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Another "Firm" Date for the Etón E1?
Well, I've read all the posts saying The Sharper Image has the Et=F3n E1
in stock. Has anyone purchased and gotten it yet? Has anyone here actually seen it? Universal still states "August 5" as their "availability" date (as of their July 24 update). But check this out - http://www.grove-ent.com/eton.html Grove states "early fall" but no YEAR indicated! ;-) Frankly I'm just curious about all this - I have no intention at present of buying one. I will let others be the "guinea pigs." Joe |
Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Well, I've read all the posts saying The Sharper Image has the Etón E1 in stock. Has anyone purchased and gotten it yet? Has anyone here actually seen it? Universal still states "August 5" as their "availability" date (as of their July 24 update). But check this out - http://www.grove-ent.com/eton.html Grove states "early fall" but no YEAR indicated! ;-) Frankly I'm just curious about all this - I have no intention at present of buying one. I will let others be the "guinea pigs." Joe "Lucky" got one from Sharper Image the other day. He's posted a couple times about it. |
Hello Mark,
I've seen some of "Lucky's" posts but, unless I've missed something, he doesn't actually have the radio in hand as yet. Does he? "Lucky" - any comment? Best, Joe |
He does have it. After using it for a short time, he said he liked it
overall--although he did go on to make some more detailed comments that were 'mixed' in nature. When he last reported, he was on his way to buy an adaptor that would allow him to connect the E1 to an external antenna. We haven't heard from him since then. If I'm ever again in the market for a portable, I'll consider the E1 if (a) it works as well as it's supposed to and (b) the price comes down to $250 or less. Mind you, as long as my ICF-SW77 holds out, I won't be on the market for a portable. Stevee |
On 1 Aug 2005 09:57:55 -0700, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote: Hello Mark, I've seen some of "Lucky's" posts but, unless I've missed something, he doesn't actually have the radio in hand as yet. Does he? "Lucky" - any comment? Best, Joe He posted on 7/30 with a "mini" review. 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 ========== "Being diabetic is alot like having an un-invited guest at a picnic, who keeps pointing out the potato salad may have gone bad."--W.B. Willis |
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"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Hello Mark, I've seen some of "Lucky's" posts but, unless I've missed something, he doesn't actually have the radio in hand as yet. Does he? "Lucky" - any comment? Yes. Give me liberty or give me a pickle on rye..... Yes Joe I own one. Amazon has them too but I don't think they give a 60 day return policy. I added some more to the original thread. Good rig. I think you'll love it. Too bad I don't have Sat 800 to compare it to. It's well made and solid. Speaker is just great. It's like it's radio inbetween being a tabletop and a portable. Kinda like in a class all it's own. I recommend it but then again I recommend eating glass to make one stronger... Lucky |
wrote in message oups.com... He does have it. After using it for a short time, he said he liked it overall--although he did go on to make some more detailed comments that were 'mixed' in nature. When he last reported, he was on his way to buy an adaptor that would allow him to connect the E1 to an external antenna. We haven't heard from him since then. I got kidnapped but since no one would pay a ransom, they finally let me go saying they can understand why..... Lucky If I'm ever again in the market for a portable, I'll consider the E1 if (a) it works as well as it's supposed to and (b) the price comes down to $250 or less. Mind you, as long as my ICF-SW77 holds out, I won't be on the market for a portable. Stevee |
"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... wrote: He does have it. After using it for a short time, he said he liked it overall--although he did go on to make some more detailed comments that were 'mixed' in nature. When he last reported, he was on his way to buy an adaptor that would allow him to connect the E1 to an external antenna. We haven't heard from him since then. My guess is he's still stuck at Radio Shaft trying to explain to them that he doesn't want a new cell phone, or a dish TV system, or a new computer, or new long distance service or a new credit card... snip Radio Shaft! LOL It was pouring here with lots of lightning all day and night the day I got it so I didn't go out. Even if I did, I wouldn't have used the external antenna that night. Too stormy. Sat night, I went in to RS just near closing and they were out of stock. Too late to go to any others in the area. Sunday, picked up some recommended parts but they turned out to be too many. Like 4 adapters to get a PL-259 or 239 in action. Too many. I figured out what was really needed for myself after orientating myself with this "Pal" connector. I never saw or used one before. Wanted to go out Sunday night so I couldn't make the exchanges till today. In the meantime I was using alligator clips from my main ant to the whip on the radio so I was still using it all that time. Now I'm going to eat dinner bye :) Lucky |
