EtonElite Executive AM/FM/Aircraft Band/SSB/Shortwave Radio

Update 3/28/2022I have had some months to use this now, an still give it 5 starts. A few key fidings:1. You may read that this has poor battery life. Not true, so long as you turn off the display when not in use. There is a setting for that, and if left one at full brightness, the batteries do get drained. So just be sure to set the display at the default setting (reamins on for about 10 seconds, and then shuts down).2. For new SW users, timinjg is everything. I pick up Asian stations in the morning, 900 to noon. I pick up ham operators in the early evening. Stations simply have their own unique schedule, like a New Zealand station (11725), awesome station, I usually get this very late at night (Mountain Time USA), weekends, but it comes in really clear, with music, politics, great stuff.3. On YouTube, search for "how to save statiions on eton elite executive" and there's a great how-to video there by a fellow, he does a really nice job of explaining and showing how to save your various stations and frequencies (all bands). Also how to label your pages. One you do it a few times, it's really easy.4. Finally, I called Eton once with a question about the line-in. They got back to me, they called me back, it's still a weird feature IMHO as I list below, but what I did learn is that Eton is pronouced "ee-tahn" (emphais on the second syllable).So after some months of use, I enjoy the radio more with time, woth every penny.Original reviewBriefly, this is a great radio. I don't have much experience with short wave radios as points of comparison, but here are my experiences with this radio after almost a month, in no particular order:1. I love the leather cover, I never take it off, look at the product pictures, it serves as a stand. It covers the face of the radio when not in use. Very functional.2. Audio quality is outstanding, the audio output. The speaker is very small, limited range obviously, but I have connected good headphones and multiple speaker systems and the sound is just terrific for music. I have listened to a wide variety, classical, jazz, great highs, a solid bottom end. You can use either the headphone or the audio out jack for audio output, I use the latter, very similar to a standard FM tuner.3. The audio-in feature battles me, it is only one channel, and I see no use for it. A mystery.4. The instructions are not well written, but the information is there, it just takes a couple of times through. But this could be improved.5. People complain it is a complicated radio to operate. I see that more as a reflection of its rich features; there is plenty to learn.6. I get a gazillion AM stations.; I get a good number of FM stations (I do not live in a large metropolitan area) with good reception.7. I am exploring the shortwave bands, I have picked up radio New Zealand, North Korea, China I think, many Spanish-speaking stations, and lots and lots of bible folks. Little in the way of European or African stations thus far. I now better understand why short-wave listening is a bit of an art, as reception varies a lot based on time and atmospheric conditions.8. SSB was a bit of a mystery, but it works great while listening to ham radio operators.9. Aircraft band is fun; I live about 60 miles north of Salt Lake City and pick up the local airport as well as the Salt Lake Center and aircraft with whom it interacts.10. Great battery life, and the built-in battery charger is great and easy to use.11. Finally, IMHO, this is a nice-looking and well-constructed radio, well designed in appearance, features, controls. It amazes me how the screen adapts to sunlight and shows up in a blue screen. Very cool.All in all, totally pleased. A lot of attention to details and features. I always like have a radio available especially for emergencies, but this radio I used almost daily at this point. This radio has a great pedigree.

Let me first start off by saying, "I thought this radio was bigger". I have quite a few of these "book size" radios, and this is the winner out of all of them. It's not without it's quirks and definitely not perfect (what radio is?). This is going to be a somewhat long review, so grab a cup of Joe and relax.Size: It's as long as Bluray case, but slightly taller by another 1.5". For reference, It is smaller than a Tecsun 880, 660 and a 990X, which makes it a good travel companion. It has some weight to it (sorry, don't have a detailed scale yet), but I would guess its in the same ballpark as the Tecsun 880.Sound: Nothing spectacular here, but it gets the job done. For it's size, I'd say its right in the middle -5- (not bad, but not the best). When compared to the C. Crane Skywave, this blows it away! When compared to the Tecsun 990X, the Tecsun just pulls away a notch to -6- on my scale. The Tecsun 880 is still king, and has the best sound out of all my portables rating a solid -10- out of 10.Features: This thing is packed with them.700 memory stationsFM with RDS (Radio data system). Very nice feature.External antenna connection (3.5mm mono) 50-75 ohmShortwaveLongwaveAir bandSingle side band(SSB) tuningSelect-able bandwidths on each bandsleep timerWorld clockLine in/out (3.5mm)Performance: Oh boy, is little guy sensitive! Aircraft band just shines on this radio. It definitely is not a gimmick. It will outperform the Tecsun 660, CC skywave, and the xhdata 808 hands down.On shortwave, this again, just shines. It can hear stations, my other radios don't even know are there. As with the aircraft band, the noise floor is quite low on shortwave, and so, you can dig out those barely detectable signals with this little guy. For it's size, it packs quite a punch.Long-wave was not tested.On FM, not only is this very sensitive, but also very selective. I would rate this radio as "one of my best" on FM. The king so far is the Eton Elite Field BT, as it's dipole antenna is nearly twice the length. Eton pushes the envelope with these DSP chips, that's for sure.AM performance is quite good. I know it got 2.5 stars from Jay Allen, but I will give it a solid 3. It outperforms (or equals) my larger Tecsun radio like the 501X, and slowly walks away from my Tecsun 990X, 660 and 880. The reason for this is shear sensitivity and low noise floor. The Tecsuns have a bit of a higher noise floor in comparison, so some DX stations might be hidden in the mud (as they say).Quirks: I think this is a Eton thing, but you have to press some buttons more than once. The power button being one of them. My Eton Elite field does the same thing. It's a quirk of the radio, not a quality issue. If you understand this going in, it's something you will have to get use to.I wish this radio had(optional removable) Protective plastic film cover over it's front display.Full protective case (comes with protective glove, but does not fully protect the entire radio)Better instructionsLonger dipole antenna ( a must ).Stronger dipole antenna-to radio attachment (internally).Optional Wrist strap6 inch 3.5mm antenna dongleFinal thoughts: This is very good radio. It can be found from $110 up to $205. I paid $174. For what It can do, and the outstanding performance on all bands (except LW--which I could not test), I think it is worth it. I own quite a few radios (more than I should have), and this one is at the top, just under my Eton elite field BT. It has top tier performance, small and compact, and packed with features. This review is subject to being revised, but as of now, I'm happy with this little bugger.

This is a nice radio. It does a lot of things, more things that I'm ever going to figure out. The manual is pretty clear for the most part. Some of the buttons don't make sense. Pressing the AM button doesn't actually give you AM stations, it gives you SW and other than seeing that the frequency is in the SW range, there's no indication on the screen or on the buttons that you are receiving or have chosen SW. I prolly need to better understand SW and how and why it works as it does. I live in Colorado and was listening to a broadcast from Madagascar yesterday which was pretty cool. I hope I can get to the point where I can sit down with this and get where I want to go without putting on my glasses and holding the manual in the other hand. So to conclude, it's a complicated radio that really is pretty cool. A three year old will likely master it in a day. It'll take me a lil longer. Why did I get it? The world is becoming a dangerous place and it's about to get way worse starting Jan 20th, 2025.