Customer Reviews

Etón E100 AM/FM Shortwave Radio

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hifolks ,I'm Vince the radioman . I have a large collection of radios and love to do compares and share my thoughts. First off the new Eton(Grundig) line of radios is a vast improvement over the old Grundig line , especially in the area of the construction of the body and antenna..nice job! This is a cute little radio . A nice addition to the better mini's out there. It has a robust memory and decent coverage but not full coverage . I compared it to the Sangean ATS606 and the SONY SW35 which are in the same price range and the old YB300pe. The 606 and the SW35 were more sensative on SW and AM . The FM was about the same. The YB300pe was not even in the same class as the others. It has a nice back light and comfortable controls and basic feel . Its really small and great for travel or the office . It does however need an wide/narrow switch and or an IF filter ... none the less and very decent , well made mini addtion to the new Eton line . I recommend buying this radio. .... a previous reviewer talks about the demise of SW listening ...I also grew up during the cold war and at the time SW was "exciting" and filled with info not available elsewhere. Lets just hope satellite and cable service hits a peak soon ...I have a feeling the world has not really explored the wonders of the radio spectrum and will again build up SW usage , also I have a feeling Pirate radio will grow on SW as the alternative to robot like satellite programing. ....so if you do want to invest alot of money on a SW radio but want some access , this is a very nice choice.

This compact am/fm/sw radio is nicer than I expected. The radio's size is ideal for pockets, so I frequently take it with me. Currently I'm using up some excess alkaline AA batteries in my E100, but when they are gone, I will switch to rechargeable NiMH batteries. (There's a system code you should set on the radio when switching between alkaline and rechargeable batteries - be sure to check the manual)

Positives:
* FM stereo through headphones sounds great
* Informative LCD display includes the frequency and the time while the radio is on (some other radios require a keypress to display the clock)
* Nice amber backlight for the LCD display
* Sturdy whip antenna
* It seems to be very easy on batteries

Negatives:
* Shortwave scanning using the up/down buttons is slower than on other shortwave radios I've used (e.g. Kaito 1102, Sony ICF-SW7600GR) - the radio pauses on each frequency longer than necessary
* Small buttons are occasionally difficult to press
* Tuning knob is only capable of fine tuning, i.e. it uses small tuning intervals and doesn't work as well if you try turning it very fast

I wouldn't recommend this radio as your only shortwave receiver, but only because other radios in this price range have more features. My example would be the excellent Kaito KA1102, which offers features such as dual conversion, a wide/narrow bandwidth setting, single sideband reception, an included AC adapter, faster shortwave scanning, and backlighting for both the screen and keypad.

Please understand that this radio is NOT a DXer's radio. It lacks single side band (listening to hams and utility stations) and dual conversion circuitry (image rejection). However, it is a superb radio for listening to major broadcasters such as the BBC World Service or Radio Canada International. It is very small (about the size of a pack of cigarettes) and only requires two AA batteries. The signal/battery life indicator are handy features. It is also has very good weak signal sensitivity. If you are looking for a small, basic radio that DOES cover the full SW spectrum, then this radio is a good buy.

I just got this radio. Just like CJ Green reported, this little radio has exceptionally good reception. I work in a metal building. This radio picks up AM stations that no other radios I tried could.

I highly recommend it to any who has a similar need.

My collection of radios continues to grow, and the E100 is the most recent addition. I bought it because there's a lot of features built into such a small package.

This radio will easily fit into a pocket or briefcase, yet it allows you to access AM, FM and pretty much the full range of shortwave bands. It has a clock with alarm, snooze feature, 200 presets (although I can't imagine ever using more than 50), battery strength indicator, signal strength indicator, and more.

The AM (MW) band pulls in stations well using the internal ferrite rod antenna. The telescoping whip works well for both FM and SW, but I sometimes attach one of those 23' portable wire antennas to more clearly pull in weaker SW stations.

Battery life (2 AA's) seems to be very good, and the internal speaker puts out clear sound, although as you can imagine it isn't going to be room-filling. The earbuds work very well.

At about 100 bucks street price, it ain't cheap, but when you pick it up it looks and feels like quality work.

This radio is fantastic. Clock w/ alarm, lighted display can stay on for a few seconds or indefinitely.
Scans a huge range for shortwave and picks up AM and FM especially well. 2 AA batteries seem to last forever. It's very small and I only paid $28 on ebay w/ shipping for a brand new radio (unopened & unused).
Doesn't get the sideband & ham, but I didn't really want to listen to that smack-talk anyway.

I use this radio mostly for newstalk; especially late at night with earphones so it doesn't bother my spouse. I like the configuration for station presets, and the simple "sleep timer power-on arrangement" which makes this radio easy to operate in the dark. Nice backlight when needed too.
AM and FM tuners are excellent. Pulls in favorite FM jazz station that comes in weak on our other portables. Haven't listened to a lot of shortwave, but we live in SF Bay Area and radio easily picks up Hilversum in the Netherlands, and stations sounding like PRC.
Radio speaker is not bad considering how small it is. Good headphones sound great. The included earbuds also sound good.
Case is solid with a nice bump resistant finish.
A bit pricey, but in my opinion it's worth spending a few extra bucks for this radio.

Coming from Romania, where listening to Voice of America and Radio Free Europe was religious in the communist era, I tend to overestimate the importance of shortwave radio and even worse, feel nostalgic about it. Spending the quiet hours of the evening tunig to God knows what stations freom God knows where is a pleasant thing to do, so reminiscent of the past. I have always loved to have a good shortwave radio and believe me, this tiny Eton e100 is much better than anything I ever had. It works.

But I live in North America, a dead region to shortwave broadcasting. BBC stopped broadcasting here, and many others are moving to the internet only broadcasting. Owing a shortwave radio is hence useless, unless you dont mind catching some right wingsters that I dont understand how have decided to broadcast on shortwaves.

Don't get me wrong, the radio catches some stations. From Austin TX I get radio Netherlands (not great but ok) , a few chinese stations (very clearly), radio Australia (very clearly). BBC though, Deutche Welle I have to say goodbye to. BUt my dream was to have a strong relay of the BBC, so I can put the radio on the table and listen to it, inside the house, as I used to when I was a kid. Now, I can get ALL these on the internet, so nostalgia for past aside, the little Eton e100 catches dust.

And I did not even buy it for shortwaves: I bought it to have a good, not battery thirsty, clear radio in case a hurricane hits ... what a shame, isn't it?

UPDATE: speaker went bust after 5 years!!

This is loaded with every feature you could possibly want. It is a little bigger than a deck of cards. It is incredible how much is being packed into small radios these days. Am reception is acceptable, FM is quite good, and Shortwave is equal to the small, pocket Grundig (Grundig is now owned by Eton). I can't think of another pocket radio with so many features.

Radio works fine for AM & FM but forget it if you want to use for shortwave listening. There is no squelch so frequency scanning is worthless. It just stops on every frequency. The manual tuning dial is small and somewhat 'sticky', you will only use it to fine tune. Shortwave reception isn't all that great. I can put it next to a tabletop radio with built in antenna and the tabletop pulls in 75% more stations. If you want a small AM/FM radio with alarm and are willing to pay $100, go for it. Just don't expect much from the shortwave perspective.