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Thought this might be of interest. Should I buy it? (I have never done anything related to HAM/SW) Edit: Also, is something like this even worth getting? neurotech fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Apr 13, 2010 |
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Apr 13, 2010 04:16
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The Weird posted:Thought this might be of interest. Dog Case has the FRG-7. Its a highly regarded unit, and that isn't a bad price. As for the Tecsun portable, its kinda okayish, but there are much better SW portables out there. I'd say save your pennies for a better portable.
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Apr 13, 2010 06:23
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The Weird posted:Thought this might be of interest.
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Apr 13, 2010 08:38
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Regarding the comments on the last few pages about the Grundig G3: Is there any way to know if one I'd pick up at a local Radio Shack is a newer, updated model or just some old dusty one from two years ago they've had sitting around forever? Is there a manufacture date where people know they 'got better' or anything?
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Apr 16, 2010 15:43
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Catastrophe posted:Regarding the comments on the last few pages about the Grundig G3: Is there any way to know if one I'd pick up at a local Radio Shack is a newer, updated model or just some old dusty one from two years ago they've had sitting around forever? Is there a manufacture date where people know they 'got better' or anything? Look at the serial number, the higher the better (I think 1000+). The G3 has only been around a year so it can't be any older than that. Ask the store if you can go outside and play with it. Check the sync feature to make sure it will lock and hold onto signals, that's been the big issue. Worst case you buy it and then find it's still crappy you can return it to the store for exchange/refund. If you can wait even Eton(Grundig) will exchange your radio under warranty. Many people did that when Radio Shack had a sale on them for $90, bought the radio and exchanged it through Eton for a current "fixed" radio. It's a good radio if you get a later production model, why Eton had to screw it up when it first came out I don't know. Why alienate an already tiny customer base, shortwave listeners ?
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Apr 16, 2010 16:36
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Another option is to order directly from Eton, as they have a new online store. That way, you would be pretty much guaranteed a newer model.
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Apr 16, 2010 16:41
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Grrrr. I just picked up a G3 and opened it up to discover it's probably a 1st gen one. It comes with the old 6V 250mA power adapter and the new ones come with an 8V 200mA adapter. I'm new to this and don't really know how to tell if the sync function is working the way it should. How can I reliably test this?
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Apr 16, 2010 21:40
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Catastrophe posted:Grrrr. I just picked up a G3 and opened it up to discover it's probably a 1st gen one. It comes with the old 6V 250mA power adapter and the new ones come with an 8V 200mA adapter. I'm new to this and don't really know how to tell if the sync function is working the way it should. How can I reliably test this? Only way to really know is to use it. If sync is on and the radio squeals no matter what then you probably have a lemon. Try it on all levels of signals from strong to weak to see what happens. Early models squealed even on strong signals! Adding to AstroZamboni's advice, Universal Radio guarantees the newest model when you order a G3 from them.
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Apr 18, 2010 06:47
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Radio Nowhere posted:Only way to really know is to use it. If sync is on and the radio squeals no matter what then you probably have a lemon. Try it on all levels of signals from strong to weak to see what happens. Early models squealed even on strong signals! Tried it. Mine just squeals. I sent off a message to Grundig about the mismatched power adapter and the sync squealing. We'll see what I get back from them...
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Apr 18, 2010 19:07
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Hi guys! I haven't been doing much HF stuff lately. I've mostly been playing with my scanners. MY GIRLFRIEND just bought me one of these little Radioshack antennas the other day for some reason http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103641 Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some sort of mast material after work and get it up today. Just dangling it on the back porch, I've already heard some things I've never heard even though they've been programmed in the radio for years.
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Apr 18, 2010 19:24
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Radio Nowhere posted:Only way to really know is to use it. If sync is on and the radio squeals no matter what then you probably have a lemon. Try it on all levels of signals from strong to weak to see what happens. Early models squealed even on strong signals! I haven't had a chance to use my lately, been busy with a bunch of other crap (plus with the powerlines outside, I'm pretty limited at the moment. Moving soon, so it won't be a problem) Do you have an example of what you mean by the sync squealing? I'm sort of worried about mine now since I been hearing so many bad things about radioshack.
