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write your own review of the Sangean ATS909\Radio Shack DX 398.
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LRDHEAT
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Rating: 3/5
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Feb 1, 2005 19:48
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not great
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I agree with the previous review of the super 909 upgrade of the Sangean 909 from Radiolabs.
The elimination of the muting between frequencies was nice. Beyond that, there was not an increase worth noting in sensitivity on any of the shortwave bands. The narrow filter was sharper than the stock filter (this is good), and audio quality did seem better on the new speaker. The LED's for illumination were blue as advertised (so what?). The lack of increased sensitivity was such a surprise and disappointment! My $40 Grundig 300 Mini PE consistently discerns signals with greater ease than the 909 super. This with the RF gain turned all the way up. The super 909's am (mediumwave) band is now full of hash from images and reflections of other stations...the 909 was much quieter and sensitive to weak daytime stations before the modification. The 909 without the modification is a slightly better set, and for the price would rate perhaps a 4...the unmodified 909 is already a nice performer on SSB reception (super doesn't change this). Not a lot of play on batteries.
By making the modification, the listener is spending $100 to go from a 4 to a 3 rating!
Time owned (original >12 months; mods 0-3 months)
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KA4DPO
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Rating: 3/5
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Jan 19, 2005 20:52
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Disapointed
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Back in December I decided it was time to replace my old Sony SW-7600. After looking at the newer Sony and YB 400 PE I decided the Sangean 909 was the way to go. While I was checking some on-line dealers I came across the Radio Labs page. I read their ad for the Super 909 and decided that was the way to go so I ordered one. Upon receiving my new Super 909 I was somewhat disapointed in the performance of the radio. I set it up along side the Sony 7600 and did some comparisons on various bands and signals. The first thing I noticed was the 909 was almost deaf using the telescoping antenna. I tuned in WWV on ten MHZ and the signal was loud and clear on the Sony yet barely audible on the 909. The outcome was the same on all bands, the Sony is clearly a hotter receiver. Keep in mind the Sony doesn't have an S meter and the 909 does so my test results are based on my perception. The Sony even beat the 909 on AM broadcast reception although the 909 does have better audio. Over all, my Super 909 doesn't seem to be the red hot performer I expected and my 7 year old stock Sony beats it hands down in sensitivity and seems to be just as selective. The bottom line is, I like the memories, the tuning, and the audio of the Super 909 but the performance is not at all what I expected for the price of this radio.
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TECCART
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 19, 2005 19:27
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Very Good
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Excellent radio, very good for utility and ham radio reception, has a lot of memories for storing stations.
Would need a little more sensitivity for this price range, but with a couple of feet of wire does wonders.
I broke the little plastic stand on the back last year and wrote to Sangean for a replacement, they sent me a replacement 4 weeks later absolutely free of charge.
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CLYDEMCCLARAN
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Rating: 3/5
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Dec 28, 2004 12:52
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Many features, average quality.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought mine as a DX398 at my local Radio Shack in mid-1999 for $199.95. Now, it not available as a DX-398 but as a Sangean. I used a long wire antennae and SW reception was average. With rod antennae SW sensitivity was barely adequate. Sideband reception was acceptable on the outdoor antennae, though suseptable to bleedover from stronger signals occurred on 41 meters. Factory programmed memories and timer features were convenient and a plus. Battery life (in mine) was not good, drained quickly. Keypad and knob was not substantial and felt loose even when new.
Reception on FM and AM was good, FM has the "RDS" where the call letters are identified (provided the station has compatable equipment).
Overall, a consumer grade radio with average quality and sound. It is not a serious DX machine, though I understand after market modifications could be made to improve performance. I no longer have mine as I have sold mine earlier this year.
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KR3DX
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Rating: 1/5
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Nov 6, 2004 08:03
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Mine committed suicide
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have previously reviewed this radio in August, 2003. See my comments about CPU lockup in that review. My RS DX-390 has locked-up permanently. Shorting the memory capacitor (even for DAYS) no longer unlocks the CPU. The radio just flashes its "low battery" icon whenever power is re-applied. I now have a paperweight/doorstop. I'll replace this radio with a Sony ICF7600GR.
73,
Denny
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EXPAT
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Rating: 4/5
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May 26, 2004 05:58
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I use it every day in the kitchen
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Well, I sure canīt compare with the previous, tech-loaded review, but Iīd like to give my impressions of this radio, which Iīve had since August 2003. My perspective: a part-time SWL and would-be amateur operator with technician-level electronics knowledge (i.e., not much!).
