Sony 2010 and Satellit 700 on the way - which will be better ?

[Robertkoa]

Well ..I am not getting the Sensitivity out of the Satellit 700...head to head it loses against the Grundig G3 both on 20 foot indoor wire.

So I ordered an Eton E1 and if it works properly..
according to everyone..it will be super sensitive/ selective.

The E1 is also a Drake Design but built fragile and unreliably...most people do not just own them for years and years with no problems...many aficionados own 2 or more...lol.

I may still have the Satellit 700 checked out by a Tech and upgraded if possible...it is built like a Mercedes Benz...and the manual AGC can smooth out ' pulsing ' audio almost like a compressor/ brickwall limiter in a Recording Studio - in terms of
Audio effect ...NOT electronically of course.

On my Satellit 700 I get the most sensitivity by using a wire clipped to the Antenna - AND a separate wire clipped to the
Ext Antenna .

This raises gain slightly on Whip ( and reduces stray frequencies )

AND raises Gain slightly on Ext Antenna- weird right?

So on EXT Antenna - IF I disconnect wire from the Whip- the Gain drops a few db-

Possibly a short between the 2 or a blown FET in whip preamp or
a slight short to ground etc ?

Because these two Antennas should not be interactive should they ?

Wild guessing - I am Novice with Radios..and interested in getting
Repaired or Modded to optimum- not in being a Tech myself....

 

[Robertkoa]

OK - To answer my own Thread :

The SONY was returned for quick refund 'Error.3'.

The Satellit 700 is beautiful and looks great , very rugged modern looking Receiver ..but not real sensitive so...

I got an E1 with the sticky coating already removed
very nicely...all the paint intact ..but no sticky coating.

Except for the great manual AGC on the Satellit 700
( and the great build quality of 700 including huge swivel Antenna )..
The Eton E1 wins in every way even on AM or FM the speaker wins wider clearer bandwidth.
Much more sensitivity and the 10 hertz fine tuning no muting at all while tuning wins .

With 10 Hertz Fine Tuning and the PBT I definitely don't miss the BFO .

I am a Novice with Receivers but this E1 is very cool and fun to tune around on and very easy to use... hey Muskrat -what are some Pirate Frequencies ?


And the PBT Passband Tuning can minimize hiss and brighten up dull signals especially in the narrow bandwidth .

This is the Receiver I wanted the Sat 700 to be like.

How does the Eton E1 get a lower rating than Sat 700 on EHAM Reviews ¿¿ ?

 

[ka3jjz]

Please keep to the topic at end. If you wish to ask about freqs, then go over to our SWBC forum, where that is a perfectly valid question

Re the E1 and why it has a lower rating - there are likely several reasons. The sticky coating that folks found toward the end of its run is, as I understand it, quite a pain in the neck to get off. It also has a reputation for being a bit fragile; Drake had several returns on this radio for various problems, but when they did, it actually ended up being a better radio than when it went in. And from experience - I played with a E1 at various Winterfests - the audio is a bit more bassy than I would like, though that's simply a personal judgment.

Still if you have a non-sticky version, and it works well, that radio is a keeper. We refer to these radios as portatops - a term coined by Larry Magne of Passport fame - because it has the size of a tabletop with some portable characteristics. It's hard to find a portable that packed so much into it - the PL880 has some, though not all, of these abilities.

And on a more personal note, SWBC legend Ian McFarland won one of these radios at a Winterfest. I was there when it happened - I've known Ian for 25 years, and never, until that night, had I ever seen his jaw hit the ground....Mike

 

[Robertkoa]

Ka3jjz-
Yes- thanks for the info.
Whoever had this before cleaned it very well without removing any paint .

I noticed the trimmer [ that adjusts VFO I think- but on Satellit 700 a similar trimmer adjusts LSB / USB ] visible through the back has a fairly mangled screw (¡ !) so I did not adjust it...maybe trimmer is locked or damaged so that is something for a Tech to look at.

The Radio is super easy to use..but I found the Sat 700 easy as well.

The one problem on both the Satellit and the E1 is trying to find a quiet AC/DC Adapter.

On the Grundig G3 I tried a multi voltage small adapter = bad line hum and bad RFI.
Then I decided to try a new adapter from Kaito USA used for the Kaito/ Degen 1103 and it is the same
8 volt 200 milliamp supply that Grundig shipped with the G3 and E5/G5 and low noise.

So THEN I learned of linear regulated Adapters- ordered one in 9 Volts 1 Amp from Jameco after speaking with them BUT their Adapter was a lightweight( usually indicates switcher) with bad hum and RFI that swamped the AM signal completely ! Jameco realized their error and refunded however- but they currently have no 9 Volt 1 Amp regulated linear Adapter.

I tried two others ..supposed to be quiet..but those are bad also - a few specific ones people ( not authorities on the Subject) had mentioned.

I have had Samplers/ high res 24 bit 192K CD Recorders/ Keyboards etc. with no noise problems but these Radios are finnicky.

So I am actually thinking of buying a cheap ($ 40 plus shipping )low ripple linear regulated Supply - fixed 9 volt DC Toroidal transformer etc.)so I don' t have to keep replacing batteries.
I could just buy 8 rechargeable Powerex and keep replacing every 3 or 4 days also -but don't like disconnecting antenna and turning radio to get batteries out twice a week if I can avoid it.

I may try one more NOS 9 volt wall wart 9volt 1 Amp which is linear regulated before a dedicated low ripple supply

Strange because the original Eton Adapters were nothing special but I have read most were quiet except in the headphone out.

But this E1 is definitely a Keeper as you say- great engineering and fun to use !

One Reviewer said the screen is like an Etch a Sketch and sent his back ..which is really funny..an extreme exaggeration- I like the screen..my Unit seems to have more contrast than some Reviewers complain about.

I had an Etch a Sketch as a kid- E1 has much better reception...and backlight.