Initial Observations on the Eton S350DL and the Kaito WRX911
 

After looking at the S350 for at least a year, I just purchased the
Eton S350DL and I also picked up a Kaito WRX911. After using them for
three days, here are my observations:

Eton S350DL:

This radio has been used using 4 D-cell batteries and the whip antenna
from the Dallas,Tx area. It seems to be very sensitive across all
three shortwave bands. I have been able to pull in many stations. It
performs well on the AM band as well. The FM band is ok, it does not
appear to be very sensitive on FM. The large speaker on this radio
makes the stations easy to listen to. The built in S-meter is nice but
not really of much use. It has two built in bandwidths, wide and
narrow. The wide bandwidth has worked best for me so far. It is an
analog radio with a digital frequency display. The display seems to be
off about .02 kHz. Many people have remarked on the excessive drift on
the original S350. I have not noticed the drift is an issue on the
S350DL. They seem to have fixed this problem on the new version. It
has connections for both an external SW and FM antenna. I have not yet
tried these. In my opinion, this is a better radio that the Grundg
YB400, The Sony 7600G and the Sangean ATS-909, all of which I own.
The S350DL does not have any SSB capability, if you want that, you
must look elsewhere. The radio came with an external power adapter so
you can run it from a wall socket. The radio also appears able to run
on 4 AA batteries. I have not tried running it from the AA batteries.
It would probably eat these in short order.


Katio WRX911:

Don't waste your money. It is a small shirt pocket radio that receives
AM,FM and many SW bands. On SW I was able to pick up only the biggest
on the SW broadcasters. Same for AM and FM. It is almost impossible to
tell which SW band you are on. Generally speaking it performs as you
would expect a $22.00 radio to perform, poorly.

I have both the original Grundig S350 and the original Grundig YB400.
I prefer and use the S350 as it is just as sensitive on SW as the
YB400, but doesn't have the hissing sound, so SW is just plain clear
sound. Also, I find the bandwidths are slightly better on the S350.
After getting my S350 and comparing it to my GE Superadio III, I sold
the GE. My S350 also outperforms my CCRadio on the lower part of the
MW band. I am sure I will eventually get the improved S350DL.