OK, the physical radio: it is standard consumer quality construction, apparently I have one of the Chinese-made specials since I bought it fairly recently and it has that awful green/silver color which scratches even when I slide the thing onto the shelf! Otherwise,it is all right, thought the gain knob does become loose quickly, as noted below. The buttons are good and there are plenty of switches to play with. I have not had trouble with the radio turning on while in storage, the button lock works fine for me. I have the Sangean, obviously, and am happy with the enclosed accessories, particularly the wind-up external antenna.
Reception: well, Iīm no expert with other, expensive radios to compare it to. However, I have used it in both the US (NJ) and Europe (Czech Republic) and have some opinions. In the US, the SW sensitivity with either the whip or the wire was marginal, day or night and on all bands I tried (I have working knowledge of radio propagation). I could not get much outside North America except randomly, but then, at that time, I didnīt know enough about SW broadcasting to be particular. Now, in Europe, I have to say that the radio is much more useful. If I use the wire, night reception is OK for European stations though it is difficult to separate nearby frequencies. Since I bought the thing to hear English language in a foreign country, the conclusion is that the radio works but could be better. As noted in other reviews, modifications are possible to improve various aspects, but I have no experience with those.
As for FM, I am very pleased. The speaker is marginal, but reception is sensitive...much more sensitive than my downstairs stereo, my boombox, or even my upstairs PC with an external FM dipole! I have few problems with overloading, but it happens sometimes. I like classical radio, and the wide dynamic range of this music is not reproduced so well, but I canīt hear anything on my stereo! The reason is simple, the buildings here are brick and iron, and heavy construction, too. Houses have one or two foot thick brick walls, no lie. Hence the external dipole...gotta feed that down to the living room stereo, huh?
AM (MW)/LW: Good, but of course the local stuff is talk radio in Czech, so my experience is limited. Really, look elsewhere for more information about the 909 and what we Americans call AM. And longwave? Since it isnīt used for broadcast in the US, same difference, but let me mention that in Europe there are some stations and the radio does a decent job. Audio is muddy, is this due to the low frequencies or poor bandwidth? Anyway, no problem getting a groundwave from 100 miles away on LW...through that brick wall.
Batteries: this radio has a reputaion for eating batteries and, though I havenīt had a problem while the radio is off, it does use them quickly when on. My solution is to use the Ray-O-Vac "Rechargeable Alkaline" AA batteries, they do work well in relatively low-draw situations (not in transmitters, for example) and they supply a full 1.5V. Unfortunately, the included charger died after a month (Chinese special, again), so keep your receipt.
Overall, I think this is a decent all-purpose radio for travel, though I use mine as a kitchen radio to hear the morning news on BBC, get some classical FM while the wife is watching the tube, and general travel. It is no DX radio, for sure, though modifications and a better antenna may help. Of course, it has US/Euro AM as well as fairly useless tone, gain, and band width controls. The memory takes time to learn but works well when frequency-hopping to find where your SW station is at a given time. Plenty of tuning controls. Havenīt tried the audio(line)-out, the stereo FM-out works well but I donīt like earplugs. Has world band/local clocks and three difficult to learn alarms. Lamp could be brighter but stays on when using mains, timed out with batteries. Display contains more information than average. Would be better with synchronous sideband, I guess, since SW fading and such are a problem with indoor antennas.
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STINGER
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 31, 2004 00:37
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Super ATS-909 Mods by RadioLabs
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Back in December, I e-mailed RadioLabs to ask them if they would modify my
radio. At the time, they were only selling pre-modified radios, but they
told me to give them a call. Long story short -- Chris Justice agreed to do
the "Super mods" to my radio. I UPS'd my radio to him, using the RMA
instructions on the "Repair" section of the RadioLabs site.
It took a few weeks to get my radio back, but there were very good reasons
for the delay. First and foremost was the fact that RadioLabs had not
planned on being in the "mods" business -- they were planning on selling
pre-modded ATS-909's as they had time to build them. I know they had to
wait for more custom-design filters to arrive from the manufacturer.
I got an e-mail from Chris when it was ready, and confirming UPS tracking
numbers from both him and the UPS shipping system. I had RadioLabs ship it
to my office.