Lucky wrote: "Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Hello Mark, I've seen some of "Lucky's" posts but, unless I've missed something, he doesn't actually have the radio in hand as yet. Does he? "Lucky" - any comment? Yes. Give me liberty or give me a pickle on rye..... Yes Joe I own one. Amazon has them too but I don't think they give a 60 day return policy. I added some more to the original thread. Good rig. I think you'll love it. Too bad I don't have Sat 800 to compare it to. It's well made and solid. Speaker is just great. It's like it's radio inbetween being a tabletop and a portable. Kinda like in a class all it's own. They're known as 'portatop's'. dxAce Michigan USA http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm |
At about $500.00,I am not about! to buy one.Is it that much better at
pulling in long distance AM and Shortwave without an external antenna than for instance a good $150.00 price range radio? For me,it would have to be one heck of a super duper radio.I am not knocking the radio though.I guess I am just too cheap to pay that kind of money.I have an old heavy big Sears Travler transistor multiband radio that does a very good job at pullling in AM/and FM/and Shortwave stations without an external antenna and the radio has great sound too.I only paid about three or four dollars for it at a Goodwill store about nine years ago.The on/off/volume control is about worn out and so are the push buttons on top of the radio.I can get it to work ok for a while if I keep messing around wth it.Thing is though,every time I turn it off,I have to mess around with the controls again for a long time to get it to work again so I just let it sit in the corner,unused.Basically,the old radio is just worn out. cuhulin |
In article ,
"Mark S. Holden" wrote: Joe Analssandrini wrote: Well, I've read all the posts saying The Sharper Image has the Etón E1 in stock. Has anyone purchased and gotten it yet? Has anyone here actually seen it? Universal still states "August 5" as their "availability" date (as of their July 24 update). But check this out - http://www.grove-ent.com/eton.html Grove states "early fall" but no YEAR indicated! ;-) Frankly I'm just curious about all this - I have no intention at present of buying one. I will let others be the "guinea pigs." Joe "Lucky" got one from Sharper Image the other day. He's posted a couple times about it. Mr. Un-Lucky is in the kill file. -- Telamon Ventura, California |
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I am not knocking Lucky or his new radio.It is his money and he
certainly is entitled to spend it his way.It is the $500.00 price of the radio I am knocking. cuhulin |
"Peter Maus" wrote in message ... It's not exactly a new concept. Both Sony and Grundig have both fielded portables that topped a kilobuck. Some, by a great deal. I remember at the CES in 1989, Grundig displayed a portable that had so many features you couldn't capture them all. Even had WeFax. For more than I paid for my first Mercedes. I remember a Sony portable that was 2 or 3 grand. Then suddenly AES closed them out for about a grand. I bet there were a lot of ticked off SWL's. Was it the CRF-1 maybe? I don't remember the model # right off hand. I would have loved to have one but the price was too high for me. It looked like it was quite a large radio. Anyone remember the model #? Anyone have one? DeWayne |
DeWayne wrote:
"Peter Maus" wrote in message ... It's not exactly a new concept. Both Sony and Grundig have both fielded portables that topped a kilobuck. Some, by a great deal. I remember at the CES in 1989, Grundig displayed a portable that had so many features you couldn't capture them all. Even had WeFax. For more than I paid for my first Mercedes. I remember a Sony portable that was 2 or 3 grand. Then suddenly AES closed them out for about a grand. I bet there were a lot of ticked off SWL's. Was it the CRF-1 maybe? I don't remember the model # right off hand. I would have loved to have one but the price was too high for me. It looked like it was quite a large radio. Anyone remember the model #? Anyone have one? DeWayne You might be thinking about the Sony CRF-V21A There's a description on this page: http://www.dxing.com/rx/crf330k.htm |