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Apr 18, 2010 20:18
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JammyLammy posted:I haven't had a chance to use my lately, been busy with a bunch of other crap (plus with the powerlines outside, I'm pretty limited at the moment. Moving soon, so it won't be a problem) Well, on mine, I hit the Sync/SSB button and it makes a weird screaming or "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" sound over the station's audio. Mine's serial number is 0081XX, by the way. Don't know if anyone else here knows they don't have this problem and has the serial number handy.
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Apr 18, 2010 20:47
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JammyLammy posted:I haven't had a chance to use my lately, been busy with a bunch of other crap (plus with the powerlines outside, I'm pretty limited at the moment. Moving soon, so it won't be a problem) YouTube has a pretty good example, basically what happens 40 seconds into this clip, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJiusWQZuwg Like Catastrophe said, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Apr 19, 2010 02:55
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Radio Nowhere posted:YouTube has a pretty good example, basically what happens 40 seconds into this clip, haha yes. Exactly. That's what mine does.
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Apr 19, 2010 03:16
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As an update to my previous posts, here, I emailed Grundig/Eton Saturday evening and received an email response, today. I told them I received a 6V instead of an 8V power adapter and that the sync detector on the G3 causes the radio to squeal. They responded that they would like a photo or fax of my receipt and they will be happy to send me a replacement G3 and adapter at no charge. Great customer service. If anyone else here is having similar issues with their G3, I'd suggest going to their website, filling out the form for their customer service, and explaining on it what your problems with it are. From things I've read on eham.net, others have had good experiences with them when they've had trouble with their products as well. EDIT: I just shot this to give a clear example of what mine's doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BQm15ITaiM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BQm15ITaiM Catastrophe fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Apr 19, 2010 |
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Apr 19, 2010 20:07
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Well, this thread has convinced me to buy a G3. They're about 20 bucks cheaper if I just order it from fry's, but I really don't want to get one of the older generations. Might just suck it up and buy straight from Eton.
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Apr 20, 2010 01:09
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The front-end overload from the nearby, overly modulated Radio Disney transmitter finally pissed me off to the point of no return and I FINALLY, after months of hemming and hawing, finally grew a pair and build one of these bad boys. It took only about 5 hours of work, was ridiculously easy, and HOLY MOTHERFUCKING poo poo, does it ever work. For all you noobs who are living in apartments and can't get good signal, or if you have to contend with lots of nearby interference, BUILD THIS NOW. It completely shuts out the noise from Radio Disney  , and the soldering is really rudimentary.With just the whip antenna on the G6, WWV/WWVH on 5 MHz was completely unreadable, and buried in a shitload of Disnerference. With the antenna plugged in and the tuning capacitor zeroed in, both WWV and WWVH were louder and cleaner than I've ever heard them with NO noise from RD (or any other noise, for that matter). Holy Jeezus Phineas Christ hosed sideways with a jagged pitchfork, this is the best 20 bucks and 5 hours I've ever spent. Edited for pics:  Click here for the full 533x819 image.  Click here for the full 498x606 image.  Click here for the full 762x538 image.  Click here for the full 570x731 image.  Click here for the full 731x601 image. AstroZamboni fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Apr 26, 2010 |
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Apr 25, 2010 22:18
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That looks pretty sweet AstroZamboni! I've been meaning to build a loop antenna since moving into this apartment but haven't motivated myself to do it yet. I'm very close though to getting out of this noise heck-hole and move into a townhouse. Alright maybe a townhouse is far from a ideal radio noise quiet-zone but it has to beat where I live now, and it's a end unit so more space for a hidden longwire! For the Grundig G3 owners in this thread here's how the sync is supposed to work, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85T0c5Nnds I've done this numerous times on my Sony ICF-2010 where a weak'ish signal is getting clobbered from a strong station 5 KHz away so I flip on the sync and reception improves tenfold. A pretty sweet feature when it works! I noticed the wiki listing for 4625 "The Buzzer" has a interesting update. Pretty strong evidence the signal is really nothing more then a propagation monitor used for research. Someone was able to find some pages of research detailing the signal. The government organization doing it is like our HAARP. The oddities of the open mike and occasional breaks remain. Or it's all a cover! 
