Customer Reviews

Sangean ATS-909 All Band Digital Shortwave World Band Receiver

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are really interested in what shortwave radio has to offer, this is the radio to get. There are better models, but for this price, it's second to none. Good sensitivity, adequate selectivity (ability to separate signals from one another) and lots of bells and whistles. Covers all the shortwave specturm. Numerous ways to tune stations, the best of which is the keypad input. Digital readout eliminates guesswork as to what frequency you're on. FM tends to overload in urban areas with lots of FM signals. The only real downside to this radio is it can be pretty complicated to operate. Plan on spending some time going through the manual and figuring out all the features.

If you live outside of Europe or the east coast of North American, you'll likely need to use an external antenna. 30 feet of wire with alligator clips on each end should do the trick.

The ATS 909 is the best portable receiver available. Unlike its Grundig and Sony competitors, the ATS 909 has a wealth of features, good audio, awsome selectivity, and an advanced memory system. The negative reviews received by this product both on the internet and in publications are wrong. There's nothing wrong with the whip sensitivity and the supplied roll out antenna makes the sensitivity even better! I was able to pick up broadcasts from Bulgaria, N.Korea, Canada, Taiwan, and the VOA program broadcast to Russia. On the Grundig YB 400 PE that I had, I had trouble picking up even the stronger stations such as BBC and Radio Netherlands. If you like shortwave, get the ATS 909 but get the deluxe version from the [online store]. The deluxe version eliminates muting while tuning manually (something you can only do with Sangean, since neither the Sony 7600GR nor the Grundig have tuning knobs), this allows you to adjust the reception more precisely and to catch the weaker stations.

I am kind of collector of short-wave portable radios. When I read about the 909, it seemed to me like the definitive portable (I don't like the 'other definitive, Sony 2100). So, I bought it from Amazon (good price and reliable store) and as soon as it was delivered to me I benchmarked it against the first radio I got on hand: a modest fifteen years old Phillips COMPASS. Well, to my surprise, the Phillips showed twice as sensitive as the Sangean. Even with the sangean's whip full extended, and the Phillips' one totally folded, the Phillips clearly outperformed the 909. When switched to an external antenna, the Sangean improved 100%, but the point is, what a portable means? why such a good radio performs so poor with such a long whip antenna? If you need the receiver to carry it around while travelling, then check the Sony 7600g or grundig YB400PE (both with superior performance as portable). Otherwise, with an ext. antenna, the radio is an excellent all-kind-of-features receiver. The FM capture is superb, as well as the SSB legibility. The sound is quite good, even if not as good as the grundig's.

This is the finest Sangean shortwave radio on the market, and it is a worthy "competitor" to most of the finest portable shortwaves in the industry. I own many shortwave radios, including venerable entries by Sony and Grundig. And while this doesn't quite match the best of either company, Sangean's radio is respectable in many ways.

The radio's shortwave reception is more than adequate. A good external antenna always helps, but it also does fine with just the telescopic aerial. The Sangean's sensitivity could be favorably compared with the Sony ICF-2010, although the Sony is still champion. It also should be noted that the Sangean radios of the last 15 years or so share the same lineage with the older Sony ICF-2001, so the Sangean's performance is understandable.

The ATS-909 has very good FM reception with good adjacent signal rejection, and the Radio Data System (which automatically reads out some station IDs and other info on the LCD) performs well.

The Sangean features 306 programmable memory positions. There are 29 "pages" of 9 frequencies (261 total) allocated for shortwave. As an example, a page could be used for up to 9 frequencies of a chosen broadcaster, and the page can be assigned an 8-digit alphanumeric ID by the listener. I'm not a big fan of the "page" format, because I'd like to assign IDs to each frequency, not a whole block of nine. But, when you have hundreds of memory positions of keep track of, the page format does have its advantages.

I don't like having to select the FREQ button every time I want to directly tune into a frequency. I just want to punch the numbers and enter it. Having another step to remember makes tuning a pain at times.

Overall, I believe the Sangean ATS-909 is an excellent radio and a good value for shortwave listeners with a little experience. It could be slightly improved, but it's certainly worth a listen.

I own a Sony ICF-2010, Grundig YB400 and just purchased the ATS-909. Of the three I would give the ATS-909 the lowest score. It definitely lacks the sensitivity of the other two. (Though connecting an external antenna helps greatly but defeats the purpose of a portable radio.) And I find the audio quality to be muddled and tiring to listen to.

If you're looking for a good portable I would also recommend the Grundig YB400 or the new Sony ICF-7600GR.

