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Old 10-13-2009, 09:26 PM
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Who else owns a Grundig Satellit 210?

This Grundig has to be my favorite radio but sometimes I can't decide if its this or the Royal 3000 TO. The Satellit 210 was available in '69-'71. Mine was built in 1970.

Got a question for those of you who own a satellit 210/transistor 6001. How is the bass on yours? Mine sounds great, but it seems like any booming station on FM really can distort when I have the control on max bass. Its almost like the speaker can't handle it, but if I back off the bass to about mid way, it sounds great. Its not an electrical distortion, but perhaps the mechanical properties of the speaker. Its not quite a vibration of something in the cabinet, but almost like the speaker paper resonates and creates baffling sound when low bass notes are heard. Just curious if this is by design, or I have a problem with the unit. I never had more than one of these. I've had this one for years and snagged it on ebay back in the day when you could pick up something nice for a deal (this was back in 1998!!!)

Just would like to get others opinions. I will admit one thing though, the reception on this thing is impossible to beat. A perfectly aligned TO can't match it.

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Last edited by drh4683; 10-13-2009 at 09:29 PM.
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Old 10-13-2009, 10:11 PM
ctc17 ctc17 is offline
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This is a common problem I hear on allot of old equipment. I have come to the conclusion its due to the speaker cone becoming soft from humidity and use over the years.
I maintain the sound system in a rather large nightclub and I recone the speaker. The cones defiantly become very soft over time and they start distorting/bottoming out just as you describe.
I know a radio/tv speaker doesn't get the abuse of a club, but some of the cones I have felt on some of my 60s tvs and radios are so soft they feel like tissue. I have even gone to the point of putting a small 22/47uf cap in series with the speaker on some of my old radios to filter out the bass.
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Old 10-14-2009, 04:40 PM
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Cool radio Doug! I've never seen one before, only heard of them.
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Old 10-15-2009, 11:38 AM
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Old 10-15-2009, 05:17 PM
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thanks, it makes me feel better knowing its just the way they are. I also have to keep the bass near the lowest setting to prevent the distortion. I've even noticed this same effect on some of their table models. They are good sounding units otherwise.

Whats that model you have in the middle? I see you have a couple transistor 5000's too. I used to have one and I enjoyed it very much until the outdoor antenna it was plugged into got hit by lightening when I lived in my old house. The plastic coil spools on the PC board actually melted apart. I wish I had pictures to show what happened to it. I still need to find another one of those. Time to check ebay.....
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Old 10-16-2009, 12:06 PM
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Old 10-16-2009, 09:20 PM
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Ah yes, the infamous siezed tuner syndrom. For what its worth, RCA UHF tuners have common problem with locked up tuners which is always a fun fix.... Nothing can be more diabolical to fix than a siezed capstan on a teac reel to reel though. I've fixed a couple of those that seemed like they were darn near brazed to the bushing.
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Old 10-22-2009, 11:57 AM
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The "booming" bass is in the design; not anything to do with aging of components or the speaker. There is a modification that can be done by changing one of the capacitors in the amplifier section, but I don't know if I have still have the details of this mod. I prefer to just turn down the bass when necessary which usually is when playing the FM band. The Satellit 210 is my favorite radio... I have four of them! Doug, your's is the "National" version of the radio with the city names on the dial scale. The "Export" version had a scale with numbers instead of the European city names and was intended for sale in the U.S. I personally like the nostalgia of the city names... Your black and chrome finished radio has a grill finish that Grundig called SONNENSCHLIFF. Take care of it.. once damaged that finish cannot be duplicated! Grundig also made a "wood-like" version of the 210. I like 'em both. Your carrying case is pretty rare too..

Wes
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Old 10-22-2009, 05:53 PM
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Thanks for the good info. Id say this is my favorite grundig and perhaps my favorite radio all together as well.
The carry case was a nice thing to have when I bought it. There is a little slot in the case which is where the previous owner stored ALL of the papers that fortunately are still present. When I bought it, it had a broken belt the rotates the SW dial drum. Its a cogged thermoplastic belt that just snapped. I glued it together as at the time I couldn't find a replacement anywhere. Just last week I found a guy on ebay in Germany who sells replacement belts and dial lamps for the 210. The new belts are actual rubber so the reliablity should be much greater. I also bought some dial lamps as this one needs a couple new bulbs replaced. Im still waiting on those parts to arrive as I feel that luck is the only reason the belt didn't break on me again.

One other thing that I replaced right after I got the radio was the antenna as the original antenna was broken and a large section missing. When the radio was up on ebay, it was advertized with the fault of the broken antenna and "the dial drum doesnt turn so I cant test all the bands" but it was mint so I figured the problems couldn't be too difficult. Fortunatly that was the case as the radio worked flawlessly when I got the belt and antenna back together. I'm sure those flaws contributed to keeping the price down. I was lucky enough to find a replacement antenna for the 210 from some antenna guy in hong kong. I remember him telling me I was lucky to get the last one as it became NLA on his website right after I bought it. I have no idea if there is currently a source for replacement grundig antennas as they are very unique and I doubt anyone is reproducing them.
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Old 10-25-2009, 11:38 AM
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I received the new drive belt and dial bulbs today. I forgot how delicate this radio was to take apart. Its so overly complex how it is built. The new belt was definitly a great help so now I don't have to cross my fingers that the belt won't break if I ever want to change short wave bands. Hopefully I'll never have to restring the dial on this thing. Numerous cables that go all over the place on all sorts of angles, clutches and springs to the extreme. Its not like a zenith T/O where you can just unplug some connectors and then pull out the chassis. A zenith T/O is a much more robust chassis mainly because its point to point on a steel frame. You can handel that without feeling like you are going to damage something. This doesn't mean that the grundig is inferior in any way, its just so much more delicate with the number of parts vs. a T/O. You also have to unsolder some wires, disconnnect and remove the antenna then find numerous screws throughout before pulling the chassis. I do like how the dial bulbs can be replaced by pulling on tabs from the back and the bulb comes out on a special clip. To put it simply, its a radio unlike any other. Its a wonderful example of German engineering.







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Last edited by drh4683; 10-25-2009 at 11:42 AM.
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Old 10-26-2009, 09:23 AM
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I agree... These radios are a bit complex to take apart. Not too bad when you've done it a few times and know what to expect. Did you get your parts from Rainer in Germany? A great guy to deal with! The replacement lamps he sells are correct replacements where some other eBay sellers sell a substitute that isn't as bright.
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