Gerard's Grundig Satellit 400

565
Item nr.

Grundig Satellit 400 World receiver

Satellit, almost fully functional

**Data for Grundig Satellit 400**
Production	Germany, 1985. Price was DM451.
Bands	LW (148-352kHz), MW (513-1611kHz), SW (1612-30000kHz), FM (87.5-108MHz); IF is 450/54400kHz for AM, 10.7MHz for FM.
Cabinet	Plastic. Size 30.5x18x7cm. Weight 2.1kg.
Power	AC (OFF/FM: 1.4/3.1W) or Batt 6xC (plus 3xAA for memory).

The Design

Because of legal restrictions, there was a special German version (400 Professional) that tuned only up to 26100kHz, but this version (400 International) goes all the way to 30000.

Despite the age difference of almost four decades, it is striking to see how much the features of this Grundig match those of the Tecsun PL-680. Both have a tuning dial, direct tuning, and jumping to the next SW band. The Tecsun appears a bit more sensitive, but the difference isn't very significant. Because of the details, I like the Tecsun a little better. Tuning rotates more smooth and there is less noise.

Obtained	5/2022 from Joost (via Marktplaats); sn=617298.
Condition	8; backup battery contacts corroded, BFO vibrates.
Value (est.)	47€.

This Object

The radio had two minor defects when I got it. First, the backup memory does not work, probably due to corroded contacts for the three AA batteries. Second, the BFO suffers from a frequency instability. It is frequency modulated with a 50Hz hum. You can hear this by tuning an AM station with the BFO on. It causes radio amateurs to sound hoarse.

Part of Gerard's Radio Corner.
Generated by SiteBuilder on 26/2/2024 by Gerard (g.tel@uu.nl)