Thoughts on the Satellit 750

[Shortwave2200]

I've had a sat750, it was ok.

The VFO was loose, controls were cheap, I've been into SW for 31+ years.

I do not like the chinese crap at all.

do your self a favor, instead of the sat750, get a tecsun pl660.

The same company makes the sat750, the pl660 is like 1/2 of the price of the sat750 bacically same radio but the pl660 has sync on it the 750 does not.,,

or the Grundig G4000A, its a better radio than the 750, on amazon they are 69.99+free shipping, the Grundig G4000A was discontinued but the one I recieved was from 2009 and the sound is better than G5 or G6

 

[nanZor]

I think that reviewing low-end receivers with the recommendation to just buy something else is what leads to reader frustration.

I've had a sat750, it was ok.
The VFO was loose, controls were cheap, I've been into SW for 31+ years.

Fix: Pull knob. Remove felt covering over encoder shaft nut. Tighten nut just snugly enough - do not strip it or place enough pressure to break plastic. Replace felt and knob. Small wrench will do it without (even small fingers might do) without having to disassemble the whole thing. Loose knobs? A small strip of white silicone plumbing tape around the pot threads works nicely. Had to do this on my 350.

My first 750 which got sold got this fix applied. My second and third 750's do not exhibit this problem, but I know how to fix it should it come loose. Recommend not using the dimple which will exacerbate the problem. Update: just snugged up one of my later ones. Took about 15 seconds total.

I do not like the chinese crap at all.

Yet everything from your username, radios mentioned in the message, and tagline are all made in China! There just aren't any other players in this market segment anymore. ALL Chinese receivers could use more Q/A and better componentry. Until a competitor comes along, they own the market and can do as they please.

do your self a favor, instead of the sat750, get a tecsun pl660.

The best favor you can do is use the radio that best fits the job. I have a PL660 myself, and consider it a nice radio for an ultra-portable, but I could easily SHRED it technically as compared to the feature set and usability of the 750. One is a tabletop, and the 660 is an ultra portable - two different radios that really shouldn't be compared together.

If I wanted to trash the 660, (which I won't), I'd have to decide if I wanted to play the specs game, or the usability game. it's all a waste of time really unless one steps back from the nitpicking, and take an overall view of the situation to be fair to the readers.

I started in '76 with lawnmower money with this:
RigPix Database - Heathkit - SW-717

If I was just starting out today, I'd go bananas over a 750!

I think reviewers would do themselves a favor by just sticking to the radio under review, rather than comparing it to everything else.

For the money, the 750 - even with it's own imperfections, is the best bang-for-the-buck tabletop receiver out there - to have FUN with. I currently use it for chasing down longwave NDB's, BCB dx'ing, amateur/utility ssb-cw, and all the way up to airband monitoring. I use most of the features.

Note - I also have done the am-output level mod, which performs better for me than using drastic amounts of attenuation / rf gain. The mod consists of a 2.7K resistor in series with a non-critical 22uf electrolytic cap from pin #18 of the receiver chip to a convenient can shield. This is mostly for ssb/cw usage, although one can get by with the stock controls. Long thread on the Yahoo groups about it - not my mod btw.. (the 660 could use some of the same, just like its predecessor, the 600)

This mod is mainly due to the fact that I use outdoor antennas affixed to each of the 3 dedicated antenna jacks.

 

[Shortwave2200]

Wow dude you should really chill out, I gave my opinion about the radio and just suggested, just in case the op didn't want to spend the money

Yes I know everything is chinese cra now a days I've had radios in the 70"s 80"s and 90"s and they were better build quality that is what I meant, OK?!

And this is why I do not post too much here, try to give an opinin or a suggestion and you get critized!

I think that reviewing low-end receivers with the recommendation to just buy something else is what leads to reader frustration.



Fix: Pull knob. Remove felt covering over encoder shaft nut. Tighten nut just snugly enough - do not strip it or place enough pressure to break plastic. Replace felt and knob. Small wrench will do it without (even small fingers might do) without having to disassemble the whole thing. Loose knobs? A small strip of white silicone plumbing tape around the pot threads works nicely. Had to do this on my 350.

My first 750 which got sold got this fix applied. My second and third 750's do not exhibit this problem, but I know how to fix it should it come loose. Recommend not using the dimple which will exacerbate the problem. Update: just snugged up one of my later ones. Took about 15 seconds total.



