Grundig S350DL Deluxe AM/FM/Shortwave Field Radio, Black - (NGS350DLB)

• AM (530-1710 KHz), FM (88-108 MHz) and shortwave - continuous coverage from 3 to 28 MHz.
• Highly sensitive and selective analog tuner circuitry with AM/SW
• Frequency Lock, Rotary volume control and Variable RF Gain control
• Inputs for supplementary AM/FM and shortwave antennas
• This includes 13 international-broadcast bands (11, 13, 15, 16, 19, 22, 25, 31, 41, 49, 60, 75 and 90 meters)

I purchased this radio to replace a Panasonic RF1100 that I have had since it was new sometime in the 1970's. The 350DL has a lot of useful features and the primary ones for me include the sleep timer, alarm colck and the published claim of good sensitivity. The overall sound quality of this radio is pleasing. The sensitivity compared to cheap radios selling for a lot less is good although not as sensitive as my GE Super Radios models 2 and 3. As I have more sophisticated equipemnt for listening to shortwave, this was not one of my primary objectives for buying this radio although the inclusion of shortwave is a nice plus.

The controls are nicely laid out, the instruction manual quite easy to understand to enable you to derive the full enjoyment of all this radio has to offer.

The big drawback and dissapointment I found with the 350DL is the tuning control. There is a lot of " slop " in the control, not just the knob but from what is behingd the control panel. Another problem with the tuning control is an overabundant " backlash " when trying to set the tuning on a station, particularly when tuning in shortwave stations. You tune in the station or desired frequency, let go of the tuning knob and you can actually see it change as it moves forward or backward from where you left it. For those desiring to tune around the shortwave bands to see what is there this is a big drawback. I actually wonder how long the tuning control will last on this radio before it falls apart. The entire tuning knob assembly wiggles and wobbles while you turn it. This should not happen, and I feel is a major cause for concern. For the $100 price tag I am not expecting a mil-spec radio by any means but the poorly designed tuning system in this radio gives me no other choice than to down rate it. That is unfortunate too as this radio has many other features so worthwhile.

If you are planning on purchasing this radio to use for AM & FM broadcast reception and not change stations too frequently, it's a decent radio. If you plan on tuning to different stations frequently you may wish to consider looking at other makes and models befoe buying this.

I purchsed this radio primarily to use as a bedside clock radio with sleep timer and only occasional tuning. The digital display is not absolutely accurate but for the price it is good enough.

Buy Grundig S350DL Deluxe AM/FM/Shortwave Field Radio, Black - (NGS350DLB) Now

If you're looking for a basic table radio without presets and digital tuning, you would do well to consider the Grundig S350 Deluxe, which I have owned and used for the last 3 years. The S350 will get you best FM performance possible. AM is great also. The speaker is loud and fills a room easily.

The antenna is very long. Make sure you have room to extend the antenna so it doesn't bend by jamming against a wall or a ceiling.

The tendency to drift in the old model of the S350 has been fixed with the new Deluxe model.

You will also like the fact that though the radio is analog, you can see the digital read-out, so you always know what station you're on.

Another outstanding feature is fine-tuning and RF grain so you can filter as much as you need in the event you get AM overloading.

My only complaint about the S350 is really a complaint about all modern radios: They are built of light plastic. Gone are the days of heavy, high-grade radios. But on balance if you are a stickler for AM and FM reception, you will find that you have a reception champion in the S350.

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Radios are all about sound and the Grundig 350 has very good warm tones that are easy to listen to all day long. This radio can do very well as a table radio which is how I use it. The sound is solid with no distortion even if driven to full volume. This radio is a keeper for the sound alone.

As far as Am/Sw reception goes the Gundig 350 does very well provided you use external antennas to pull in the signals. The new added frequency lock works well to stop the drifting this radio was so infamous for. The Fm reception is very good pulling in many stations on the built in whip antenna and holding them rock steady.

If you want SSB ,or better Am/Sw signal capture, a full sized proper Communications Receiver is a better choice. That said, for every day casual listening ,on all bands offered on the Grundig, it does a fine job that will entertain one and all. This radio does Am/Sw well enough I can take my time now to find a deal on a decent older Communications Receiver in the used market. For now (maybe longer????) I'll just enjoy the Grundig.

All the controls on the Grundig work as they are supposed to instead of just being dials/switches to look good. Reading the well written manual will help the new user to gain full benefit of just what this radio can really do. One point about this radio that is little understood is the analog tuning. Analog tuning gives the user a way to really control this radio in ways not possible with electronic tuning while holding down the cost to enable Grundig to put in other features that normally would cost more. More bang for the buck 'cause you do your own tuning. Oh yes, I prefer analog tuning because I can slide right onto a weak signal I couldn't with electronic tuned radios.

Can I recommend the Grundig 350DL? Yes, as long as the buyer understands this is a first rate "casual" radio and they will not be disappointed at all.

Follow up after external indoor antenna added........

WOW!! Talk about an improvement!! A simple $2.50 300ohm wire dipole that I bought at the hardware store worked magic on this radio. I just hung the dipole & clipped it to the radio's antenna and this little radios was able to reach waaaaaaaaaay out there with ease. There is still the imaging problem but that is to be expected. That said, now I can listen to lots of stations that were not there before !!!!

