Eton S350DL AM/FM Shortwave Deluxe Radio Receiver (Black)

by Eton

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 3.5 x 7 inches ; 3.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009X6QH4
• Item model number: ES350DL-B
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,459 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Amazon.com Review Experienced shortwave radio aficionados rejoice: Now you can pick up a fully modern radio with a design that hearkens back to the early days of your hobby. The Etón S350 Deluxe, which is actually produced by the respected European electronics manufacturer, Grundig, offers a great feature set for listening to radio broadcasts from distant shores. The design is suitably rugged for use in the field, or you can use it at home as a simple, yet powerful AM/FM receiver and alarm clock.

The S350 Deluxe: Rugged, retro, and ready to tune in the world. View larger.

Easy-to-use, durable controls. View larger.

This radio offers plenty of connectivity options.

Design
If you long for a return of the fashions from the film Breakin' and you're a fan of the 80s design aesthetic, the S350 Deluxe is right up your alley. Everything from the blocky, silver and black case to the over-sized dials and switches will take you back to the "Ghetto Blaster" era. While the design gives the radio a solid look, we were a little disappointed that the E350 Deluxe -- unlike many radios made 20 years ago -- is completely made of plastic (with the exception of the speaker cover). While the plastic knobs and controls are made to look metallic, they don't quite deliver the solid feel of metal -- something that would be nice in a rugged field radio. This quibble aside, the controls are responsive and well-positioned and the case does feel solid. The prominent tuning knob is designed well with concentric gross and fine dials. These are made all the better by a big, easy-to-read monochrome LCD display that lets you step through frequencies with extreme accuracy. It's a minor detail, but the padded carry handle is a nice touch, too.

Features
At the heart of the S350 Deluxe is its robust synthesized digital tuner section, meaning the tuner is analog, but frequencies are displayed on a digital readout. FM tuning offers an AFC (Automatic Frequency Control) mode that automatically picks out the strongest stations -- great if you're someplace with a crowded FM dial. You can also switch the AFC mode off for fine tuning less powerful stations. Although the S350 Deluxe sports just one speaker, you can listen to FM stations in stereo through a pair of headphones. The large, comfortable headphones were a welcome surprise when we pulled the unit out of the box.

AM tuning can be switched between narrow and wide sensitivities to control interference. Further tuning refinements are available via the low pass filter switch, as well as a handy RF gain dial. Both of these features can also be used when tuning one of the three shortwave bands. And if you're serious about shortwave, you'll be glad to know that the S350 Deluxe can accept external antennas that can augment reception from the built-in, telescoping one. There's also an antenna port for enhanced FM reception.

In addition to a headphone output, the S350 Deluxe has stereo RCA line out jacks for connecting the unit to an amplifier or home stereo. The radio supports battery and AC power, but we were in for another surprise when we opened the battery compartment. Not only can the radio run on four "D" batteries, but there is also another, smaller compartment that accepts four "AA" cells -- a nice little bonus if you need temporary power and you only have the smaller cells on hand. Lastly, the S350 Deluxe offers basic sleep, alarm and snooze functions that were fairly easy to set and use. The LCD has a backlight button, so nighttime viewing is no problem. Thankfully, unlike the S350, the S350 Deluxe allows you to set the clock while the radio is operating.

Tuning In
FM tuning is very impressive. Because the radio can tune frequencies down to the hundredth decimal place, you'll easily tune problematic FM stations, or perhaps stations you've never heard before. The S350 Deluxe adds another improvement over the S350 in the tuning department, as well. The addition of new shortwave/AM frequency lock circuit improves stability to reduce tuning drift.

With very little experience or understanding of shortwave radio we were able to quickly tune in stations from as far away as Japan and Russia (Etón includes a handy crash course on shortwave tuning in the user's manual). Our only complaint in the tuning department: It's impossible to keep a station tuned on one band while tuning on other bands. For example, with an FM station locked in, switching to shortwave and tuning there changes the tuning on the FM band when you return.

Pros

• Exceptionally accurate tuning
• Advanced filtering and interference control
• Fun, retro styling
• Headphones in the box!

Cons

• Plastic knobs and case
• Cannot "lock" stations while tuning on other bands

What's in the Box
S350 Deluxe AM/FM Shortwave Field Radio, AC adapter, user's manual.

Product Description

The S350 DELUXE blends the best of yesterday and today. With the look of a retro field radio sporting a rugged body and military-style controls--the S350 DELUXE also features today's innovation for excellent AM, FM, and Shortwave reception and a large, full-range speaker for clear sound.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More of a Good Thing, August 2, 2005

By 

M. JEFFREY MCMAHON "herculodge" (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eton S350DL AM/FM Shortwave Deluxe Radio Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

This is an improved version, for fifty dollars more, than the Grundig S350. It comes with nice headphones; it has stereo sound for the headphones; the 99-dollar Grundig has only mono through the headphone input; the speaker on the Deluxe is slightly bigger; but most significantly, the Deluxe version has been changed so that it does not drift away from the selected channel the way the old version did. Only a fastidious radio lover will want to spend the extra money since the drifting problem (I own both models) is quite minimal and doesn't in my case affect reception adversely.

This is a fun radio, easy to use, has a big stereo sound and has strong FM reception, the best you can find with a good speaker. The only better FM reception you'll find is in the Kaito 1103 but the Kaito has a tiny speaker.

For those who are disgruntled and disappointed with this radio, may I suggest that environmental limitations or areas that are "hostile to radio reception" can sometimes be so insurmountable that no radio can overcome them.

Post Script: The Kaito 1103 now has a cousin, the Kaito 1107 (currently available as the Degen 1107) that has equal reception as the 1103 but is, like the Grundig S350 DL, an analog radio. It's fifty bucks and has a bigger speaker than the 1103. So for a hundred dollars less, you can get similar performance as the Grundig in the Degen/Kaito DE1107.

Update: I've noticed that two AM stations, 1150 and 980, get overloaded with two stations blaring at the same time. Lack of filter, lack of SSB, AM reception that is "too good." I'm not sure. My Kaito 1103 and Grundig G4000, both compact radios with SSB feature, have excellent separation and do not overload. Of the two, the Grundig G4000 has superior AM and a bigger, warmer speaker.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eton Grundig S350DL, November 13, 2005

By 

Larry O. "laocmo" (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eton S350DL AM/FM Shortwave Deluxe Radio Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

This S350DL is everything I need in a portable radio. Powered by D-cells which seem to last forever, the FM audio is fabulous for a $150 radio and long distant night time AM band reception is simply great. Just tune the well lit LCD display to a frequency and if there is anything on it worth listening to it's there.

The selectivity is tremendous with the bandwidth set to narrow. I live almost next door to a powerful station on 820KHz and like to listen to a weak one several hundred miles away on 810KHz, not a problem. No interference from the strong station.

My scant and no doubt obsolete communications theory always held that for great radio reception, double or even triple conversion receivers were the norm. Now I have a radio advertised with highly sensitive and selective latest state of the art single conversion analog tuner circuitry. What that means, I haven't a clue but I'm impressed.

The only negative thing I've found about the radio so far is that its fine tuning knob has a tendency to jump past the frequency you're trying to tune up to, then, when you tune back down it jumps past on the downside. I've heard this called backlash. Eventually you can get a lock on the exact frequency but it is a minor annoyance. Another thing that takes some getting used to is that I'm so used to push the button scanning type receivers, that rotating an old fashioned tuning knob several turns to get from the high end of a band to the low trys my patience. Overall I'm a happy camper and find this radio's good features far outweigh its bad.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best radio for those looking for a user-friendly shortwave, June 12, 2006

By 

MJQ (Hilliard, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eton S350DL AM/FM Shortwave Deluxe Radio Receiver (Black) (Electronics)

This radio has excellent features for someone who is either new to shortwave radio or just wanting a simple, user-friendly set of controls. Also perfect for those that like analogue-style controls that would be encountered on older radios. I have the S-350, the model that the S-350DL replaces. For general world band programme listening, this radio is fantastic. Outstanding speaker. Easy to read digital display includes backlight. Includes attenuator. Clock can be set to 24 hour time. Easy to carry anywhere. Robust antenna. Does not support SSB tuning, which you would need to tune in Ham radio. Same radio sold under Tescun name in other parts of the world.