Dear Igor,

Yes, my radio has been back to Drake three times. And no, they never
actually explained what had gone wrong with my receiver. They did
itemize the parts replaced (some of which I had not asked for - but
they determined that they needed replacing) and they did correct all
of the problems I did report. It's just that the repairs did not
"hold" the first two times. The radio seems to be fine now but, as I
said, I do not use it anywhere nearly as much as I had before I bought
the AOR AR7030 Plus.

I have been given to understand that the problem with the tuning knob
(the encoder is, in fact, a mechanical one NOT an optical one which
would have been far more reliable and long-lasting) has to do with
some built-in lubrication. In any event, when it starts going "bad,"
when you tune "up" the frequency jumps "down" at first. My original
tuning encoder was replaced with the newer ball-bearing one on Drake's
first "try" at repairing the set. I cannot recall if it was replaced
on the second try (I think it was) or just "repaired," but I know that
it definitely was replaced on the third "try."

All in all, the Grundig Satellit 800 is a great design but
unfortunately it is poorly executed. Based on what I have read about
the newer Eton E1[XM], it appears that this problem is endemic with
Eton-marketed receivers and is due solely to cost considerations. In
other words, they want to "put it out" as cheaply as possible yet make
the most profit possible. Quality considerations appear to be "way
down the list." They evidently feel that putting out a substandard set
and paying for warranty work is cheaper for them than to make a radio
properly in the first place. After all, many users will not even
realize that their set is performing poorly and will never send it
back.

If I were you, I'd have my set fixed just this once but never again
(unless, when you got it back, it was apparent that the repair was
unsatisfactory; Drake does warrant its repairs for, I think, 90 days).

Of course I'm not trying to tell you how to spend your money. I will
tell you that, unless Eton changes its ways, and I see evidence of
this in publications and online discussion groups, I shall not be
purchasing any of their products no matter how tempting.

"Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me."

Best,

Joe

On Jun 8, 12:05 am, Igor wrote:

Joe: You had to send it back THREE times? Sounds like a nightmare.

I'll have to seriously consider whether I want to send it in to get
fixed (assuming I can't solve the problem myself), or just live with
it. I do really like this radio overall and this is the only trouble
that it's given me to date, so it probably is worth $150 to have
repaired.

Through the course of your repairs, did Drake ever explain to you what
was behind the trouble with the tuning knob?

I tried searching for stuff on the web about this issue but couldn't
find anything. I guess the Satellit 800 doesn't have the cult
following that other radios do.

Igor