Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 6, 5:18 am, junius wrote:
On Dec 5, 9:34 pm, "Mike Maghakian" wrote:

I highly recommend a used Eton/Grundig E5/G5. they can be bought for less
than $100 and the performance is outstanding
it is good enough for me to name it to be my low cost portable. that is out
of the competition of the many radios I have owned over the past 30 years.

my high end unit is a modified E1 and my music radio is a modified Lowe
HF-225

"Dave" wrote in message

...

I agree, for the under $100 range, the E5/G5 seems to be the way to
go.

For the $150 range, I'll agree with Joe Alessandrini that the Sony ICF-
SW7600GR is the way to go.

The ATS 909 is rather over-rated in my opinion. And it's certainly
overpriced. Especially if one takes into account such deals as being
run at Circuit City with the E1, where old stock units E1XM units are
being sold off for $225.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Searc...=user&keyword=...

IMHO - Anyone who bought an Eton E1 [XM] Radio
for $225 : Got A Real Bargain Deal. ~ RHF

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 7, 3:45 am, Duncan wrote:

I would avoid the E5 as it shares the same circuitry as the DE1103,
which often has dreadful timekeeping.


Yes, the clock on the radio is dreadful. Requires daily re-adjustment.
The radio, however,
is still probably the best receiver under $100. Very sensitive.
Actually, for me, the clock is
just not that critical. No shortage of chrono-devices.



I've had good experiences buying second hand as the bulk of problems I
have experienced with sw radios have boiled down to manufacturing
problems; if a second hand radio has lasted five years it is probably
built properly. Good luck


Exactly. I've had no real problems purchasing used radios on eBay.

Just wanted to agree with discouraging the purchase of the 909/398.
I've had one
for over ten years, and while the radio has it's points, the audio is
muffled and it eats
batteries faster than any other portable I own. I was stunned to read
someone in this
thread write that it was "easy" on batteries.

Mike
Louisville

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

Where are you seeing E5/G5's for under $100?





"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Dec 7, 3:45 am, Duncan wrote:

I would avoid the E5 as it shares the same circuitry as the DE1103,
which often has dreadful timekeeping.


Yes, the clock on the radio is dreadful. Requires daily re-adjustment.
The radio, however,
is still probably the best receiver under $100. Very sensitive.
Actually, for me, the clock is
just not that critical. No shortage of chrono-devices.



I've had good experiences buying second hand as the bulk of problems I
have experienced with sw radios have boiled down to manufacturing
problems; if a second hand radio has lasted five years it is probably
built properly. Good luck


Exactly. I've had no real problems purchasing used radios on eBay.

Just wanted to agree with discouraging the purchase of the 909/398.
I've had one
for over ten years, and while the radio has it's points, the audio is
muffled and it eats
batteries faster than any other portable I own. I was stunned to read
someone in this
thread write that it was "easy" on batteries.

Mike
Louisville

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

The large the radio the more accidental abuse it can take; and no one
is at their best when waking up;


http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/2100.html


""The Kaito KA2100 is a dual conversion portable radio covering
longwave, AM, shortwave and FM. Shortwave coverage is continuous to
1700-30000 kHz. The radio has pleasant audio with both Bass and
Treble. The controls are very easy to use. The FM band supports stereo
to the mini earphone jack on the front. The KA2100 has a clock with
timer. Both the display and the keys are illuminated for easy night
operation. This radio operates from AAs, Ds or AC. Two tuning speeds
are available. A Local-DX Sensitivity can be found on the right side.
(No SSB). ""

The KA2100 comes with an AC cord, Owner's Manual and two KOK antenna
plugs.


The antenna plugs and tone controls will be important in the future

Universal is quite reputable, have dealt with them for years..

Agree, buying " Used " is not a great idea fort a portable




On Dec 5, 5:54 pm, Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Dear Dave,

You and your wife may wish to purchase "used" (the ultimate recycling)
but I STRONGLY discourage purchasing for a portable AM/FM/shortwave
radio that will be used on a daily basis. Most of these radios are not
designed to last for a long period unless treated with a great deal of
care. Those owners who DO treat their radios carefully are generally
not apt to sell them.

You say that price is not a huge issue. If that is the case, then why
not buy new? You can buy a Kaito KA-2100 NEW from Universal Radio for
only $89.95 plus shipping. And from Amazon you could buy the Sony ICF-
SW7600GR, in my opinion the best currently available compact AM/FM/SW
portable, for $157.24 with free shipping, or, for even less from
Amazon, you could buy the Sony ICF-SW35, a radio which will fulfill
your desired usage, for only $80.06 again with free shipping. There
are other radios priced in that range as well. All would suffice for
AM and FM; it's only in their shortwave performance that they differ
greatly.

As you can, you are not talking about a great deal of money to buy
"new."

When you are considering items that are priced so low, buying "used"
is, again in my opinion, somewhat foolish. When you buy "new," you
have a manufacturer AND a dealer who are interested in you and will
stand behind you with a warranty.

I hope this is of some use to you and that you will consider this
carefully.

Best of luck,

Joe

On Dec 5, 4:13 pm, Dave wrote:

Hi all,

My wife and I are big public radio fans and we're looking to purchase
a portable world radio. While price isn't a huge issue for us, we
generally prefer to purchase used when possible. Having searched the
online classifieds in my area the contenders, in order of asking price
(highest to lowest), a

1) Radio Shack DX-398 / Sangean ATS-909
2) Radio Shack DX-440 / Sangean ATS-803A
3) Grundig YB 400 PE

At a minimum, the radio will be used as an alarm for 1.5hrs each
morning while I get ready for work (local FM station) and general
listening during the day/evening. The radio will be run with an AC
adapter and will replace both an inexpensive clock-radio that has poor
FM reception and a dead travel radio. Having spent a little time as a
youth listening to SW broadcasts, it would be interesting to try it
again now that I'm a little older.

Thanks,
Dave

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 7, 4:47 am, RHF wrote:
On Dec 6, 5:18 am, junius wrote:





On Dec 5, 9:34 pm, "Mike Maghakian" wrote:

I highly recommend a used Eton/Grundig E5/G5. they can be bought for less
than $100 and the performance is outstanding
it is good enough for me to name it to be my low cost portable. that is out
of the competition of the many radios I have owned over the past 30 years.

my high end unit is a modified E1 and my music radio is a modified Lowe
HF-225

"Dave" wrote in message

...

I agree, for the under $100 range, the E5/G5 seems to be the way to
go.

For the $150 range, I'll agree with Joe Alessandrini that the Sony ICF-
SW7600GR is the way to go.

The ATS 909 is rather over-rated in my opinion. And it's certainly
overpriced. Especially if one takes into account such deals as being
run at Circuit City with the E1, where old stock units E1XM units are
being sold off for $225.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Searc...=user&keyword=...

IMHO - Anyone who bought an Eton E1 [XM] Radio
for $225 : Got A Real Bargain Deal. ~ RHF
.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just purchased a new Eton E1 XM for $224.96 from Circuit City! I
receive an e-mail notification this morning that the E1 XM was back in
stock and available for $224.96 plus free shipping, so I called the
company a few minutes ago and bought one. What a deal!

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 7, 3:26 pm, "Hackman" wrote:
Where are you seeing E5/G5's for under $100?


All over eBay. They usually go for considerably under $100. Art of
Sale's eBay store has it at just a little over $100.

Mike
Louisville

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 5, 4:13 pm, Dave wrote:
Hi all,

My wife and I are big public radio fans and we're looking to purchase
a portable world radio. While price isn't a huge issue for us, we
generally prefer to purchase used when possible. Having searched the
online classifieds in my area the contenders, in order of asking price
(highest to lowest), a

1) Radio Shack DX-398 / Sangean ATS-909
2) Radio Shack DX-440 / Sangean ATS-803A
3) Grundig YB 400 PE

At a minimum, the radio will be used as an alarm for 1.5hrs each
morning while I get ready for work (local FM station) and general
listening during the day/evening. The radio will be run with an AC
adapter and will replace both an inexpensive clock-radio that has poor
FM reception and a dead travel radio. Having spent a little time as a
youth listening to SW broadcasts, it would be interesting to try it
again now that I'm a little older.

Thanks,
Dave

Also consider a Degen DE1103 or Kaito KA1103. Same radio, but the
KA1103 is badged for sale in the US. The USA model is supplied with a
110v power suppply which may be of use to you. I found that
recharging batteries in a separate wall mount charger was easier. It
is compact, receives AM, FM and shortwave stations. Audio quality out
the speaker is among the best for that size radio.

There are sellers of both models on Ebay, so price the radio out
including shipping to your area and go with the lowest cost radio from
a seller with good feedback.

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

On Dec 5, 4:13 pm, Dave wrote:
Hi all,

1) Radio Shack DX-398 / Sangean ATS-909
2) Radio Shack DX-440 / Sangean ATS-803A
3) Grundig YB 400 PE

DX-440 ... If that's the radio I think it is, I came close to buying
one of those at the time of the start of the Iraq war. I mean, the one
that started in January 1991. Radio Shack had put them on sale either
in Decembe 1990 or the following month for $99.95, something like
that. When the war started, the radios sold out instantly.

I have its replacement, the DX-392 (or DX-390, depending on whether it
has the built-in tape recorder or not). It's too big to be portable,
much larger than the DX-398, which I also have. RS discontinued its
own SWRs three years ago, I think.

Size alone should elminate the DX-440.. I wouldn't mind finding one at
a yard sale. They're not new anymore.

Portable purchase? ATS-909 / ATS-803A / YB400
 

Yeah, I bought one of those DX-440s that RS had on sale back before
the First Iraq War. Used it for about 5 years before I gave it to my
brother. Pretty impressive radio. Compares pretty equivalently with
the Sony 2010, except, of course, the DX440 doesn't have sync. My
memories of the radio were so positive, I broke down and bought a
second one off of eBay last Spring for about $50. But, you're right,
it's not a very portable portable. A little heavier than a Sony 2010.

Mike
Louisville


On Dec 11, 11:49�pm, Beloved Leader
wrote:
On Dec 5, 4:13 pm, Dave wrote:

Hi all,

1) Radio Shack DX-398 / Sangean ATS-909
2) Radio Shack DX-440 / Sangean ATS-803A
3) Grundig YB 400 PE

DX-440 ... If that's the radio I think it is, I came close to buying
one of those at the time of the start of the Iraq war. I mean, the one
that started in January 1991. Radio Shack had put them on sale either
in Decembe 1990 or the following month for $99.95, something like
that. When the war started, the radios sold out instantly.

I have its replacement, the DX-392 (or DX-390, depending on whether it
has the built-in tape recorder or not). It's too big to be portable,
much larger than the DX-398, which I also have. RS discontinued its
own SWRs three years ago, I think.

Size alone should elminate the DX-440.. I wouldn't mind finding one at
a yard sale. They're not new anymore.