Red Wave Radio

Hi!  For all practical purposes I now absolutely nothing about shortwave
radio.  I am looking to purchase my first one and I'm wondering about two in
particular at this point.
Does anybody know anything about the Sangean ATS-803A and Radio Shack DX
390(Sangean ATS-818)?  Would they be good for a beginner?  What would the
price range be new?

Thanks in advance,
Jesse Olson

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear
from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." - II
Chronicles 7:14

hi there
welp hate to break it to you but the 803a is no longer made however can
be found used for as little as 60 bucks if you look hard enough usually
75 to 100 $. the 818  is i think around 149 new at most  radio stores.
not sure about he ratshack version(dx390) as i haven't seen any at  my
local radio shack for awhile . only one they carry  is the dx392 which
is same radio but with a cassette recorder and such  as that is  the
speaker is a lot smaller. used  they have gone for as little as 75
dollars.hope this helps
chris

--
monitoring shortwave radio in kentucky with drake r-4a\sangean
ats-803a\ratshack dx-380 - 21ft vertical  and 60 ft v antenna

The Sangean ATS-803A, or it's Radio Shack equivalent the DX-440 would be an
excellent starter radio.  Though no longer available new, you can find them
on the used market around $100, or less.  CCrane Co. still had a supply of
new 803A's last year, check their site at: http://www.ccrane.com - they
don't currently list them but it might be worth a call.  My advice - look
for a used one for around $100, see if you like the hobby.  If you get
hooked you will want a better (more $$) receiver, keep the 803A as a
backup/travel radio.

Richie in Albuquerque

<snip>

Quote:>Does anybody know anything about the Sangean ATS-803A and Radio Shack DX
>390(Sangean ATS-818)?  Would they be good for a beginner?  What would the
>price range be new?

<snip>

I have used a DX390/Sangean 818 for almost 5 years. I can hear signals from
all over the world with it, even with the little telescopic antenna it came
with. I recommend it for a beginner, for sure!

Simple trick:

Just attaching a 50 foot hunk of wire (with an alligator clip soldered to
the end) to the telescopic will provide a dramatic improvement.

Dale

I guess I have a different outlook on the subject of getting into
hobbies. I personally would recommend rather than getting a so called
"starter" radio, get a highly competent one and don't waste the 100 bucks
but rather get one that if worst case, you find you aren't enjoying it
like you thought you could sell the radio for closer to what you paid for
it. My first choice and advice would be for the Sony ICF-2010, long
considered one of the best overall portables. For $350.00 new or less
used, they could at least be exposed to the hobby with a REAL radio.
Sangeans are nearly toys (IMHO) and if someone wants to get in any way
serious about it, should have a more competent radio to search and see
what is really out there (real sensitivity) and maybe even be a bit
spoiled with something Sangean knows nothing about (synchronous
detection).

hi there
welp that would be nice if they had the 350 + laying around but  seems
to me a lot of people  who CAN afford better tend  to downplay ,ridicule
or otherwise  degrade the  less expensive radios made by sangean  such
as the 818 , 803a, or the newer 909. they are there for a reason .
mainly for those of us who aren't all that well off financially or have
other  committments  to our cash  supply and still want a half decent
product :) personally i have nothing against the sangean ats-803a as you
see below i have an assortment of radios and not one of em cost me over
129 bucks. it is a fine radio no make that a real radio  for someone who
is looking for a digital tuned radio  with dual filters and ssb
capability who can only spend around a hundred bucks. and you seem to
forget a lot of us  CAN"T afford the $350-400 dollar sony or
ken-yae-com  stuff out there matter of fact i recall passport to world
band radio saying if you couldn't afford the  grundig satellite 700 or
the sony 2010 this was the radio to get a few years ago.i am refering to
the sangean ats-803a in this instance .if you paid attention to what i
log sometimes on my 803a and a 21 ft vertical or the 60 ft v antenna you
would see that but apparently you missed em  :) nothing personal but
please don't call OUR  radios toys :) they do for us what your 350+ buck
radios  do for you  HEAR SHORTWAVE STATIONS!!
thanks
my 2 cents worth
chris

--
monitoring shortwave radio in kentucky with drake r-4a\sangean
ats-803a\ratshack dx-380 - 21ft vertical  and 60 ft v antenna

It's too damn bad we all don't have tons of money falling out of our
pockets.

Although I agree that your beloved Sonys are superior products (I have one
myself) it may not be the right choice for a beginner.  There is very little
that you can hear on the Sony that you won't be able to hear on an 803A.
Sangeans are NOT toys - they are a REAL cost effective alternative to an
admittedly superior product.  Market value for a used 803A in good shape is
around $100.  If someone doesn't like it they can get their money back by
selling it for the same.

We can't all drive BMW's, but we can all enjoy our hobby - even if we drive
old used VW's.

