Radio
Boy
Grundig Radio Boy - The Satellit
list.
(Revised August 2005)
The list below, shown in
chronological order of introduction, covers all the Satellit models ever
available to the public, plus two that weren't Satellit's, but are related
- The Satellit being the flagship of thee Grundig range from 1964 to 1996.
They were so popular and highly regarded that in 2000, Letronix introduced
a radio in North America for which they had obtained the licence to use
the names "Grundig" & "Satellit". That radio is included in the list.
In 2005 that model was replaced by the Eton E1, which, as you will see,
is clearly related.
The comment following
the production dates is an indication of the tuning method, Analogue, Digital
(PLL synthesizer) or Hybrid (Analogue with a digital frequency counter).
The names link to a picture,
or in some cases, a description or catalogue. Below the name is a star
rating out of 5, and my summary of the Satellit model. I don’t own all
the models listed, only the 210, 300, 400, 500, 650 & 700, but I'm
on mailing lists where these models are all frequently discussed, and experience
of all of them has been shared. I hope the following may help you make
that important decision: “Which one(s) will I buy?”
It would be beneficial
to remember that the Satellit was produced by a large domestic electronics
manufacturer. You may come across comments elsewhere on the web or in print
that the Satellit “doesn’t compare with XXXX communications receiver”.
It wasn’t meant to! Apart from being much cheaper in most cases, this was
intended first and foremost as a high-end portable radio with, in most
cases, communications ability, not a full-blown Communications receiver.
The fact that it is seen as the latter by some is a compliment. Taking
all things into consideration, not least the audio quality, there are few,
if any radios that meet the needs the Satellit range was aimed at, with
anything like its success.
In the least impressive
cases, Satellit models are merely a bit better than average for the price,
but in the best cases, (the 5 star models here) they are regarded widely
as standard setters, offering true innovation and exceptional performance
over a whole range of parameters.
All the Radios below have
full SW (subject to local laws in the areas where sold, eg/Italy, Germany,
where special models were marketed), MW, LW and standard FM coverage, Dual
conversion on SW, Mono FM, line out and external speaker sockets, except
where noted otherwise. They also all have dial lighting, tuning meter,
battery meter, and bass & treble tone controls.
****
The first Satellit, and worth having for that fact alone. The concept of
this model was dreamt up and instigated by Max Grundig himself. Based on
the Ocean Boy series, to which it bore a strong resemblance, it was only
single conversion, but nevertheless is a fine performer. Excellent build
quality (Hence the huge number that still survive in reasonable working
order) and sound quality, good sensitivity and selectivity. Set new standards
in portable radios. Wood body contributed to sound quality, but to dispel
the myth that Satellit’s are all about shortwave, like many after it, this
Satellit had a woofer and a tweeter, the latter only operating on FM or
aux input, for obvious reasons. Not the best Satellit, but highly sought
after for its age and status as the first. SSB capability was optional
on the standard model, the SSB unit being installed in the rear. The 205
Amateur, which was focused on the amateur bands, had changes to the SW
tuning drum, and the SSB unit installed at the factory.
*****
Sales of the 205 proved that Max had got it right! Having established that
a market did exist for a radio in this class, Grundig decided to do it
properly, with dual conversion (On the SW ranges on the drum tuner only),
and much more. The 208 set a new benchmark in portable radio receivers,
and in some ways, still does (listen to that background noise on the AM
bands. What background noise, you may ask!). It added lots to the original
recipe, while losing none of the good points. The appearance was completely
new, and much more professional looking. Available in two finishes, wood-look,
or black (early versions were dark grey) and silver, the latter seeming
to have the more appropriate appearance for such a high tech. radio, wood-look
being a bit “homely”. It must have scared the hell out of the competition
in 1968! Again, SSB was an option, and this time, the unit plugged into
the back of the radio, and could be used from the front as it was connected
by a lead. Fabulous sound quality, and build quality which is endorsed
by the number that have survived in fully functional form here in the next
century! Again, an amateur version was available, and the standard model
was sold in national (German/European market) and export version, the latter
having no stations marked on the AM/MW band.
