Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I had high hopes for this radio, hoping that I could replace my much-used and beat up Eton E5. Sadly, this will not be the case. While the G3 adds some features such as the Aircraft band, LSB/USB switch, RDS and Sync detector (which sorta works), several important traits/features of the E5 are not carried over to the new model.
1. FM sensitivity is not as good. Several FM stations in Eugene Oregon (about 110 miles away) that are easy catches for the E5 can still be heard with the G3 but not as clearly, and with much more effort to get the antenna "just right".
2. MW (AM) sensitivity is not as good...side by side comparison on several weak AM stations that yield decent reception with the E5 are heard with more noise and hiss on the G3.
3. Ditto for LW... several aircraft beacons are heard, but with more hiss on the G3.
4. The "wide/narrow" switch does not also function as "voice/music" tone control on FM, as it does on the E5.
5. The push-buttons are NOT illuminated on the G3.
6. Tuning steps increased from 25 kHz to 50Khz on FM... not what is needed to pull in a weak DX station that is first adjacent to a strong local!
The good points:
1. The RDS functions well.
2. SSB stations are MUCH easier to tune with the G3 than the E5.
3. The Aircraft band works well, this will be great for airshows.
4. Under some conditions (stations that are not too weak) the sync detector does provide improvement. I find that I must tune 1 kHz LOW to get it to work, so there could be some alignment issues with my particular radio. The feature does not work as well as it does on my Sony ICF-SW7600GR and is not even close to the performance of my Sony ICF 2010!
5. The G3 is less likely to "overload" in strong signal areas than the E5... perhaps the sensitivity was reduced on purpose to provide better reception for city dwellers, at the expense of reducing DX capabilities.
So, I will keep my beat up old Eton E5, and use both... sad!
Update: 5/19/10 I have read several reviews/comments that seem to indicate that the sensitivity and Sync detector problems on early production units have been fixed. This model might be worth a second chance.
Click Here to see more reviews about: ETON Globe Traveler G3 AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Aircraft Band, Single-Side Band, Radio Data System and Synchronous Detector
AM/FM/Shortwave Radio with Aircraft Band, SSB (Single-Side Band), RDS (Radio Data System) and Synchronous Detector
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