• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Observations about the G8

M

mimo

A few years ago I bought a second G8 in case the first one I owned ever quit...and the original one is having some serious tuning issues. It skips backwards when tuning forwards and vice versa...I can tune and keep hitting the same 2 stations when in memory mode, and when I'm not in memory mode I have to keep it on slow tuning so it will catch every frequency instead of skipping ahead or behind 100 khz or so. So I brought out the second one...and I noticed the shortwave band is noticeably different.

The older one starts at the 90 meter band, and the newer one starts at the 120 meter band. Does anyone else have a G8 that starts at 2300 khz on Shortwave? Is there a difference in the production years? I noticed the newer one has less birdies on the AM band, and stations that were never listenable on the older one are enjoyable on the newer one. FM also goes stereo on a weaker signal than the older one.

I'm also wondering if there is any way to fix the tuning on the older one, as I'm not totally willing to let go of it. I've noticed blowing into it can make the tuning issues disappear for a while...but I'm looking for a permanent fix.
 
mimo said:
A few years ago I bought a second G8 in case the first one I owned ever quit...and the original one is having some serious tuning issues. It skips backwards when tuning forwards and vice versa...I can tune and keep hitting the same 2 stations when in memory mode, and when I'm not in memory mode I have to keep it on slow tuning so it will catch every frequency instead of skipping ahead or behind 100 khz or so. So I brought out the second one...and I noticed the shortwave band is noticeably different.

I'm also wondering if there is any way to fix the tuning on the older one, as I'm not totally willing to let go of it. I've noticed blowing into it can make the tuning issues disappear for a while...but I'm looking for a permanent fix.
Click to expand...

If your tuning problem is just from using the tuning knob, as opposed to using up and down buttons, spraying some tuner cleaner inside the tuning knob mechanism may clear up the problem. I had an issue of the tuner knob on my DX-398 slipping cogs, and several shots of tuner cleaner got rid of the problem. I also fixed a DX-394's tuner knob, where the radio would only tune in one direction, no matter which way the knob was turned. A few shots of tuner cleaner down the side of the shaft fixed the problem.

DeOxit might work also.
 
boombox4 said:
If your tuning problem is just from using the tuning knob, as opposed to using up and down buttons, spraying some tuner cleaner inside the tuning knob mechanism may clear up the problem. I had an issue of the tuner knob on my DX-398 slipping cogs, and several shots of tuner cleaner got rid of the problem. I also fixed a DX-394's tuner knob, where the radio would only tune in one direction, no matter which way the knob was turned. A few shots of tuner cleaner down the side of the shaft fixed the problem.

DeOxit might work also.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'll see if I can find some at the local hardware store. Do I have to take the radio apart, or can I just spray inside the knob? The tuning works fine if I use the scan buttons.

I'm also curious about the shorwave being different on 2 copies of the same radio. Even the tuning specs say one begins at 3150 khz and the other at 2300 khz. These are found on the back of the radio and in the manual.
 
With a volume control a lot of times you really need to take the back off the radio to get the juice into the part, but with a tuner knob, you don't: you just take the knob off if you can, and then spray *down alongside the shaft*. Most tuner shafts have just a little bit of play, which leaves just enough room for some tuner cleaner to work its way down alongside the shaft and get into the mechanism where it can do its work.

Keep a couple paper towels handy: it will make a big mess. Some tuner cleaner cans have a lot of pressure.

This method worked on two of my radios, like I said -- I just sprayed down alongside the shaft. With both of them, I had to do it more than once, and then exercise the knob a bit to work the cleaner around inside the mechanism.

RE: changed specs: I don't know about Grundig, but Sangean did that a couple times with a couple of their smaller, budget model SW radios. With the DX-350 they expanded coverage, same with the DX-370. It wouldn't surprise me if Grundig did the same thing: if the G8 uses a DSP chip (I know the G2 does), it's probably just a matter of reprogramming the firmware.
 
Oh, we thought this thread would be about the G8 summit meeting :(
 
I found a solution that seemed to work. I wedged a small piece of paper above the tuning knob and the slot, and it tuned normally. I removed the paper and it was almost as it should be. I sense the added pressure cleaned the contact. I put the piece of paper back in. I'm not comfortable with taking the radio apart, personally, despite it's age and being out of warranty. I don't want to break something.

The G8 does have a DSP chip (which many credit for it's superior FM reception) which works on all bands. I guess later versions of the radio had added the extra shortwave band...but I can't find any evidence online for that...All the sites say 3150 khz to 21950 khz. This one definitely works better on the AM band as well. All the known problems of birdies and internal interference are completely absent from the second radio.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom