Customer Reviews

ETON Traveler II Digital G8 AM/FM/LW/Shortwave Radio with Auto Tuning Storage

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I wanted a shortwave radio small enough to carry around and not too expensive--somewhere in between the $20 toys and the $100+ serious boys. Well, this is it. It's not perfect, but it's reasonably powerful, has useful features, is fun to use, looks and feels good (with a matte black soft rubber finish), and comes with a handy pouch and earphones. Just what I wanted.

The display is excellent, with an orange backlit screen that's the best I've seen on any radio of this size. One click lights it up for a few seconds and a longer one keeps it on; it switches itself on briefly with a change of frequency. The information in the display is configurable and can include the following: frequency, battery strength, signal strength (in dBmicron and dB S/N), time, alarm, temperature (!), shortwave band, memory locations, and timer.

FM, SW, and AM/LW all sound good to me and are reasonably sensitive. FM pulls in a lot of stations, including the one I wanted most: KING-FM 98.1 in Seattle, which the more expensive Grundig Aviator A6 couldn't get from where I live on Vancouver Island. Ditto KOMO 1000 on AM. SW reception is good, too. Auto search only catches the strongest ones, but manual tuning gets scores more. I've heard Australia, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Zagreb, etc. in the short time I've had it. It all depends on time and the atmosphere. At 6.30 a.m. the 31m band is packed with stations. And there's continuous coverage from 3150-21950 kHz, not just the selections that come on many shortwave radios. If only there was a setting to filter out the religious stations that come in so loud and clear. Scanning is by thumbwheel in 1 or 5 kHz steps, or by band, or by auto scanning in 5 kHz steps. Both the tuning and volume knobs move by detents.

One particularly nice touch is that the radio remembers the last station you were listening to in each waveband when you switch off. Another nice touch is that radio is silent during auto scanning. A lot of thought has gone into the user-friendliness of this little portable. Short and long button presses for different functions can be annoying, but on this radio they are sensible and intuitive.

Hidden under a front panel are buttons for setting memory locations, time, and alarm, with a recessed button for resetting the radio. There is also a large dial to set the radio to any of the world's time zones, which apparently gives the radio its name. This looks impressive, as does the world map inside the panel, but unless you're constantly changing time zones it's really just a marketing frill. I'd have preferred a direct entry keypad here instead.

The only sour note is the feeble manual, which covers the basics but has no technical information about the radio or more advanced help (such as explaining dBmicron and dB S/N). You shouldn't have to Google things like this. Some parts of the manual are poorly explained or just plain wrong, like telling you to have the radio off or on to set up a function when it means the exact opposite. I've noticed the same thing with other Grundig/Eton manuals, even on their "serious" radios like the S350DL. They really should put more effort in here.

Despite the poor manual, this is a very competent portable that is easy to use and sounds good. A larger speaker might help and there is no tone control, though neither of these noticeably compromised sound quality on the stronger stations. With these slight reservations, this radio earns 4.5 stars from me, but since that's not possible, I'm happy to give it 5.

I saw the many fine reviews on this new Grundig G8 analog unit (another Tecsun clone) and took the chance to try it out. This is in fact a modern version of the old and very popular Grundig analog Traveller II from a decade or more ago which I also owned as well. The DSP capabilities (a Digital Signal Processing circuit contained on a very small computer chip that was recently introduced by Silicon Labs in Texas) are really fine for both sensitivity and selectivity on fm. In fact they are outstanding, especially given the low price on Amazon ($50 shipped). The sw reception was ok (fair), but without any rf (radio frequency) gain controls or dual bandwidth capabilities, it is not especially good for routine or lengthy sw listening sessions in my opinion. On am it was absolutely dismal (with some small exceptions), especially for a weak government public service station that I regularly receive on all of my other numerous radios (received readily by either quite large or even by very small units like my Tecsun PL-600, the Sangean DT-400W, the Kaito KA1102, the Grundig G6 Aviator, the Tecsun PL-450, the Sony ICF-SW12, etc.).

