Grundig Satellit 800 Millennium- Setting Expectations, A Revisit And Review

Taking a closer look at the Grundig Satellit 800, the radio I want to love, but can’t. I don’t hate it, though!

[@TREEHUGGAH1]

those Grundig Satellit are one of my favorite radios. they are for sure on my bucket/wish list. happy new year.

[@ArthurJS123]

TREE HUGGAH It seems they are desired the most by those who have never tuned them. This video tries to convey my feeling that I like the radio, I just don’t “love” it. There are better options to put onto your bucket list.

[@b.2221]

Nice honest appraisal Arthur, and a Happy New Year to you and your family Sir 👍 Tom.

[@ArthurJS123]

B. Thanks Tom, same to you! Arthur

[@wu2u]

Excellent comments, honest review. Most reviews are cheerleaders for the product.

[@ArthurJS123]

Maybe I’m spoiled, as I own much better receivers than this one. But most reviews I see are so glowing, and rooted in nostalgia, not in reality.

[@hdofu]

I remember seeing this radio as a kid in passport to the world band radio, fell in love with the appearance, finally got one a couple years ago, it's a nice reciever, but it eats d batteries like I eat better cheddars.

[@ArthurJS123]

Hdofu Fox I like it, I don’t love it. And yes, it’s a battery hog.

[@richiet3841]

And yes, there's an easy fix.

[@fineoutrick9789]

Some good points here; however, some of this is based on a glass-full or glass-empty approach. It's handy having this operate on batteries. I never do, but it'd be good in a short power outage. There's too much going on inside for batteries to last a long time. My batteries lasted longer than the ones in the video, but radios may vary. The bass/treble controls really should be set at max, since they are designed by to operate "normally" at full-on. I wouldn't carry this in the field. For a campfire setting, an old Zenith Transoceanic DY-7000 is far better. The sync control works beautifully in the right situations, but as mentioned, not for full-time purposes. It does a great job on QSB with stronger stations and removing interference infringing on one side of the bandwidth. 2.3 KHz BW works well for SSB. It is a very good radio, which could have been made better. The author on the video mentioned wasted space on the front, but there's a huge amount of wasted space inside which makes one wonder why it wasn't made smaller to start with. The radio has very good sensitivity and does well on a large outside antenna. Some of the comments (as mentioned) can be viewed as positives OR negatives, but there aren't too many radios available that can compete with it. I've compared it to my ham transceivers and it performs pretty well. It's a great home receiver...not hugely robust, but very capable and worth a few hundred bucks.

[@ArthurJS123]

Fineout Rick I agree with a lot of your points. I’m just stuck, completely baffled why people lust after this radio. My desktop sets have me spoiled. And yes, battery life is horrendous. They should have provided a switch to turn off the entire display. Not that much is going on inside, but a heck of a lot is going on with that LCD panel.

[@fineoutrick9789]

Yes, Arthur, your post was a good one. I purchased mine at a big discount as refurbished. It didn't seem that big when I ordered it, honestly. It does do a good job. There are some great things on the market that weren't on the market then, I currently use an Elecraft KX3. I also have a Kaito 1102, and Tivdio V115. I've owned many, but what makes them appealing tends to be more than sheer performance, I think. I use the 800 because it's good. I use the 115 because it's fun and handy. I use the 1102 because it's competent. Would I spend the money again for the 800? Probably not! It's not warm and fuzzy, and that counts quite a bit. Anyway, it's fun to talk about them and all of them pale in the face of poor reception or bad antennas. Good luck with the rest of your reviews.

[@ArthurJS123]

Fineout Rick Thanks Rick. I too purchased mine heavily discounted, at a thrift/consignment shop. I may keep it, I may flip it. It’s definitely not my favorite radio. The quirks far outweigh the positives. And yes, there is not a warm and fuzzy feeling with this radio. To me, it represents a lot of unfulfilled potential.

[@capnrob97]

I have wanted one of these since they were still being sold new, but never got around to getting one, just never pulled the trigger. I have a bid on one on ebay at the moment, finally getting around to acquiring one.

