I currently have a Grundig G8 and am very pleased with its exceptional FM performance. Id like to have a radio with its performance, and also RDS capabilities. I was wondering if the G3 has pretty comparable performance to the G8 from any one who has used both radios.
-
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
FM Performance Grundig G3 VS G8
- Thread starter Fieldtech1
- Start date
I have both radios. Actually, I have the G8 (& a Tecsun PL-300WT) which are the same radio, in adition to owning the G3.
On FM, the G8 radios win in selectivity by a nose. However, my G3 is a bit more sensitive on FM
On MW/AM, the G8s win hands down, even with only one bandwidth option. Even on the narrow selection, the G3's still less selective than the G8. The G3 is also poorly sensitive on MW/AM.
On SW, the G3 wins out by a longshot. The G3s more sensitive, but the G8's DSP makes the strong signals (& some weaker ones) sound better. The G3's sync detection & true US/LSB reception add to the package.
Also on SW, my G8 & Tecsun PL-300WT differ greatly. Probably a QC thing. My G8's SW performance will dramatically drop when the radio is not held. The Tecsun doesn't have this problem. All the other bands are the same between the G8 & PL-300WT.
On LW, the G8 wins again. It's more sensitive. I get more LW aero beacons on it than the G3. The G3 is pretty bad on LW.
On FM, the G8 radios win in selectivity by a nose. However, my G3 is a bit more sensitive on FM
On MW/AM, the G8s win hands down, even with only one bandwidth option. Even on the narrow selection, the G3's still less selective than the G8. The G3 is also poorly sensitive on MW/AM.
On SW, the G3 wins out by a longshot. The G3s more sensitive, but the G8's DSP makes the strong signals (& some weaker ones) sound better. The G3's sync detection & true US/LSB reception add to the package.
Also on SW, my G8 & Tecsun PL-300WT differ greatly. Probably a QC thing. My G8's SW performance will dramatically drop when the radio is not held. The Tecsun doesn't have this problem. All the other bands are the same between the G8 & PL-300WT.
On LW, the G8 wins again. It's more sensitive. I get more LW aero beacons on it than the G3. The G3 is pretty bad on LW.
Unfortunately the QC on Grundigs has been hit and miss for some
time now.
If you want a "good" rig capable of ssb/lw etc with a decent chance of being OK then try this one:
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008274
These are new old stock,99.95 includes ups with a 10 day
return/swap if you need it.
Got two here and they checked out great..no RDS,sync,etc.
but they work fine.
These are from the "glory" days when Grundig was putting out
rigs with adequate QC.
(Not to say yours might not be,but the chance of success is higher with these... .)
time now.
If you want a "good" rig capable of ssb/lw etc with a decent chance of being OK then try this one:
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-008274
These are new old stock,99.95 includes ups with a 10 day
return/swap if you need it.
Got two here and they checked out great..no RDS,sync,etc.
but they work fine.
These are from the "glory" days when Grundig was putting out
rigs with adequate QC.
(Not to say yours might not be,but the chance of success is higher with these... .)
Thanks for the feedback. Im mostly looking for a portable FM dxer radio with RDS. Sometimes ill hear stations but never long enough to identify them. Atleast with RDS its more likely i can ID them.
Fieldtech1 said:
The Sangean PR-D5 has RDS. I don't know how well it stacks up in terms of FM selectivity/sensitivity against the G3/G8 radios (other folks here may have more insight), but the RDS came in very handy, when I pulled in Mississippi Public Broadcasting (from here in eastern Ontario) on ES last season. During tropo conditions, the RDS also proved its worth. The D5 is relatively inexpensive and the MW DX is pretty darn good on it as well.
~BG
dxer720 said:
How funny, on FM, my G8 is more sensitive by a nose - the G3 a little more selective. As for SW, you're right - and I neglected to mention this - the G3 wins by a long shot. No contest.
But I am flabbergasted by your comment on LW. The G8 is infamous for being as deaf as a post on LW - and mine is no exception. On the other hand, the G3 is good on LW.....at least as good as my Sony ICF-7600GR. In my house, there's no contest, the G3 trounces the G8 on LW.
