Customer Reviews

Sangean ATS-818ACS AM/FM/SW Receiver with Programmable Cassette Recorder

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the Sangean ATS-818ACS because it was recommended and because of its programmable cassette recorder. I was especially interested in listening to shortwave broadcasts for the first time and to recording AM/FM programs that I miss because I work nights. From Day 1, the radio was a pain to use. The manual was written in Taiwan by someone who could barely read and write English. Shortwave reception was dreadful, even after purchasing an outside antenna at Radio Shack. The programmable cassette recorder doesn't include a cut-off time, so the recorder runs until the tape ends, and you can only record one broadcast. Plus, the radio comes on every day at the programmed time until you reset a new time, then the radio comes on daily at that new time. The manual doesn't explain how to avoid that annoyance. ...

I received my Sangean ATS-818ACS AM/FM/SW Receiver from Amazon.com in two days with the book Passport to World Band Radio, 2003 which is a must for anyone just starting out like me. In virtually five minutes I picked up the BBC and a broadcast from China. This is unquestionably the best radio I ever owned. I recently moved to a heavy populated district that is enclosed by trees so it has been difficult to tune in all the stations in my FM listening zone with my conventional radios. I tried XM Satellite radio but although they pride themselves with their 100 channels of variety after awhile I felt like I was being programmed by another conglomerate like Clear Channel plus there is a monthly fee to continue XM. With my Sangean I can receive at least 50 times more stations then XM and a better variety of music, news and different opinions from around the globe. I am new to the world of Short Wave and even if I don't use it often for the price I paid and the fact that I can get all my FM Stations to come in clear makes it worth the money. Since short wave has endless possibilities my next purchase will probably be the Grundig 800 Millennium or a model by Drake. If Amazon has the Sangean ATS-818ACS on sale again pick it up it will lead you out The Matrix.

This radio was a replacement for a Thomas Radio. With Television being a medium that is starting to become mundane we were looking for a new form of entertainment. We decided to revert back to radio ( talk / Variety ) and this radio fit the bill. I am very pleased with the ease of use and the reception on the shortwave band ( I am a novice ). Contrary to some reviews I found the sound quality very good. The tape recorder is a plus if you have friends that doubt what you might have heard. Overall, this is a good value. One drawback was the owners manual. If you are a novice you,ll probably have to educate yourself to understand some of the terms.

I have the Radio Shack version (DX-392) of the same radio but has since been discontinued. It is relabled by Sangean for Radio Shack.

It has good shortwave, AM, and FM reception. I use the cassette player to record some late night radio programs that I can listen on my commute to work.

My only complaint is that the radio is kind of large and heavy so it is not a radio that you will take very far. However, it has a nice big speaker that gives good sound.

If you get this radio and use it mostly as a desktop, I recommend that you get a 6 Volt power supply with this unit to save on batteries. You can search the Radio Shack website for the DX-392 to see the owners manual.

Hi folks its Vince the radioman. I have a large selection of radios and love to do compares and share my thoughts. The Sangean 818acs is a valuable radio to have since its one of the only radios with SW and a built in cassette player which also records directly off the radio . It has a very good tuner , AM and SW sections are great . It has SSB and a wide/narrow control.The FM is good. The built in sound is only fair because the cassette player takes up a lot of space so they compromised with a smaller speaker . The 818 is available without the cassette player and has a much better( excellent) sound . There are some drawbacks to this radio...its very heavy and bulky, its poorly constructed( Im on my second radio) and the noise from the cassette mechanism is really annoying. The cassette broke down after about two months of usage and the DC power supply shorted out after about a year. The dealer replaced it . Also the battery usage is off the chart.The problem is the only other choice for a SW radio with a cassette player is the legendary Sony SW1000T which is about three times as expensive and out of production.However for DXing one does need a radio(at times) that will record broadcasts . This is the only deal in town. Love it or leave it. Like the title states...great tuner -poor construction.

I'm pleased with the ATS-818xxx ... it is a nice improvement over the older model that I had for years. Among other improvements is increased sensitivity.