[@ArthurJS123]

Too bad, brace yourself for sticker shock.

[@capnrob97]

@@ArthurJS123I snagged one for $200, taking a chance on one sold as untested, but looks pristine, hopefully it works.

[@jjarratt]

I find sync is useful on this radio when there is some RFI on a MW station. BY changing the sidebands I can usually get rid of the interference. I agree with you that this radio isn't perfect. No radio is. On MW it is weak with the internal ferrite . The battery issue is a valid one. The radio was not adjusted properly at the factory to have the low battery indicator come on when the voltage goes down to a little over 6 volts. It can be adjusted if you have some technical ability. Just go on the Yahoo group for the 2010. The instructions are there. The other thing about the batteries is that there is about a 50 ma draw even when the radio is off. The thing to do , if you don't use the batteries all the time, is to insert a plastic spacer between two of the batteries so there is no draw. Finally, I find this radio is great on SW, especially SSB. Noise levels really go down if a decent external antenna , mounted outside your building, with proper grounding outside is connected. It is a big box and I use it in one place. It delivers a very clear sound compared to my other radios. Don't give up on it until you have tried a good external antenna.

[@jjarratt]

Typo on the yahoo group . It is the 800 forum not the 2010

[@Aco747lyte]

Thank you so much for your honest review. I have a problem. I need a power supply unit for this same shortwave radio of mine, but can only find a 9V PSU from "MyVolts". Do you know, would this be suitable, please? The last thing I want is for my dear old Grundig Satellit 800 to blow up! I used D-cell batteries just the *once* - as you know, it eats batteries, probably because its massive screen is always on. I recently gave my youngest daughter the Tecsun PL880 which she is very happy with! (Billie is just 13, but has long been an SWL enthusiast). Many thanks, Wendi UK 🌻

[@ArthurJS123]

You won’t blow it up, but you may get a hum. Yes, they have terrible battery life, and were really only designed to run on them for short periods of time. As far as the AC supply goes, I do suggest looking on eBay for one original to the radio: it is very sensitive to it. Good luck!

[@Aco747lyte]

@@ArthurJS123 Thank you very much! 🌻

[@sirbobbyuk]

On the fm channel if a signal comes though really strong a headset image is displayed. Oh and yes regarding the power supply I have noticed the interference. So I’ve ordered a replacement charger with a build in filter so hopefully that will cue this interference issue

[@ArthurJS123]

That means it’s being received in stereo.

[@sirbobbyuk]

I got one a couple of days ago for around £140, I agree with you there some prices are in the several hundred of pounds or dollars

[@ArthurJS123]

Robert Flatters It’s a good, not great radio. For what it is, it’s decent. But I would not pay a fortune for one. It seems a lot of folks do, and then are disappointed when they discover it’s not a spectacular performer.

[@sirbobbyuk]

When I saw it in the second hand store I knew I wanted it. They did have another Grundig 650 as well.

[@dan0711123]

Increasing the playback speed to 1.75 makes this video watchable

[@rickmartin9245]

I owned one of these before l moved on to a much smaller, yet noticeably better, RadioShack Dx-398. It's just everything about it is okay. Just okay. It's large, bright, looks nostalgic, but gives you average performance. The SSB is strong. The DX-398 outperformed this on every level. How this much performance could be packed into a small package is amazing. Once l saw the difference, l had to eat my loss, and go with the DX-398. It LOOKS great, but it's performance is just average.

[@ArthurJS123]

Performance with the MLA-30+ has been fantastic. And it might have the most useful synchronous detection I’ve ever used.

[@SevenFortyOne]

Interesting thoughts on the Satellit 800. I've never used one of these and don't know anyone who has one but I sort of have the same feelings as you based on what I know about this radio. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one, but like you, If I got a good deal on one someplace I wouldn't mind owning it. Form the video the build quality looks somewhat mediocre. I can tell that the materials are not horrible but kind of on the lower-end of mediocre. It looks kind of plasticy and slightly delicate, not really something I'd want to use in the field even if it weren't so power hungry.

