The Grundig Satellit 4000 is an odd hybrid: a world-band receiver with a built-in stereo cassette recorder. A Russian owner's blog from the era calls the design avant-garde for the mid-eighties. It also says the set still didn't look particularly dated years later, especially in the evening. The same blog mentions the unit was sourced from Germany.
The receiver covers FM, LW, MW, and two shortwave bands (3.9-22 MHz). It is single-conversion, with AM and WFM stereo modes and 21 regular memory channels. The built-in stereo cassette recorder is the defining feature, and the model was marketed as the "Satellit 4000 Recorder" or "Recorder Stereo." There is also a digital readout and a clock. It's a large, heavy set at 568 × 268 × 120 mm and 7 kg, with a built-in telescopic whip antenna and a 50-75 ohm antenna connection. The power supply voltage is not documented in any source consulted.
Documentation is reasonably available for a model this niche. A free English user manual, service manual, repair guide, and parts list circulate as PDF downloads. A German-language service manual translation also exists. Spare pinch rollers for the cassette mechanism appear on eBay from time to time. That suggests the usual rubber-roller aging issues apply, though no specific failure patterns are recorded.
No original price survives, and formal performance data (sensitivity, selectivity, frequency response, power output) is entirely undocumented. The one concrete market data point found is a Russian listing at 30,000 rubles for a unit sold "for restoration or as-is," plus a used listing in Germany at €66.60. RigReference tracks prices paid for used units, but no figures are shown in the record. An owner on YouTube simply called it an "awesome radio." That, plus the Russian blogger's affection for the design, is all the documented reception there is.
Known specifications:
- Bands: FM, LW, MW, 2 × SW (3.9–22 MHz)
- Modes: AM / WFM stereo
- Conversion: Single conversion
- Memory: 21 regular channels
- Features: Digital readout, clock, built-in stereo cassette recorder
- Antenna: Built-in telescopic whip; 50–75 ohm connector
- Dimensions: 568 × 268 × 120 mm
- Weight: 7 kg
The Satellit 4000 is one of those models where the hardware is better documented than the experience of using it. If you own one and can add anything about how the receiver performs, how the cassette deck sounds, or what the set is like to live with, the Archive would welcome the detail.
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