"Stinger" wrote in message . ..
Grumpus,

I have been a little shy to post this, basically because it's tough to
prove, I'm SURE people's "mileage may vary," and people tend to get
emotional about their choices in radios.

A guy recently posted in the DX398/ATS-909 group at Yahoo that he was at a
ham get-together, and his supposedly unmodified ATS-909 outperformed a Sony
7600GR "off the whip." He said everyone there was very impressed with it.

I ordered both a 909 and a 7600 a few weeks ago, and my ATS-909 was very
close in whip performance to the 7600GR, but I wouldn't say "better." Not
needing two portables -- I chose to send the 7600 back. The 909 came from
C. Crane, and is their deluxe model with the anti-chuffing mod already
installed. I do not know (but I doubt if) they did any other modifications.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has gotten one of these radios in
the past two months, and what their experience is. Though I hope Sangean
saw fit to boost performance of American-market radios, frankly, it wouldn't
surprise me if Sony toned their whip performance down, as I've seen posts
that it actually does have problems with overloading in Europe.

-- Stinger


Stinger, I suppose you've got me. I was quite impressed with the
performance and features of the 7600GR but I sent back the one I had
because I hated using those pointy little buttons on the side and I
wanted to move up to a 2010. Nonetheless, I thought it demonstrated
excellent sensitivity when I used it off the whip alone. It was even
better used in conjunction with Sony's AN-LP1 loop antenna (within
moments of using this combo I heard Voice of the Mediterranean and a
Northern African broadcaster). Subsequently, I purchased a DX-398
(Sangean 909) on closeout for $99 at RS. It seems adequate off the
whip, but nothing more. When I use it for SW, I hook it up to a
reel-out antenna I have strung out across the ceiling and it performs
quite well then (with this set-up I QSL'd CKZN, a 1kW CBC station
1,000 miles away). My understanding is that the 909/398 is the best
among all the portables in its price range in its ability to handle a
serious external antenna without overloading. Is this an indication
of reduced sensitivity off the whip? I don't know. I have not done
any kind of head-to-head comparison of the 7600GR and the 909/398, so
the impression I have formed about the relative sensitivity of these
two models off their whips alone comes from just a little bit of
practical experience and the net wisdom of this group and what I read
in Passport. So, in truth, it is an interesting question whether my
perceptions were colored by an existing bias in favor of the 7600GR,
or I correctly judged the relative performance of the two radios.

Regards,

Grumpus



"grumpus" wrote in message
om...
(Mark) wrote in message
. com...
Hey Gang,

I am in need of some help in picking out a new shortwave radio. I no
nothing about them, but I am looking for something for $150 or less.
The SOLE PURPOSE that I need this radio for is to pull in as clearly
as possible any and all radio stations from the UK. Specifically the
BBC stations. I live in Minneapolis, MN if that makes any
difference. I am not at all concerned with am, fm or stations from
any other part of the world, ONLY the UK. My wife wants to get me one
for Christmas, so quick replies would be appreciated. Thanks in
advance for any help you can provide. Please e-mail all responses to
me at

Mark

Mark, I strongly suggest the Sony 7600GR for your purposes. Of all
the radios for $150 or less, I think this model would give you the
best shot of hauling in the BBC. It is more sensitive off the whip
than either the Sangean 909 or the Grundig Yachtboy 400PE. Plus, its
synchronous detector really can help in making an otherwise
unintelligible signal intelligible. As another respondent stated, the
Beeb comes in adequately quite often on 5975 kHz at night. I have
also had reasonable success listening to the Beeb on 12095 kHZ in the
afternoon here in Western NY.

Regards,

Grumpus