Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I've been using this radio for a few days now and really like it. It's above average. Forget the guy that says it has cheap knobs, plastic case, etc. It really does feel sturdy, has good selectivity and pulls in the distant stations as well. The only drawback that I wish this radio would have is some sort of memory for selected stations. But I can easily find my favorites manually. It's a lot of fun and the quality is evident. I would definitely recommend it based on price/quality. Another plus that is lacking in most radios of this type is the big speaker. Most Short Wave radios have a tiny speaker which is really bad. I don't know why they do this??? I would gladly pay more money for a bigger speaker with some sound to it.

Living in Shanghai on assignment, I wanted to get a radio that would give me Voice of America and other stations that I cannot get with AM/FM. Some of the Chinese people I work with suggested the Tecsun as it is considered to be a good Chinese brand, at least in China.
The radio does everything I need it to, and has great sound. It offers a lot of features, but the gain is a bit silly, just leave it on max. The batteries last forever and the unit has an alarm and an auto shutoff, nice features. My unit of course takes 220V for AC, but also has the batteries and takes a 6VDC adaptor, which I can buy cheaply back in the States.
One problem, as others have said, the station lock causes the digital to drift into a station, so when trying to pick up a weaker station next to it, it will often drift past, telling me this is not a true digital unit, but an analog unit with digital readout.
I paid $51 US in Shanghai, but of course you cannot get that price in the States. Also the manual was in Chinese, so I had to get a lot of it translated.
Overall, I am very happy with the radio, although true shortwave audiophiles will probably not be happy with this unit.

I purchased my Eton here on Amazon for $99 and received mine several weeks ago with great anticipation. The wait was worth it, since the digital tuning and very good reception make the radio well worth the price paid. I own a large collection of shortwave radios and feel that this radio competes well with some of my classic 70s/80s era receivers which are extremely selective and cost more than the Eton/Grundig hardware.

The only minor dig I have is the cheap nature of the tuning knob and the desire for a venier tuning control. I can fudge the tuning with a bit of a fine touch, but it does take some attention, especially with some stations that drift in and out. For casual listening, this radio is extremely stable and very good for field use and trips. I fired mine up out of the box and was immediately impressed with the solid feel and large high-quality antenna. The leather grip and heavy-duty feel more than compensate for my tuning knob complaint and I feel that this unit competes well with my smaller Grundig radio that sees active use when camping and hiking.

I am uncertain if the AM band is tuned using a ferrite internal antenna with this model and will be testing the unit with an external antenna to see if DXing AM stations is possible with this model... It probably is a standard ferrite antenna but it sure would be nice to find I can extend the function of the S350 for this pleasant hobby of DXing remote AM stations.

One other nice modification would be for Eton to evolve the S350DL to support a simple circuit for memory of stations. It would be a logical thing to do and would be worth a few extra dollars to have some more intelligence built into the rig.

Overall, for the $99 I spent, a very good deal and a radio I'll own for a very very long time. If this is your first Shortwave radio, it is a good purchase and a good introduction to the hobby.

I have had quite a few shortwave recievers, and this is by far the best one I've ever had! (Under a thousand dollars). It holds up to abuse, lasts forever on a set of batteries, and has fantastic reception! The "hard" antenna works far better than any other model I've ever owned, and if you take the time to hook up a "soft" antenna, look out you'll get so many signals you will have to use your gain and filter switch to sort them out. I have nothing at all bad to say about this model, infact I now own two! If you want a pocket unit, try the Grundig mini-300, but if you want to listen to shortwave from all over the world, save money on batteries, have crystal clear reception, and ease of use, this is it! It really isn't as bulky as you think, and you'll never regret owning this one!

This is an excellent follow on to the orginal S350 and enhances the design to a higher end product. This is an analoge tunner with a digital readout, so it is a step back in time. However with a more stable front end and less drift, larger speaker, and stero headphone output, it improves the radio so that it has added good value to an already very sound design.

I wondered how a single conversion radio stacks up against a double or triple conversion receiver and for most people they will never notice any difference with this radio. I have collected 25 such radio's and enjoy this one as much as all the rest. Like a good compact car that gets good gas milage, the Grundig S350DL gets very long life from its batteries.

All in all a very competent and enjoyable Radio at retail price and if you can find it on sale even more so.

Note: This is a copy of the review that I posted for the Red model of this radio.

The old (Silver) Grundig/Eton S-350 is being phased out. (see my review on the S350). The Eton S350DL series is the replacment...For more on this, visit the website of "Passport to World Band Radio" (passband.com) under "Receiver News: Update to Edition 2006" (near bottom of the page).

The S350DL (with headphones eliminated from the package, see S350DLR,S350DLB and S350DLS) will then drop to about the same price as the old S350. Right now, some of the older stock of the S350DL (with headphones still included) is being sold off at cheaper than the normal price...shop around.

I do not own a S350DL, but it has been reported that this model reduces the "drift" problem observed on the S350, and provides STEREO reception through the headphone jack. Perhaps Eton will now offer this radio in more colors, since it is dropping the silver model... a nice "electric blue" or "emergency yellow" like they use on some other models (crank-power and pocket) would go well with the blue display illumination.

This is a good radio. I purchased this thinking that it would also be able to receive NOAA weather alerts. No so. You have to buy another Eton radio receiver for that purpose. I called the manufacturer before buying this to ask why the different names. Apparently Eton bought Grundig and is now manufacturing exactly the same radio under separate labels. If you are looking for a radio that will perform well in AM, FM1/FM2, and limited Shortwave, this can do the job. I am impressed with the sound quality and construction to a point. Keep in mind that this radio is made of plastic and you want to be careful or you can crack the casing. The knobs and dials are impressive, but the main tuning section is not a vernier-type tuner. It imitates one. It has a military style look to it, but not the feel. If this were a military field radio, all of the tuning knobs would be made of stainless steel and it would have an excellent vernier-type tuning knob. I like the sound quality and the fact that it has three power sources: (1) 4 D-Cell batteries; (2) 4 A-Cell batteries; (3) and, plug-in power cord to conserve on the batteries when you are at home. I take this on camping trips with my wife because you can turn on the radio and hear it very clearly inside the tent, but when you are outside the tent you can barely detect it. It also has a headset plug in that allows you to listen to it without disturbing others (my wife likes this feature as I tend to stay awake several hours after her bedtime at home or while camping). It is a good radio. Not a great radio. If it received all of the NOAA channels, UHF and VHF, then this would be a 5-star radio. But I'll only give this 4 stars.