{"id":45763,"date":"2020-10-05T07:42:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T11:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=45763"},"modified":"2020-10-05T07:42:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T11:42:17","slug":"a-new-sangean-ats-909x-model-in-the-works-two-909xs-lead-dan-to-a-potential-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/a-new-sangean-ats-909x-model-in-the-works-two-909xs-lead-dan-to-a-potential-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"A new Sangean ATS-909X model in the works? Two 909Xs lead Dan to a potential discovery…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

How two Sangean ATS-909Xs led me to news of an ATS-909X2<\/b><\/h1>\n

by DanH<\/strong><\/p>\n

I decided to buy a second Sangean ATS-909X this summer. I operate shortwave portables on batteries and wanted the ability to switch radios if one ran low on power during a listening session. I received the new radio and used it for about a week before noticing slight differences between the two 909Xs. Then I noticed big differences with the power supplies and began to ask questions. The answers led me to the new Sangean ATS-909X2 mostly by accident. Rumors have circulated for years that the 909X would be the last shortwave portable made by Sangean. It now appears that the rumors are not accurate. Thanks to an anonymous source the true story begins to appear.<\/p>\n

I purchased my first 909X in 2015. It was built in 2014 and has been used almost every day since it arrived. The firmware is v. 1.29, the color is black. My 909X is featured in SWL and DX videos I shoot for the YouTube channel Willow Slough DX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The new 909X was purchased early in August. This radio was made late in 2019 and has firmware v. P01. Minor changes include the color of the magnetic metal piece on the radio\u2019s kickstand and tightness of the volume control knob which has been loosened a little.\u00a0 Another small change affects the beeper that sounds with certain keyboard commands. The beeper is now relatively soft-spoken.<\/p>\n

The newer 909X features major changes made to the power supply including the AC\/AC wall wart adapter. I use the 2014 909X with battery power for shortwave listening because AC operation introduces noise at different frequencies across the shortwave bands. Incidentally, internally generated noise like this happens with all of my shortwave portables when operated from AC power. The 909X is no exception. Portable SW radios made during the last 30 years just seem to do this regardless of make or brand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2020 909X generates significantly less interference than my five-year old 909X. These radios have different model wall warts. The older radio is a 120 VAC \/ 60 Hz unit as opposed to 100 \u2013 240 VAC \/ 50 \u2013 60 Hz. The new adapter sports a ferrite core RF choke on the power line which is now shielded wire instead of small gauge zip line. So far, subtle traces of signal mixing from the new adapter are heard only when using my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones. The power connection for the newer 909X is now center pin positive instead of center pin negative. Not surprisingly, the newer adapter does not work with the 2015 909X.<\/p>\n

The search for a technical explanation for the mysterious (to me) and incompatible AC adapters required talking to several contacts. I found someone who earnestly wanted to discuss the 909X including the new AC adapter. That person floored me by saying \u201cIt\u2019s the same adapter that will be on the 909X2.<\/i>\u201d That was last week\u2026<\/p>\n

Introducing the Sangean ATS-909X2<\/b><\/h2>\n

My unnamed source was happy to answer questions about the 909X2 and sent me leaked documents. The first is a sheet issued last spring listing some changes for the new radio. The second is a treasure trove: a 40+ page draft copy of the English language operating instructions for the 909X2 including line drawings. I hit gold and wasn\u2019t even looking for it. This draft was issued earlier in the summer. I did some fascinating reading that evening.<\/p>\n

At this point I want to caution readers that the 909X2 is very much a radio in development. The prototypes have yet to be distributed for evaluation although that is expected to happen soon. None of the features or component choices are set in stone at this point. Indeed, the very name of this radio may not be a done deal. I have heard the new model called either ATS-909X2 or ATS-909X Mk. II. Still, the draft copy of a manual that lists and explains operation of all of the many new features confirms that development is well underway. Production is rumored to begin in 2021. That date makes perfect sense as the 909X will be ten years old next year and Sangean likes to celebrate company anniversaries.<\/p>\n