Just goes to show what QC (or a lack thereof) can do!
These days, the Grundig radios are Chinese-made non-Grundig Grundigs. I used to have a Satellit 700 that had pretty good SW, adequate sensitivity on AM, RDS on FM and reasonably good selectivity on FM and I once used for FM DX during the early days of RDS, and I once got "RDS DX". I agree about the QC. Then the G3 came out, I thought it would be an improvement over the G5. From what I've heard about it, it wasn't IMO.
dxer720 said:
That is the sign of a problem and perhaps you should send it back. I bought 2 G3's (on sale) from Radio Shack last year and ended up returning them both as they were deaf and each had issues - exchanged both for 2 others and the replacements work much better. That said, one is slightly more sensitive than the other (though not enough to really matter). The MW should be pretty good, if not very good. The SW should be very good to excellent. And the LW should be very good as well. All I can say about the air band is that my G3 is a lot more sensitive than my little G6, but I will admit that this doesn't tell me much.
It seems that the quality control for these radios is not nearly as good as it should be.
I've heard many cases of the longwave section on the g8 being deaf. I have the g8 traveller II and I've noticed the longer I've had it, the better the longwave section gets. I get beacons as far away as Montreal at night here in Ottawa. They say these beacons are only go0d for 25 or so miles and I'm getting them reliably from much further away. On the way to the quickie mart tonight for snacks, I pulled in RMC at 216 khz well enough to catch what was going on. It can't be all that bad then. I notice when I tune anywhere on the dial, and then slowly rotate the radio, something seems to take hold and if there's no station, I get an increase in hiss, like the sensitivity was turned up or something. I may be getting used to the radio's quirks, but It was great to finally hear something identifiable on longwave besides a beacon.
I went ahead ahead and purchased a g3 from radio-shack. The first one had an issue with the headphone jack not muting the speaker when headphones were plugged in.Radioshack was a PITA about exchanging it. The second one seems to work good. The audio quality through headphones is not quite as good as the G8. FM Performance wise here are my notes:
-The G8 is more sensitive on the lower end of the FM band. I can hear a 250 watt translator on 88.1 from 36 miles that the g3 cant even get a wiff of.
-However on the upper end of the band the g3 shines. I can hear a class A station 61 miles from me on 107.3 that the g8 cant hear.
-Selectivity is about equal, maybe a hair better on the g8.
-On the g8 the stereo seperation on FM is much better. I can hear differences in stations airchains. On the g3 all stations kinda sound the same as far as processing.
I like the g3, just dont know if i will keep it. Ive enjoyed the direct frequency input, RDS, and better speaker sound.
-The G8 is more sensitive on the lower end of the FM band. I can hear a 250 watt translator on 88.1 from 36 miles that the g3 cant even get a wiff of.
-However on the upper end of the band the g3 shines. I can hear a class A station 61 miles from me on 107.3 that the g8 cant hear.
-Selectivity is about equal, maybe a hair better on the g8.
-On the g8 the stereo seperation on FM is much better. I can hear differences in stations airchains. On the g3 all stations kinda sound the same as far as processing.
I like the g3, just dont know if i will keep it. Ive enjoyed the direct frequency input, RDS, and better speaker sound.
Tincap said:
i tried, on summer solstice. there was a brief period, in Boston where the transatlantic LWs came in, when it was dark in both places. around midnight, for about 30 minutes. at winter, its dark across entire path from 4pm to 3am local
youll get a lot more mileage out of a big ass coil than anything barefoot, tho in winter, 162 and 189 and 171 usualy are audible with just a stock radio, at least a DX-440 or especialy a grundig/itt/telefunken type radio with a dedicated LW section and giant ferrite
carmen said:
Got one of those DX-440's
. In the winter I have picked up TA DX on LW, such as Rás on 198 and RTÉ on 252 barefoot. But yes, given the very small window and stations (such as RMC, for example) which vary their power during the broadcast day, picking up TA LW this time of the year is very challenging indeed.Having said that, after mimo's post, I locked on to some of the LW power houses to see what I could find ;D.
~BG
- Status