| STINGER |
Rating:      |
2004-01-31 | |
| Super ATS-909 Mods by RadioLabs |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
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 ;)
---------------
Shortwave
---------------
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
---------------------
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
-----------------------
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
-----------------------
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. |
|
| VE3LLL |
Rating:     |
2003-12-02 | |
| Not perfect, but very good |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
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. |
|
| NOJDROF |
Rating:     |
2003-11-20 | |
| Nice radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I work in a large building with many sources of interference and noise. I want to listen to AM radio at work and can but I get allot of noise interference. I recently purchased 2 new radios in an attempt to bring in the cleanest AM signal possible. I have a GRUNDIG S350 SHORTWAVE RADIO and a Sangean ATS-909. Out of the 2 radios the cheaper analog GRUNDIG S350 radio does a better job at bringing in a clear signal. The ATS909 blows the S350 away with the radios features so for that reason I really like the radio. The sound quality is poor; again the cheaper S350 out performs the ATS909. The SW sensitivity is great. The overall quality of the ATS 909 is good. It eats batteries so I use the AC adapter most of the time.
All in all I like the radio. However it could be better in 3 areas the sound quality, AM noise reduction and battery life.
|
|
| KG4YJR |
Rating:  |
2003-10-29 | |
| A $40 Kmart radio is of higher quality. |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This may have been a fine radio at one time but the one I received yesterday was the most over priced piece of junk I’ve ever purchased. I’ve purchased radios of higher quality at Kmart for $40. To start with, the case is made of very thin plastic, the bottom of the radio is beveled where the two sides come together and it rocked back and forth standing straight up. Not good for a thin profile radio. There was a rattling sound, like a BB inside the radio. It turned out to be a piece of solder, about the size of a BB, that fell out when I removed the batteries. The RF gain knob was loose and wobbly. Just a poorly assembled radio made with low budget components. The sensitivity didn’t even compare to my Grundig YB-550PE that I only paid $100 for. The dealer I purchased it from is taking it back and giving me a full refund. Even they admitted to the loss of quality standards that Sangean has currently since moving manufacturing to China. They are getting more and more returns and complaints than they did two years ago they told me and expect things to get worse. The only good thing I can say about the radio is the speaker sounded good for the size of the radio. Not worth the average $250 price tag. Not even worth $50. It doesn't seem like it would last you a year.
73
Dave |
|
| FALCON |
Rating:      |
2003-07-26 | |
| Great Radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
After reading all the reviews I could find I decisded to try the Sagean 909, and Im very happy I did.
First the plus. The radio is loaded with features. One I like is the automatic station location to memory. It's geat when in a new area and you dont know all the stations.The RDS works great and even sets your time correctly if the auto time set is switched on. I have local and UTC selectable set up. Reception is good but much better on the 23' reel antenna.
Next the negatives. Let me first say these are not real negative just some place the radio could improve on after all there is no perfect reciever. No synchronous detect. The audio qulity could be better.
I happened into a Radio Shack that had one DX398 left over. Still had the $249.95 price on it. When I mentioned that all the Radio Shacks had closed them out over a year ago He lowered the price to his cost $128.00, I nearly broke my wrist getting the money out. This radio replaced my Satellite 700 that bit the dust. Estimate repair was $350+. With the 700 gone and the 2010 drying up this radio is one of the best out therefor much less $ even at full price.