The unit is very well made however (but the battery door for the 3 AA batteries needed is NOT attached to the radio) and I like the system that Eton/Grundig has put together for their ATS system (automatic tuning and storage of relatively strong stations on am and fm only). The orange controllable backlighting is nice as is the lock key and the very easy and intuitive time setting and alarm system, etc. The black rubberized surface on the outside of the unit is also very nice too. The easily controllable LCD display indicating the battery strength (when on) and the world or home time (along with time in numerous locations that can be determined with a very hard to turn analog wheel on the front of the unit under a concealed door that is not easily openable and has an included world map with many global locations indicated- phew!), the local air temperature, the relative signal strength expressed and regularly updated every few seconds in two systems of units, etc. is also very high quality as well. The system also tunes very nicely with a thumb wheel just above the analog volume control knob and easily (by either fast (large) or slow (small) frequency increments for full control when needed- in 1 or 5 KHz steps om am or sw for example) and is controlable directly from the keyboard just as it is done on the Grundig G6 aviator radio. The volume control level is also indicated in digital increments on the LCD screen as well.

But the main purpose of a radio is for quality radio signal listening! If you are just really into fm, the G8 is fantastic and really indicates what the future radio listening will soon be like for new radios to be released here in N. America very soon (and already available in some places in China) such as the Tecsun PL-310 (the revised DSP version of the infamous Ultralite system, the Eton E100/Grundig G100/Tecsun PL-200), the Tecsun PL-330 (a vertically oriented DSP system for replacing the Grundig YB-550PE which was yet another Tecsun clone) and finally, the Tecsun PL-380 (another horizontally oriented DSP unit that I don't know much about yet). So unless you are an Ultralite affectionado or an fm listener save your money in my opinion in order to be able to get what is soon coming to the world of worldband radio (pun intended) in my opinion!


UPDATE: August 10, 2009-

I have since rechecked the am capabilities of this radio against a known government information broadcasting station (broadcasting 24 hrs/day at low power levels) and found to my surprise that the power levels have been reduced for a while and were not representative of its normal transmission state. Thus, to be completely fair, I have changed my rating for this radio according to its reception of this station (as compared to my other radios as listed above) to FAIR am capabilities. It did receive one other weak am station quite well too, but generally it did not do very well on am at my receiving location compared to what other reviewers have found. For fm station reception, it was just simply outstanding however as already noted above.

UPDATE: November 4, 2009:

I finally feel vindicated about my earlier poor review of the am capabilities of this radio. Tecsun has just released the PL-310 and PL-380 DSP am/fm/lw/sw radios. Having purchased the PL-310 I can readily say now that it is much much better than the Grundig Traveler II in all its aspects including the utilization of the full bandwidth control capabilities of the on-board DSP chip (available at the push of a button on the PL-310/380 for 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 kHz bandwidths). These precise bandwidth controls are available on the PL-310/380 for all am/lw and sw frequencies. I will list more details on this fine new Tecsun radio shortly.

All reviewers have been unanimous in their praise of this Chinese-made model, but they may be unaware of the primary reason for this radio's breakthrough AM and FM selectivity. The Grundig G8 is a clone of the Tecsun PL-300WT Chinese-market model, and it contains a DSP (digital signal processing) IC chip which controls all of the AM and FM functions. This fact is not mentioned in any of the Grundig advertising, although it is common knowledge among the Ultralight Radio AM-DXing enthusiast group.
The G8's AM selectivity is in a class by itself among pocket radios, as is its FM selectivity. FM sensitivity is also outstanding, providing reception of fringe stations typically only heard on communication receivers. Although my G8 model from Amazon arrived with very good AM sensitivity, there have been variations in the AM sensitivity levels of the identical PL-300WT Chinese-market models, due to the Tecsun company's manufacturing process (specifically, their neglect in matching the inductance of the loopstick coil to the value required by a varactor in the DSP chip). Since Tecsun also manufactures all of the G8's for Grundig, this may also be an issue with these G8 models, although it's too early to tell.
Despite this, the Grundig G8 is a superlative value for both AM and FM DXers, especially with Amazon's free shipping option. This model's DSP-enhanced performance is sure to please those who enjoy fringe-station chasing on either band.

