My experience with SW so far is limited to inexpensive analogue tuning
radio and a dirt cheap Kaide KK959.

I've decided to get something decent and have read quite a number of
reviews on Sangean ATS-909 and Sony ICF-7600GR on the web but am unable
to decide which one to buy.

The Sangean seems to have more features and better packaged (including
the AC adaptor) but costs about 1/3 more than the Sony. It is also larger.

Given the difference in price, do you guys think they are of different
class to render a comparison meanlingless? Like you don't compare a
Toyota Camry with a Mercedes S class, but you can do so with a Lexus LS430.

BTW, both the Sangean ATS-909 and Sony ICF-7600GR have been around since
2001. Should I wait for their replacement model?

Hello all,

I want to give a word about the 909 battery consumption. I don't have (and never
had) the Sony, so I will not compare.

I mostly use the 909 with the A/C adapter (at home mainly), so no battery
issues. At home the A/C adapter brings no noise into the radio, even with
computer working near by (the PC is on the ground floor, and the radio in the
room just above, on the 1st floor).

I use batteries in hotels when travelling, since hotel's power networks seam to
bring a *LOT OF NOISE*... So : using the radio on batteries more than two hours
a day, during two weeks, eat half of the battery, according to the battery meter
of the radio.

So far I'm happy with that result and I'm thinking of buying a set the
rechargeable batteries...

Charly

Sony still seems to offer the SW7600GR but I do not personally expect them to come out with new shortwave receivers. I've heard that their discontinued 2010 model had a better synchronous detector feature, so it's unfortunate that the SW7600GR is now their top offering.

As for Sangean, I haven't really heard anything from them since I got into this hobby last summer. I don't know what they could be planning.

Do you know about the Super 909 that is offered by radiolabs.com? Supposedly, out of the box, the ATS-909 has weak AM and SW reception, and one of the mods in the Super 909 is enhanced reception. The blue backlit screen looks very cool too. More details on this package are on the radiolabs website. The price is over US$300 though.

I use a SW7600GR and I'm happy with it. The alphanumeric memories offered by the ATS-909 seems nice but I find that I hardly use memories anyway. I use direct frequency entry and scanning instead.

both radio's are around 160 euro at thiecom.de
if you'r in europe ...

--
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Hello.

I would strongly suggest buying the Sony ICF-SW7600GR along with a Sony
AN-LP1 antenna as quickly as possible. The AN-LP1 has been discontinued
in North America, but several dealers, including AES and Universal,
still have some - for how much longer no one knows.

The Sony radio, in addition to having a synchronous detection circuit
which really enhances MW and SW reception, is built to a very high
construction standard for a portable. (My oldest sample is almost eight
years old.) The Sangean does not have this detection circuit which, in
my opinion, is one of the most significant enhancements to AM reception
since single sideband.

I have personally owned two Sangean radios - the ATA-808A and the
ATS-606AP (both made in Taiwan as is the ATS-909) - both of which
"died" after rather short lives. In my opinion, Sangean radios are not
constructed with a great deal of integrity. The Sangean ATS-909 has
more "features" (though none of really great importance) than the Sony,
but, frankly, having been "burned" twice, I would not buy or recommend
one. I have never had even a single problem with ANY of my Sony
portables (two ICF-SW35s, two ICF-SW7600Gs, and five ICF-SW7600GRs, as
well as five AN-LP1 antennas).

If you are interested in the Sony SW radio line, I suggest you act very
soon.

Best,

Joe

I second what Joe Analssandrini says.About nine years ago,I bought a
Sangean ATS-909 radio from ccrane.I tried it out for a week and I packed
it up and I sent it back.I just didn't like that radio.A few months
ago,I bought a Sony 7600GR radio from www.jr.com I am very pleased
with my Sony 7600GR radio.For a new portable radio,it is hard to beat.By
the way,I have read a few reports before that some of those Sangean
radios,the front digital readout panels on them start going buggy after
a while and ccrane charges about fifty dollars (plus shipping and
handling charges) to repair those radios.Once Bitten,Twice Shy,an old
saying goes.
cuhulin

Hello,

Joe Analssandrini adviced to buy Sony because of its quality and sync detector
and also because of bad experiences with Sangean radios.

I agree Joe that the Sony has the sync detector. If I had to buy a new radio
today, I possibly go for that one, or a Super 909. I "only" own a regular 909
bought in early 2002. It is now 4 years old and so far ... I'm lucky with it!

Reception is ok off the whip for me, but perhaps I should try another radio
(this is my first and only one) before giving a final note. With an external
antenna it gives very good results. I've tried so far :
- ANT-60 reel antenna (23 ft wire)
- home made coax loop (cut for 5 Mhz)
- home-made random dipole
- Kaito KA31 active antenna (same as Degen DE31)
The two last give the best results (I have to study the dipole a bit more, I
suspect it gives better results than the Kaito antenna...).

In fact for me the choice will be :

Sony sync detector vs Sangean memories and RDS

(I'm in Europe and RDS is widely used here)
It is realy a matter of personnal choice.

Else there is also Degen/Kaito 1103 and 1102 radios that are said to be good for
a much cheaper price. But this is another story.

Both the Sony and Sangean are good in my humble opinion... The fun of this hobby
begins with the radio, but then continues with antennas, a infinite field of
study and experiments :-D

But saying so will not help much NGU to decide perhaps... :-)

Charly

weatherall wrote:

Do you know about the Super 909 that is offered by radiolabs.com?
Supposedly, out of the box, the ATS-909 has weak AM and SW reception,
and one of the mods in the Super 909 is enhanced reception. The blue
backlit screen looks very cool too. More details on this package are
on the radiolabs website. The price is over US$300 though.

Reviews of RadioLabs Super 909:

http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/mtsuper909.pdf

http://www.radiointel.com/review-sangeansuper909.htm

Joe Analssandrini wrote:


I have personally owned two Sangean radios - the ATA-808A and the
ATS-606AP (both made in Taiwan as is the ATS-909) - both of which
"died" after rather short lives. In my opinion, Sangean radios are not
constructed with a great deal of integrity.

I've used the 606A as a knock-about radio for about 5 years now. It
has held up pretty well, by and large. Only once did I have a problem
- when the LCD temporarily went out (for about 2 days) during a monsoon
season in the Western Ghats. I guess that was attributable to the
excessive moisture in the air.

I will agree with you, though, that Sony radios seem to be built to a
higher standard, although I don't know why they couldn't put a half-way
decent FM section in the 'SW77.

junius

wrote:
I second what Joe Analssandrini says.About nine years ago,I bought a
Sangean ATS-909 radio from ccrane.I tried it out for a week and I packed
it up and I sent it back.I just didn't like that radio.

I was wondering if you were gonna chime in here about your '909
experience, Cuhulin. I have to say that it was a bit of a
disappointment for me, too, especially given some of the hype that I
had heard about it.

A few months
ago,I bought a Sony 7600GR radio from www.jr.com I am very pleased
with my Sony 7600GR radio.For a new portable radio,it is hard to beat.

Glad to hear that the '7600GR is workin' out for you. It's easily one
of the best deals going out there, in my opinion. The day that Sony
discontinues this model will be a sad day indeed, since we'll most
likely not see any replacement model from Sony.

junius