Tag Archives: Eton E1XM

Pavel fixes a stereo lock in the Eton E1

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pavel Kraus, who shares the following guest post:

Eton E1 – fault in stereo reception

I recently became the owner of an Eton E1 receiver, which I obtained on eBay from the USA.

The receiver is great, everything worked, error-free display. The only problem was that even FM and strong local stations did not play stereo even though stereo reception was set in the menu. The stereo text on the display flashed several times when the stations were not tuned in precisely, but after the stereo tuned, the text went out. I know that stereo reception is not the most important thing for this receiver, but it bothered me that there was a defect at all.

The Sanyo 3335 stereo decoder is used in this radio. The stereo reception switching threshold can be set with a 10kohm potentiometer which is connected to terminal 4 of the integrated circuit:

I disassembled the radio by loosening the screws on the back of the radio. The receiver is divided into two parts. I removed the XM module and disconnected the part of the radio with the display from the flat wires on the second printed circuit board of the radio.

I then removed the screws on the circuit board located at the back of the radio.

I removed the printed circuit board and found a matching resistor trimmer on the other side of the circuit.

Then I connected these two points with a wire (when running on batteries) so that I could turn on the receiver:

After tuning in to a strong local transmitter, I carefully turned the trimmer until the stereo sign lit up and listening to the headphones made sure the sound matched the stereo. I repeated this at several local stations.

The receiver now plays stereo perfectly and the settings do not affect other parameters of the receiver. After assembling the radio, I was able to enjoy quality stereo reception.

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Rescuing the Eton E1 from a sticky situation

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I’m back from a week of travels and the 2020 Winter SWL Fest. In short, is was another amazing Fest and so much fun. I hope to write more about it in the coming days, when I have a few moments to catch up and after I shake a nasty bug (chest cold) I picked up.

Although I had no intention of making purchases at the Fest beyond a few raffle tickets, I couldn’t resist snagging an Eton E1 (XM version) at a silent auction from the estate of our recently-departed friend, Tony Pazzola (WB2BEJ). Tim Moody kindly organized the silent auction.

Tony was an amazing friend to all and an avid radio collector, so there were some excellent radios offered up in the silent auction–I could have easily easy bid on each and every one of them! In the end, though, only one really caught my eye: the Eton E1 XM.

A small sampling of the radios from Tony’s estate.

Tony took amazing care of his radios, but his Eton E1 XM suffered from what all of those models eventually do: a sticky chassis.

Back in the day (roughly 2009 to 2013) Eton/Grundig covered a number of their radios models with a rubberized coating that unfortunately breaks down over time and becomes tacky or sticky to the touch.

I think this E1’s sticky coating put off potential bidders.

It was particularly nasty–if you picked up the radio, you had to immediately wash your hands.

The E1’s starting bid on Friday was $200–quite fair considering this unit is fully-functional and comes with all software, cables, manuals and a SiriusXM radio antenna. By Saturday, the starting bid had been decreased to $150. I resisted putting in an offer, but after seeing that it didn’t sell after all bidding had ended, I couldn’t resist. That E1 needed a good home, right? Plus the proceeds go to Tony’s family.

The sticky coating didn’t scare me. If you’ve been an SWLing Post reader for long, you’ve no doubt read our numerous posts about cleaning off this mess. There are a number of solutions, but I’ve heard the most positive long-term results by employing a de-greasing product called Purple Power (click here to read archived posts). Indeed, it’s the solution Eton Corporation recommends.

On the way home Monday, I stopped by a big box store and grabbed a bottle of Purple Power.

Tony still had the original plastic film on the large backlit display.

Sporting a pair of nitrile gloves, I grabbed a bunch of paper towels and a few cotton swabs, then started the cleaning process. I spent the better part of an hour carefully going over the entire body of the E1and trying to remove residue in every crevice without allowing the Purple Power solution to creep under buttons.

In short? I’m very pleased with the results and am now a solid believer in Purple Power.

As others have reported, Purple Power breaks down the sticky residue and allows it to be removed with a cloth or towels with very little scrubbing. Indeed, the process was much easier than I anticipate.

Now I have a super-clean Eton E1 XM to put on the air!

Now I have no excuse to finally remove the sticky residue from both my Grundig G6 and G3!

So far, I’m loving the Eton E1. It is, no doubt, a benchmark portable. Of course, another motivation behind snagging this E1 is so that I can compare it with the Eton Elite Satellit once it eventually hits the market.

Do you have an Eton E1? What are your thoughts about this receiver? Please comment!

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Sony ICF-2001D/2010 vs ICF-SW77: The final result & next contender ~ The Eton E1

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Hi there, after conducting a total of 14 reception tests comparing these two vintage – but excellent portable shortwave radios, there was a clear winner – the ICF-2001D. Interestingly, the second half of the testing identified yet another example of synchronous detection lock dropping out on the ICF-SW77 (during reception of Radio CANDIP, Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5066.4 kHz). Generally, however, and despite a fairly narrow performance margin, the ICF-2001D managed to deliver clearer audio across 5 of the remaining 6 reception tests, giving a final score of 9 to 3 in it’s favour. However, despite the clear win, there is no doubt in my mind at all that the ICF-SW77 is still a great portable receiver and in my humble opinion, remains one of the best ever made.

I believe this comparison test reveals the only likely remaining contender to the top-spot in portable shortwave receivers to be the Eton E1/E1XM. Originally to be marketed as the ‘Satellit 900’ (that never happened) and following a decade of development, involving RL Drake, it was finally introduced in 1995 – and then out of production within a few years. Fortunately, a couple of months ago, I managed to snag one in excellent condition on eBay, for a reasonable price. Now, these radios are not without issues, including, but not limited to; sticky rubber exterior casing, malfunctioning display, failing function keys and general all-round fragility. Not exactly what I would be looking for in a rugged, well-performing portable for my DXpeditions. However, as someone who is always exploring ways to ‘push the performance envelope’ and the obvious potential benefits of passband tuning, an allegedly superior synchronous detection circuit, 4 audio bandwidth filters and tuning resolution down to 10 Hz, the E1 was impossible for me to ignore. Thus, at some point in the near future, I will perform a similar comparison test with the Sony ICF-2001D and the Eton E1. Whichever camp you might be in, I hope you’ll enjoy the reception videos and find the results/conclusions informative.

For now, wishing you all excellent DX.

The Eton E1; possibly the best portable shortwave receiver of all time?

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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