Eton Mini Compact AM/FM/Shortwave Radio, Black

Before I start, let me begin by saying that no radio is perfect. This is because 1. no single receiver can be good at EVERYTHING and 2 different people like different things. Also, let's consider the price: 38 dollars. Don't expect it to perform like a $100 plus communications grade receiver.Now, that having been said, for what this is, it is a very good radio. The speaker is decent, the size is about that of an old iPod (about the same thickness too), and considering how big it is, it catches a lot. Midwave mode I haven't had much of a chance to play around with yet, but considering the size of it, I can't imagine the ferrite bar in it is very big so, I'm not expecting much. I'll post more on this at another time. I got this primarily for shortwave reception and for FM when I'm at work or just on vacation. On in both settings, it works well. There is a gap between SW1 and SW2 settings (SW1=5.9-10MHz and SW2=11.65-18MHz), but I don't know of any shortwave stations that broadcast on this that aren't SSB and since this radio doesn't have an SSB mode, I'm not even going to sweat it. On the day I got this, I hooked it up via a clip to a Sangean ANT-20 Reel and pitted it against my Sangean ATS 909x on a Sony AN-LP1 Active loop antenna. The Sangean won out, but again, 100 dollar plus receiver.I tested it on several stations on shortwave both within the US (13845 KHz WCCR and WBCQ 7490KHz) and a few far outside the US (TRT 9830 KHz, Radio Cairo 9965 KHz) and one just outside the US but that comes in pretty clear usually (RHC 6000 KHz). On the reel, it caught everything and the only trouble it had was with Radio Cairo which came in with no interference, but the speech was garbled (think of the adults in a charlie brown cartoon). Considering though that I need an active loop antenna to get this station to come through clearly on the 909, I am not going to sweat this issue. FM it got all but one local station I tried (which is also the one broadcasting from farthest away), but again, small receiver with small antenna. So conclusion is if you are going to listen to regular shortwave stations, this will be OK for most. That said, if you are looking for lower powered stations like Radio Tirana out of Albania or pirate stations around the 40 meter band, this is not the unit to use. Now, all this positive stuff being said, I have a few complaints about this radio:1. when you remove the batteries, the clock resets immediately.2. the back light goes out quickly and you cannot read the display without it. Maybe this isn't an issue if you get the AC adapter?3. battery cover is not connected to the radio so there is a chance you can loose it.4. The gap between shortwave modes mentioned above5. No preset memory on any bands6. No battery meter. The manual says "If the sound becomes low or distorted, replace with new batteries". considering that I've seen other radios of this size and price that had at least a little LED to give you an idea of battery life, this is a letdown.7. The bag that it comes with while of good quality, does not have a belt loop for carrying it on your person. Easy to fix, but just thought I'd mention it.So in short, if you are just looking for a digital display/tuning radio that fits in your pocket for travel or emergencies, this is a pretty good deal. If you are trying to DX or pick up pirate stations, this is probably not what you are looking for. I'd certainly buy it again knowing what I know now, but others who want more out of a travel sized and are willing to pay a little more and can accept something bigger than an iPod, consider a Tecsun PL-380. Hope this helps.

This is a wonderful little radio - but make sure you get the "Grundig Edition" (I got it by sheer luck and for a great price [$25] when I ordered a used one from Amazon) because the one shown here is NOT THE SAME. The "Grundig Edition" has different front labeling and shows "SCAN" above the Hour and Min buttons - and also shows "Grundig Edition" above the display. There is no dual time display format advertised and the format is 24 hour. You can keep the display lit permanently (High or Low) or OFF (after 30 seconds). This is a battery saving feature and I keep it in the default OFF position. If you forgot what station you're listening to, you can easily reactivate the display by pushing any button. There are actually 4 built-in presets because the last setting in each band is saved when you turn the radio off. When you turn it back on, the station you last listened to is tuned in. Also, the tuning wraps around when you get to the upper or lower limit of each band. FM reception and sound are best - AM not so great but major stations show up. Volume may have to be adjusted to match different signal strength in each band. I have 1 favorite FM station (classical music) and 1 favorite AM station.(traffic and news) and just these 2 presets serve me well. Haven't done much with SW yet but don't expect much. I'll be happy to find at least 1 station in each of the 2 SW bands (day and night). [I just bought an Oldie but Goodie Tecsun PL-600 for great FM,AM,SW and SSB reception and in-home use]. Make sure you get a manual with the Eton Mini radio because it contains lots of info which will be a pain to remember if you stop using it for a while.The small size, depth and light weight (true shirt pocket) make this a MUST HAVE radio for emergencies when there is no power and you want to get the latest news, wherever you are. I plan to carry it with me whenever I'm wearing a shirt with a pocket! The pouch is nice to protect it from accidents and dust. For my intended purpose, a GREAT little radio like no other I've seen! A battery status indicator would be nice to see in the next version of this radio. Still hunting around for an AC adapter with the right plug - not convinced I need one, though..UPDATE: Couldn't find an AC adapter with the right plug size until I came across the Velleman multi-plug, adjustable (from 3v to 12v) voltage adapter, available at Amazon. I got it and it works with the Eton Mini! :) It will be a flexible AC adapter solution for many other devices!

My first Grundig mini shortwave radio was a silver 100PE model. It did not work at all when I got it. The receiver was pretty much broke when I bought it new from Amazon a long time ago however I never bothered returning the radio for a refund. This is a new more modern radio with updates from the old style shortwave radios Grundig used to sell. This is a small and very compact radio that can be put in your shirt pocket with no problem. I see a 24 hour clock on the radio but I would prefer a 12 hour AM/PM indicator on the display. The radio has good performance for a very small radio. Of course the radios receiver can't compete with the larger more expensive radios in performance capabilities. The antenna is not that long so this radio could use an external wire antenna for the shortwave bands. I have another more expensive shortwave radio that I paid about 85 dollars for and it is better for pulling in shortwave stations. The audio sounds good for the small built in speaker, no complaints. The overall fit and finish on the radio is excellent. Amazon was selling this radio at a very,very low discounted price but I see the price has gone up 10 dollars more than what I paid. I got a huge discount for this radio compared to what Walmart is asking.