73, Gary DeBock (N7EKX)

The previous reviewer provided a very comprehensive evaluation, which I completely agree with. This radio exudes quality.
FM band performance is amazing - you can hear less powerful stations loud and clear with no interference from strong stations. AM/SW sensitivity and selectivity are very good, no interference from strong stations on AM.
I didn't have to consult the manual to set up the clock and to figure out the main functionality. Interestingly, this radio also displays room temperature in one of the display modes.

UPDATE (after 2 weeks): Still love this radio, even more so. I live in the clear view of FM transmitter tower, which results in powerful stations jamming the whole band. Previously, I had a good experience with Sangean DT-400W in getting some of the weaker stations but Grundig G8 pulls the FM stations from as far as KKIQ in Pleasanton (40 miles away) and KWMR in Point Reyes (also 40 miles) with no interference whatsoever.

Now, to the AM. I considered my Sangean DT-200 the best among my radios as does have impressive AM capabilities but Grundig G8 is no slacker either - I get exactly the same performance on AM.

I didn't spend much time listening to SW yet but my spot check indicates a very solid performance.

I find myself choosing this radio more often, although, it's not the smallest among the bunch of others. The user-friendliness of its controls, quality and performance make it almost a "grail" radio. I said "almost" as my grail radio would be G8 in the form factor of Sangean DT-400W . :)

After a few reviews I got temptation to buy Grundig 8.Finally, on my table three radio receiver: Sony ICF-EX5(my favorite)price about $230 and up, Sony ICF-SW7600GR $130-150 and Grundig G8 $67CA.
After first minute I took away EX5.It is hard to beat this Radio Monster. Between two radios GrundicG8 and SonyICF-SW7600GP was god battle. Both radios are absolutely different in their construction and have different result with AM Dxing. 610 from Seattle on Sony had more noise than G8. The G8 had been trying to illuminate noise. As result that some station like 620 KG** from Tacoma got really weak almost unreadable signal.
The Sony received still readable and loud broadcast. Some strong signal station had clear signal with little noise. Sony had plenty noise on this frequency. Like DXing machine Sony got better result than G8 in my area, but quality of reception was better on G8.
SW Band very similar on both radios. Sony has better sound quality than G8.SW on G8 is easy to operate to stitch meters.G8 and Sony have same steps that made both radios in some way very adequate each to other. FM reception on G8 is very surprising. With small whip antenna it receives good quality signal on weak stations. For example, some stations in my area are unreadable on my Super Radio. Only Sony can get this station clear and strong. G8 is good FM competition for Sony. By small tuning steps, I was able to receive weak signal from Nanaimo. My conclusion is G8 is very interesting radio receiver. It is not HI-END dxing machine but considering price, size, and quality it is good competitor for same and higher price receivers. It is interesting toy to play and discover .I would recommend this radio for people, who like comfort of tuning and quality. Without big expectations, it is great radio with reasonable result.

Gary Debock said all that needs to be said about this radio.The only thing that was sub par was the owners manual or lack of.FM with headsets is just plain fun to listen to. I love the back-light with the rubber coating. If you do add a power supply be aware that center connector is minus 6 volts. Check out the Yahoo Ultralight-dx group for any other information on this model & the Chinese like radio.

For the price you really can't beat this radio. But for shortwave novice's such as myself, it pulls in and puts into memory all sorts of shortwave stations. But there is no CD or video included on where or when to tune in all these shortwave stations. But it does have a really good alarm clock, which is essential for any merchant marine. I am excited now to get up in the morning. I like to think of myself as waking up to Radio-Free CUBA at WCBA. Anyone can help me on how to start listening to shortwave.....

After buying my first G8 about two months ago, which was delivered with a speaker that would only work after fiddling a bit with a headphone connector in the headphone socket, I already appreciated this radio. Now, after having bought a second one, now with a fully functional speaker, I use the first one in the office, connected to some external speaker set, which works just fine.

Though also owning the Tecsun PL310, which is considered to be a "better performing Grundig G8", the absolutely brilliant ergonomics of the G8 made me buy the second one. It just feels good in your hands, and the tuning knob is a real pleasure to use, it works very intuitively with the variable speed interface, which really doesn't make me miss the direct keypad tuning of the Tecsun model.

