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Reviews For: Sangean ATS 818 / Realistic DX 390

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Sangean ATS 818 / Realistic DX 390
Reviews: 49MSRP: 175
Description:
Nicely priced Good Rx. for the dollars
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.sangean.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00493.9
N7JBH Rating: 2010-06-02
Big but functional Time Owned: N.A.
I picked up two of these on Ebay for about $30 each. Both had no receive, the first one was an easy fix, Q1 replacement, the second still doesn't play even after replacing Q1 (MRF102)and will need further troubleshooting. I use the good one with my 40 meter 1 watt Vectronics QRP CW transmitter kit at work! Made lots of QSO's using a random length end fed long wire run between two HVAC units on the roof, no tuner. Must be the good counterpoise (all the metal ducting) in the building. As a "beater" radio it's fine, it also serves as a frequency counter for my old tube "boatanchor" rigs.
73
N7JBH
KC2DIS Rating: 2010-03-19
a great choice used Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First off BE CAREFULL with static around this thing. I bought one off of ebay that I payed 50$ for that the guy said was in great working shape only to find it deaf on sw. I replaced Q! with an MF102 and was back in business! Now it is a great radio! Much better than the dx 160. I find it sensitive with a length of wire I have pinned up indoors. The only reason I gave it a 4 was becasue the audio is muted when scanning and the light stays on for a very short time and the keypad is not illuminated making it hard to see in the dark. There are mods for these problems though. If you can find a deaf one cheaply scarf it up and swap out q1 with an mpf102 for 1.59 and youve got yourself a great radio. Keep a supply on hand though should it get fried again! Happy DXing !
PINESTUMPSAVAGE Rating: 2010-01-02
Nice Radio, Poor Sensitivity Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This radio offered a lot to me when I still used it years ago excepting for one thing; sensitivity on any band.

Everything about this radio was good; the build, sound, features, etc. But the sensitivity on any band was sub-par. I replaced the Sangean with a Yachtboy 400 and have never used the Sangean again.

In all fairness, I may have gotten a dud. Everything was good on the radio except reception; wait a minute, thats why we buy them right? :)
KC8MZW Rating: 2009-01-24
5/5 Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a 125 buck radio that I bought at Radio Shack some 10 years ago. Great audio on FM and SW. It runs off from D-cell batteries and that is a real plus for long run times. It is not a Icom R-71-A or even a Yaesu FRG-7. But for a portable that gives you SSB via a BFO you just can't go wrong. It just works and gives you plenty of "bang for the buck". I only wish that I had this fine a portable radio when I was in Europe many years ago. I have a Icom 756 Pro-2 and also a Grundig YB-400. This is the receiver that you want.
ICHY7 Rating: 2008-12-21
Not enough radio for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
FISHERMAN
I purchased my first ATS818 back in the 80's, but it was a dud right off the git go. I could pick up some AM signals and FM signals, but the SW was not there at all. Very few stations came in at all on SW. Add to that the problem of the display. It was so bad that you could only see it when you looked at the radio at an odd angle. If you looked at it straight on it was so faint that it was almost undistinguishable. I finally put it up on the shelf and chalked it up as a loss. But then last year I got the bug again for DX'ing so I recovered the radio and began to play with it again. That's when I remembered all the problems. Needless to say it hadn't gotten any better. I finally wrote the Sangean Co. and they told me to send it in. Well, after about about 6 weeks with NO word back, I finally called the Co. and they said they hadn't seen it yet. OK, so I waited another three weeks before I got hold of their one and only repair man and he finally located it. The bad news was that he said it was unrepairable, too old. Does that make sense? They offered to sell me another one for $74. I decided that it might be worth it so bought it. OK, it finally came and it looked exactly like the one I had sent in, except for the color and having an added cassette recorder/player. It works a little better. AM/FM are good, but the SW leaves something to be desired. I even hooked it up to my external antenna W/O a lot of difference. So, where does the "too old" to fix part fit in? Guess I'll never know now. I have since purchased my first FRG-7 and what a difference. It's old, but so much better. Back on the shelf for the ol' Sangaen. It's good for AM/FM and some local SW, but save your money and buy something a bit more reliable.
W2WHT Rating: 2007-12-28
decent for the money Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my 818 since they came out, so far back I cannot remember but at least 15 years. It is as others have mentioned, a decent radio.
Now I am a licensed ham and basically use this radio for FM/AM. Very occasionally I use it for SW. If you are interested in listening to local and worldwide broadcasting this radio will do the job. If you are a dx station hunter, then you will need to find something a bit more sophisticated. Still, I am pleased I still have this radio. The SSB is poor, and overloads at the drop of a hat. I do not use a wire antenna, so I have not had any issues with the static as others have. I do use a preamplified SW antenna that simply plugs in (another RS product) and it enhances the reception a bit. It is somewhat big, and a bit heavy for travel. There are quite a few other portables that are more suitable for being packed into your suitcase.
AUDIOMAGNATE Rating: 2007-07-31
Great FM Section Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I paid all of $5 for a mint condition unit last Saturday at a local Habitat for Humanity. I can't receive ANY SW stations with the whip antenna, but after connecting an external longwire I can get quite a few, although all but Radio Marti sound pretty awful; the signal just constantly fades in and out and there's tons of noise. While I've enjoyed Radio NZ, Australia, Holland and Havana, I've yet to pick up up the BBC or VOA!

