Grundig S350 AM/FM Shortwave Radio

Fun Radio
This radio sits next to my PC and is on while I on the PC.
I go camping up in the Sierra's most every weekend in the spring, summer and fall. And I listen to the short wave in the mountains. With all it's features and great sound plus being able to plug it in to my home stereo it's the best!!

Good buy
If you are looking at this Grundig radio, you have probably looked at the GE Super Radio III and the CC Radio also. Purchase this radio and you will be happy. The CC Radio does not really have any superior features or picks up stations any better and its about 149 bucks. The GE Super Radio III is a great radio but it's looks are outdated and it belongs in a garage more so then sitting in your office or in your home like the Grundig S350. You can pick up a GE Radio for about 50 bucks so thats a plus. But the Grundig looks great and does a great job pulling in AM and FM stations and it has more features then the GE Radio including a timer which is nice and digital tunning. I love the looks of the Grundig radio and I love the digital display. Very easy to find the stations you want and if there is a station you are having difficulties picking up, then you can use the external antenna jacks on the back of the radio. Alot of people complain about the Grundig missing this feature or missing that feature but no radio is perfect. Out of the big three radios (CC Radio, GE Super Radio and the Grundig S350) get the Grundig S350. It's the best buy and you will be happy. Remember, no radio is perfect. You think someday some manufacturer could get it right but this is about the best buy for the money and it will pick up that stations you want. A lof of people complain about the construction of the radio and dont like it because its mostly plastic. Well, tell me a radio out there that is not made of plastic anymore. This includes all electronics including cameras, boomboxes, etc. I spent a lot of time researching the different radios out there and almost went with the GE Super Radio because of its ability to pick up stations and because it is dirt cheap but I went with the Grundig because it looks better and it has a digital tunner, timer, alarm clock and other features. It will look great in any home. You can go to ccradio.com and research the CCRadio and all the electronics on that website if you want. Probably the GE SuperRadio's reception is a 10 and the Grundig and CCRadio's reception is about a 9. But with the added features the Grundig radio has like timer, digital tuner, alarm clock, etc, etc., you have to get the Grundig radio. Or you can have the best of both worlds and purchase the GE Radio and put it in your garage or make it your "work radio" or your "camping radio" and put the Grundig in your house or office! I wouldnt get the CC Radio but I would check out their website sometime because they have a lot of cool electronic stuff like radios and antennas, etc. Good luck!!

Solid analog radio with digital freq. and easy to use features
This is great for combining the tweeky tuning and low noise of an analog tuner with digital frequency readout so you can tell where you are going. I use the clock-radio-alarm feature every day, and the settings are easy. The AM reception is good, not great, but really quiet, so I can use my Terk AM Advantage tuned loop for DX. The FM is good, not real sensitive, but very selective. Nice for a suburb. The shortwave is good on narrow, but weak sensitivity...It needs a 12 foot wire to reach out there. The drift is a bit irksome, but the tradeoffs are sensible for a $100 receiver. The battery set really lasts. The headphone comes out mono, although there is stereo phono output...that is very hi-fidelity when run into amps, etc. It could use help w/ reception, but it's solid, easy, and goes well w/added antennas and hand-tuning. A low-hassle radio with growth potential.

GRUNDIG SHOULD NEVER HAVE PUT THEIR NAME ON THIS PRODUCT !!
This is just like the old, old radio's we all threw away when the new "Digital Tuning" came about several Decades ago. Don't waist your money like I did thinking it was a GRUNDIG radio that held up to their name. I have two other Grundig radio's and would highly recommend them. The "AFC" does NOT work very well. The Antenna is so long you would think it would really make a difference NOT !! Grundig is a great name however, this is not your normal quality you EXPECT. DON'T WAIST YOUR MONEY !!

Same cheap junk as Tecsun/Eton BCL-2000,3000 !

"Million-Dollar Looks for $100" - Analog w/digital display receivers do not have the stability of digital phase-locked loop (PLL) receivers.

I opened up the back of the radio, before returning it to RadioShack - it was mostly hollow inside, very cheap, low-grade plastic, and with 1960s-grade electronics. The front filter and band switches and tuning knob are flimsy. When putting the radio back together, I was very careful not to over-tighten/cross-thread the screws, but as soon as, one of the screws started to tighten down, the plastic started to crack. Because of the very cheap quality construction, the radio is very light-out-of-the-box, until the 4 "D" size batteries are inserted.

The filters do a minimal job and only muffle the very good audio. The RF gain control can always be set on maximum, so it only acts like a DX/LOC switch. Even the newer model drifts off the tuned frequency, despite a kludged fix, that only causes ergonomic problems - once a frequency locks on, it still drifts, causing one to have to retune way past the desired frequency, to break the lock. The S350 has significant tuning backlash, which is partly responsible for the frequency drift. There are images all over the SW bands, being a cheap, single-conversion superhet. There are no station memories, so anytime the band selection changes, the radio has to be retuned to the desired frequency. The speaker grill is plastic, the digital readout is low-resolution, the antenna doesn't lock into place, and the carrying handle is cheap, smelly, imitation-leather.

Instead, I bought a Radio Shack AM/FM (for AM DXing) model 12-898 for $25; it has digital PLL tuning (prevents drifting), DX/LOC switch, hi/low tone switch, 3" speaker with metal speaker grill, internal ferrite-bar antenna, lock switch, 20 station memory, almost as sensitive as the S350, and much better quality - even the antenna locks into place.

Don't be fooled by the "Grundig" name - it used to be made in Germany, but is now made in China, by Tecsun/Eton. Check out the Tecsun/Eton brand of this radio on Amazon (same junk), and show, "lowest rating first", also, look at the reviews for Grundig G2000A. Tecsun/Eton is becoming known for marketing jazzy, pretty radios that are poor quality/performers; they bought the rights to market products, under the "Grundig" name, hoping consumers will think they are still made in Germany.

With all that being said, with the restructuring of the 50K watt clear-channel AM stations, in the 1980s, AM DXing is not what it used to be, in the 1960s and 1970s. For example, many stations out West now have to use directional antennas, that cannot be picked up on the East Coast. All the hype about the CCradio, Superadio III, and S350 being, "DX machines", is nonsense, and with the clear-channel situation, certainly not worth the extra expense. With the Radio Shack receiver, I can easily pick up WWL 870 New Orleans (1000 miles), WHO 1040 Des Moines(900 miles), WABC 770 New York, and my favorite, WLW 700 Cincinnati - same as the S350. These stations can easily be picked up with standard car radios.

For just, as little as $30 more, one could purchase the Sony ICF-SW7600GR instead, with digital PLL tuning, dual-conversion, SSB, and synchronous detection; or, for $45 + $20 S&H, off Ebay.com, one could purchase a new Degen 1103 with digital PLL tuning, dual-conversion, and SSB (the S350 has none of the above).