RadioLabs “Super ATS-909”
Modifications
Review by Kirby, W7SV
I received my Sangean
Super 909 back from you last week following the modification which
RadioLabs accomplished. There are a number of improvements which
literally JUMP OUT at me! First of all when I turn on the radio,
I see that the display has a new BLUE color! This is simply magnificent.
I recommend this upgrade to everyone who owns a 909!
The next thing that I notice is that the radio is
much more sensitive when using only the built in whip antenna (approximately
6 db). Before this modification, the radio was a marginal performer
on the HAM Bands because it lacked proper sensitivity without an
external antenna. I use the radio now with earphones to listen to
my Ham Radio friends in the morning before my wife is awake. This
was not possible before because the radio just was not sensitive
enough on the whip antenna to hear their signals (and she would
not tolerate the external antenna draped all over the bedroom to
make the sensitivity acceptable). This fix alone is worth the entire
cost of the modification!!
I also note that the RF Gain control now works properly,
so that if there is a really strong local Ham talking in the group,
I just lower the RF Gain control slightly and he now no longer overloads
the front end of the receiver. This modification is a huge improvement
versus the way that it used to work before your modification!
The bandwidth filters which you changed out also are
a big improvement over the stock filters. They are narrow enough
to prevent undesirable adjacent signals from interfering with the
desired signal, but still wide enough to provide excellent fidelity
for the stations that I am receiving. Again, this is a great improvement!
I had previously done the anti-mute tuning mod on
my radio, so I can also recommend this modification to everyone.
It makes the 909 work like every other quality shortwave receiver
that I have used. It is a very useful modification.
I did not have the RCA phono jack added to my 909
because I built an adapter for factory installed external antenna
jack. Plus, now the radio is sensitive enough that I almost never
have to use the external antenna anymore!
As you can tell, I am extremely satisfied with the
Sangean Super 909 modification that your company provides!! As a
matter of fact, I have decided to send my second Sangean 909 to
you so that RadioLabs can do the modification to it also. When I
was comparing the 2 radios side by side, the Super 909 was so superior
that I knew that I would never again be satisfied with my second
909 unless RadioLabs had also modified it to be a Super 909 also!
If any of your customers are considering the purchase
of a standard version of the Sangean 909, my recommendation to them
would be to buy the RadioLabs Sangean Super 909 instead!! They will
be much better satisfied with the choice of the Super 909!! It performs
like a receiver with a price tag several times higher (and blows
away the low-cost competition). I rate the RadioLabs Sangean Super
909 a Best Buy!!
73 and Good DX,
Kirby, W7SV in Houston.
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ATS-909
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