Two business days later, I saw the UPS guy in my office window, and met him
at the door.
------------------
First Impressions
------------------
My Super ATS-909 looked exactly the same until I flipped it over. There, on
the upper right-hand side of the back was a new RCA jack for an external FM/SW
antenna.
I put some new Alkaline batteries in it, and powered it on.
My presets were still there, so I was treated to WWL-AM, my "Priority"
station, in a rich, full CLEAR sound.
I was floored. Why? Because my office is in one of those flat-roofed,
metal-studded, radio-unfriendly buildings full of RF from a couple of dozen
networked computers and various other noisy electronic gizmos like plotters,
copiers and laser-printers. I've never been able to hear radio there except
near a window -- and even that was noisy.
I pulled up the antenna and tried shortwave. Too much noise there. Perhaps
11:00 AM inside wasn't the best time to try ;)
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Shortwave
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That evening, I put it on my nightstand and plugged in the AC adapter and my
75-foot random-wire antenna.
BLUE! The display was not what I expected -- I expected some "bluish" white
light (instead of the algae-colored green), but what I see is a very deep
blue color, reminiscent of something it would normally take neon to produce.
It's like indiglo on steroids. The display is very readable, and though the
display is a little brighter than it used to be, it is not an unwelcome new
night-light. I can see a dim reflection on the ceiling in a pitch-black
room. It's nice.
I was in luck -- propagation conditions were "good." WBCQ in Maine came in
great (even on the whip), and I live near New Orleans. Of course all of my
old favorite presets did as well -- only they didn't fade nearly as much as
before. Then, another surprise -- It literally took me an hour to get
through the 49-meter band, because it was full of newly-listenable signals
to explore.
I came to really appreciate what RadioLabs had done with the "AM RF GAIN"
knob. It will now zero, which is a HUGE help when you're trying to find a
direction on MW or LW. Tuning shortwave, I found that I was using it quite
a bit to help fine-tune signals. It is quickly obvious that the sensitivity
has been boosted considerably.
Setting the bandwidth to "wide" on a powerful signal results in a very
clean, full sound. When DX'ing, the "NARR AM" is different than before. It
now seems to actively isolate a signal. It's fairly difficult to get two
signals at the same time in that setting -- which I was trying to do to
review this radio so I could use SSB to zero-beat the signal. It works.
Next, I went to the 3.800 MHz area to tune in some SSB. At first, it was a
little unusual, because I could get the signals much sooner, and it required
more turns of the fine-tuner to get them. That's right -- you can now use
coarse tuning to get close and fine tuning for perfection.
----------------------
Longwave
----------------------
I still don't hear anything I'm really interested in on Longwave. There are
some interesting "beeps and boops," but I'm just not enough of a radio geek
to get excited about them. However, you do hear more of them. A lot
more...
---------------------
Medium-wave
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I've already mentioned how the modified antenna gain helps you find (or
null) signals for medium-wave (Domestic broadcast AM radio).
There's more -- the sensitivity improvements really pull in more signals. I
found myself wishing my CCRadio Plus had the same antenna gain control as my
Super ATS-909, because you can decrease the "floor level" of all signals and
effectively blank weaker stations heard in the background of stronger
ones -- very handy. It makes the Super 909 the more listenable of the two
in some ways. The 909 is still not as directional as the CCRadio Plus, due
to the shorter internal antenna.
I moved my Justice Antenna (CJA) to the Super ATS-909 just for grins -- and
it makes for a real DX combination. You can bring in a really marginal
frequency using the CJA, then attenuate it on the 909 to pull one station
out of the jumble, if that's your thing.
I just like being able to listen to my favorite nighttime 50 KW's with much
less fading than before.
----------------------
FM
----------------------
I wish I could say that I've hooked up an external antenna for FM, but I
haven't. It is much the same as before, except with a much better sound
from the speaker, especially on "MUSIC." Headphones are much the same as
before, only with improved tone.
-----------------------
Sound
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Basically -- night and day. First, the new speaker is crisp and clear, but
more importantly it sounds FULL. I have found that I can keep the "TONE"
switch on "MUSIC" and still understand spoken words from even marginal
signals. The other settings are very good as well, and would be very useful
when propagation conditions deteriorate, but I have really enjoyed actually
hearing a little "bottom" on shortwave lately.
