I can't believe this... I haven't powered on my 909x for a couple of weeks and of course, why should I think something could go wrong... Of course, my return policy has expired by only a few days...
I just experienced the issue in quote below.
From this FAQ page: Sangean ATS-909/Radio Shack DX-398 FAQ: Technical Information
Just to be clear, the above quote was written for the original ATS-909 model. I own the ATS-909x model which is the latest version. Apparently, it's also uses the same crappy design.
My experience was this... used it for a few hours over the course of several days after receiving the radio. Enabled the "button lock" and tucked it away in its case. Went to power it on and the buttons wouldn't unlock. Nothing worked. I performed the reset and the radio did seem to reset but the buttons are useless. Even the volume control doesn't work but you can hear a slight hiss from the speaker.
I have let it sit w/o batteries for 12+ hours and it still hasn't returned from lock-up. My reset button does seem to reset the radio but the buttons are still locked.
I haven't contacted Sangean about this but rest assured I will! This is utter crap!
I just checked Amazon reviews and a few customers have also hit the same problem.
Do not buy this radio!
I just experienced the issue in quote below.
From this FAQ page: Sangean ATS-909/Radio Shack DX-398 FAQ: Technical Information
I checked the keypad, and my radio still doesn't respond!"
Some users have noted that after the radio has been stored for a long time with batteries installed, the radio will lock up and the reset button will not work. Removing the batteries doesn't help, since the radio is still powered by a memory capacitor that takes a long time to discharge by design.
In that case, remove all batteries from the radio and let it sit for at least a few hours, perhaps as long as six days (as reported by one user on the DX398 list at Yahoo! Groups.)
According to Sangean, this is a known issue. Radios powered on AC have not exhibited this problem. (My radio is AC powered and I note that it has locked up on power-on approximately once every month or so, though I have always been able to reset the radio so far.)
In any case, you shouldn't need to take a hammer to it, though I sympathize, having owned radios that malfunctioned at full volume!
Just to be clear, the above quote was written for the original ATS-909 model. I own the ATS-909x model which is the latest version. Apparently, it's also uses the same crappy design.
My experience was this... used it for a few hours over the course of several days after receiving the radio. Enabled the "button lock" and tucked it away in its case. Went to power it on and the buttons wouldn't unlock. Nothing worked. I performed the reset and the radio did seem to reset but the buttons are useless. Even the volume control doesn't work but you can hear a slight hiss from the speaker.
I have let it sit w/o batteries for 12+ hours and it still hasn't returned from lock-up. My reset button does seem to reset the radio but the buttons are still locked.
I haven't contacted Sangean about this but rest assured I will! This is utter crap!
I just checked Amazon reviews and a few customers have also hit the same problem.
Do not buy this radio!