[@ArthurJS123]

SevenFortyOne It’s a real battery hog. Like the moment you put batteries in, the indicator starts flashing. For a portable, the build quality is actually pretty good. But I have yet to see what all the hype is over it’s Sync Detection. I wish it had a noise blanker and a notch filter. It’s good, not great. Maybe I will flip it- still undecided. I think the nice tabletops have really spoiled me- they are much better performers. The sound quality on this radio is good, I will give it that.

[@richiet3841]

There is a mod to fix this. It costs a buck in A single part, and requires a minimum effort, so please enough of the battery hog issue. Just because the rig flashes low batt, have you tested it to see how long it actually works on batt???

[@spunkyspice4777]

What is tje modification?

[@ArthurJS123]

@spunkyspice4777 “the” modification?

[@spunkyspice4777]

@@ArthurJS123 There is a reply above that reads there is a mod I am believing that means modification. Spell checkers don’t always work. Anyway that would that modification be to fix the battery issue?

[@rickmeeder4060]

I think the Satilit 500 was the best of the series, hard to find, better clarity.

[@ArthurJS123]

Enjoy!

[@Vic-cl1du]

my grundig sat. 800 fm quit can anyone help with schematic and trouble shooting.. thanks

[@ArthurJS123]

It’s a rather complex radio. Rather difficult to troubleshoot through KZbin.

[@Bulldog-gk7ip]

What satellite radio would you recommend

[@ArthurJS123]

This is not a satellite radio. It’s a Grundig Satellit, a multiband shortwave portable.

[@Bulldog-gk7ip]

Yes sir I knew that . I meant shortwave radio

[@ArthurJS123]

@@Bulldog-gk7ip this is the only one I have from the series, so I am unable to compare to the others. I like this one, I don’t love it.

[@o00scorpion00o]

I think for an old radio it's excellent compared to a modern Tecsun Pl-880, 990x and S-8800 which sound absolutely horrible on ssb.

[@ArthurJS123]

I’d hardly call it “old”. Certainly not compared to, say, a Hallicrafters radio. Now that’s old.

[@bradleyhatchen4786]

it slip when tunning fast it kind of go backwards a bit i use the up down keys one video mention it as well but not a total lost its smooth

[@ArthurJS123]

bradley hatchen I have other issues with the radio, but that’s not one of them.

[@bradleyhatchen4786]

@@ArthurJS123 ok I found another the daily shafts on mine where the obattach to was lose itightenitup that up the frequency you tune on shortwave seams to slip a bit when tuning

[@bradleyhatchen4786]

@@ArthurJS123 what happen I was tuning around and found that the nob was very lose it was on a brass shafts so I tighten it up with orks goid

[@crosleyfiver8686]

Arthur, know what you mean. was looking into purchasing this. Not anymore. Halli Green lid holders guy:)

[@GEAUXFRUGAL]

$250 a good deal?

[@ArthurJS123]

Depends on many things. These radios are getting older, and are starting to show their age. It will need recapping. And if it is a newer serial number, of has received the RL Drake mods, it may be worth it. The prices now are all over the map, and vary wildly.

[@GEAUXFRUGAL]

@@ArthurJS123 Saving my money.

[@rd3095]

@@GEAUXFRUGAL I picked on of these up at AS IS for 10 bucks...meaning, if you look close enough you can find one of these very very cheap.

[@bradleyhatchen4786]

the radio dial slips a biton shortwave when tunning

[@ArthurJS123]

Huh? It’s so smooth.

[@jazz4asahel]

Deal breaker right there.

[@unknownuser1357]

I don’t hear anything at all on sw

[@ArthurJS123]

It does take patience.

[@rogerwoodland2587]

if you have a good outdoor antenna you should hear thousands of stations the evening I do.

[@ArthurJS123]

I think I do. Thanks.

[@davidsaitta6351]

Have this radio - it was my father's. No IDEA how to work it - little to no instructions or video anywhere.. I really Can't stand this HOBBY with all the geeks and tech nerts "breathing their own exhaust" = get to the point man... So many blow hards in this hobby vertical. Would like to know how to use it but can't find anything i can stand to listen too or read... .wow..

[@ArthurJS123]

Google is your friend.