wrote in message oups.com... wrote: Good rig. I think you'll love it. Too bad I don't have Sat 800 to compare it to. It's well made and solid. Speaker is just great. It's like it's radio inbetween being a tabletop and a portable. Kinda like in a class all it's own. They're known as 'portatop's'. and closer to a porta-potty than a tabletop for that kinda money you can buy a used tabletop..a real radio That's the problem I have with the whole concept of a $500 portable. The same investment (or even less) in a tabletop will buy you more performance. This high-end part of the portable market puzzles me. Steve Well Steve, if you look around, everyone seems to be getting out of the good tabletop models business or they stopped production and got out long ago. So the only good rigs up for sale to new comers are used and years old. What's left that's brand new and a decent rig for $500? The R75 that's about it. Unless you go the transmitter route and use it for receive only. So, I already have many of these good rigs but they are used 2nd hand except my R75, Degen 1103 and the Nav fax 100 which doesn't even count. All the rest are years old. So, these companies know the customer base is limited and don't want to spend gobs of money on new receivers like they made years ago. Here the Eton E1comes along . A decent receiver with all the goodies and sat radio to boot. Add to that it took years to get it out, and it's not "too serious" for newbies to learn but serious enough for us hobby types who like the outdoors. So there you have it. You can satisfy some of the people all of the time, or all of the people some of the time but with SW radio folk, you can definitely NOT satistfy all the people all of the time. You'll have to wait a couple years before you see used ones for $250 if ever. You can always buy one for fun and give it back 59 days later :) Or maybe you'll keep it..... Lucky |
By the way, what's the tuning resolution on the E1?
Steve |
10 hz...
wrote in message ups.com... By the way, what's the tuning resolution on the E1? Steve |
wrote in message ups.com... By the way, what's the tuning resolution on the E1? Steve Here they are Steve. Selectable using the "Fast" button for the Display and Tuning resolutions only not the Select: MW AM: 1]Display resolution: 10Hz, 100Hz, 1KHz 2]Tuning resolution: 10Hz, 100Hz, 1 kHz 3]Select: 9kHz 10 Khz MW SSB: 1] 10Hz, 1kHz 2] 10 Hz, 1kHz 3] 9kHz 10kHz LW and SW AM: 1] 10Hz 100Hz 1 khz 2] 10hz 100hz 1 khz 3] 5 khz LW and SW SSB: 1] 10hz 1khz 2] 10hz 1khz 3] 5 Khz FM: 1] 10khz 100khz 2] 20khz 100khz 3] 100 Khz I want to add I love the dot matrix display. It's groovy to look at at night :) No really, nice and big with plenty of options. Or, you can turn the display light off and it doesn't affect the local or GMT. It's really a pleasue Steve. Also, I hooked up my good speakers and the sound is just superb. Lucky |
"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Hello Mark, I've seen some of "Lucky's" posts but, unless I've missed something, he doesn't actually have the radio in hand as yet. Does he? "Lucky" - any comment? Best, Joe Hi Joe I was just fooling around with you that day. You have been so helpful to me in the past. So Joe, whatever I can do to help you on whatever you want to know about the radio please please ask. It's a great receiver and I think you'll just love it. Just a pleasure to use and listen to. Plus it looks great in "person". Much better then in the pictures of it. You just can't capture the display with those pictures online. I would order it from the Sharper Image. There is a FREE shipping coupon for it or $20 off. Take the free shipping cause it costs like $26 to $30. You will pay tax though if you have a SI in your state. BUT, they give 60 days to return it for almost ANY reason you give. So paying the tax is worth it if you don't like it within 2 months you have a long time to decide and return it. Coupons if they still work. http://www.sharperimage.com/ls_0805_fsh50/ http://www.sharperimage.com/ls_0805_20off100/ So again Joe, please let me help you in any way I can. Lucky |
wrote in message ups.com... By the way, what's the tuning resolution on the E1? Steve Steve, it looks like you can download the E1 manual from here. Don't know if it works but here you go. Enjoy http://s33.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0...R0C2IVR9JJXDTG Lucky |
Seven cents on the dollar Mississippi RIPP OFF sales tax.If I am not
mistaken,about $35.00. cuhulin |
Dear "Lucky,"
Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad you're enjoying your new Et=F3n E1. I hope you'll continue posting here as I am very interested in your experience with it. I'm not going to buy one just yet, if ever. The radio does not offer IBOC on the MW or FM bands, nor does it offer DAB (Canadian and/or European) or DRM. I should have thought that Et=F3n would have included these advanced features in a new radio, even one designed primarily as a shortwave receiver. I would also not buy one unless and until it has been on the market for some time as I have been "twice-burned" by Et=F3n/Grundig: first with the Grundig Classic 960 which I bought from Willoughby and Ward in 1996 (when it first came out). It cost $249.95 plus shipping and came with a 25(!)-year warranty. So I'm theoretically covered until 2021. But what a piece of junk! I'm on my third unit but this one is just as bad as the two previous. Now that it's discontinued, I wonder how they'll honor that warranty as they told me that they do not actually work on the radio but merely replace it when problems occur. The second example was my Grundig Satellit 800 which I purchased in June 2000 (one of the initial production runs) and which lasted only 3 1/2 years before needing repair. I will say that, after Drake's repair and refurbishing (for $109.00) it has worked well and I like the radio very much (as opposed to that Classic 960). So I'm naturally leery of buying an Et=F3n product until the production people have ironed out all the bugs. I would also want to see a review in PASSPORT. But, even so, without the more advanced radio circuitry (pay satellite radio doesn't count; in any event it holds absolutely no interest to me), I feel the radio is "dead in the water." I may be wrong. Time will tell. Again thanks for your comments and I hope, for your sake, that my impressions and opinions are wrong. Best, Joe |
So Joe, what makes your 960 "junk"? I also have one and it sounds great.
My only complaint is that it is WAY TOO touchy trying to tune any h.f.stations. I guess I would have to say it is junk if h.f. is why it was purchased... "Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Dear "Lucky," Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad you're enjoying your new Etón E1. I hope you'll continue posting here as I am very interested in your experience with it. I'm not going to buy one just yet, if ever. The radio does not offer IBOC on the MW or FM bands, nor does it offer DAB (Canadian and/or European) or DRM. I should have thought that Etón would have included these advanced features in a new radio, even one designed primarily as a shortwave receiver. I would also not buy one unless and until it has been on the market for some time as I have been "twice-burned" by Etón/Grundig: first with the Grundig Classic 960 which I bought from Willoughby and Ward in 1996 (when it first came out). It cost $249.95 plus shipping and came with a 25(!)-year warranty. So I'm theoretically covered until 2021. But what a piece of junk! I'm on my third unit but this one is just as bad as the two previous. Now that it's discontinued, I wonder how they'll honor that warranty as they told me that they do not actually work on the radio but merely replace it when problems occur. The second example was my Grundig Satellit 800 which I purchased in June 2000 (one of the initial production runs) and which lasted only 3 1/2 years before needing repair. I will say that, after Drake's repair and refurbishing (for $109.00) it has worked well and I like the radio very much (as opposed to that Classic 960). So I'm naturally leery of buying an Etón product until the production people have ironed out all the bugs. I would also want to see a review in PASSPORT. But, even so, without the more advanced radio circuitry (pay satellite radio doesn't count; in any event it holds absolutely no interest to me), I feel the radio is "dead in the water." I may be wrong. Time will tell. Again thanks for your comments and I hope, for your sake, that my impressions and opinions are wrong. Best, Joe |
"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Dear "Lucky," Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad you're enjoying your new Etón E1. I hope you'll continue posting here as I am very interested in your experience with it. I'm not going to buy one just yet, if ever. The radio does not offer IBOC on the MW or FM bands, nor does it offer DAB (Canadian and/or European) or DRM. I should have thought that Etón would have included these advanced features in a new radio, even one designed primarily as a shortwave receiver. I would also not buy one unless and until it has been on the market for some time as I have been "twice-burned" by Etón/Grundig: first with the Grundig Classic 960 which I bought from Willoughby and Ward in 1996 (when it first came out). It cost $249.95 plus shipping and came with a 25(!)