*****
Having got the mix so right in the 208, there seemed little point in risking
spoiling it. So mild improvements transformed the 208 into the 210, visually
similar, and equally well received by the buying public. The obvious visual
change is the 4th knob on the top control panel, a thumbwheel to control
the external antenna trimmer. Also the new front mounted earphone socket
beside the bandwidth switch. The fact that many people still use the 210
as their main radio, and that they still work well, (and indeed are arguably
the most sensitive of the Satellit’s, when the whole SW band is considered),
shows what a great radio it is. The 208/210, taken as the same model, is
one of the 3 most highly regarded Satellit models. Versions as for the
208 above.
****
No doubt because of cost considerations, the wood body was replaced with
a plastic one, widely becoming the industry norm, and as a result, sound
quality suffered slightly, but this was still a fine radio, though it only
remained in production for little over a year. To my eyes, arguably the
nicest looking Satellit, particularly the black version. Something of a
backward step, as it was not quite as good a performer as the 210, but
not a long term member of the line-up. SSB remained a plug in option. Slider
volume/tone controls were prone to dust induced noise when adjusted, the
on-off switch is also less than totally reliable.
****
Introduced in 1973, this was to be the building block for the large Satellit
range for the next 10 years. Armed with the 3 separate tuning dials, all
now horizontally orientated, one was the SW drum tuner, another for FM.
The 2000 had a distinctive look, and the legendary Grundig sound. Still
not as good overall as the 210, but an improvement on the 1000. Slider
controls for amplifier functions (volume/tone) again proved to be a mistake,
tending to get contaminated with dust and dirt, resulting in crackly and
troublesome adjustment. Another nicely styled radio, however.
****
When the 2100 was released, it was a mild warm over of the 2000, with some
internal changes to components, but the only visible change was the use
of rotary audio controls instead of the 2000’s sliders, to cure the aforementioned
problems.
****
The 2100 evolved into the 3000, which now benefited from some real additions,
such as, for the first time, a fully integral, built in SSB unit, a digital
frequency counter, 6 FM presets, and a few other refinements. One disadvantage
of including the SSB and other items in the body of the radio was that
it grew in size and weight. The look was also a little less restrained,
which may have appealed to some, but I don’t think it has the class of
the predecessors. Some plastic switchgear proved a little fragile, a tendency
which carried over to the 3400. Cost went up, but performance didn't go
up with it.
****
The 3000 gets another makeover, and now has the boldest styling of any
Satellit yet. As such, it’s one you love or hate, (beauty is in the eye
of the beholder - get it out with Optrex!). As someone who dislikes the
then-fashionable “military-look” for radio receivers, it is my nomination
for ugliest Satellit, not helped by the gargantuan size. Other people however,
rate it the best looking! Personal taste clearly applies here. Minor improvements
on the 3000, but a little laurel-resting by Grundig is now becoming evident.
A great radio, but no technological advances of real note here. Despite
this, the 3400 is widely considered to be the 4th best Satellit in terms
of performance. The vast material content and high level of specification
also started to push the Satellit range out of financial reach of many,
hence the introduction of 2 other models to be sold alongside it, the 1400
& 2400.
***
A small Satellit, no doubt instigated by the marketing department, but
no bad thing all the same. It may have been smaller, less powerful, and
less capable, but it was cheaper and offered the now traditional Satellit
facilities to those who couldn’t afford the big one! Again, for me,
military styling detracts from the appeal of the radio, though it is less
heavy-handed than the 3400. And just in case it was too basic for you,
it was joined by the 2400.
***
Essentially a 1400 with stereo FM, 2 sets of speakers, and some tricky
stereo enhancing circuitry, emphasizing the fact that Satellit’s aren’t
just SW radios. Styling is pure 1400 with a speaker added on the right
side.
*****
At last, a completely new high end Satellit, this was well received, and
rightly so. Everything was new, well thought out and executed. Did everything
the 3400 did, and more. New, low and deep layout made it more stable when
using the front push-buttons, and a new woofer/tweeter arrangement and
massive power output made sound quality & quantity effortless, though
some still prefer the wood bodied 210 sound for quality. Useful additions
included 60 presets with all wavebands represented, a motorised analogue
automatic preselector, and direct entry keypad tuning, thanks to the use
of a PLL synthesizer. Lacks many facilities now considered the norm in
a processor controlled radio (last station memory/scan/search/memory scan
and so on) but overall performance is so good that, in tandem with its
near-identical successor, the 650, it is the second of the 3 most respected
models. Again an expensive model, but now, to my mind, justified by the
real advances the model represented. Featured in the film "The Fourth Protocol"
as Pierce Brosnan's character's radio. For those on a budget, 2 lower-end
Satellit’s were also offered.
