Radio
Boy
Satellit 700 - 1992-1996
2 actual versions
of this set were made: The standard version, with SW coverage of 1612-30000.9
kHz & LW coverage 150-353.9 kHz, and the "Italia" version with reduced
coverage to meet Italian regulations, (SW: 3950-26100.9 kHz, LW 150-302.9
kHz). However, there are several versions "on paper", see the FAQ
for details.
The general consensus
among many who know about world band radios is that, as an all-rounder,
this is the best portable ever made. The Sony 2001/D, (2010 in America)
has apparently got slightly better sensitivity, and a better synchronous
detector, but in all other respects, it is either not quite as good, or
simply doesn't have the facilities. The predecessor to this set, the 500,
probably vies with the Sony for 2nd place. The US distributors "replacement"
model, the Satellit 800 Millennium, didn't have the facilities of this
set, and had a so-so reception due to quality control and design problems.
It wasn't a real Grundig of course, being designed in America by Lextronix,
the US/Canada distributors, and Drake, and built in China. The 800 was
only officially available in USA/Canada/UK. The replacemtn for the 800
was the Eton E1, based on the Satellit 900 prototype, but heavily modified/redesigned
by Drake, see this page for details) which has been
a very good design, BUT there are issues with use in certain "RF busy"
areas, such as Europe. In weak signal areas like parts of the US however,
it has been raved about. There's no doubt it stands head and shoulders
above the 800, but in comparisson with the 700, it's very much "swings
and roundabouts". It still lacks RDS and a handle, and also a ferrite rod
for MW/LW, using the whip instead, due to RF interference from the larrge
display. Arguably, despite the E!, this set is still on it's perch.
This set is equipped
with a ROM table of pre-programmed broadcaster frequencies. To see details
of the ROM table contents, click here.
After the Satellit
300, in 1985, came the Satellit 400, which shared the 300's styling, but
had much more in the way of facilities, SSB, memory scan and so forth.
That set was discontinued in 1989, to be replaced by the 500. It would
be fair to say that, technically, the Satellit 500 bears as much similarity
to the 300 as the 300 does to a crystal set. In almost every respect, the
500 outclasses the 300. The only real similarity is in the way the volume
and tone controls operate.
The 700 took another
massive step in the facilities available, though it is similar to the 500
in it's audio and reception quality. However, the synchronous detector
is vastly improved in this radio.
Specification:
Styling:
Similar in size to the
300 & 400, this set shares the 500's styling, with the audio controls
moved from centre stage to the left side, clever design making them accessible
from the front or the side. This resulted in the front of the 500 &
700 having 3 main areas, instead of the 4 on the 300 & 400.
The speaker grille still
took up most of the left side, with an identical layout of keys to the
500, though some of the functions have changed. and the LCD display
caters for an even bigger range of functions.
Thus the styling stands
out from any other radio, with one exception: The 500 though much different
inside, and darker coloured, it looks much the same.
Country of manufacture: Portugal.
Size: 178mm high x 304mm
wide x 66mm deep.
Weight (excluding batteries):
1.8 kg.
Power supply:
Internal; 4 x D cells,
6V, or 4 x rechargeable D cells, 4.8V.
External; 9-12V DC, NR90
100-127V/220-240V mains unit is included. NiCD charger built into set,
charges if switch in battery compartment set to "ACCU" and external power
supply connected, even if set switched off. "ACCU" flag appears on LCD
display if switch set for recharging.
Battery meter:
Yes, in LCD panel, displays
for 10 seconds after switch on when powered by batteries. Does not display
when powered externally.
Tuning method: Digital PLL
synthesizer
Tuning options:
Tuning knob
Slew key
Auto-search (FM)
Auto-scan (AM)
Direct keying-in of frequencies
and SW metre-bands, (LW/MW/SW frequencies can be entered in kHz or MHz,
FM in MHZ only)
9 broadcaster/96 frequency
ROM table (22 broadcaster/120 frequency in USA mode)
User programmable presets
(See below)
Manual or automatic ROM/memory
scan
SW metre-band skip.
Wavebands:
FM: 87.5-108 mHz, tuning
steps 25kHz.
LW 150-353.9 kHz, modes:
AM/USB/LSB/Synchronous detection; tuning steps 9kHz (scan), 1kHz (manual
tuning), 100Hz (manual SSB/Synch). Bandwidth. Automatic/Manual Gain Control.
MW 528-1611.9 kHz, modes:
AM/USB/LSB/Synchronous detection; tuning steps 9kHz (switchable to 10kHz
for use in the USA) (scan), 1kHz (manual tuning), 100Hz (manual SSB/Synch).
Bandwidth. Automatic/Manual Gain Control.
SW 1612-30000.9kHz, modes:
AM/USB/LSB/Synchronous detection; tuning steps 5kHz (scan, within metre
bands only), 1kHz (manual tuning), 100Hz (manual SSB/Synch). Bandwidth.
Automatic/Manual Gain Control.
IF's:
FM; 10.7 MHZ
AM; 54.5 MHz & 450
kHz. (Dual conversion)
Station memories: Yes;
512, Memofile 1 is factory
fitted, in tables of 8, stores mode, bandwidth and mono/stereo where appropriate,
with 8 character user input alphanumeric name assignment, for LW/MW/SW,
and Non-RDS FM stations, automatically saves RDS name to memory where available.
3 expansion sockets for
memofile 16kB memory chips, each with
a further 512 frequencies, giving 2048 in total. (Memofile chips can also
be used to create customised scrolling text in Demonstration
mode.)
96 frequency ROM table.
(120 frequency in USA mode)
Tuning meter: Yes, 16 segment
LCD. Also acts as RDS error rate bar graph.
Local/DX switch: Yes,
"LOC" flag appears on LCD display if switch set for local reception.
Aerials: Ferrite rod for
LW & MW, Telescopic for FM & SW, with internal pre-amp for SW.
Dial illumination: Yes,
full LCD display when set switched on, left side of LCD display only when
switched off (for clock);
Battery; Manually
switched on for 10 seconds using LOCK switch.
External power; Menu
selectable lighting options, permanent even when switched off, or as battery
mode.
Mono selector: Yes, with
LCD indicators showing status thus:
"Stereo" = Stereo signal
being received.
"Mono" = Mono selected
via keypad.
Neither showing = Stereo
decoder in circuit, but no stereo signal being received.
Sockets:
Inputs;
DC 9-12V
Aerial (all wavebands).
Switch selectable on SW & FM, "EXT" flag appears on LCD display if
switch set for external aerial.
Outputs;
Stereo Line-out, 2 x
phono sockets.
Stereo headphone (activated
Stereo decoder if FM in use). Can also be used for cassette recording in
stereo, in addition to line-out sockets.
External speakers.
Remote timer switching
for external tape recorder, 3.5mm 3-contact, (sleeve common, ring open
when timer on, tip closed when timer on)
Output power:
Mains operation; 2 x
1.5W RMS.
Battery operation;
2 x 1W RMS
Speaker: 4 inch dia.
Tone control: Bass, Treble.
Clock/Timer:
2 x 24 hour clocks, either
one displayed full time, with toggle key to select.
2 x user programmable
timer settings for on, off, station (memory or manual tuned).
Sleep timer, programmable
in 10 minute steps up to 60 minutes.
Read
my review of this radio
Official
Grundig Satellit 700 Memofile Programmer
Unofficial,
(but approved by Grundig) Satellit 700 memofile programmer available to
all
Satellit
700 owners manual, 23M/b download, courtesy of Peter
Proulx