The big surprise for me was finding out how well the FM section performs. I own several "high end" FM tuners, one that's popular with DXers, the Akai AT-93, which is connected to a rooftop FM antenna. The DX-390 beats it hands down, even with the stock whip. Plug in a good set of headphones - yet another hobby of mine - and you've got a great sounding ultra cheap FM DXer!

Besides the poor SW reception, I hate the fact that the auto scan feature is worthless, it just stops tuning when you lift your finger off the button.

I will take this unit with me when I camp or travel, but now I'm on the hunt for a REAL SW receiver now for my desktop.
KE4WKP Rating: 2007-01-09
Static Sensitive Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had the Radio Shack DX-390 for almost 10 years. Just like NG9D said in his review. I also had trouble with a blown front-end. This has happened to me two times. First time it was connected to an external antenna. Second time it was not. It is an easy fix. but this radio is very sensitive to static electricity. So discharge your antenna and yourself when you use it. If you blow your front-end you will need to replace Q1 on the circuit board. The original is 2SK152. When I replaced mine I replaced with the same. If it happens again I may try the MPF102 as NG9D used. It may be more tolerant of the static charge. Or so I have read somewhere when researching this problem.
N1WCL Rating: 2006-10-26
Not bad and cheap! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use my Sangean 818 as my travel trailer radio. We camp every year for two weeks in the White Mountain National Forrest. The camp is about a mile from the nearest power lines.
So there’s no AC noise in the receiver, which is good. There’s no local broadcast radio transmitters which is also good for this radio. So starting off clean with not much interference the radio works pretty well. I can listen for hours to Amateur Radio Operators or utility stations connected to one of those reel antennas and get decent results. At night I’ll troll around the AM broadcast band and it’s works ok for that. Battery life is good. I usually change them after a week maybe 20-25 hours of use. Nice size, good sound, enough memories, ok tuning knob, big display, receives SSB excellent under these conditions. This past summer I also had a Sony 2010 with me. It might of sounded better and maybe it receives a little better, but it was hardly noticeable. At home the 818 with all the AC noise, local transmitters and who knows what, it just becomes an OK receiver. But I have gotten good results at certain times in that environment. Don’t expect too much you’ll be surprised by what you can hear with the 818. I think they stopped making the 818 a couple of years ago. But they made a ton of them along with the Radio Shack DX390. So finding one shouldn’t be hard or cost too much.
NG9D Rating: 2006-05-02
It's Alive Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had a DX-390 for longer than I can remember. Then last winter when fiddling around with long wire antennas I damaged the front end with a self-inflicted static discharge. The receiver went dead except for some local AM stations. An internet search revealed the problem. Radio Shack also carried the replacement ($1.29) FET (MPF102) needed to bring it back to life (Q2 on the board)

Stability: Calibrated on CW against WWV the receiver is stable. Direct frequency entry makes it easy to locate stations. I have used it to align several CW transceiver kits.

Sensitivity: Like most receivers, this one has ample sensitivity, especially when used with a resonant antenna cut or with a random wire and antenna tuner.

Selectivity: OK for SWL. For communications type reception of CW or SSB it’s a little broad. An external audio filter helps that.

I use the DX-390 occasionally with a ¾ watt Ramsey CW transmitter on 20m. That activity generally requires a lot of patience and time -- but it is entertaining to hear the reply after I describe the station.

I now drain static accumulation from long-wires in the winter prior to connecting to the antenna and keep the antenna grounded when not in use to protect the front end. (But just in case, I’ve got a spare transistor.)

73,

NG9D