocks. I have to look into this more. The AGC has a slow/fast and Auto mode which keep the AGC in fast mode between tuning so you don't miss weak signals. Too bad you can't turn it off. That's about for now. I need to spend more time with it and read the complete manual twice before I can really give more observations. The only thing that really bothered me was the ergonomics. They should have made sure there was a 360 degree recess all around any knobs. It's not like it's a tiny portable with little real estate to work with. If this was priced at $300, it would fly off the shelves. But, I think since it's considered a "sat radio", people have to pay for added XM components that they don't need. Like I said before, I believe XMSR helped Eton out to some degree with the quality of this radio. I'll tell you one thing this makes one hell of a portable if you got the energy to power it. They say many of the fuctions drain battery life more then the others so. It's a pretty big portable. It's man's tote! Lucky Radio Shack has a Euro to F adapter. http://www.radioshack.com/search.asp...search&S RC=1 Hi David Thanks for that info. It helps to eliminate any potential hassles knowing the part numbers. Have a good day! Lucky |
#7
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I am not knocking Taiwan,but Sangean radios are made in Taiwan (do y'all
hear me? Art Bell and George Noory and Bob Crane,y'all bunch of chicken feathers!,Idiots!,Morons!,Freaks,Queers!,Suckers!) and Sangean radios are wayyyy over priced cheap a.. crap! I know,I once bought two of them and I sent that wayyyyy over priced cheap a.. plastic crap! radios back to Bob Doofus Crane in Fortuna,California.Bob Crane and Art Bell and George Noory,Shove them Sangean's UP y'alls a...s Sideways,y'all pedlars of wayyyyyy over priced cheap JUNK! Hey Art Bell,where are you,old boy girl Minnie Pearl.(do tune in) NOT! cuhulin |
#8
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Thanks Lucky for the observations. I am surprised that it ended up
being produced in India. I wonder what company is doing the assembly? I'll probably end up getting one someday, but I still plan on waiting for a few more productions runs (and perhaps a revision) before I get one. |
#9
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Lucky wrote: It's a solid radio and you can appreciate it's quality in comparison to other Chinese made radios. That's good to hear. I never had a Sat 800 or even listened to one, but from the couple people who do own both say the E1 sounds much better then the 800 and they like it much better. I don't find this hard to believe. The 800's sound is good, but some of its predecessors certainly had better sound. My few beefs are NO carrying handle. What were they thinking? If it's a portable, how are you supposed to carry it around comfortably? I think the trend is to classify receivers as 'portable' or 'tabletop' based on their performance rather than their size. This is a misleading use of the term 'portable', but it explains why a behemoth like the S800 is called a 'portable' while a sleek little racehorse like the HF-150 is usually termed a 'tabletop'. Also, I would have liked to see an adjustable stand on back of the radio for different angles of viewing. You see the display can be adjusted for contrast, but you lose readability from certain angles. This means you must manintain a certain line of sight setup so you can read it properly all the time especially the smaller print labels near the very bottom of the display. Or, you can just keep the radio in an upright postition eliminating this slight oversight. Now, there are only 2 little rubber feet towards the back of the radio to keep it from slipping. Why they didn't put rubber on all 4 feet doesn't make sense. The cost must be under 1 cent when bought in bulk. Hmmm. These do sound like slightly annoying shortcomings, but you can probably find ways to compensate for them. I need to run over to Rat Shack to pick up the Pal adapter so I can check on the sensitivity of the rig. ECSS is fine except for the 5 to 7khz offset for the stations I listened to. I would be more concerned about this. I'd find out what this is about before your 60 day trial period is up. The double sync sideband works very well. It's comparable to the Lowe 150s implentation of it but I would say the Lowe does a better job of it. This doesn't surprise me, but the comparison is probably unfair to the E1. Despite its hefty pricetag and its many features, I don't think it was intended to rival receivers like the HF-150. Aagin, I have only spent one night with it and didn't read the manual completely yet. I was out all day on friday and was kind of tired when it came to reading and comprehension of the info. I will read it all today and tomorrow. The manual also comes on a CD. Oh, they give you pre printed return lables if you want to return the radio for almost any reason. Here are your choices: 1] Defective 2] Unwanted gift 3] Quality 4] Changed Mind 5] Damaged 6] Wrong size 7] Wrong Color 8] Arrived too late {much too late 9] Not Item Ordered 10] Other reason and you explain why So as you can see they give you 60 days and don't care why you don't want or like it. I'm very, very pleased with that. But, I looks like this is the Sharper Image's policy only. Ok guys, off I go soon to pick up the Pal adapter. Everyone have a safe and happy day. Lucky It's hard to argue with this return policy. If you decide not to keep it, you should have no problems. Steve |
#10
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On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 11:35:26 -0500, wrote:
I am not knocking Taiwan,but Sangean radios are made in Taiwan Not all of them. Some are ChiCom. |
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