What will Sangean\u2019s new multi-band shortwave flagship look like? The 909X2 shown in the draft booklet retains the size and form factor of the 909X to an amazing degree. The number and placement of buttons, switches, knobs and jacks remain the same. The functions of some controls may change and the location of some buttons on the radio may be switched around. A display menu will be added to operate many of the new features. Without taking a close look at how the outboard controls are labeled the 909X and 909X2 will look like siblings. A larger and much busier LCD for the 909X2 will be the most visible difference.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the main features of the 909X2. Again, there may be changes before the final version is decided upon.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • VHF AIR band in addition to LW \/ MW \/ SW \/ FM<\/li>\n
  • Automatic Tuning System (ATS) for FM \/ LW \/ MW \/ SW bands<\/li>\n
  • Total of 1674 radio station presets<\/li>\n
  • Three memory banks for preset stations: store presets for different users and\/or different areas or categories<\/li>\n
  • Local\/World Time with two customizable city names<\/li>\n
  • FM RDS with PS, PTY, RT and CT features<\/li>\n
  • Potentiometer-type RF Gain Control retained<\/li>\n
  • Six-digit frequency display<\/li>\n
  • SSB (Single Side Band): USB \/ LSB, 10\/20 Hz tuning steps selectable<\/li>\n
  • Three alarm timers with snooze<\/li>\n
  • Larger display screen with more functions and improved backlight controls<\/li>\n
  • New NiMH charge controller charges each 4xAA cell individually<\/li>\n
  • Station presets\/memory lock<\/li>\n
  • Auto or manual bandwidth control<\/li>\n
  • Selectable and band-specific bandwidth filtering for LW-MW \/ SW \/ FM \/ AIR<\/li>\n
  • Tuning dial detents removed<\/li>\n
  • 12-segment bar-graph S-meter plus signal strength and signal-to-noise displayed in dB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The new ATS-909X2 benefits from innovations that Sangean developed after the 909X was introduced in 2011. I\u2019m looking forward to firing up this new radio as soon as I can get my hands on one.<\/p>\n

    DanH<\/p>\n

    \n

    Wow! Thank you for sharing your discovery, Dan! I, for one, welcome the new 909X version 2! Sangean is a solid radio manufacturer, so I would expect the new radio to perform at least as well as its predecessors. We’ll post updates as they become available.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who shares the following guest post: How two Sangean ATS-909Xs led me to news of an ATS-909X2 by DanH I decided to buy a second Sangean ATS-909X this summer. I operate shortwave portables on batteries and wanted the ability to switch radios if one ran low on power […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836,3,43],"tags":[601,600,8860,602],"class_list":["post-45763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-products","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-ats-909x","tag-sangean","tag-sangean-ats-909-mkii","tag-sangean-ats-909x"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bU7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14955,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/the-sangean-ats-909x-martys-bedside-radio-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":0},"title":"The Sangean ATS-909X: Marty’s bedside radio review","author":"Thomas","date":"September 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Marty (W5MRM), comments: I recently picked up a Sangean ATS-909X to use as a bedside radio. This blog post inspired me to put together a video review of the ATS-909X as a bedside radio. The video review can be found on my youtube page\u00a0[or via the embedded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sangean-ATS-909X-Marty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Marty.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Marty.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Sangean-ATS-909X-Marty.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1910,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/sangean-ats909x-with-black-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":1},"title":"Sangean ATS909X with black case","author":"Thomas","date":"September 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Universal Radio is now selling the Sangean ATS-909X with a black case. Pricing is the same as the silver case ($259 US). For more information and reviews of the Sangean ATS-909X, please check it out in our Shortwave Radio Index (SWRI).","rel":"","context":"In "Manufacturers"","block_context":{"text":"Manufacturers","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/manufacturers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/SangeanATS909Xblack-300x287.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10886,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/dave-reviews-the-tecsun-pl-880-pl660-and-sangean-ats-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":2},"title":"Dave reviews the Tecsun PL-880, PL660 and Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"September 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has posted reviews of the Tecsun PL-660, PL-880 and Sangean ATS-909X on his website. Dave even includes a review of the Radiolabs \"ClearMod\" version of the Sangean ATS-909X. \u00a0Click here to read the reviews (scroll down to view all). Many thanks, Dave; I always value your reviews!","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ATS-909X","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6785,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/06\/lutus-review-of-the-sangean-atx-909x\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":3},"title":"Lutus’ review of the Sangean ATS-909X","author":"Thomas","date":"June 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanks to Benn (AK4AV) for forwarding Paul Lutus' in-depth review of the Sangean ATX-909X. Lutus mentions that shortwave sensitivity is fairly low, but medium wave and FM are quite good. Click here to read the full review: http:\/\/arachnoid.com\/Sangean_ATS-909X\/index.html On a side note, Benn points out that Paul\u00a0Lutus was the inventor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Radios"","block_context":{"text":"Radios","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/radios\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ATS-909X_small","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ATS-909X_small-300x193.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11918,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/two-strategies-to-improve-sangean-ats-909x-sensitivity\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":4},"title":"Two strategies to improve Sangean ATS-909X sensitivity","author":"Thomas","date":"January 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post contributor, Moshe, writes: \"I would like to share something I noticed about Sangean sensitivity issue: As I own the ATS909, I noticed that with fresh set of regular batteries (1.5V) or it's power transformer, it is very sensitive. When the voltage of the batteries drops, so does sensitivity!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ATS-909X","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19239,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/sangean-ats-909x-on-ebay\/","url_meta":{"origin":45763,"position":5},"title":"Sangean ATS-909X on eBay","author":"Robert Gulley","date":"May 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Sangean ATS-909x on eBay For those who might be interested there is a black version of the 909X on eBay with an auction end day of Monday early afternoon. The condition looks good from the pics (of course buyer beware!) and current bid is $127.50 with two bidders. I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sangean-909x","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sangean-909x.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sangean-909x.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Sangean-909x.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45763\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}