RadioLabs Sangean 909 Mod, how good is it?

[safetyobc]

I am seriously thinking about sending my Sangean ATS-909 in to RadioLabs for their mod upgrade. I hate how the backlight goes off after 10 seconds. That is my main gripe. Also I want the detent and muting mod done on the tuning dial and while it is there they can upgrade the filters and other things.

I don't want the FM RCA jack installed because I have no use for this and it will likely get in the way. Also, I like the way my speaker sounds now (I have the blue label 909) so I may not have that upgraded.

I am just curious if any of you guys have had this done and how you liked it.

Thanks for any info.

here is the link for Radio Labs "Super 909" http://www.radiolabs.com/products/receivers/super909.php

 

[ka3jjz]

You did check the SWL broadcast wiki, right? There's a section devoted to receiver reviews. Let's see, on the RadioIntel site page 1, there's a link to a very extensive review; the other page has several mailing lists, along with some links to pages (by the way, this radio is also known as the DX398). EHam has a few reviews of non-modded radios (good to have as a basis for comparison). Oh and don't forget the new ATS909 Programer software that's available from a DXer in Europe; there's a review on the RadioIntel site....

'Nuff said...73s Mike

 

[safetyobc]

Yeah, i read the wiki. And read the Radio Intel reveiw. I have the regular 909 now. I was just looking for opinions from others.

 

[ka3jjz]

Well, apart from here, the 2 or 3 ATS909/DX398 forums and mailing lists found on RadioIntel should be your next stop. No better place to find such info than folks who also have had their radios modded. To be honest, I'm envious; I've considered buying an ATS909 for some time, and would definitely have RadioLabs do the mods...if I had the money, doggone it. 73s Mike

 

[dkpierce]

There was a lot of discussion about modded Radio Shack DX398s/Sangean 909s in the following yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DX398/

You migh join here and search for Radiolabs for reviews from those who had the mods done.

 

[safetyobc]

Well, apart from here, the 2 or 3 ATS909/DX398 forums and mailing lists found on RadioIntel should be your next stop. No better place to find such info than folks who also have had their radios modded. To be honest, I'm envious; I've considered buying an ATS909 for some time, and would definitely have RadioLabs do the mods...if I had the money, doggone it. 73s Mike

It is an "okay" receiver. I think I should have gone with the Sony 7600 from reading all the reviews, but I couldn't resist all the added features of the Sangean. I do like the 909, but it definately needs the mods!

There was a lot of discussion about modded Radio Shack DX398s/Sangean 909s in the following yahoo group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DX398/

You migh join here and search for Radiolabs for reviews from those who had the mods done.

Why didn't I think of that? Thanks. I am already a member there, it just never crossed my mind. Thanks again.

 

[AB9IL]

ATS-909 / DX-398 Mods

There's an updated DX-398 alignment and modification page at:

http://www.ab9il.net/ats-909/ats909.html

Complete with closeups of the main and aux circuit boards.

 

[E-Man]

Kiwa does mods as well for the ATS909:

http://www.kiwa.com/ATS909.html

 

[Northe]

I sent my ATS-909 to RadioLabs for repairs and went ahead and had them perform the modifications.

The blue backlighting is really bright -- at first I thought it was too bright, but now that I've gotten used to it I prefer it to the original feeble backlighting. There's no effect on the backlighting automatically turning off when operating on batteries, though.

I like the RCA antenna jack on the back. It always concerned me that plugging and unplugging an external antenna into the little jack on the side would wear it out.

The sound through the speaker was substantially improved. Before, it always seemed a little distorted or something -- a bit irritating. Now it's much better and quite pleasant to listen to.

The attenuator control works better -- you can dial it down to zero now.

The "narrow" filter seems to have sharper skirts, which helps cut out slop from adjacent strong signals on both MW and SW.

It seems more sensitive on MW and SW -- how much is hard for me to tell without something to compare with it.

Didn't notice any difference in FM performance.

My one complaint is that wen I got it back, the SSB was slightly out of zero beat -- it was perfect before. I know how to fix it, but am not anxious to pry the display window off to get to the adjustments.

Northe
N6KO
Green Valley, AZ