-year warranty. So I'm theoretically covered until 2021. But what a piece of junk! I'm on my third unit but this one is just as bad as the two previous. Now that it's discontinued, I wonder how they'll honor that warranty as they told me that they do not actually work on the radio but merely replace it when problems occur. The second example was my Grundig Satellit 800 which I purchased in June 2000 (one of the initial production runs) and which lasted only 3 1/2 years before needing repair. I will say that, after Drake's repair and refurbishing (for $109.00) it has worked well and I like the radio very much (as opposed to that Classic 960). So I'm naturally leery of buying an Etón product until the production people have ironed out all the bugs. I would also want to see a review in PASSPORT. But, even so, without the more advanced radio circuitry (pay satellite radio doesn't count; in any event it holds absolutely no interest to me), I feel the radio is "dead in the water." I may be wrong. Time will tell. Again thanks for your comments and I hope, for your sake, that my impressions and opinions are wrong. Best, Joe Hi Joe Yes, I was very disappointed with no DRM. I felt for sure they would surprise everyone with this after all the delays. This would have introduced a whole new market as I just bought my Ten Tec 320D for the DRM experience. I have a feeling they might see how this one sells then offer a new version or enhanced version later on. But Joe, I just love radios. All radios. I had to buy it after checking it out. Plus, I'll admit I had some inside info on it before hand from a very trusted source. And life is too short expecially in this angry and delicate world now. I get a delight in working with new rigs if they are decent enough. Each radio has a different personality to it. I use certain ones at certain times. Yes, I was worried about having Eton E1 number 00122 off the line. But, with a 60 day return policy, I can always give it back or exchange it for another if I find a quirk in it. I think the Sharper Image should have one on display in their stores at some point. Then you can go and at least look and play with it. See if it piques your curiosity. So far I'm having fun with it. And remember, this one is assembled in India, not Taiwan or China which is a first for them I think. All the best buddy Lucky |
www.devilfinder.com Radios Manufactured in India I guess India has
been manufacturing electronic products for quite a while. cuhulin |
Dear Jim,
I bought the Grundig Classic 960 in 1996. Right off the bat I realized it was hopeless for SW broadcasts, though it does have good sound on MW and FM. (The drifting on SW is intolerable and the tuning "feel" is awful.) A few months after I bought it, the radio "died." I contacted Grundig and they told me to ship it back to them, which I did. Instead of fixing my radio, they sent me a new one. This radio drifted quite a bit (the first one did too, but not to the same extent, especially on FM). When I called them and spoke to a technician he admitted to me that the set's design was not "all that would have been desired." Then a couple of years ago that (second) unit died. Again I had to send it back to Grundig and again they replaced it. (I noted that the SW frequency coverage was somewhat different on this new unit.) But this unit is the Mother of All Drifters! You can't listen to FM (which is now all I use it for) more than an hour or so before it drifts off frequency, no matter how long it's been running. I "hate" that radio. It's my definition of "junk." (Three examples in less than 9 years!) It "looks" good (people always comment on it) and it has reasonably good sound, but its performance is very, very poor, in my opinion. When new MW/FM radios are introduced featuring IBOC, if the reviews are good, I'll replace that terrible "Classic" radio. (I wouldn't even sell it to someone unless they knew exactly what they were getting; it does have that 25-year warranty, however.) It's my understanding that the local FM station that features classical music half the day and jazz the other half is going to "split" in two via IBOC and have classical music 24 hours a day on one "channel" and jazz 24 hours a day on the "other." That sounds good to me as far as local programming goes. By the way, that radio is kept in our living room and I have it playing music most of the day. I do not play it "loud," and it has always received good care. I think it is, and has always been, a "loser." It's obvious that its cost is next-to-nothing or they wouldn't just keep replacing the set rather than fixing it. Naturally a year or so after I bought it for $249.95 + shipping, the price "dropped" to $149.95 + shipping, though the warranty also dropped from 25 years to 1 year. I can't blame them for that! I wonder if they have a "stash" of them set aside for people like me who have 25 year warranties and they'll use that "stash" to keep replacing "dead" sets until the warranty runs out! P. T. Barnum was right, as I learned through this experience (and a few others over the years!). As always, my opinion. Best, Joe |
There are no hills (well,there are some,but not real hills,mostly
flatland territory around here and the FM stations boom in loud and very good.Some of my old Goodwill radios do drift somewhat,but I can't knock the cheap two to four dollar prices I paid for them.I bought two Cambridge computer speakers ($5.00) and a Mr.Wizard book of science experiments (fifty cents) at the Goodwill store this afternoon.Have to get my junk fix once in a while. cuhulin |
