Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mike (K8RAT), who notes the Grundig G2 is now being sold at close out pricing.
Universal Radio is currently selling the G2 for $54.98 while Amazon has a price of $52.95.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of the Grundig G2. It packs a lot of features and has good audio for the size, but tuning through the shortwave bands is somewhat cumbersome and the listener is limited to 5 kHz steps. Still, this radio also doubles as a stand-alone MP3 player and even records. FM reception is very good.
[Update: See Ron’s comments about this digital recorder below before making a purchase. This recorder has a serious weakness.]
I also noted that Blinq.com and Amazon have a Radio Shack 4GB Desktop Digital Voice Recorder (Model #1400214) on sale. While I’m not at all familiar with this recorder, the price is very attractive. It has a line-in (great for recording directly from a radio’s line out jack), SD card expansion, and very simple controls–reminiscent of old school cassette recorders.
I have no idea how well it performs as there are very few reviews on the ‘net, but with pricing in the $20-25 range, it seems like a bargain. I love the simple controls mounted on the face of the recorder.
Blinq.com is selling the RadioShack recorder for $24.99 shipped, Amazon.com actually has one left (at time of posting) for $19.99.
Has anyone ever used this digital recorder?
SWLing Post reader, Ron, writes:
“Stay away from the Radioshack digital recorder.
It works fine, is set up just like a cassette recorder. And just like a cassette recorder the sound in mono-all on one side!”
Many thanks, Ron. Yes, I would avoid the recorder knowing this.
I picked up one of these a few years ago for 15 bucks when the local radio shack store was closing. It takes about 15 seconds or so to boot up. It records Wav format. I use mine for recording birds. The record quality is surprisingly good. It’s a tad clunky in the field, as a result I’ve beaten on it, but it still works. Not bad for 15 bucks.
The RadioShack unit can record in stereo if a plug in mic or line In is used – both of which it can handle. I have it – it’s a good little unit on features.
If you can get it for $50, the Grundig G2 is a great bargain, while it is not amazing as a radio, its record function and its ability to store notes make it a great tool for shortwave listeners who already own higher end receivers.
I picked up two of these when my RS store was clearing them out 3 months ago — at 9.99. Can’t beat that price and the audio channel thing is really no big deal
I have a Radio Shack Desktop Digital recorder and have read & applied the instructions on “erase all the files in a folder”. I cannot get the erase function to work.? Can someone advise. And the folders that show zero files indicate they are full.? what is that all about.?
This may be a round-about fix, but I’m pretty sure when you hook the recorder to your computer, you can manipulate the files from the computer side and delete them all, leaving the F1 thru F4 folders in place.
Thomas:
I need to clarify a few things…
my comments about the audio being
on the left side referred to the USB
input to your computer,not through
headphones.
I never used headphones with mine.
This output is in the WAV format.
Using a format converter like the old
dBpoweramp you can select
“joint stereo” and such to fix it.
Sorry for the misunderstanding,my bad.
Actually with my yamaha headphones it comes out on both sides with no pecial adapter. The unit does a nice job, clear recordings, and several nice features. I bought mine from Amazon for $18.50 with free shipping.
One nice feature is the SD card storage area, for carrying along 4 additional cards besides the one active slot. It also has 4gb built in.
Very pleased so far.
Robert AK3Q
Very good news, Robert. Thanks for the report!
-Thomas
I’m not sure why mono would be a bad thing here. I’m not aware of too many stereo shortwave broadcasts, or indeed most communications via radio (outside of the main consumer areas). I used cassette recorders for many years sucessfully, although tape flipping was certainly annoying. This unit is a lot more straight-forward than the average digital recorder these days and at this price might be excellent for some folks needs. I would be more interested in the overall sound quality vs. # of recording channels for this type of usage.
Hi, John, I think Ron’s complaint was less about the mono recording and more about the audio only recording to the left or right channel. It requires a little post production (Audacity or similar) to put the mono audio in both ears. I believe this recorder was intended for a single (old school) ear phone instead of headphones.
Thomas:
Exactly.
The audio was all on the left side.
Sure,you could mess with it like I
did to straighten it up but that was more
trouble than it was worth,really.
A shame because the audio quality was quite
good,better than the hand-held units you see.