To give you an idea of the sound quality, many stronger Shortwave stations
will remind you of "FM-ish" clarity.
-----------------------
Quality
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My radio came back in great condition. Frankly, I think they polished it --
the display was really clean, etc. -- nary a sign that it had been on
someone's "bench."
Also, my radio was a bit unusual, because I bought it from C.Crane with the
tuning detent mod already done (their "Deluxe ATS-909). I was really
surprised to see that RadioLabs even tweaked that. I guess it wasn't up to
their standards, because the tuning knob now turns easily with one finger --
something it did not do before -- and that's a very welcome improvement.
------------------------
Summary
------------------------
This is one radio that will never be on EBay. It's a keeper.
RadioLabs may be contacted here: http://www.radiolabs.com
-- Stinger
Picayune, MS
------------------------
Disclaimer
------------------------
I am not affiliated in any way with Sangean, RadioLabs, or C.Crane company,
and I was not compensated in any way for this review. In fact, I paid good
money for these modifications -- and I'm damn glad I did.
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KBDXW
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 17, 2004 10:40
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Best Buy unless you live in a strong signal area.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The DX-398 is exactly the same radio as the Sangean ATS-909, although the manufacturing of the newer 909's is being done in China, and there are now serious quality control issues with this radio.
My DX-398 is amazing. I have two other very good radios-- a PALSTAR R-30C and an ICOM R-75 with all available KIWA modifications, including the complete MW attenuation mod as outlined on the R-75 Page. The DX-398 comes within a hair of being as sensitive throughout the entire LW/MW/SW spectrum as these much more expensive radios. However, while it's selectivity is very good-- actually amazing for the price-- it is no match for the more expensive radios. For example, I have a low powered MW station at 1110KC. There is a 50KW station several hundred miles away on 1120KC which I can usually ID during the day with the better radios, but can't with the DX-398.
The worst area of performance is the "front-end." I live 7 blocks from a MW with 5KW day and 5KW nights directional in my direction. Under this terrible situation, I must use a pre-selector with all my radios, or all of them would be about worthless. Even with my MFJ-956 pre-selector between my random wire antenna and the DX-398, I get 60 spurious signals between 1.7 and 5.0MC, whereas on the ICOM R-75 I get only 11. Also, the spurious signals on the DX-398 are much stronger, in most cases, than on the R-75. Fortunately, however, on MW almost all of the unwanted signals can be eliminated with the careful adjustment of the pre-selector. On LW, there are only two spurious signals, whereas on the R-75 there are none.
If you live in a strong signal area, you will need to use a pre-selector like the ones available from CC Crane and MFJ. If you don't care about MW or LW DX'ing, you can get a BCB rejection filter like the one available from KIWA, and then you probably won't get any spurious signals on the shortwave bands.
I believe the DX-398/ATS-909 must be the best inexpensive radio for MW DX'ing there is. Unfortunately, many people seem to evaluate the MW performance of a SW radio by how well it receives stations on it's built-in antenna. The ferrite bar antenna in the DX-398 is small because the radio is small, and it is not pre-amplified like I hear the one in the Grundig Satellit 800 is. The only way to compare radios fairly is to try them with exactly the same external antenna. From my area in South Western Ohio, the weakest MW signal I can find during the day-time is KDKA at 1020KC from Pittsburg, PA. The DX-398 brought in this signal better than my R-75 did before I had the MW attenuation removal modification, and within a hair of it after the modification with a direct antenna connecion.
There are some things you must know, however, before you can get the most out of your DX-398/Sangean ATS-909. First, the external antenna connection is not a mono 1/8" plug like other small radios. It is a stereo plug. I bought an 1/8" stereo plug from Radio Shack. I hook the outer shild of my coax from my outside antenna to the large ground terminal and the inner connector to either one of the other smaller terminals according to which one gives the best reception. One of the non-ground connections gives me the best MW reception on the lower end of the MW band, and the other one at times seems to give better reception above 1000KC.
My random wire feeds a matching balun, and the coax runs from the balun to the pre-selector. Then a short coax runs from the pre-selector to my radios. I use alligator jumpers to make the connection to the DX-398.