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Apr 28, 2010 03:25
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Radio Nowhere posted:That looks pretty sweet AstroZamboni! I've been meaning to build a loop antenna since moving into this apartment but haven't motivated myself to do it yet. I'm very close though to getting out of this noise heck-hole and move into a townhouse. Alright maybe a townhouse is far from a ideal radio noise quiet-zone but it has to beat where I live now, and it's a end unit so more space for a hidden longwire! A townhouse isn't going to be any less susceptible to interference coming from outside the home. This thing has given me a much better signal in the city than I ever got with a longwire in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. It isn't a major investment in either time or money, so I say you should still go for it. Radio Nowhere posted:I noticed the wiki listing for 4625 "The Buzzer" has a interesting update. Pretty strong evidence the signal is really nothing more then a propagation monitor used for research. Someone was able to find some pages of research detailing the signal. The government organization doing it is like our HAARP. The oddities of the open mike and occasional breaks remain. Or it's all a cover! That actually makes a whole lot of sense. This must have just been updated today or yesterday, because it didn't have that in the article when I looked at it on Sunday.
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Apr 28, 2010 03:41
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I picked up a G6 that was fairly cheap the other day. Back onto the SSB horse.
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Apr 29, 2010 03:14
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Automaton Empire posted:I picked up a G6 that was fairly cheap the other day. Back onto the SSB horse. You'll love it. I absolutely adore my G6. It isn't quite as sensitive (and is more susceptible to local interference) than my old E5, but now that I have the magnetic loop that isn't much of an issue. I think the G6 is truly one of the greatest bargains ever in (extremely) portable shortwave receivers. I am still looking to get my E5 repaired eventually, and also see if I can get the backlight LEDs replaced with red ones so it doesn't destroy night vision when I use it for predicting satellite flyovers and Iridium flares with WWV. Does anyone know of any companies that do custom modding on Eton radios? I contacted the US repair company for Eton (Act Electronics in Las Vegas) several times and they never get back to me.
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Apr 29, 2010 06:17
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Radio Nowhere posted:I noticed the wiki listing for 4625 "The Buzzer" has a interesting update. Pretty strong evidence the signal is really nothing more then a propagation monitor used for research. Someone was able to find some pages of research detailing the signal. The government organization doing it is like our HAARP. The oddities of the open mike and occasional breaks remain. Or it's all a cover! So it's a soviet weather controlling earthquake machine
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Apr 29, 2010 06:56
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AstroZamboni posted:The front-end overload from the nearby, overly modulated Radio Disney transmitter finally pissed me off to the point of no return and I FINALLY, after months of hemming and hawing, finally grew a pair and build one of these bad boys.[/url] I built one right after I got my first G5 and I have to agree. $20 for massive improvement in signal in a pretty compact form? Hell yes!
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Apr 29, 2010 07:31
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Automaton Empire posted:I picked up a G6 that was fairly cheap the other day. Back onto the SSB horse. How cheap and where did you get it? I've been wanting a new shortwave toy and I'm torn between the G3 and G6. Well maybe not so much torn as much as what to get first! I love the tiny size and features of the G6, I love how the G3 would be a uber upgrade of my beloved Degen 1103. I'll jump on the loop bandwagon someday. My only loop experience is that AM loop
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Apr 29, 2010 14:27
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Radio Nowhere posted:How cheap and where did you get it? I've been wanting a new shortwave toy and I'm torn between the G3 and G6. Well maybe not so much torn as much as what to get first! I love the tiny size and features of the G6, I love how the G3 would be a uber upgrade of my beloved Degen 1103. I got it for 50 shipped, used, which in all likelihood is not a whole lot of a steal, but I'm pretty happy. I really didn't want to pay much to pickup something that I'll honestly really been using to listen to baseball games.
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Apr 30, 2010 02:58
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Automaton Empire posted:I got it for 50 shipped, used, which in all likelihood is not a whole lot of a steal, but I'm pretty happy. I really didn't want to pay much to pickup something that I'll honestly really been using to listen to baseball games. Considering it costs 100 at Radio Shack, that is a hell of a steal.
