They don't make radios like they used to...

The Grundig Satellit 2400 was made from 1979 - 1982 and is an all transistor stereo receiver that can be operated from the internal mains power supply, with batteries or with a rechargeable unit.

The dimensions of 59 x 29 x 12 cm make it one of the biggest radios made by Grundig and without batteries, it weighs around 7.4 kg .

I found this example a few months ago. As far as I can make out, everything works well, although the bass has a tendency to distort if the control is turned too high. I gather this is a known problem with some of these sets. Otherwise all the lights work, the controls are all in place and it is clean and tidy. The aerial is intact and straight. 

The Medium wave section works well and seems sensitive. The MW sections tunes up to 1638 kHz on this set and uses the ferrite rod at these frequencies. (Useful for Dutch free radio stations). The SW section tunes from 1620 kHz on the telescopic rod antenna. The SW is about the same as other sets that I own, although the aerial is a whopping 1.4 metres long and that helps to pull in the distant stations!. 

SSB can be clarified with the BFO/SSB control, but this is not especially stable and tends to drift a little. I wanted the set to listen to broadcast stations anyway. 

FM works well and the set has a good sound if the bass is kept under control. The front of the radio includes a large analogue display and a small digital readout (which seems quite accurate). The tuning control features a larger quick tune rotary knob and in the centre is a dial for fine tuning.

There are plenty of controls to keep "button-twiddlers" happy and there are even some controls around the back of the unit. The rear has 6 preset buttons to tune in and store FM stations and a trimmer for an external antenna. 

             

Is this one of the "prettiest" radios ever made?