Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Troy, Ron and Steve, who note that Jay Allen has just posted a review of the Grundig Executive Satellit on his website.
The upshot? Jay found the performance identical to the previous (non-Executive) version of the Satellit which is to say that it has excellent AM performance and built-in audio.
In February, Clint Gouveia wrote up a review of the Satellit based on three weeks of DXing in the field. He found it to be an exceptional performer on the shortwave bands and stated:
“Ultimately, I have to strongly recommend this portable to anyone interested in DXing and in particular those that embark on DXpeditions.”
He embedded a number of videos from the field in his review (click here to view).
And, of course, our buddy Tom Stiles also reviewed the Executive Satellit on his YouTube Channel.
The original Eton Satellit
Like Clint, I own the original non-Executive version of the Satellit–since performance is identical, I’m not going to “upgrade” to the Executive version (though I do really like the executive case).
After Clint’s review in February, I stated taking the Satellit with me on travels more often and have been most pleased with its performance. While it took me a while to get used to its amber display at night, I must say it is a fantastic performer, has superb built-in audio and is overall a wonderful full-featured radio travel companion.
I often forget to mention the Satellit when readers ask for portable radio recommendations–perhaps this is because the Tecsun PL-880 simply overshadowed it in my mind. Not anymore.
Executive on sale
As we mentioned yesterday, the Executive Satellit also happens to be on sale at Amazon right now for $156.92 shipped. Click here to view on Amazon.com.
Eton Satellit vs. Tecsun PL-880
Speaking of the Tecun PL-880, SWLing Post contributor Charles Rippel recently ordered the Executive Satellit–he plans to compare it with the Tecsun PL-880 and share his findings with us. Stay tuned!
Got an original Satellit last Summer on amazon.com, since here in Europe I cannot find a reseller. After only two weeks, tuning dial wasn’t working anymore, and I could not afford to send the radio back. So, I put it into a drawer. Today I opened it while at work, and a careful inspection showed an horrible thing: all of the wires on the flat cable between the encoder and the main board were soldered in an archaic manner (to say the least), and one of them broke. Repaired in 5 minutes, but..oh, boys ! These are things you don’t expect in 2016 !
Thanks for the mention of my review on my YouTube channel.
Another Thomas
RTC, I recommend you rather consider the 4 & 5 star reviews that have been posted more recently, plus watch a number of Oxford Shortwave Log’s (Clint Gouveia’s) Youtube videos of the Eton Satellit in action. This Satellit has been substantially improved since its initial introduction. Clint, myself, and another friend of mine are very happy with our current-production Satellits. We have not found QC issues, except for some minor paint wearing on the Executive model.
The DXing performance is most impressive, and in the same league with the Panasonic RF-B65 and Sony ICF-2010. Here is one of Clint’s more recent DX comparisons with the Eton Satellit. Take a listen and decide for yourself if the radio is worthwhile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsGjdmYRup8
Does the Satellit still sound slightly choppy when tuning during the actual process of DX’ing? The recent videos only show the Satellit sitting on a frequency. I remember older videos when the muting feature during tuning and searching made it very difficult to notice broadcasts when searching through a band with any kind of speed.
Mine definitely has the dreaded “muting while tuning” as I call it.
Hi Kristof,
My Eton Satellit is a newer version, and the soft muting–although still present on MW & HF in AM mode–is not a bother to me at all. In SSB mode soft mute is completely absent. The radio performs so well for its size and price in other regards that I don’t consider the modest amount of soft mute to be a deal breaker.
Jay Allen explains it well: As of September, 2015 the newest production run of the Eton Satellit has reduced the muting while tuning which the original release had which now makes band scanning much more enjoyable. It is completely disabled during SSB mode which is good news. On SW the new version has almost no muting at all and it therefore band scans very nicely. On AM it is still a bit intrusive…the audio is not totally muted but it is lowered in volume during tuning so if you can hear what you are passing by. Again its not as nice as on SW but it is improved over the earlier version. Although not ideal I can live with it because the actual reception on AM is better on the Satellit than any of the other current production mid-sized radios I’ve compared it with.
Before you go for one,read the 1,2 and 3 star reviews on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTO7P8X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=swlcom01-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01MTO7P8X&linkId=af00ccdaf39caf1852452f8faa95647c
Eton is still plagued by poor QC issues…choose a place with a good
return policy.
It has a BFO and can receive SSB making it potentially a good candidate for being a good general coverage SWL receiver up there with Tecsun 880, price is a tossup . Which one is better?