Sangean ATS909 Shortwave Radio

Approximately 40-50 hours at moderate volume level

The CCRadio Plus is more sensitive that the Sangean ATS909, 818 or 505.  Any of these radios would have similar reception as the CCRadio Plus with the addition of a Select-A-Tenna.

No. The radios roll over when they hit the end of the selected meter band. They continuously scan only the selected meter band.

RDS means "Radio Data System." It contains call sign, station, and frequency information.

You Can Set Three Different Timers w/ the radio on or off.  The Timer can be set to three different stations to wake to or set to buzzer.  To set the timer:
Tune to the station you would like to awaken to.
Press Memo
Press alarm setting 1, 2, or 3.
Indicate bell or music icon.
Enter time for timer to go off.
Press enter.

Beat Frequency Oscillator, a feature on some receivers that makes single-sideband voice transmissions intelligible and improves Morse code reception. The BFO is also a receiver circuit that provides a signal to the detector. The BFO signal mixes with the incoming signal to produce an audio tone for CW reception. A BFO is needed to copy CW and SSB signals.  The Upper and LOWER sideband is where you can find amateur (Ham) radio operators in the US. Morse Code operators are generally found in the lower areas of each band. The Ham operators with the most advanced classification are found in the Upper areas of each band.  To use SSB you must be in SW.  Press the AM mode button; press the AM mode button again and you will see a box with LSB. Press the AM mode button again to see the USB. TIP: Use "fast" tuning to find the SSB signal. Then switch to "slow" tuning to clarify the signal.

If you want to enter call letters into the display, press edit and you will get a flashing cursor in the display. Turn the rotary knob till the letter appears. Press the tuning up arrow to advance to the second letter continuing till you have all four letters and then press enter.

1. Turn radio on. Extend the antenna or use an external SW antenna plugged into the AM ext jack.
2. Set the RF gain Control to maximum.
3. Select the SW band as described in Selecting a SW band
4. If you know the frequency you want, enter the frequency in accordance with earlier instructions
5. You may also scan the band for SSB stations by slowly rotating the Rotary Tuning Knob through the selected band, tuning for the best intelligibility and watching for deflections on the Signal Strength Indicator in the display. SSB transmits with a "suppressed carrier" meaning the Signal Strength Indicator in the display will fluctuate only when there is a voice transmission and not during pauses in voice transmissions.
6. As soon as you have located a SSB station (you will not be able to understand the speech) switch to SSB reception by depressing the MODE button. Continued pressing of the MODE button will alternate between USB and LSB. Try LSB for frequencies below 10 MHz or USB for frequencies above 10 MHz.
7. After tuning for maximum intelligibility switch MANUAL TUNING/STEP switch to Slow position and readjust Rotary Tuning Knob for maximum intelligibility.

5 kHz to 1 kHz on Shortwave and 1 kHz to 40 Hz on SSB.

To Set UTC (Universal Time Coordinated):
Press Frequency and enter 5.0 MHz or 10 MHz or 15.000 MHz. You should hear the time transmitted over the radio signal (not satellite).
Select WORLD/HOME button (To set the one that is flashing) Set on LONDON and listen to broadcast. Use the numeric pad and enter the time.
Press ENTER (If you make a mistake press CLEAR) and do again.
Now set your local time by your watch.

Make sure you are using a Sangean factory adapter. Other adapters that are not made by Sangean will run the radio but they can sometimes cause static.

Yes, but you cannot mix batteries of different types.

AM is known internationally as Medium Wave.  Select the MW button to access your AM channels.

In some instances where a number of stations are heard simultaneously, or there is some distortion on strong signals, you may need to reduce the setting of the RF Gain control from its maximum position to a lower position.  Normally, however, you should leave the RF Gain control in the maximum position.

All short-wave radios benefit from the addition of a longer antenna.  The telescoping antenna that comes out of the top of the radio is primarily for FM reception.  We recommend that you use the portable short-wave antenna that comes with the ATS909.

No.  It only helps with FM and SW reception.  The AM antenna is a ferrite bar built into the radio.

Stereo.

Push the clock set button (clock symbol with the word SET next to it).  This will cause the display to flash the word HOME. Enter the correct time.  The clock uses military time.  AS an example, 10:00 PM would be entered as 22:00.  Press the enter button to complete setting the time.

The ATS909 has RDS (Radio Data System) capability.  This system is designed to list the call letters of participating stations on MW (or AM).  At the same time, they have a time function that gives you the exact time at the station location.  If your radio keeps changing the time by itself, this switch is probably on.  If you do not want your clock to set itself with the RDS, make sure it is on manual.

First, tune in the station you wish to store.  Press the M-memo button and push any button between #1 and #9 to store your desired station in that location.  Next, press ENTER to store your station at that location.  Recall is accomplished by pressing the memory position previously selected.

191 SW frequencies are pre-programmed into the ATS909.  Please refer to the sheet titled Sangean ATS909 Factory Programmed Presets for a complete listing.  SW frequencies are stored by page.  There are 29 pages on the ATS909 and each one is assigned to a country.  For example, page designations include countries such as Australia, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Japan, Norway and many others.
 
Recalling a station from Norway (for example) would involve pressing PAGE, then pressing the tuning arrows (or rotary dial) until the NORWAY page appears.  Press ENTER to select this page and then press position #1-9 to access the specific station you wish to recall.

Yes, there is a jack located on the left side of the radio specifically for sending a signal from the radio to a recording device.

There is a "reset hole" on the bottom of the radio. In order to reset, you'll have to first shut off the radio and remove the batteries, and then insert a paper clip in the "reset hole" to reset.

On the right side of the radio, there is a switch (inset) called MWSTEP.  The radio can be set for tuning increments of 9 KHz or 10 KHz in order for the unit to be used in the USA (10 KHz) or a foreign country such as Mexico (9 KHz).

The LOCK switch may be switched on.  Check the position of the switch.  It should be unlocked during normal operation.  Engage the LOCK switch when changing the batteries in order to save any items in memory (such as time, alarm settings or stored radio frequencies).  Also engage the LOCK switch when traveling in order to prevent the radio from accidentally being turned on and thereby running down the batteries.