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Reviews For: Sangean ATS909

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Sangean ATS909
Reviews: 5MSRP: 299.00
Description:
Portable AM/FM general coverage receiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.dxradio.co.uk/sangean/ats909.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0053.8
DIGITARIA Rating: 2021-06-09
Well-featured receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have recently rediscovered this set, which I have owned for quite a few years. The speaker had blown - which seems to happen to these after a few years, but an item sourced from Amazon UK was a fairly easy replacement. The speaker needs to be 3" and circular. Everything else seems to work perfectly. There is a lot to like about the ATS909 - a good, clear, backlit display, lots of memories, surprisingly good audio, RF gain control. Quite a good performer on LW and MW. On SW, it's a little deaf compared to an ICF2001D (aka 2010), using the whip antenna, but the supplied reel wire yields much better results. The memories can have alpha tags, which encourages you to build up a list of favourite stations and not be baffled when you recall them later. Note that memory alpha tagging works differently on SW from the other bands - there is one tag per memory on LW, MW, FM but one tag per memory page on the 29 SW pages. On SW, the intention is that you will use each page for a broadcaster e.g. "ROMANIA" or "BBC WS" and then store multiple frequencies for that broadcaster. One tag per memory on SW would have been more comprehensive, but hey, any alpha tagging in a portable is a rarity.
K8JHR Rating: 2020-08-24
Excellent and I stil use it ! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Really nice SW radio. I have long enjoyed this radio, which performs better on an external antenna than on its internal telescoping whip. It is OK on the whip - just better on an external antenna - as is the case with many other SW receivers. Not a fancy rig - just a nice portable radio I have used for many years with satisfaction. While I have owned a few of the best ham transceivers with general coverage, I still like to use this little gem. While your mileage may vary, I am pleased with mine. K8JHR
WA1UFO Rating: 2012-02-19
I love mine! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I live in NH and love this radio! My Sony 2010 is better for AM but the Sangean kicks the crap out of the Sony for FM and SSB! I have used my 909 with the ECSS method on AM and it works beautifully. With a good pair of stereo cans, the audio is really nice. I have been SWLing since the age of 7 and am 62 now and have owned so many SW portables I lost count. This radio works great with a wire aerial because of my location. In Europe use the whip only!
KD7RDZ Rating: 2002-12-20
no frontend Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been owning a ATS909 commercialized by Siemens for about 5 years.

I have to say, that it has a great audio, a good speaker, a good FM and a lots of goodies.

However, in my view, two things are really annoying:
1) in Europe it overloads even with the roll wire antenna indoor. If I use a external passive wideband antenna for HF like a MTA by RF Systems or a 20 meters folded dipole put in clear this radio is able to overload even with 40 db of attenuation.

2) it is not clear to me whether the external antenna input is a high impendace one like 600 ohms or a 50 ohms one. That's make a lot of difference and you may select a wrong external antenna simply because does not match!

KL7KN Rating: 2002-03-26
Super portable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Have had my ATS909 for over two years and it is sitting by the PC now. Super AM/FM radio. For an SWL, this will be the last portable you'll ever purchase. Very sensitive, exteranl antenna, SSB with tuning in 40 Hz steps, stable enough to use as part of your station. I have worked 40M QRP with this as RX and a Ramsey 1 watt TX - not the best setup, but works.
I travel in rural Alaska, and this is my rig of choice if weight is not a factor. You haven't lived untill you have a choice between 4 hours of Native drum music on PBS or a CATV feed - HCJB or the BEEB beats 'em both!
I also use an IC-R2, which is a super RX, the -909 is easy to tune (enter via buttons) and sounds great.
I have had several different portables for SWL, this is the best I have worked with (for size and price) Sangean makes a 505 and 404, stripped down versions of the -909 and I guess will work as well.
For under 300USd, 110/220 VAC adapter and roll up antenna, quite the portable.