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Old 2nd Apr 2014, 11:31 am   #1
WaveyDipole
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Default Grundig Satellit 650 Questions

I am curious about the Grundig Satellit 650 which is supposed to be the best (of the more modern) ones ever produced by Grundig. Of the older ones, the 210 appears to be highly rated.

I have several question really:

1. Is there another general broadcast/SW radio to match the 650 for a similar price?

2. How often do they come up second hand?

3. What kind of price would be sensible to pay for a fully working one if one did come up?

I have seen radios like the Icom R70/71, the Drake SW8 mentioned sometimes as something the author 'upgraded' to, but these appear to be somewhat different and in a higher price bracket entirely.
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Old 2nd Apr 2014, 12:45 pm   #2
G6Tanuki
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 questions

The National/Panasonic range of radios from the mid-1960s onwards are rather nice and are essentially Japan's answer to the Grundigs and Zenith Transoceanics of the era:

http://members.tripod.com/cheryldrake_1/id11.html

[I always lusted after one of these: http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...vr/rf4800.html ]
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Old 2nd Apr 2014, 12:46 pm   #3
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 questions

It depends what you want: not that I can give much of an impression of the Satellit 650 as, while I've an assortment of high performance (for their day) "world-band" receivers on the premises, they're all from before 1990 and the youngest of my four Satellits is a 3400. But the 650's a big beast, and apparently at least continues the Satellit tradition of exceptionally good audio performance. I've not noticed any other ranges at all likely to combine that with the 650's other features.

They're not rare at least, and it looks as though around £200-250 and a slice of luck should be enough to net a good example.

Paul
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Old 2nd Apr 2014, 1:13 pm   #4
Paul_RK
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 questions

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
The National/Panasonic range of radios from the mid-1960s onwards are rather nice and are essentially Japan's answer to the Grundigs and Zenith Transoceanics of the era:
Though the RF-8000 and RF-9000, weighing in at around 45 lbs each, are in another league not least for price! I was lucky enough to secure one of the latter not very long ago, which is an absolute joy to use (though not at all a joy to rotate, as the manual suggests, for best MW reception...) but scarce and usually costs a fortune.

Sony were in the running too for a while before retreating to the travel portable market. The CRF-320/A turns up now and then, http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...e/crf320a.html , but suffers from a tuning system involving three large nylon gears notorious for breaking, very hard to source and quite tricky to repair.

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
[I always lusted after one of these: http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...vr/rf4800.html ]
I should quite soon have the similar http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...vr/rf4900.html . A more traditional radio than the Satellit 650, though, without memories, and I don't think it's likely to challenge it for sound quality.
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Old 2nd Apr 2014, 7:52 pm   #5
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 questions

The 9000 is an insanely elaborate radio - 41 ICs, 174 transistors plus 21 FETs. It's only usual for prices to be matchingly insane: $2900-$3800 when they were available new, built to order, in 1982-5.
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Old 3rd Apr 2014, 11:17 am   #6
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 Questions

Well it looks like my post got pulled. Just trying to point out my surprise at actually seeing one for sale on eBay! Looking at the photos there does seem to be an awful lot to it. But what does an elaborate radio like that do better than an decent shortwave receiver like an Icom R75 or Drake SW8?
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Old 3rd Apr 2014, 12:48 pm   #7
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Default Re: Grundig Satellit 650 Questions

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Originally Posted by WaveyDipole View Post
But what does an elaborate radio like that do better than an decent shortwave receiver like an Icom R75 or Drake SW8?
As a short wave radio, not very much, because I suppose there's not very much more a short wave radio can do! Some things it does worse - 15 station memories doesn't sound too impressive these days, but when the RF-9000 launched it and the Sony ICF-2001 were as far as I know the only synthesized tuning, keypad frequency entry, radios on the market. It's what it is, a state-of-the-art - seriously state-of-the-art! - radio from 1982, marketed to I don't know who - globetrotting plutocrats for their offices and/or yachts? At about a quarter of my gross annual salary as a radar engineer at the time, not to me, that's for sure. Maybe the model existed chiefly to win publicity for Panasonic in showing the amount of technological wizardry they had at their disposal, to bolster the reputation for quality that would help them sell more ordinary products to ordinary folk.

I know next to nothing about what's currently on the market, but looking just now at the R75's specification the RF-9000 seems at least comparable as a SW receiver. Sensitivity is 0.5-1uV for 6dB across all bands, image rejection 100 dB first and 70dB second, frequency display stability within 100Hz during any 60 minutes after warm-up. Mechanically it's just a delight to use, with that huge two speed tuning knob. Like the Satellits it's a general purpose radio rather than one strictly for the SW enthusiast, FM is superb and so is the sound quality - 7 watts RMS output to a 7"x5" bass unit and separate HF. There's also a clock, and the radio will turn itself on in up to four pre-set patterns: each can be any station, any start and stop time, almost any combination of days of the week. There's hardly anything to say against it, aside from size and weight and I'd guess rather short battery life when it's run from a dozen 'D' cells.

I wouldn't have paid the prices the RF-9000 generally sells for, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that they're comparable with, say, pre-war TV prices. It's a scarce technological artefact far removed from anything that will ever be made again, and I'd need to be on my uppers to sell mine for the prices they generally sell for. Selling say 250 radios at £20 each would do my bank balance as much good and have a far better effect on the household...

Paul
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