As you are getting a plenty of advise on the radio here, one thing you
should take seriously is antenna.  You can dump hundreds of dollars on
"better" radio but if the reception is bad at your place you'll be
disappointed.  The message is: you can go cheap on the radio but in some
cases antenna is absolute necessity and may not cost you as much.

Good Luck
George

Hi Jessie i own a radio shack dx390 and it is a good radio to start
with. i live in ventura calif and i like to listen to ham radio on the
low bands. the 390 really works fine in that band space. good luck
dana

Quote:>It's too damn bad we all don't have tons of money falling out of our
>pockets.

>Although I agree that your beloved Sonys are superior products (I have one
>myself) it may not be the right choice for a beginner.  There is very
little
>that you can hear on the Sony that you won't be able to hear on an 803A.
>Sangeans are NOT toys - they are a REAL cost effective alternative to an
>admittedly superior product.  Market value for a used 803A in good shape is
>around $100.  If someone doesn't like it they can get their money back by
>selling it for the same.

>We can't all drive BMW's, but we can all enjoy our hobby - even if we drive
>old used VW's.

Here Here!

Although I have a Radio Shack DX398 now (Sangean ATS-909), I made do with a
low end receiver made by Panasonic (National Panasonic on the front) that I
bought in a thrift store.  It was sensitive enough to really get into
listening to Shortwave and Medium Wave broadcasts.

Sony is really good equipment in most departments and probably beats what I
have, but I am having fun in this hobby with what I got.. thats the bottom
line of it.

                                        Frank Martin

How very true that is ,George! Any piece/length of wire***
out of your window will outperform the standard telescopic rod
many times over!  Ground your rig ,and you're getting serious :)

For short wave ,a wire-antenna is the way to start off !

Knut

How very true that is ,George! Any piece/length of wire***
out of your window will outperform the standard telescopic rod
many times over!  Ground your rig ,and you're getting serious :)

For short wave ,a wire-antenna is the way to start off !

Knut

Quote:

>Although I agree that your beloved Sonys are superior products (I have one
>myself) it may not be the right choice for a beginner.  There is very little
>that you can hear on the Sony that you won't be able to hear on an 803A.
>Sangeans are NOT toys - they are a REAL cost effective alternative to an
>admittedly superior product.  Market value for a used 803A in good shape is
>around $100.  If someone doesn't like it they can get their money back by
>selling it for the same.

I would agree with this summation.  Many in the swl community believe
the 2010 to be a superior radio.  I do as well, having owned one for
several years.  However, prior to my uprgrade to the 2010, I
purchaseda starter radio - the Sangean 803a.  I found it to be a great
radio and logged over 50 countries on it before I purchased my 2010.  
Really, as another poster stated, there is very little the 2010 can
hear that the 803a can't, the 2010 just often hears it more clearly
(in large part due the 2010's excellent sync circuit).

In fact, my true "starter" radio (that sparked my interest in swl) was
a cheapo RS multiband radio.  After logging 20 or so countries on
this, I was interested enough to purchase the 803a.  And, at the time,
all I could really justify to spend was the $150 I spent purchasing
the 803a new.  Later, after I was satisfed that swl would remain a
long term hobby, I felt comfortable spending the $350 for the 2010.
And, I was able to sell my 803a for $100.

While more expensive radios usually have superior performance and
offer lots of useful features, one can certainly enjoy the hobby for a
hundred bucks or less.

Alan

Alan Braswell
Houston, Texas

As is so often the case, things that are stated can easily be
misinterpreted. Allow me to elaborate. What I was trying to say (but
obviously was misunderstood) was that, and listen carefully, if and only
if one was able to make a choice to purchase "A" unit that would allow
them to enjoy the shortwave listening hobby, my feelings are to get the
best you can and in that way one would be able to derive the very most
out of it. If, however one is not sure they would even want to pursue the
hobby, then a more conservative approach should be taken when choosing a
radio. For myself, I began as a 6 year old and a $8.00 AM portable radio
logging distant stations late at night. So I am well aware of the concept
of a budget. I was mearly saying that "if one could" it would be wiser to
just jump up to a radio that would maximise ones enjoyment of the hobby
and in this case, the Sony 2010 would have been a better choice (of
course if one could afford it.) So you can lower your ***pressure and
don't get so defensive about the above statement as it was only meant to
get advice to someone that could maximise their enjoyment, not break
their bank account. Thanks!

You bet--I had one for a while and sold it.  Good receiver for the price!
RS still sells it, but getting hard to find.

|I have used a DX390/Sangean 818 for almost 5 years. I can hear signals from
|all over the world with it, even with the little telescopic antenna it came
|with. I recommend it for a beginner, for sure!
|
|Simple trick:
|
|Just attaching a 50 foot hunk of wire (with an alligator clip soldered to
|the end) to the telescopic will provide a dramatic improvement.
|
|Dale
|
|
|