Satellit
300 - 1983-1985 - Digital
****
The cheap alternative to the 600! Sadly, the marketing boys had been the
driving force once again. Many now-traditional Satellit facilities were
missing, the SW range was only 3.9-22MHz, No SSB facility existed or could
be connected, single conversion had returned, a tiny 8 element antenna,
used on lesser models, was fitted, and no bandwidth option existed. Appearance
is a matter of taste, being felt by some to look a little “cheap”. If it
had been badged “Concert Boy” or “Yacht Boy”, it would have seemed more
appropriate. (Indeed, the visually similar, analogue tuned Yacht Boy 700
offered many facilities such as bandwidth, that the Satellit 300 omitted)
In its defence, it had fully digital PLL-tuning, good build quality, a
relatively chug-free tuning knob, and killer audio by the small Satellit
model standards (FM sound is surprisingly, better than the 400 that followed).
In fact, it's performance is better than the on-paper spec. would suggest.
The 300 was the foundation for its successor, of which more later. No external
speaker socket, only headphones.
** Based
on the 300, this was a stereo unit again, like the 2400, but this time
it included a logic control cassette deck. Build quality was not up to
the usual Satellit standards, and sound quality was inferior to the 2400.
The radio section was pure Satellit 300, (single conversion, limited SW
coverage, no SSB or bandwidth. and small antenna) but with a stereo decoder
on FM. Of all the Satellit’s, this one is the least desired, but also the
rarest, so values are dependent on which collectors see the advert! Completists
will chase it to the moon. In its defence, it probably remains the only
Stereo Radio Cassette Recorder (or Ghetto Blaster as they're often known)
ever made with direct entry keypad tuning.
****
Replaced the 300, and despite sharing a virtually identical layout, is
arguably more visually appealing due to new Gemini-grey metallic finish
with tasteful flashes of colour added. Returned to traditional Satellit
virtues, Dual conversion (on SW only), SSB, Full SW coverage subject to
local laws, and a proper 11 element aerial. There were deficiencies, however.
LW & MW were single conversion with a wide filter, but SW was dual
conversion with a narrow filter, and no option to switch to the wide one.
A shame, because the filter is a little too narrow for broadcast listening,
having clearly been included to make the SSB unit work acceptably on utilities.
To get around the filter induced muddy audio on SW, off-tune by 1kHz, and
you get the treble back. Incidentally, the SSB unit could not select a
sideband, it merely re-inserts the carrier, so is slightly inferior to
proper selectable sideband. FM tunes in very fine 10kHz steps, potentially
useful with closely packed FM stations, This also has the best auto-search
FM facility of any Satellit model which includes that facility (The 300
is less sensitive, the 500 & 700 have an inferior FM search circuit,
which doesn't stop on strong stations, the 400 will find them all!). No
external speaker socket, only headphones.
*****
Released at the same time as the 400, the 650 shared its Gemini-grey colour
scheme at first, though a couple of years later, it reverted to the black
of the 600. The 650 is essentially the 600 with a LW directional antenna
socket, improved SSB unit, a modified woofer and a restyle, the latter
considered by some to be a backward step. Personally, I prefer the Gemini
grey finish, but there’s no doubt the 600 had some nicer styling touches,
like the metal nameplate on top, which never appeared on a 650. Apart from
the aforementioned changes, it was still effectively a 600, and so gets
counted as one of the 3 best. Being the last of the big Satellits, Grundig
rounded off production with 1000 hand-calibrated, individually-numbered
(0001 to 1000), badged & certificated 650's termed Final Editions,
or FE for short. A further 20 FE's (1001-1020) were quietly built for senior
management grades within the company. Given that Grundig's majority shareholder
was Philips, the Dutch electronics giant, many of the Grundig company directors
in 1991/2 were Dutch, and so many of these 20 are likely to be in the Netherlands.