Yet everything from your username, radios mentioned in the message, and tagline are all made in China! There just aren't any other players in this market segment anymore. ALL Chinese receivers could use more Q/A and better componentry. Until a competitor comes along, they own the market and can do as they please.



The best favor you can do is use the radio that best fits the job. I have a PL660 myself, and consider it a nice radio for an ultra-portable, but I could easily SHRED it technically as compared to the feature set and usability of the 750. One is a tabletop, and the 660 is an ultra portable - two different radios that really shouldn't be compared together.

If I wanted to trash the 660, (which I won't), I'd have to decide if I wanted to play the specs game, or the usability game. it's all a waste of time really unless one steps back from the nitpicking, and take an overall view of the situation to be fair to the readers.

I started in '76 with lawnmower money with this:
RigPix Database - Heathkit - SW-717

If I was just starting out today, I'd go bananas over a 750!

I think reviewers would do themselves a favor by just sticking to the radio under review, rather than comparing it to everything else.

For the money, the 750 - even with it's own imperfections, is the best bang-for-the-buck tabletop receiver out there - to have FUN with. I currently use it for chasing down longwave NDB's, BCB dx'ing, amateur/utility ssb-cw, and all the way up to airband monitoring. I use most of the features.

Note - I also have done the am-output level mod, which performs better for me than using drastic amounts of attenuation / rf gain. The mod consists of a 2.7K resistor in series with a non-critical 22uf electrolytic cap from pin #18 of the receiver chip to a convenient can shield. This is mostly for ssb/cw usage, although one can get by with the stock controls. Long thread on the Yahoo groups about it - not my mod btw.. (the 660 could use some of the same, just like its predecessor, the 600)

This mod is mainly due to the fact that I use outdoor antennas affixed to each of the 3 dedicated antenna jacks.

 

[nanZor]

I do apologize to you for coming off so harshly. And I hope to see you stick around and read more of your opinions and suggestions.

 

[Shortwave2200]

Unfortunatly china has a hold on sw radios, in the 70,80 and 90's Taiwan had a hold on it but they were of good quality, zenith I think in the30,40,50 and 60's had a hold but back then the radios were made in the good ol USA.

Grundig produced some awesome radios until the late 90's, the the satellite 800 (made in china with designs by drake components by tecsun) that radio was a bust bad quality.

The Eton e1 was originally the Grundig satellit 900 the components were discontinued and grundig at that point were going bankrupt. Then lextronix bought grundig then lextronix changed the name to Eton, the design of the radio is based on the design of the yatch boy 500, look how closely the yb500 looks like the e1.

So the tecsun supplied the components to Eton/lextronics but only for 9k units, the the Eton e1 without xm only 1k units were made, I have both xm non xm, the non xm unit is serial # 890 the xm serial number is 7200 so I was lucky to get late models by then the bugs were ironed out somewhat.

So tecsun components go into grundig labled radios, essentally the tecsun pl 660 is a mini satellite 800 they both have the same features but the 660 is alot smaller.
The g5 & g6 and g3 are all made by degan, the g5 & g3 are variants of the 1103.

The grundig g4000a aka yatch boy 400is a unique animal, the components are not made by tecsun I do not know by what company but the radio is closer to grundig than another newer radio and the meterbands are labled as the older bands not like the newer radios additionally on the back of the radio it has the stamp of the old grundig badge like all of the older grundigs had.

So that is why I said about getting a tecsun pl660, ore bang for the buck and you get am sync, the 750 you do not, you can charge the batteriesinside the radio also and in my opinion the 660 is more sensitive and more selective and its 145.00 cheaper.
And the grundig g4000a is a good value if you do not need sync, it is also bigger than the newer radios with a bigger speaker= better fidelity and sw sounds a hell of alot better than the newer radios. Granted the g4000a does not have a tuning encoder but the buttons are fine for me personally and they are on amazon for 69.99 new.

 

[nanZor]

Yep - I also wish for the better build-quality of yesteryear. Then again, it wasn't all roses. My beloved Japanese Yaesu FRG-100 filled with nice filters etc, took a dive years ago when the encoder went bad. I think it was mechanical and I put a lot of spin-and-grin on it. We'll see how the 750 holds up.

I think part of the issue is that we are approaching radios from different directions - I'm primarily a utility/amateur ssb/cw fan, so that is more important to me than sync, etc.

