Hobbies And Interests
Satellit Series
The Satellit series radios received signals in the long wave, frequency modulation, medium wave and short wave bands. Although some models in the history of the series included other bands, all included these four. LW, more commonly known as AM radio, uses signals from 535kHz to 1,600kHz for local stations. FM uses signals from 88MHz to 108MHz, also for local programming, but with higher listening quality. MW and SW refer to various frequency bands between 1.8MHz and 30MHz whose characteristics make them appropriate for long range, international or worldwide broadcasting, but with limited quality for voice and music.
Early Satellit Models
The first model was the Satellit 205 introduced in 1964, also known as the Transistor 5000. But its commercial success inspired the development of the Satellit 208, also know as the Transistor 6000, in 1967. The 208 included major improvements in appearance and in the tuning circuits, allowing it to pick up more short wave stations from around the world with less interference from others. Many radio collectors consider the 208, along with the 210 released shortly after, to be the most beautiful of the entire Satellit series. Some collectors consider the 210 the best all-around receiver ever built.
The Seventies
In the '70s, the Satellit series became the most popular receiver for advanced radio enthusiasts. The Satellit 1000 didn't change much, but the 2000 made significant changes by using more concentrated printed circuit boards and increasing the number of transistors to 28. In 1976, model 2100 added the more popular round volume and tone controls in place of sliding models. The model 3000 of 1978 was the first model with a digital frequency counter to tell the station tuned to, along with a digital clock. But the model used an analog tuner for station selection.
Later Models
The model 3400 of 1979 added only appearance changes to keep up with the more modern look of competing models. But through the 1980s and 1990s, Grundig Satellit receivers lost their place as industry leaders. Although their subsequent models included advanced technology, nothing they produced was unique and other manufacturers included similar features. Some models added marketing features to make them appeal to some buyers, but many collectors consider their later quality not to be on a par with the models of the 1960s and 1970s. The last Grundig Satellit was the model 750 of 2008.