www.us963.com There are many more FM and AM radio stations around
here,I like U.S.96.3 FM the best.Real good Country Music. cuhulin |
That sounds like a loser radio to me! My wife bought me one for xmas one
year as I had commented earlier that I thought it was kind of cool and "retro" looking. I also mentioned to her that as cool as it looked, I wouldn't pay $150 for it as I had played with it in the store and didn't like the "feel". Later, she told me not to be too upset with her for buying it as Circuit Cirty sold her the floor model for $50 with no box just to get rid of it! I guess it didn't sell very well. I don't understand why ;) All I use it for anymore is to listen to my "Old time radio" cd's through it's AUX input. I have a "MINT" (don't you hate that word?) Zenith floor model radio that I use once in a while. That thing sounds/works great. Not very drifty either, once it's warmed up. If I was you, I'd trade that 960 in once a year just to help them deplete their supply! "Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message oups.com... Dear Jim, I bought the Grundig Classic 960 in 1996. Right off the bat I realized it was hopeless for SW broadcasts, though it does have good sound on MW and FM. (The drifting on SW is intolerable and the tuning "feel" is awful.) A few months after I bought it, the radio "died." I contacted Grundig and they told me to ship it back to them, which I did. Instead of fixing my radio, they sent me a new one. This radio drifted quite a bit (the first one did too, but not to the same extent, especially on FM). When I called them and spoke to a technician he admitted to me that the set's design was not "all that would have been desired." Then a couple of years ago that (second) unit died. Again I had to send it back to Grundig and again they replaced it. (I noted that the SW frequency coverage was somewhat different on this new unit.) But this unit is the Mother of All Drifters! You can't listen to FM (which is now all I use it for) more than an hour or so before it drifts off frequency, no matter how long it's been running. I "hate" that radio. It's my definition of "junk." (Three examples in less than 9 years!) It "looks" good (people always comment on it) and it has reasonably good sound, but its performance is very, very poor, in my opinion. When new MW/FM radios are introduced featuring IBOC, if the reviews are good, I'll replace that terrible "Classic" radio. (I wouldn't even sell it to someone unless they knew exactly what they were getting; it does have that 25-year warranty, however.) It's my understanding that the local FM station that features classical music half the day and jazz the other half is going to "split" in two via IBOC and have classical music 24 hours a day on one "channel" and jazz 24 hours a day on the "other." That sounds good to me as far as local programming goes. By the way, that radio is kept in our living room and I have it playing music most of the day. I do not play it "loud," and it has always received good care. I think it is, and has always been, a "loser." It's obvious that its cost is next-to-nothing or they wouldn't just keep replacing the set rather than fixing it. Naturally a year or so after I bought it for $249.95 + shipping, the price "dropped" to $149.95 + shipping, though the warranty also dropped from 25 years to 1 year. I can't blame them for that! I wonder if they have a "stash" of them set aside for people like me who have 25 year warranties and they'll use that "stash" to keep replacing "dead" sets until the warranty runs out! P. T. Barnum was right, as I learned through this experience (and a few others over the years!). As always, my opinion. Best, Joe |
Jim,
I even tried using a C. Crane FM Stereo Transmitter (an absolutely great piece of equipment, by the way) connected to my AR7030 playing SW and listening through the "Classic 960" on an FM frequency. But the drifting makes good listening just impossible. Once in a while I'll connect one of my Sony ICF-SW7600GR's through the AUX input. That works out okay. The sound quality on the radio is very good, however. Too bad Grundig (Lextronix at the time) didn't try harder to make a radio that performs as well as it looks and sounds. How much extra would it have cost them? (They could still do it if they really wanted to. A re-introduced "Classic 960" made to a higher performance standard would sell well, in my opinion, if only because of its looks - it's a real conversation piece - and sound quality.) Best, Joe P.S. In my opinion, even $50.00 is too much for this junker. 50 cents might be more like it! (And remember, I paid $250.00 for it! What a sucker I was.) |
Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Jim, I even tried using a C. Crane FM Stereo Transmitter (an absolutely great piece of equipment, by the way) connected to my AR7030 playing SW and listening through the "Classic 960" on an FM frequency. But the drifting makes good listening just impossible. Once in a while I'll connect one of my Sony ICF-SW7600GR's through the AUX input. That works out okay. The sound quality on the radio is very good, however. Too bad Grundig (Lextronix at the time) didn't try harder to make a radio that performs as well as it looks and sounds. How much extra would it have cost them? (They could still do it if they really wanted to. A re-introduced "Classic 960" made to a higher performance standard would sell well, in my opinion, if only because of its looks - it's a real conversation piece - and sound quality.) Best, Joe P.S. In my opinion, even $50.00 is too much for this junker. 50 cents might be more like it! (And remember, I paid $250.00 for it! What a sucker I was.) I also pre ordered mine from Willoughby and Ward. Waited more than a year for it. I have an original 960 on my desk. I thought it would be nice to have a solid state version for casual use, so I didn't have to chew up so many tubes, a couple of which were getting hard to fine. Went through three of them, before I found one that 1) didn"t drift halfway up the dial once a station was selected, and 2) was less than 1mHz off dial calibration. Inside the classic 960 was worse than some homebuilts I've seen at highs school science fairs. Build quality would be a misnomer. But it was difficult to tell from all the spiderwebs of hot glue used to hold the damned thing together. An embarrassment to the Grundig name. Three of them, one worse than the next. I finally sold it to a college student in Canada for a pittance. He was happy, so it wasn't a total loss. They did release a revised Classic 960 that addressed the drift and dial backlash and that held something that at least hinted at dial calibration. It also had a revised tuning mechanism with more tactile resemblance to the original 960. But I didn't spring for one. I posted the details of my experience with Classic 960, here, at the time. What a miserable excuse for a radio. |
Joe,you can't judge any books (radios) by their cover.Some radios look
great but they are lousy radios and vice versa,I have some old radios here that look like they have been whupped with an ugly stick,but they play real good) Interestingly,I stopped off at the Goodwill store this morning on my way to the foodstore (I was out of coffee) an back my way to Quality Pet Products store www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.comclick on the Mississippi map,Robinson Road Ext) (I spent $36.36 on a couple of thingys for my dog) and at the Goodwill store,I bought a German to English/English to German pocketbook dictionary.(twenty five cents) That got me to thinking,I need to check with some of the bookstores around here and see if they can order me a Gaelic to English/English to Gaelic language dictionary.Because I am Scotch Irish by ancestry and I hate brits. cuhulin |
I wouldn't have anything from www.ccrane.com nowdays even if they
gave whatever to me for free.(however that girl sure does look cute) I would take them Bob Crane whatever(s) over to the Goodwill store six tenths of a mile South (South is always best) of Blueberry doggys couch. cuhulin |
That's odd. My 960 doesn't drift any more than my S-3drifty. Well, I guess
that's alot. On MW or FM, it's fine in respect to drift. Don't feel bad, I plunked down $450 for my Zenith, although it works good. Being as I bought it on a whim at an antique store, I'm sure I paid way too much but I always wanted one of those Big "Black dial" Zeniths. MY aunt had one that we used to listen to when I was about 6. I wish they still had the shows we used to listen to. George and Gracie, etc, etc. etc. Damn, I'm old. :( But on the bright side, I'm not as old as YOU :) LOL "Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message ups.com... Jim, I even tried using a C. Crane FM Stereo Transmitter (an absolutely great piece of equipment, by the way) connected to my AR7030 playing SW and listening through the "Classic 960" on an FM frequency. But the drifting makes good listening just impossible. Once in a while I'll connect one of my Sony ICF-SW7600GR's through the AUX input. That works out okay. The sound quality on the radio is very good, however. Too bad Grundig (Lextronix at the time) didn't try harder to make a radio that performs as well as it looks and sounds. How much extra would it have cost them? (They could still do it if they really wanted to. A re-introduced "Classic 960" made to a higher performance standard would sell well, in my opinion, if only because of its looks - it's a real conversation piece - and sound quality.) Best, Joe P.S. In my opinion, even $50.00 is too much for this junker. 50 cents might be more like it! (And remember, I paid $250.00 for it! What a sucker I was.) |
LOL. I don't believe I've EVER heard a good thing about this radio...