Right now I'm putting a modified 750 through it's paces on the ARRL SSB dx contest, and it is holding up reasonably well for what it is. I could operate that position for days, whereas there is no way I would feel comfortable doing the same with the 660 portable.

I understand better where you are coming from now, and why I got so unnecessarily tweaked about it.

 

[Shortwave2200]

I listen to everything, AM BC DXing, SW BC DXing, Ham, Military, coms.

I used to have a frog 100B, it was good but i like portables or portatops.

ARRL SSB dx contest ive been listening to all different freqs all day....

 

[majoco]

Personally, IMHO, I would have had a go at repairing the FRG100, or at least getting a quote to have it fixed. Those shaft encoders are reasonably cheap now - I have made one out of a redundant computer mouse - and they are for sale on FleaBay.

 

[Shortwave2200]

To the OP, you do not need to spend alot of money on a radio, as long as you have a good antenna ANY reciever will do a good job.

 

[nanZor]

One thing to keep in mind about the Grundig 750 is that it is the only inexpensive "portatop" still currently-in-production model out there. It fills a unique nich for those that want something that mimics a larger communications receiver ergonomically, yet still runs a long time on batteries. But don't kid yourself, it's not an Icom R75 or equivalent.

While there's no doubt that the Yaesu FRG-100 was a better radio, it didn't fit my need for this portatop category very well in either placement or current draw.

The receiver chip, a TA-2057 is basically designed for small portables, although with the resistor mod, it has much better response to overloading than just by using the fixed attenuators alone. This mod puts the radio into a slightly higher category for me, especially since I use full-sized dipoles etc. The stock attenuator / rf gain control were just too drastic prior to the mod when reducing distortion on low to moderate ssb signals. Reports are in that this may no longer be an issue with late-model 750's circa 2011 or so, but mine are 2010 versions so I have no first-hand experience with the very latest models.

I also enjoy the airband response - it is not a scanner for sure - for scanning airband I use other radios. There are only a very few low-level birdies, and the receiver seems right on frequency. Add to that a squelch, although it is audio, not RF based. But it works for just sitting on a frequency for a long time. (something the pl-660 really let me down on - no squelch and some NASTY birdies on airband - fixed and movable and off frequency by 2khz or so) It is actually nice to hear hi-fi AM airband comms from beginning to end on the 750. It is not as sensitive as your typical scanner, but that is overcome by using a real antenna for it. So the inclusion of an airband receiver section that actually works ok, puts the icing on the top for me. Surely, some people may have to put an fm-trap filter on it with a large external airband antenna, but that is nothing new to airband monitors in other forums here. Luckily, even with a flamethrower on 88.5 mhz here for me, I am not suffering from desense or overload on airband. (the resistor mod worked wonders here too)

 

[NX2KCA]

Hope you don't mind if I jump in here...I'm contemplating getting my first SW set for about 30 years, and the Grundig 750 is top of my list right now.

I still have a 1965 Grundig console stereo that has SW capabilities that my uncle sold me, and used to wile away the hours listening to the SW and of course play records, FM etc., then college and family happened and it's now been sitting and now it doesn't work. To get it fixed will be onerous because it's 7' long!! I won't get too detailed, but it's a Grundig KS-77U, and it's SW capablilities are 5.5 - 16Mhz according to the dial.

We want SSB to listen to local hams, and the occasional Aircraft would be fun. I go camping in a rural spot every year for a family reunion and I think it'd be very cool if I lull my daughter to sleep listening to the voices all over the world...and the only SW capable receiver I have is a cheapie Bell & Howell that brings in too much - not enough selectivity at all...but for about $10 I did not expect much.

Plus my home stereo's AM/FM leaves lots to be desired, so much of the time at home it'll be used to listen to FM through there.

Now that my daughter is 9 years old, I want to introduce her to the world that fascinated me and prompted me in my 20's to go backpacking through Europe.

My wife has said she'd give this to me as a belated birthday gift, as long as I lose 25lbs! So I love a challenge...wish me luck! I have seen the 750 on sale for about $299 here in Canada.

 

[nanZor]

It's a fun radio to use while camping for sure!

The shortwave scene has changed a LOT in 20 years with many stations going off the air, so maybe check into the Shortwave monitoring forum to see if your favorite stations are still active. Hams, FM / AM / Airband also fun - but remember that it won't actually scan on airband. Welcome aboard!

