Grundig G6 Aviator Earns a Positive Review

An eHam Reviewer gives enthusiastic praise to the newly offered Grundig G6 Aviator. For $89-100, the diminutive G6, at 4.9 x 3 inches offers AM/FM/Aircraft/Shortwave bands, SSB, dual conversion, and runs on included AC adapter or two AA batteries. I'm curious what kind of AM reception this little radio gets. It appears to be replacing the 4.6 x 3 inch Eton E100.

Comments

[Tom Welch]

I'm done with shortwave radio and will not waste anymore money on this technology since so many international broadcasters have left the airwaves over the last 5 years.

Right now, I use an Acer laptop as my primary world band radio.

[Jeff McMahon]

I don't trust the AM performance on these little radios. Also I'm eager to know if the PR-D7 equals AM of PR-D5. Then I would want that radio.

[Tom Welch]

Jeff, click http://www.dxer.ca/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,78/func,view/id,752/catid,12/ for another mini review.

[Jeff McMahon]

Thanks, Tom. I registered with dxer just now to gain access to the link you've provided me, but the activation e-mail isn't arriving.

[Tom Welch]

On Dxer.CA this morning, someone posted a very negative review of the G6.

[Jeff McMahon]

Tom, I didn't find the negative review. What was the problem? Jeff

[Tom Welch]

The review was at the end of thread of the previous link I posted.

[Jeff McMahon]

You mean the interference of AM and FM in SW and LW? Okay, I've got it. Thanks, Tom.

[Tom Welch]

Looks like some of the thread postings have been blown away or deleted.

[doby14]

I wonder when we'll see a review of the new Grundig G4. I'm anxious to see how the MP3 recorder works, compared to the Kaito 1121.

[herculodge]

I don't know why but an MP3 with a radio doesn't appeal to me. Perhaps because I already have an iPod and a JBL On Stage. I like my radios simple. Too bad that Tivoli Model One did not get FM for me (others claim it works fine for them) because if it did, it would be my favorite radio. Jeff

[Robert Jones]

I just purchased one from Amazon.com for $99 and received it two days ago. The reviews about the FM bleeding into the AIR band are correct. Very disappointing. I'll not send the radio back to Amazon but will definitely contact Grundig about it.

The build quality is nice, the buttons are small but easy to push and seem to have positive engagement. The screen is also tiny but has plenty of information on it. The jog wheel works well in both modes and the SSB is implemented well and is easy to use. I also like the rubberized feel of the plastic - it won't easily slip out of my hands. The light is very good.

The antenna does not pop out a fraction of on inch to fully clear the top of the radio like most others, but, if you prop it up on the flip out stand, it seems to point upwards fairly well and is adequate. Position on the stand is good.

A Sony AN-LP1 works with the radio but definitely will overload it sometimes. There is no built in attenuator and the tuning is not as fine as I'd like but the slow jog setting seems to help.

The radio smells funky too. Something I have never had to say about a radio before! Must be the rubberized plastic. Also, the carry strap is internally mounted instead of connecting to an outside metal loop. I hope that doesn't break off any time soon.

Lastly, the reception on the SW bands seems to be pretty good so far in limited testing. The sound is good and it's TINY so it's very portable. Oh, and if you enter in frequencies on the AIR band directly, you tend not to get bothered by the FM bleed. Only a big problem with the jog wheel and slewing.

Oh, I'd also like a decimal point in the frequency readout. I can't imagine that was such a problem to implement that they left it out.

It's worth $100 but could be better. If it had some fixes, it would be worth $150. I would have paid that for a slightly better implementation of this radio.

Robert.

[Robert Jones]

One more thing I forgot to add. The auto scan function seems to be poorly implemented and may need work.

Last night around 6,000 and above, there are usually plenty of strong stations to hear but auto scanning just seemed to pass them all by!

I slewed manually using the jog wheel and found plenty of stations around that band.

Don't know why the scan was bad. Perhaps it scans too fast for a lock?

Robert

[jeffrey McMahon]

Robert, great review. I should post it soon. I've lost my taste for small radios as of a couple of years ago. About as small as I'll go is my Grundig G4000, not small by any means yet still portable.

I love my C.Crane CSW and those vintage Sonys, Panasonics and Zeniths that look like they open out of unfolded suitcases and must weight a good fifteen pounds or so. Wow.