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Apr 30, 2010 06:21
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Who wants a G3 with more knobs? Meet the Tecsun PL660 (prototype). http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/0002.asp?open=223189
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Apr 30, 2010 15:40
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Radio Nowhere posted:Who wants a G3 with more knobs? Meet the Tecsun PL660 (prototype). And over twice as many memory presets! I wonder if Eton will actually market this as the new E10 in the states, because it seems as if they've almost completely phased out the Eton branded SW receivers (except for the E1). It'll be VERY interesting to see how this develops. Tecsun makes quality equipment.
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Apr 30, 2010 19:00
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This morning I cracked open my old E5 to see if any of the electronics knowledge I've accumulated while studying for Ham licensing might have given me a fresh set of eyes to figure out what the hell was wrong with the thing. 90 minutes later...  ITS ALIVE!!! ITS ALIVE!!! I discovered two loose connections, as well as a broken wire leading to the speaker. I tightened the loose connections, replaced and resoldered the speaker wire, put it all back together, slapped in a fresh set of batteries and KABLAM, BLAMMO, KABLAM! It all works like a charm! Its good to have the raw RF sensitivity and selectivity of the E5 back, not to mention the better SSB reception. I can't wait to see how my mag loop works with the E5. Edit: Now that that's done, I rearranged the front room of my house a bit. I positioned the mag loop right where it can be easily oriented around the big picture windows that can be easily opened for better signal. I also plugged in a set of these bad motherfuckers. HUGE sound, fills the entire room. You can pick up a lot more delicate nuances and dimmer signals when you've got better speakers. I picked up Radio Australia on 15515 loud and clear, and they even had a really good program about the European Southern Observatory in Chile. I also picked up a preacher who sounded like Milton from Office Space. I kept expecting him to start talking about god setting the building on fire. drat it feels good to AstroZamboni fucked around with this message at 00:38 on May 1, 2010 |
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Apr 30, 2010 21:05
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I just picked up what sounded for all the world like some sort of pirate broadcast on 7821kHz USB. It had chefs arguing for 10 minutes about the proper preparation of ranch dressing followed by random facts about the life of Abraham Lincoln. Very queer.
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May 2, 2010 02:00
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Ha that sounds fun. Get any good tips on ranch dressing preparation? I wish I could find stations like that, but all I tend to get is static and bible talk. Once I move (next couple days) I will be away from these powerlines, though more trees (but that shouldn't be a problem....right?).
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May 2, 2010 03:31
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JammyLammy posted:Ha that sounds fun. Get any good tips on ranch dressing preparation? A magnetic loop would help with the powerlines. "Magnetic loop" has become my stock answer for everything.
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May 2, 2010 03:34
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Updated the OP to correct some bad info in the radio recommendations. Also, we're only a month away from the thread's 3 year anniversary. Christ.
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May 3, 2010 03:11
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Saturday evening while my wife was in the store grabbing a few things I was sitting in the car dialing around my shortwave car stereo. I ended up listening to the "Voice of Iran". I forget the frequency but it was within the 40 Meter amateur band since there was some "alien chatter" in the background. Driving home I kept listening and my wife was quite into it. The English broadcast announcer was not what you would expect, it was a female with a very American accent. I don't remember any news specifically, I remember some headlines about the oil spill in the gulf. Pretty good signal from halfway around the world, I'd say a SIO of 434 for the 20 minute drive.
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May 3, 2010 14:54
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I REALLY want to find one of these on eBay! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOafUlUQYpk
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May 4, 2010 04:38
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Radio Nowhere posted:I REALLY want to find one of these on eBay! Holy jesus, that's amazing. This is so cool to actually get something of a peek behind the scenes of how a number station operates. Beyond cool.
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May 4, 2010 07:32
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Radio Nowhere posted:I REALLY want to find one of these on eBay! What was this? It's been killed by the user.
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May 6, 2010 17:08
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wolrah posted:What was this? It's been killed by the user. A box that outputs a numbers station voice.
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May 6, 2010 17:14
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wolrah posted:What was this? It's been killed by the user. I hope he wasn't assassinated... 
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May 6, 2010 18:04
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AstroZamboni posted:I hope he wasn't assassinated... This video has been removed at the request of MIND YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS
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May 6, 2010 19:01
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