Grundig M300BL Mini300PE Handheld Shortwave Radio (Metallic Blue)
by Eton
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Grundig M300BL Mini300PE Handheld Shortwave Radio (Metallic Blue)
Customer Review: good little radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This radio is exactly what I wanted to have in the house for the next big snowstorm. The reception is good and I am pleased with the purchase.Customer Review: Great little radio
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very nice little radio. Good sound quality and sensitivity. I was impressed with the quality.Customer Review: A really good radio, exceeded my expectations.
Summary: 4 Stars
This diminutive radio is very good. Having recently acquired another very fine Eton model as a gift, I thought I would like this one, and it actually exceeds my expectations.
I admit, I not only read the manufacturer's specs, and other literature, I also read the reviews on this site. The reviews on this site are very helpful. I agree with a couple of other comments about the case. While very nice, it is a little tight initially, but I've managed to stuff the radio, and the little manual into the case. I can see how fitting the radio back into the carrying case is likely to move the tuning knob. I don't employ the radio while walking around, but in an office, so that's not an issue. The ear plugs are another issue. Where to stow them while on travel? I've just looped them through the belt holder on the back of the case.
I don't mind the drift on this little radio when using shortwave -- the reason why I purchased this model. It's easily correctable. I do agree that the next generation of this type of radio should be able to address this problem better. I don't have any trouble with the sensitive tuning knob. When I do get the signal in, the sound is very good, much better than I had anticipated. The speaker is really good, and the ear plugs are quite useful.
Reception is great. Finding stations, and getting them in is an easy task. I usually set the radio someplace high up in the room to get consistently better reception. I listened to Radio Sweden and Radio Netherlands, among other stations today. This little radio is easy to use. The user manual is well written and helpful.
My only dislike is the clock. I set it for UTC (since shortwave schedules are printed using this time), and I really wish the clock would show military time because the radio guides I use in print, or off of the 'net employ military time. Surely this can also be an added feature for any future upgrade of this model.
I recommend this little model to persons with an interest or need for a very small radio that has more than adequate, if not extensive, shortwave capability. For the price, it can't be beat.
Customer Review: Very Nice Indeed!
Summary: 4 Stars
For the size and price, this radio provides outstanding shortwave reception. I compared it against an old Realistic DX-440 and a Sony ICF-7601, and was able to pull in most of the frequencies that were received on the larger radios with equal clarity and sound quality. The analog tuning knob is firm and tight, but it takes some practice to coordinate your finger movements with the digital readout (which really flies if you have jumpy fingers!). The Mini 300 comes with two generic alkaline batteries, which is always a nice touch in this "batteries not included" marketplace. Plus they throw in a cellphone style, neoprene carrying case that is adequate and functional. The shortwave/FM telescopic antenna comes out about a foot and appears to have excellent sensitivity. The speaker produces a bold sound relative to its size, which is not hollow or shrill like many radios of comparable dimensions, and equally important, it fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. The unit comes with a pair of standard earbud earphones, and the clock/sleeper features make this a very attractive piece of equipment.
Initially, I questioned the performance in the AM mediumwave band. Since most of my radio time is spent DXing distant AM channels, I was concerned that while the stronger stations came in loud and clear, bringing in those distant signals at night "seemed" to be a problem. Not so! Most nights I can pick up stations like WHAS in Louisville, or WBBM in Chicago which is about 800 miles away! It's all a matter of getting a feel for that small tuning knob.
Overall, in my opinion, this is an outstanding radio. If you're looking for something pocket-size that's strong in the seven supplied shortwave bands, as well as great FM and AM signals, this is an excellent choice.
Customer Review: Very nice little radio
Summary: 4 Stars
I just needed a small inexpensive radio with a good stereo headphone jack to listen to at work that had better reception than my iRiver music player and this guy fit the bill perfectly. Amazon carries suprisingly few compact FM radios with digital tuning that aren't garbage. No matter, this is exactly what I needed.
Reception was far better than my music player, even with the antenna unextended, and the battery life is phenomenal. I've had this for a few months, listening to it on average a few hours a week and I am still on my first pair of batteries.
My only complaint with it is as others have noted, that the tuner and volume knobs are hyper-sensitive. The full range between the volume being barely audible to too loud occurs over like an eighth rotation of the knob. And fine tuning stations is a chore because it will go from 101.10 MHz to 101.15 MHz pretty much just from breathing on it (it has 0.05MHz digital tuning resolution). Since the tuning knob is on the side, it gets budged slighly every time you remove it from the included sleeve so you need to re-fine-tune it to receive your station everytime you take it from the sleeve which gets kind of frustrating.
Overall a quality radio with many features that belie its low price. Four stars based on its FM tuner capability alone.