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With many SW radios to choose from, some prohibitively expensive, there's no wonder that many consumers are left confused about which one is right for them. Costs for a radio can range from $10 to $10,000 depending on the make, model, and features one is looking at. Many radios in the price range of the S350DL are tiny and due to compact size, have terrible sound output as limited by the accompanying small speaker. So is the S350DL a good middle of the road option?

That all depends upon what you need, and what you're willing to put up with. The features of this radio can be summed up in basically one sentence; AM/FM/SW, with tone control, band filter, Hi-Z input, and gain. That's pretty much it.

As far as sound quality, the S350DL is rather good. I've used various other SW radios and this one puts out some of the best in its price range. I've seen other reviewers hold the sound quality against this radio when actually in my opinion and experience, this is one of its shining points. The sound quality is on par with my 750 Satellit, and blows away the compact portables such as the G6 and Sangean portables.

Other great options with this radio not available in other radios of this price range is the option of RCA stereo line out and plugins for Hi-Z antennas. Just get a very long speaker wire, plug it into the back, and you've got a super cheap and effective shortwave antenna with a length and the geometry of your choosing. MOST SW radios do not have this. Kudos.

But the Achille's heel of this radio is the tuning. The tuning is so bad, it's almost unusable except to all but the most determined and patient. Sure there is a digital readout, but the tuning itself is analog. That's ok, but the analog tuning is very poorly designed, leaving cheap radio tuners outperforming this one.

For one there is no consistency with the tuning. We're afforded coarse and fine tune knobs but this makes little difference. Turning the fine tuning knob 1/4" at one part of the band might move you 5khz. Another part of the band it might move you over 100khz! I was first listening to the clock in Colorado at 5000khz and managed to tune to it within about 20 seconds. Same thing at 10000khz took almost 2 minutes and I almost gave up on it entirely. Couple that with the fact that there is no direct entry tuning or frequency lock, and you're stuck fiddling with the knobs for a ridiculous amount of time.

In addition to that, when the radio is overloaded it will drift quickly on you. I tuned to 27185khz to test the radio with my handheld CB (which is channel 19). Keying up the mic at low power settings on a 5w transmitter made the radio drift several hundred khz! I had to employ my wife to drive down the road with the radio while I watched and at 1/4 mile away there was no drift when she keyed up. What this means is that if you're tuning to a station, by the time you know you're overloaded (which happens easily), the station has already drifted before you can even adjust the RF gain, and you're stuck fiddling with the clunky knobs for a minute or two to get back on track... provided that you haven't reduced the gain so much that you don't get the station again. Very frustrating!

Even without overload there is inherent frequency drift. Drifting 20khz in less than 10 minutes is not uncommon... and getting back on frequency means dealing with those knobs again...

These problems presents themselves with FM and AM as well, although the results aren't as debilitating to reception. I was trying to tune to 93.3 FM and just couldn't get it right. I'd be at 93.50, tune down a bit it jumps to 92.8, back and forth, back and forth. FINALLY I got it to 93.39 and just left it there. I could get the station but stereo was in and out because I wasn't right on frequency.

If you're looking for a cheap radio and you know exactly the stations you want to listen to, then this will serve you better than some of the $100 miniatures that lack options for antennas and have tinny sound with no tone control. If you want to "browse" the SW band looking for interesting stuff, then avoid this one. If you're even somewhat serious about SW DXing, spend a little more and get the Satellit 750. Look for my review on that radio as well for more details.

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I originally ordered a Sony ICF-SW7600GR World Band Radio thinking I would sit here at night listening to radio stations from around the globe. Well it turns out I don't enjoy that as much as I thought I would. Plus, I just was not that happy with the sound quality of the Sony as an everyday AM radio, plus the antenna on the Sony was just horrible When in the straight up and down position it would wobble back and forth between the 11:00 and 1:00 position and drive me nuts (unacceptable to me on a $140 radio). So I did a little research and came across this radio and it's ideal for me.

This is my everyday AM radio that sits on top the 'fridge and the sound quality on AM and FM is wonderful. Its ability to pull in distant AM stations is great and it works really well on shortwave.

The old fashion tuning takes a little bit to get use to and it can be a bit of trick sometimes to get it right on the exact frequency, but the look and feel and sound of this radio outweigh any of the negatives. It reminds me of an old Radio Shack radio from the 70's I used to play around with as kid.

It is really fun to sit there and turn the dial and see what I can find from across the country. I strung up 75' of wire from one end of my attic to the other and with that attached to the connection on the back (another plus as I don't need to clip it to the antenna) I easily and clearly pull in stations from Cuba, Mexico, Canada and even a few from Europe. Plenty interesting to satisfy my shortwave appetite.

I don't have any problem with the tuning dial being cheap and flimsy as others have mentioned. Sure it could be a little more solid, but I don't foresee any issues down the road. This radio will last me a long time. Oh ya and the antenna on this radio is strong, stable and quite long.

So if you're looking for a nice, fun to use, good sounding, all around table top radio give this one a try.