 

[nanZor]

External jack for FM / Airband

Just a note that you can improve the sensitivity on FM and Airband by using at least a similar sized telescopic (NOT a flexible duck) on the external FM antenna jack, rather than using the internal whip.

Normally you wouldn't think this would make a difference, but it made enough of a difference for me to test it further. Testing with weak-signal FM broadcaster and my local airband weak AWOS station showed improved quieting when used with a Diamond RH789 telescopic - and yes it was manually tuned for best reception just like the internal one. (The internal whip starts at the bottom of the case btw). The test is simple to perform, with only one of the whips extended during testing, but I discovered the difference by accident, assuming that the built-in whip shouldn't be any different. For this radio, testing proved that the external jack performed better with a similar sized whip.

It definitely made my VHF ARINC monitoring easier, then switching to the HF/SSB aero nets for followup.

 

[ridgescan]

It's a fun radio to use while camping for sure!

The shortwave scene has changed a LOT in 20 years with many stations going off the air, so maybe check into the Shortwave monitoring forum to see if your favorite stations are still active. Hams, FM / AM / Airband also fun - but remember that it won't actually scan on airband. Welcome aboard!

Although I agree with you, here are broadcasters who are still in the game with English broadcasts throughout the day
BBC
VOA
DeutschWelle
China Radio Int'l
Radio Havana
Radio Netherlands
Radio Australia
Radio New Zealand
Vatican Radio
Voice Of Russia
Voice Of Korea
Croation Radio
CVC Intl.
Voice Of VietNam
Radio Cairo
Voice Of Turkey...
I could go on and on as there are many more English broadcasts from yet more countries still that I can get here all day and all night. Not to mention the gaggle of Christian stations stateside and in Canada (KNLS)
The key to the world is propogation, and if you can help it, a substantial antenna to help pull 'em in, because pretty much none of them are aimed at us. You gotta get it outside!
Hertzian, not trying to contradict how you portray the SWL scene, but just saying that luckily, there's still a whole bunch of apples up in that tree.

Short-Wave Frequency Schedule for BBC in ENGLISH at 15:26GMT

 

[NX2KCA]

but remember that it won't actually scan on airband

Good to know, thanks hertzian. That it scans anywhere would be an improvement to the old equipment I used to have. I remember I had an old SW radio I had from "Audition" that was so imprecise most things would drift off, and only later did I know it was the horrible tuner inside. It was fun in the late 70's listening to the police on Sat. night - well, one side of the conversation, anyway! It got just below the Airband where our police used to be, then all the airband, and just a little bit of SW.

Still lots to hear, I'm sure and judging by that list, ridgescan (thanks, BTW), it'll be a lot of fun finding those on the dial. Shhh...don't tell me where - I'll have more fun seeking it out myself.

I'd better get to the gym and lose that 25lbs fast! Yes, I could buy the radio tomorrow, but to actually be fitter and have that radio - that's a win-win.

Did you ever think you'd ever hear of SW being used as a motivation to diet and exercise?

 

[nanZor]

That's a great list Ridgescan! I'll check those schedules out. Not so bleak after all.

 

[karldotcom]

wanna be experts?

hahaa

 

[Zaratsu]

wanna be experts?

hahaa

Seems like the people that are using it, are enjoying the receiver for what it is. This discussion is far more beneficial than a purely technical discussion that will do nothing but fault the receiver for it's economical, albeit purely functional mass-produced design.

 

[NX2KCA]

Seems like the people that are using it, are enjoying the receiver for what it is. This discussion is far more beneficial than a purely technical discussion that will do nothing but fault the receiver for it's economical, albeit purely functional mass-produced design.

Yes, exactly. I'm a real audio buff, but had to sell my thousands-of-dollars-worth equipment to buy a house, or at least put the downpayment down. Do I miss the equipment - sometimes, but my OK sounding receiver is just fine, because my priority was and is the house.

Same with SW radios I imagine - if that is your #1 priority, then this Grundig/Eton/Tecsun will be lacking. But for me, just getting back into listening and just for having fun, I think it'll fit the bill fine. The Stereo line outs and the Airband and SSB are what attracted me to this particular model.

 

[jwlehman]

Did you ever get your 750 NX2KCA? I've ordered one and its on the way...your weight loss/get a radio situation got me curious as to whether or not you made it! I wish you the best