Sangean ATS 808,Reviews needed
Barby D
on the sony7600 or the Grundig YB400. However, I came across an article on
the 808,sounded pretty good. Seems like an excellent value. Help
appreciated!!!
Thank You,
Michael Schuster
> I am looking for a portable radio. I have been concentrating
>on the sony7600 or the Grundig YB400. However, I came across an article on
>the 808,sounded pretty good. Seems like an excellent value. Help
>appreciated!!!
The 808 is a nice portable with good sensitivity and selectivity, and
decent audio. However, the YB400 has **MUCH** better audio and better FM
performance. The Sony has a synchronous detector which will aid in
reducing distortion during selective fading, and improving selectivity
using its selectable sideband feature. Both the Sony and the
YB400 receive single sideband, which the 808 does not.
PS: Posting the same inquiry to the same newsgroup, 2 hours apart, is not
going to get you the kind of additional response you're looking for.
--
Mike Schuster | schu...@panix.com | 70346...@CompuServe.COM
------------------- | schu...@shell.portal.com | GEnie: MSCHUSTER
Chris DeMarco
Realistic DX-380, is your best value for money. Radio Shack has been
discontinuing these for around $100-$120 (I bought two as gifts for
$100 apiece). Having said that, both the Grundig and the Sony are better
radios (either of these will run you around $200 plus AC adapter for the
Sony). The Grundig has better sound, but the Sony will pull in more
stations due to (a) slightly better sensitivity, and (b) synchronous
detection, which enables you to eliminate a fair amount of adjacent-
channel interference. So, which one to buy depends on what sort of
listening you are planning to do. If you live in an area where signals
are weak, go with the Sony. If not, the Grundig has a more pleasant
sound.
As far as the ATS-808 goes, however, it has decent sensitivity, dual
bandwidths, and stereo FM through headphones. This was my first shortwave
radio, and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. One suggestion, no matter
which of the three radios you go with: get a Radio Shack (or equivalent)
reel antenna. This is about 25 feet (or so) of insulated wire attached
to a spool for storage. At the end of the wire is a little clip that
will attach to virtually any telescopic antenna. This greatly improved
my reception with the ATS-808, and I still use it with my Sony 2010.
It doesn't work as well as a proper outdoor antenna, but it's less than
$10, and you don't have to worry about electrical storms, what your
neighbors think about the aesthetic merits of your antenna, etc.
In sum, if you can find the ATS-808 for something less than $150, I'd
probably go with it. If you want a more serious radio, I would go
with the $350 Sony 2010. But such opinions are very subjective and also
strongly dependent on the signal strengths were you live and what sorts
of listening you wish to do.
Hope you enjoy your eventual purchase as much as I have enjoyed mine.
Chris DeMarco
dema...@delphi.com
Lawrence S Schenck
In article <45oggq$l...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, Barby D (bar...@aol.com) writes:
> I am looking for a portable radio. I have been concentrating
>on the sony7600 or the Grundig YB400. However, I came across an article on
>the 808,sounded pretty good. Seems like an excellent value. Help
>appreciated!!!
>
I have the UK equivalent: Roberts 808. I am very pleased with it and have
only two complaints: 1) not enough memory slots for storing SW
frequencies, and 2) the sharp 'beep' that sounds when leaving or entering
the SW bands or when switching to other modes (MW, LW, SW, and FM) can be
heard by others, even when listening with earphones.
It is very sensitive, especially with a long wire antenna for the SW. Very
little adjacent channel interference when set to 'narrow' mode; however,
the tuned station has to be very weak and the adjacent station very strong
for this to be a concern.
I would assume the Sangean unit is the same in these respects. Very minor
complaints: I highly recommend it.
Cheers,
Larry S
Lawrence S Schenck
Alresford, England
Olsens
Your thoughts are exactly the same as mine. I'm using the Radio Shack equivalent
of this radio. The beep is highly irritating because you can hear it throughout a
small house. And why they didn't make more memory available for more frequencies
is beyond me.
Monte
Scott Gennari
: Your thoughts are exactly the same as mine. I'm using the Radio Shack equivalent
: of this radio. The beep is highly irritating because you can hear it throughout a
: small house. And why they didn't make more memory available for more frequencies
: is beyond me.
Monte,
I fixed the beeping problem by removing the cover, not pugged in
of coarse, and then snipped the two wires leading the pizzo buzzer
and then remove the annoying thing forever. Had no use for any
beeping like that so I got rid of it - others may find it useful
for something - like annoying family members when they don't
see things your way. beep beep beep beep...... :)
More memory, i hear you. It's kind of like buying your first hard disk
thinking you'll never use all the space then next thing you know
your buying a new 2 gigabtye drive and still can't fit all your software
on it. My main receiver has 100 memory banks and it's still not enough.
Fortunately the control software allows for unlimited "memory" banks so
I managed to work around that annoyance too.
Scott Gennari
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from many outlets at around $140. The audio is big and throaty (ie,
excellent) and it comes with a buzz-free AC adapter and an antenna
breakout box (you supply the wire).
Do *NOT* get the Radio Shack-equivalent DX-390. The stock at RS is
poorly quality-controlled (iso9000? yeah, right) and the radio doesn't
come with an AC adapter or antenna box for around $80 more! It's
hit-or-miss with the DX-390, so stick with the original Sangean
ATS-818.
With the RS DX-380, you may get lucky and get a working/nondamaged
unit, but don't pay more than $100. I think you'll get more radio
with the ATS-818, however, at about the same price.
Kris
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