] "D Peter Maus" wrote in message ... Joe Analssandrini wrote: Jim, I even tried using a C. Crane FM Stereo Transmitter (an absolutely great piece of equipment, by the way) connected to my AR7030 playing SW and listening through the "Classic 960" on an FM frequency. But the drifting makes good listening just impossible. Once in a while I'll connect one of my Sony ICF-SW7600GR's through the AUX input. That works out okay. The sound quality on the radio is very good, however. Too bad Grundig (Lextronix at the time) didn't try harder to make a radio that performs as well as it looks and sounds. How much extra would it have cost them? (They could still do it if they really wanted to. A re-introduced "Classic 960" made to a higher performance standard would sell well, in my opinion, if only because of its looks - it's a real conversation piece - and sound quality.) Best, Joe P.S. In my opinion, even $50.00 is too much for this junker. 50 cents might be more like it! (And remember, I paid $250.00 for it! What a sucker I was.) I also pre ordered mine from Willoughby and Ward. Waited more than a year for it. I have an original 960 on my desk. I thought it would be nice to have a solid state version for casual use, so I didn't have to chew up so many tubes, a couple of which were getting hard to fine. Went through three of them, before I found one that 1) didn"t drift halfway up the dial once a station was selected, and 2) was less than 1mHz off dial calibration. Inside the classic 960 was worse than some homebuilts I've seen at highs school science fairs. Build quality would be a misnomer. But it was difficult to tell from all the spiderwebs of hot glue used to hold the damned thing together. An embarrassment to the Grundig name. Three of them, one worse than the next. I finally sold it to a college student in Canada for a pittance. He was happy, so it wasn't a total loss. They did release a revised Classic 960 that addressed the drift and dial backlash and that held something that at least hinted at dial calibration. It also had a revised tuning mechanism with more tactile resemblance to the original 960. But I didn't spring for one. I posted the details of my experience with Classic 960, here, at the time. What a miserable excuse for a radio. |
Jim Hackett wrote:
LOL. I don't believe I've EVER heard a good thing about this radio... ] It was very nice to its mother. "D Peter Maus" wrote in message ... Joe Analssandrini wrote: Jim, I even tried using a C. Crane FM Stereo Transmitter (an absolutely great piece of equipment, by the way) connected to my AR7030 playing SW and listening through the "Classic 960" on an FM frequency. But the drifting makes good listening just impossible. Once in a while I'll connect one of my Sony ICF-SW7600GR's through the AUX input. That works out okay. The sound quality on the radio is very good, however. Too bad Grundig (Lextronix at the time) didn't try harder to make a radio that performs as well as it looks and sounds. How much extra would it have cost them? (They could still do it if they really wanted to. A re-introduced "Classic 960" made to a higher performance standard would sell well, in my opinion, if only because of its looks - it's a real conversation piece - and sound quality.) Best, Joe P.S. In my opinion, even $50.00 is too much for this junker. 50 cents might be more like it! (And remember, I paid $250.00 for it! What a sucker I was.) I also pre ordered mine from Willoughby and Ward. Waited more than a year for it. I have an original 960 on my desk. I thought it would be nice to have a solid state version for casual use, so I didn't have to chew up so many tubes, a couple of which were getting hard to fine. Went through three of them, before I found one that 1) didn"t drift halfway up the dial once a station was selected, and 2) was less than 1mHz off dial calibration. Inside the classic 960 was worse than some homebuilts I've seen at highs school science fairs. Build quality would be a misnomer. But it was difficult to tell from all the spiderwebs of hot glue used to hold the damned thing together. An embarrassment to the Grundig name. Three of them, one worse than the next. I finally sold it to a college student in Canada for a pittance. He was happy, so it wasn't a total loss. They did release a revised Classic 960 that addressed the drift and dial backlash and that held something that at least hinted at dial calibration. It also had a revised tuning mechanism with more tactile resemblance to the original 960. But I didn't spring for one. I posted the details of my experience with Classic 960, here, at the time. What a miserable excuse for a radio. |
zenith is JUNK! zenith has aways been JUNK,zenth will always be JUNK!
Cheap quality no good CRAP zenith!!! So is Maytag. cuhulin |
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