Its a great radio better in most ways than my YB400 which is also a great radio in its own right. This is a top of the line radio. |
|
| WR2W |
Rating:     |
2003-05-23 | |
| Good SW...Great FM |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have the originator Sangean AT-909. I have always found that most products made by other manufacturers for Radio Shack have lesser specs, and features. My past experience with Radio Shack brand is the reason I will never by electronic radios with their name on it. I find the SW reception on the Sangean AT909 to be good for the most part on all bands, and the FM sound is awsome for its size. I feel most manufacturers concentrate on FM more than SW in portables this size because the average consumer listens to FM more than SW, and they know that. In the SW bands they concentrate more on AM performance than SSB performance. Hams, and SW listeners are more critical to the SW performance in all modes. I had the Sony 2010, a Great radio, but cannot compare the AT-909 to it because the Sony is over $100 more. I would only compare the AT-909 to another of the same type at a much closer price range. I had the YB-400 (sold for $200 when I bought it), and the AT-909 ($250) is better in both FM, and SW. I found some portables depend on "pressure" contact of the telescoping antenna to the PC board when the back of the case is screwed on. I always make sure that contact is made well. The AT-909 uses a short insulated piece of wire to make contact from the antenna to the PC board but I found most of the wire was directly on the speaker magnet. I re-routed the wire over the plastic housing for the PC board so there would be no "interaction" with the antenna to metal surfaces in the radio. Battery life is not too bad but I use an external DC source whenever possible. A good performer for its size, and price... |
|
| KD7CJO |
Rating:     |
2003-03-19 | |
| good rig |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I love this radio!! I had some trouble learning the page mem. system but once learned i really like using it. The rig has farly good sensativity and good selctivity. I use mine for am dxing and for hf listoning. The sideband feture on the rig is nice and is one of the reasons that I got it. The 398(mine) is the same as the 909-just a different box. This is one of the few real radios that rad shack has sold as they are notorious for selling spin offs of others degsins. Too bad that they are not offering this radio anymore as it was one of the few that I found to be worth the money. I use a modifed sw-100 in the car. It has MUCH better audio but lacks the sens. and selct. of the 398.(thats why it was been banished to the car) I use the 398 with a homebrew 30 ft. slopper with earth ground and a homebrew power supply. In all a good radio for the money. Much beter then some of the other offerings from the shack in recent years in this area. There are however mods that can be made to the 398 to get better audio. But overall I think worth the money.($250 or so) Good dx to all. 73, Robbie kd7cjo |
|
| ALLEARS |
Rating:      |
2003-02-19 | |
| Good One |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Well after putting my local radio shack through the mill I was able to get the DX-398 for $99.00. The Sangean ATS909, (same radio) lists for $389.00 but you can find them for $249.00. I thought that the Grundig G-2000A (piece of SH#!) Was a good deal for $65.00. Or the DX-402 ( ATS505) (Good One!), for $45.00. But the DX-398 is a good portable for the money. It is almost as hot as my old DX-440. So if you are looking for a good radio then go to your local radio shack and ride them like a poney till they find you one. Or get the Sangean ATS909, its worth the price. |
|
| K9UNA |
Rating:      |
2003-01-01 | |
| Good Portable! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I have had the RS version for quite some time. All in all, I would say that it is a fine radio. I use mine traveling with the built in whip. In this configuration its sensitivity is not as great as the Grundig YB 400 or the Sony 7600. However, it has decent selectivity for a portable (two selectable bandwidths) and sensitivity can be corrected with a reel type portable antenna. It doesn’t have synchronous selectable side band (which the Sony has) but you can use ECSS. On the positive side, it has many tuning features and includes “pages” of preprogrammed frequencies for world band broadcasters. It also uses only 4 AA batteries (instead of 6 in the Grundig) which makes it easy to buy a pack on a trip or recharge some NiMH batteries at home. It has decent sound (between the Grundig and the Sony) and it has excellent FM and MW reception. It is able to receive SSB with ease. It features a ton on convenience features like a dial light, 3 timers and an automatic function that can search for MW and FM stations and then program them into memory. Mine has held up well on many travels. |
|
| KE9K |
Rating:     |
2003-01-01 | |
| Very Nice |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've owned several of these radios and never really experienced its potential until I hooked it up to a Torus Tuner loop antenna for shortwave. The loop is only 15 inches. I can move it anywhere with ease. The performance is amazing. Signal to noise ratios is outstanding. I can hear signals so clear now. Before I tried various random wires with overloading and noise mainly. The whip is too deaf. Now I can truly enjoy this radio with almost unbelievable performance. I even tried it in a mobile home with the Torus loop and signals were beautiful. The antenna makes all the difference! Before using the loop SSB ham signals were harsh and distorted. Much better now. I'm sure this antenna would be great for any portable but especially the DX-398. |
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