Background
Description
Operation
    Experiments
        Exp 1. FM Band Outside Diamond D-130 v. AT-909X2 Fully extended Whip
        Exp 2. Carry Case
Photos
Patents
Related
References
Links

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Background

I have been listening to short wave using many different receivers from many locations since I was in high school starting with the Hallicrafters Model S-38.  This third version of the Sangean ATS-909 which was introduced in 1996, named the ATS-909X2 indicates that it's been sussussful radio for almost three decades.  This longevity and the good reviews is why I got this particular model.

I'd like to see what happens with it's connected to the TCI 651T antenna.  This is an antenna that cost new maybe a hundred times what the radio cost.  LW, FM and Air Band are outside the antenna frequency range of 2 - 30 MHz, but something might happen, we'll see.  I have some cables on order to make an ATS-909X2 to coax adapter to allow connection to the antenna.

Description

The Sangean ATS-909x2 (factory web page) lists the specifications:
It is a table model measuring 8.17" wide x 5.31" high x 1.34" thick. (this is smaller in all three dimensions than the ATS-909).
It weighs just under 0.8 pounds, more than half the weight of the ATS-909.
It runs on 9 V DC @<= 1.2 Amps or 4 AA batteries, i.e. 6 V DC; (the ATS-909 ran on 4.5 V DC, i.e. 3 AA batteries or external power).

Operation

After adding batteries:
Select band using buttons at the left (AIR, FM, LW/AM, SW).
To key in a frequency: Press "F" then the digits, then ENTER.
To check the Firmware Version, with the radio turned off, press ENTER.  Mine is 078.

Experiments

Using Custom Antenna plug to BNC(m) Cable (See Fig 4).
The Telescopic whip antenna is used for: FM, AIR and SW.
The External Antenna Jack is used for: LW, MW, SW.
The specifications say the AM Ext. ANT jack is 50 Ohms @ 10 MHz.  Also it's a 3.5mm stereo (NOT mono) jack.  So my first cable may not be wired correctly.  The plug on the ANT-60 wire reel antenna is a mono plug.  I've asked the factory how to connect a coax antenna cable to the ext ant jack stereo connector.

Exp 1. FM Band Outside Diamond D-130 v. AT-909X2 Fully extended Whip

This experiment was a mistake since the ext ant jack is not for neither the FM nor AIR bands.
With the whip in the stowed position the D-130 is far better.  But, with the whip fully extended not only does the IF bandwidth go to wide but the icon for stereo turns on, indicating a stronger signal.  This is not what I  was expecting.  This may mean the external antenna jack is the same connection as the whip antenna.  That implies that the External Antenna input is not 50 Ohms.  I could find the schematic for the ATS-909X and the antenna connector is much different than on the ATS-909X2.  The X2 is much more complex.

Exp 2. Carry Case

Looking for a carry case that will hold everything in the box plus some spare batteries.  But this case is much smaller than techmatte says it is.
amCase Nintendo Switch Hard Shell Carrying Case -Outer Dimensions: 11 x 5.6 x 2 inches but is more like: 10 x 5 x 1.75" outside. (inside me much smaller)

Label: amCase for Nintendo Switch, New TM-NIN-SWITCH-CASE X001C7AFT7

Photos

Fig 1 Got this for a fantastic discount because the package was dented & returned.	Fig 2	Fig 3 Connectors: Power Supply & Antenna.
Fig 4 Custom antenna plug to BNC(m) Cable

Patents

TW202205816A/en (Global Dossier) Radio with automatic bandwidth adjusting functions and automatic bandwidth adjusting method,
11165454 Radio with automatic bandwidth adjusting functions and automatic bandwidth adjusting method, Yeu Shuh Tsay, SANGEAN ELECTRONICS, 2021-11-02, - sets to max for a given SNR.

Related

BaoFeng Radios while capable of transmitting/receiving in the ham and other bands they have a wide open receiver.
C.C. Crane CCRadio 2E -
ICOM 706 HF mobil ham radio
ICOM R7000 -
MacKay Dymek DR33 All Wave Professional Receiver
One Tube Radio - old AM radio
PRD-1 - MF/HF loop Direction Finder Radio
Radio Direction Finding -
Talking House AM Radio Transmitter
TW100F - a Flyaway suitcase radio covering HF in both Rx & Tx.
TW7000FA - a Flyaway suitcase radio covering HF in both Rx & Tx.
Xtal Radios -

References

Ref 1. Sangean ATS-909X2 Teardown - preproduction EU version, firmware 070, 25:33 -

00:00 - General comments
01:23 - Opening up the case
07:15 - Taking look at the Key and Control PCBs
19:40 - Taking a look at the Main PCB
24:30 - Comments about SMD ceramic capacitor covered in flux residue
25:10 - Photos of the battery charging PCB, without commentary

Ref 2. Sangean ATS-909X2: Scanning through the bands and looking for screen interference, mostly unedited. 26:26 - When hand gets near LCD a lot of noise is heard.

00:00 - Intro bla bla
00:31 - Scanning through shortwave bands with telescopic antenna
10:20 - Scanning through shortwave bands with the reel antenna
20:22 - Scanning through longwave band with the internal ferrite bar antenna
22:44 - Scanning through mediumwave band with the internal ferrite bar antenna

Ref 3. Sangean DAR-101 and ATS-909X2 (firmware 070) automatic recording start, 19:20 -

00:00 - General comments
00:31 - Taking a look at the ports on the DAR-101
02:18 - Explanation how remote port works on DAR-101
03:12 - Enabling remote recording start with REC Standby option on DAR-101
04:53 - Turning DAR-101 on remotely
05:59 - ATS-909X2 cables
07:30 - Setting up alarms on ATS-909X2
08:52 - Demonstration of remote start
09:22 - Comments about inability to program stop time for recording
10:27 - Associating frequency with alarm timer on ATS-909X2
13:10 - Recording timers on the DAR-101
15:00 - General comments about recording feature - annoying, no stop time,
17:57 - Turning the alarm off
18:25 - Radio version number

Ref 4. Chinese DSP SDR vs ATS-25 DSP vs Sangean ATS-909X2 on Royal Air Force UK 5450 kHz USB Shortwave, 9:46 -

Have the "50KHz--2GHz Malachite DSP SDR Receiver Malahit DSP SDR Shortwave Radio Receiver" on order.

Links

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Page Created 2023 June 11