I spent much time researching various makes and models of SW radios before making purchase of the Sangean ATS-909. I have had and/or currently own several radios, ranging from portable Sonys, to very low cost China export models, to full blown Ham radios such as the desktop Yaesu 847. In short, I rate the Sangean ATS-909 5-Stars! It is uncomplicated and very easy to use after reading the brief manual and spending some time getting to know the radio. I simply love the 306 memories and the alpha-numeric tagging of stations. This is the primary reason I purchased the radio  I want pushbutton convenience to the stations I listen to the most  and I want to see the name of the station (which you can easily create).

Performance wise, I rate the Sangean ATS-909 as follows: FM = 5-Stars. I live in the sticks, but even 30-mile away FM stations come in with relative ease (even with the antenna collapsed, although the antenna should be extended for clearest reception). AM = 4.5 Stars. All of the MW stations come in fine, and you should have no problem hearing all of your favorite stations, although there may be some noise on the weaker stations. As with ALL radios, for SW listening, you WILL need to steer clear of electrical noise sources such as lamp dimmers, motors, and other man-made sources of noise. Keep in mind that there will be very limited reception when indoors. This is true with all radios. When I moved outdoors and connected the included wire antenna, reception was strong on all SW bands. In fact, the wire antenna outperforms the whip antenna by a slight margin (it should, too, being 30-feet long!!!).

The Sangean preloaded memories really make listening for a particular county or station a pleasure; its really cool to select which country you wish to listen to, and to further select from a list of stations from that country. The tonal quality and volume are more than adequate. The overall features of the Sangean ATS-909, compared with other radios, are simply superb. The overall build quality is excellent. This is a fine looking radio with a big, informative LCD display and great features. I have read on how this radio will quickly drain batteries, so I simply keep it connected to the wall transformer  no big deal.

The Sangean ATS-909 has two features you won't find anywhere else:

1. RDS. This great feature automatically displays the call letters of many FM stations. Not every FM station uses RDS, but nearly half of the stations in Greater Los Angeles do transmit RDS on their subcarrier. If they don't, you can manually enter your own display of the call letters.

2. 306 memory presets - with virtually every popular shortwave station already pre-programmed with name of country. Wow! What an easy way to get started in shortwave.

The Sangean ATS-909 is not the be-all and end-all compact shortwave radio. Grundig YB-400 has good sound and is easy to use, but I do not find them to be as durable as Sony products. The Sony ICF-SW7600G or ICF-SW7600GR is well made with synchronous sideband to partially overcome fading. It does help , but it doesn't solve the problem completely. Every shortwave radio has its strengths and weaknesses; that's why I have bought so many. But I am thrilled with the LCD display of station call letters and the many shortwave presets that you will not find anywhere but in the ATS-909.

One very nice feature that this radio lacks is Sychronous Sideband. This helps with signal fading and adjacent channel interference. If you are serious about short wave listening you may want this feature. A much lower priced Sony has Synchronous Sideband, the ICF-SW7600G. On the other hand you won't get all of the cool presets with the Sony as you do with this unit. I'd advise anyone looking for a shortwave reciever to first pick up a copy of "Passport to World Band Radio" for its product reviews.

My ATS-909 is so disappointing that I cant wait to return the thing. Its a shame, because the radio is very easy to use, easy to tune, and has many nice features.

So whats wrong? Its weak and the sound that comes out of it is poor.
The speaker makes everything in the SW bands sound blurry, dull, and mumbled. It doesnt matter how I tune it, where I set the gain, or whether I use the wide or narrow band. Doesnt pull in many stations either. My tiny analog Grundig Mini World 100 PE has a clearer sound and does a better job at pulling in stations. No joke. And the 100 PE only cost me .... I'm not sure I'd recommend the 100PE to anyone. Its analog, so you'd never be sure what frequency you had on. But atleast you'd be able to understand the broadcasts.

My other peeve with the ATS-909 is that it chewed up my 4AA batteries --and I've only had it for two days!

AM & FM work decently. But if thats all you want from a radio, why would you buy a portable shortwave receiver? You could spend you money getting an AM/FM radio thats both better AND cheaper. If you're interested in shortwave or SSB, buy something else. I am.

Hello folks its Vince the radioman , I have been a radio buff for many many years with a vast collection . I love to do compares . The Sangean 909 is a very very good radio . The tuner is of top quality and the overall performance is consistant with the Sony 7600 . This radios best quality is its construction and the sound quality . It has the best built in speaker I have ever heard in a " portable " radio . It is very durable but a bit heavy in weight . It is loaded with extras like a line out , ext antenna jack and a really nice SSB set up . The AM and SW sections are very good . In its class the only better radio is the Sony 7600 because of its outstanding tuner , however , the tuner in the 909 is very good. All in all the 909 is probably the best all around radio in its class due to the sound quality and the diverse functionality ( extensive memory and a wonderful visual display window ) . Its a little expensive and as I stated before a bit heavy but a great radio .