Performance? On FM, it's my only radio that pulls in the Belgian station "Studio Brussel" here in the north west of The Netherlands, about 120km away from the transmitter, next to a very strong local station only 200Khz away. Just to compare: my Sangean ATS909 and my Sangean PRD5 are not nearly as selective in my experience.

On MW, it's good enough for me. Both Sangean models mentioned are (slightly) better, but their sizes are less optimal for traveling (which is one of the reasons I bought the G8 in the first place). Here in The Netherlands, at night, I receive stations with it from as far as Spain, Croatia and Italy. Quite respectible, IMHO.

On LW, this radio is a joke, and this is the reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5. Only RTL France can be received (234Khz, located in Luxembourg), but still with a lot of hiss. As an example, BBC4 on 198Khz is hardly recognizable at all: only if you put your ear very close to the radio and listen very well, you may actually be able to verify that there are people speaking English. It really is that bad. To compare: the Sangean ATS909 does BBC4 just fine, just as my analog Sony ICF-SW11).

UPDATE (September 2010): I performed the MW/LW antenna alignment procedure, as outlined in various newsgroups. After that, not only the MW reception is better, but the LW has also improved. It's not a dramatic improvement, but 198KHz (BBC 4) can now be received with a signal strength reading of 17'14, which is rather noisy, but good enough to actually understand the program. Also, 162KHz can be heard (though faintly) and 234KHZ is now actually quite good. Still no trace of 252 (RTE from Ireland) however. Anyway, I upgraded my rating from 4 to 5 stars because of this.

On SW, the G8 is very capable. Using just the whip antenna, it simply pulls in the major stations from around the world. Quite literally actually, since yesterday evening I have enjoyed listening for half an hour to radio Australia (in more than reasonable quality), of which the transmitter is located some 16,000 km. away, on the other side of the globe! Impressive...

All in all, I heartily recommend this radio to anyone interested in a very capable small travel radio, with no particular interest in LW listening.

Awesome, with potential. Clock and alarm are clunky: I don't care about that. The build quality and tuning controls are excellent, with practice on the auto-speedup. Audio tone is great...use hifi headphones! Reception.. FM: very good sensitivity, and super selectivity..picks off the quirky college stations no problem, copes with big stations near small ones. The seperate signal strength and S/N readings really help me doodle the antenna and headphone cord to cut interference. I used the S/N to figure out how to coil a long headphone cord to cut computer interference! AM: once again, good sensitivity, great selectivity, and the S/N reading really helped me null interfering stations. For best DX, you will want a little tuned loop. Quietness and resistance to general noise are sweet. SHORTWAVE: sensitivity is just 'good', but selectivity and a lack of spurious noise is excellent. 6-12 feet of wire really brings in the stations, and a headphone cable along your body gives stable performance without needing to hold a hand on. Recovered SW audio is very nice, rolling off a bit at the high end, as it should. For super all-band performance you need to couple ground and antenna to outdoor ground and antenna: too bad there's no jack. Still, a great unit for pocket, and lots of potential for making a super DX unit, with tweeks.

The Grundig G8 is a unique radio which many have purchased as a ultralite medium wave set. The key to using the G8 for shortwave is to find the best way to get the most out of it.

The G8 works best with an outdoor reel type antenna clipped on to it's retracted
collapsible antenna. Here's the key - you fold your fingers over the metal
antenna to reduce the gain and overloading. Then the radio springs to life and
works as it should. Detuning the radio 1-3khz greatly improves the trebble and
clarity of the signal.

As such the G8 outperforms every portable radio I've ever listened to for
general program listening. The audio is great with a deep quiet background and
virtually no noise. On the downside there is some medium wave bleedthrough from
stronger stations so you want to limit the external antenna length to 20-30 feet
or so. Also the bleedthrough is most prominent on the 17-21 mhz bands. Weak
signal reception could be better but I think this is due to the radios need for
a certain level of audio to produce a usable signal.

For me the G8 is my go to set for shortwave and I believe when more people learn
how to use it it will gain the reputation it deserves.