But here is the most important thing you can know about MW reception on this radio. I get better results using inductive coupling than I do with any direct connection by far! I took an AM loop antenna off an old stereo receiver and connected one end of it to the center terminal on the coax connector and the other end of it to the outer grounding connector. Then I place the loop antenna near the left side of the radio and adjust it's positioning for maximum signal transfer. Of course, you have to adjust the pre-selector also for each frequency you tune. Amazingly, the DX-398 with inductive coupling pulls in KDKA from Pittsburg with a signal that is easier to ID than either of my more expensive radios with their direct antenna connections. And I have made a great effort to use scientific and careful tests to verify this fact.
This inductive coupling provides a much higher S meter reading than any of the direct antenna connections, and the readability of weak signals is improved tremendously, indicating that the signal to noise ratio is actually better.
This arrangement enables my DX-398 to equal or surpass my more expensive radios for pulling in weak signals except for one thing. The inductive coupling over-loads the front end and produces spurious signals in several places on the dial.
Finally, let me say that this little set is so user friendly that I tend to use it as much or more than my more expensive radios, especially for scanning the bands to find out what signals are available. You can go almost instantly to any of the SW broadcast bands by first touching the SW button and then touching the touch-pad number for the band you want to go to. They are clearly labeled. I use the 5KC tuning step to zip through the bands to look quickly through the available signals. I turn to my other radios if I find I can't separate the station I want to hear, or if I have heard a spurious signal on the frequency I want to hear.
If you get a Chinese-made ATS-909, just make sure you can at least exchange it. Just keep exchanging it till you get one that works. I rate it a 4 for good because it doesn't perform like a table top, but, for the price, it's performance is scarily close. And, if you don't live too close to a MW station, you will probably never know the difference between it's front-end and the front-end of a much more expensive receiver. It might be all the radio you would ever need.
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N1NYP
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Rating: 4/5
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Jan 9, 2004 14:12
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An update
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Ok call me a glutton for punishment, but I bought a used dx398 in spite of the fact that I had returned 2- 909s because of quality control issues in my review below. I guess I just can't keep away from this radio. The 398 performs well...as has been stated many times, shortwave can use a real external antenna, any old wire will do and the set comes alive. FM is excellent, good sensitivity and excellent selectivity. Sony 7600gr overloads easily on FM.
AM Mediumwave is equal to or better than the Sony 7600gr, 2010, CCRadio. Far superior to the Grundig yb400. Features(real tuning knob, clocks etc) and page mapping system is easy once you get used to it. Much more flexible than the Sony's or the Grundig 400. SSB frequencies are saved with the usb or lsb so no fine tuning is needed as in the 7600gr or yb400. Just hit the button for the frequency and it comes up in the right mode. Audio is ok, but really shines on headphones.
If you can get a used dx398, go for it, but be careful if you get a new 909...make sure you can return it if the quality control issues raise their ugly heads!...
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VE3LLL
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Rating: 4/5
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Dec 2, 2003 16:55
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Not perfect, but very good
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I shopped carefully before buying the ATS 909 and after months of ownership still believe that it's tops in its class for its tuning capabilities. It permits fast tuning and fine tuning unrivaled by other radios, and with the provided supplementary wire antenna will pull in stations strong and weak across its bands. Its interface is easily learned and a joy to use.
I have quibbles, though, which potential purchasers might want to know about in advance.
The radio has no true squelch capability - just a control for slightly adjusting sensitivity - so scanning in noisy bands like 80 meters is useless because it stops on every frequency step. In quieter bands like 20 meters scanning is usable. A true squelch allowing scanning only for signals above user-selectable squelch would be an improvement for use in noisy conditions.
The radio's sound quality is only average and suffers in comparison to the Grundig Yachtboy and (less so) the top-end Sony. A larger speaker seems possible in the chassis and I've heard that some owners have swapped one in.
The radio is a battery pig when on, and sometimes even when off! On putting it away once early on I may have accidentally turned it on - that's too easy to do - and exhausted a brand new set of lithiums. Since then I have carefully set the lock button control - which should prevent any use of the radio - but twice more found prematurely-exhausted batteries. If it's something I'm doing I don't know what it is! I'm GUESSING that when a little pressure is applied to the case (as when stuffed in a folder in a full desk drawer, or in a suitcase) then even with the lock button set the radio continues to process button pressure, even if it doesn't respond to it.
In some bands the plug-in power adds a noticeable buzz to the radio, especially on AM. I've heard that soldering iron jockeys can perform a small modification to cure this problem.
Despite the above quibbles I'd recommend this as the best light portable receiver around.
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