Yeehaa!
SWMBO presented the Etón E1, XM Sattelite Radio antenna and GRUNDIG G4000A package to me on Sunday! Unfortunately, beyond just opening all the packages within the package and installing batteries I really didn't get all that much time with either radio because we had a few other things we were doing. I *did* do a little bit of tuning around with both radios after we put the children to bed and before we had to hit the sack. She also got me a very nice `plexi' slanted stand and the PAL to SO239 adapter.
The G4000A is a nice average little AM/FM/SW `suitcase' portable with only 40 `storage' channels, average MW performance, slightly above average FM performance (w/ stereo headphone output when in the FM mode), average HF performance, and just adequate SSB performance. It appears that plugging in an external antenna to the antenna jack disconnects the whip antenna only not the internal MW antenna. Tuning steps are rather limited on all bands and the lack of a `knob' for tuning is, at least for me, rather disconcerting. The provided leather `case' / `cover' is a nice addition but, even with the `nice-ness' of being able to access the ends of the radio with the it closed the fact that both ends are exposed kinda worries me RE: protection when transporting. Still... It is a fairly nice little `secondary' radio.
Now onto the `meat'! {VB GRIN!}
WOW! The Etón E1 is *impressive* looking *and* feeling! Not only is it one *heavy* `little?' radio, about 13¼" X 7½" X 2½" and about 6# w/o batteries and about 7# w/ 4 D-cell batteries, but, the case has this (I can only describe it as `slinky?'.) rubbery feeling coating. The readout display is about 4½" X 3½" w/ `soft buttons' along the righthand and bottom edges and, especially after one finds the contrast adjustment that is hidden behind the cover that covers the cover for the battery compartment, reset switch, and factory programming connector on the lower lefthand side of the front panel, is very readable with 4, on, low, medium, and high, lighting selections.
I'll readily admit that I am listening to it as I am typing this. Currently I am tuned to an FM station out of Cheyenne, Wyo, which is about 100miles North of me and I am not in the `DX' mode. (I just switched to a station out of Laramie, Wyo which is both a tad bit more than 100miles away *and* `over the "hills"' to boot and while the `meter' is considerable lower than it was for the Cheyenne one it's still listenable without switching into the `DX' mode. Switching into `DX' brings the `meter' back up to the same, or maybe a tad bit higher, level as the Cheyenne station. Switching to `DX' on the Cheyenne station `pegs' the `meter'.) When I switch to MW I am able to pick up a fair number of stations I'd usually expect to be able to get but, the `delightful' thing is that I am also able to pick up quite a few that I usually cannot get without resorting to an external antenna. (I have not yet tried hooking up an external antenna and am also a bit surprised that instead of having a built in ferrite loop in the case it uses the built in whip for MW.) The sound, for having as small, 4", a speaker as it has is actually somewhat impressive. The Bass and Treble controls work very well and as far as my tired old ears can tell provide a fairly `flat' response in the detented centre position. I've already tried hooking it up to an old RS/RCA PRO-X44A 2-way, 4" woofer & 1" tweeter, ported speaker and there is enough power available off the batteries to get it almost `uncomfortably?' loud without distortion.
HF/SW reception, as far as I've been able try, off of the internal whip antenna seems to be either as good as or even better than that which I am familiar with from my SONY ICF-2010 and maybe even my ICOM IC-R75 off of my HF Engineering H-900 active antenna! (I'll know more about how it compares to the R75 when I finally use the PAL adapter and hook it up to the H-900, too.) The `Synchronous AM' mode is easily as good as the one in the ICF-2010 and with the addition of being able to also choose DSB along with LSB & USB I think it may actually be better. (As an ICF-2010 `fanatic?' *that* is saying something! {GRIN!}) From my *first* experiences calling this radio a "Portatop" isn't all that much of a `stretch'! (I've also got a Satellit 800 which while it's a danged good radio it still was never as quite as `all around' good as my ICF-2010 and there were times when despite it's `bigger sound' I found myself reaching for the SONY. I suspect that instances like that will become farther and fewer between now that I've got this E1. *If* I ever actually *have* to travel by air and have to `save' a few pounds luggage-wise I *may* still go with the ICF-2010 but, for just `general' traveling it appears that the E1 will `get the nod' and the ICF-2010 may be relegated to being a `backup' that I take along if I think I may need one.)
This is just basically my first impressions and I'll try and `dig' a bit `deeper' as time with this radio progresses. There are so many different `features' in this radio that I have this feeling that I am going to be discovering more every time I turn it on for quite a while. {VB GRIN!} Heck! I haven't even gotten around to `playing around' with the XM except to hook up the antenna and verify that, yep, it works. (I probably am not going to subscribe to XM for a while until I've pretty much exhausted the other modes? [Besides... I really don't know exactly where I am going to both find a place for the XM antenna *and* where I am most likely going to actually use the XM mode. {WAN GRIN!}])
Just an `Olde Fart's' 2¢ worth. {CHUCKLE!}