GRUNDIG SATELLIT 650 PROFESSIONAL MULTI BAND TUNER

GRUNDIG SATELLIT 650 PROFESSIONAL MULTI BAND TUNER Introduction

The Grundig Satellit 650’s raison d’être was shortwave reception (1.6 to 30 megahertz), but it was equally capable with AM (about 510 to 1620 kilohertz, which was referred to as “medium wave” in olden times), and the spectrum below that once quaintly known as long wave (148 to 420 kHz), and also FM. The radio was designed with 60 presets that users could program, 32 of them set aside for shortwave frequencies. In terms of build quality, it was basically a tank and provided excellent sound quality. The sound quality started with the tuning system. The Satellit 650 was equipped with a preselector, essentially a low band-pass filter. The preselector is a mechanism for filtering out frequencies that are closely adjacent to the frequency the operator selects, minimizing the potential interference from other signals on those nearby frequencies. The feature appears to have been rare, possibly even unique, in the portable shortwave receiver category at the time. The Satellit 650 also incorporated a powerful 15-watt amplifier. Its single speaker was generously sized for a portable radio, but there was more to it than met the eye. Grundig chose to use pressure-chamber speakers, which can produce sound comparable to speakers twice as large.