FE's now demand premium prices. For this reason, buy Final Edition's with
caution! Unscrupulous sellers will cobble together a Final Edition (or
"FE") from a faulty FE and an ordinary 650.
****
In terms of styling, features and ability, a massive step forward from
the 400 it replaced. FM is stereo, though only via headphones or a single
external speaker, which becomes the left channel, the internal one becoming
the right channel. Note: There is no external speaker socket that disconnects
the internal speaker. Multifunction LCD display includes tuning meter,
alpha name tagging for 42 free-form memories and status indicators for
many of the functions, though not for the positions of the Loc/DX, Ext
antenna or battery charger switches, or the newly added AGC/MGC control,
omissions corrected when the 700 appeared. Two bandwidths were now available
on all AM bands, correcting one of the 400’s biggest problems, and proper
selectable sideband was included. Build quality is excellent, but there
appears to be a problem with the reliability of the AM stage, possibly
only on early models, (1989/early 1990). When the fault occurs, no LW/MW/SW
reception is present, it just makes a noise like an unsuppressed motor
is nearby, and its worse when on an active frequency. FM is unaffected.
If this fault occurs, repairs seem to be difficult and often don't last
long. In addition to the various models (Professional/Italia/International)
that exist, there was a major redesign instigated at serial numbers 803002
(International) and 806692 (Professional). The first incarnation had 2
lamps and the newer models had 3 lamps, plus massively redesigned circuitry
(For example, 2 lamp models have 12 IC's, 3 lamps models have 18 IC's!)
For this reason, avoid early models, which have inferior performance and
almost certainly are less reliable.
*****
Some quotes from various user groups: “flawed but better sync on the Satellit
700 but inferior bandwidths and sound when compared to the 500,” “My Sat
500 had better sensitivity than the 700 using the whip (no difference with
an external wire antenna) and is definitely more selective. Both radios
sound equally rich on stations in the clear, but give me the 500 for sandwiched-in
stations. The 500's selectivity was markedly better. The Sat 700 only won
the SSB battle, with its' "clarifier" control. Let me emphasize that this
was only a two sample radio comparison - maybe I own an outstanding 500
or I had a lousy 700 sample” Yes, maybe you had!
I have two 700's and one
late-model 500, and the 700 wins in all departments, no question about
it. From the noise it makes when you switch on or off, to the software
controlling the unit, to sensitivity/selectivity/image & external noise
rejection, the 700 is superior. The bandwidth filters performance appears
to be identical (Certainly, the filters used, made by Murata, ARE the same).
The sound from the 700 may be a touch less bassy than the 500, but treble
clarity is far superior. Facilities are vast, and likely to remain the
benchmark for receivers of this class for ever! Vast memory (120 factory
programmed ROM table memory, plus 512 user programmable factory fitted,
plus 1536 upgradeable programmable, plus 4 "last station memory" slots
total 2172 station memories!) RDS, comprehensive LCD, a full complement
of sockets (including stereo headphones, stereo loudspeakers and stereo
line-out, all for FM) and much more. A benchmark radio, like the 208/210
and 600/650, and so is the third of the 3 most respected models. Used on
the album "Op Zop Too Wah" by Adrian Belew.
*****The
Satellit 900 never reached production. It was an evolution of the 700,
but styled like the Yacht Boy 500, and 5 star
performance was never in question! External styling now used by the Eton
XM1 (see page linked above for the full story), which is made in India
for the Eton company, who used to be Lextronix, past distributors for the
Grundig range in America. FM is stereo.
***
The most controversial Satellit. First, a little history: Grundig intended
replacing the 700 with the 900, 3 examples of which were displayed at the
IFA show, Berlin, 1995. However, depending on what story you believe, either
components vital to the radio were discontinued, Grundig were unable to
fund the development, or Philips decided to sell their shares in Grundig,
leaving them with financial problems. Whatever, the 900 was shelved, then
dropped altogether. The 700 was discontinued in March 1996, though still
selling well, and still more than a standard setter in the class. (Why
they didn't keep it in production, I'll never know!) For more about the
800, see the page linked above. FM is stereo, but only when headphones
are connected, even when using the line-out sockets!
Information