am-fm

The Sangean ATS-909 has two features you won't find anywhere else:

1. RDS. This great feature automatically displays the call letters of many FM stations. Not every FM station uses RDS, but nearly half of the stations in Greater Los Angeles do transmit RDS on their subcarrier. If they don't, you can manually enter your own display of the call letters.

2. 306 memory presets - with virtually every popular shortwave station already pre-programmed with name of country. Wow! What an easy way to get started in shortwave.

The Sangean ATS-909 is not the be-all and end-all compact shortwave radio. Grundig YB-400 has good sound and is easy to use, but I do not find them to be as durable as Sony products. The Sony ICF-SW7600G or ICF-SW7600GR is well made with synchronous sideband to partially overcome fading. It does help , but it doesn't solve the problem completely. Every shortwave radio has its strengths and weaknesses; that's why I have bought so many. But I am thrilled with the LCD display of station call letters and the many shortwave presets that you will not find anywhere but in the ATS-909.

The ATS 909 is the best portable receiver available. Unlike its Grundig and Sony competitors, the ATS 909 has a wealth of features, good audio, awsome selectivity, and an advanced memory system. The negative reviews received by this product both on the internet and in publications are wrong. There's nothing wrong with the whip sensitivity and the supplied roll out antenna makes the sensitivity even better! I was able to pick up broadcasts from Bulgaria, N.Korea, Canada, Taiwan, and the VOA program broadcast to Russia. On the Grundig YB 400 PE that I had, I had trouble picking up even the stronger stations such as BBC and Radio Netherlands. If you like shortwave, get the ATS 909 but get the deluxe version from the [online store]. The deluxe version eliminates muting while tuning manually (something you can only do with Sangean, since neither the Sony 7600GR nor the Grundig have tuning knobs), this allows you to adjust the reception more precisely and to catch the weaker stations.

I own all the others, Kenwood, Grundig, etc. but SANGEAN ROCKS. I own 3 of these ATS-909's and I love everything about it: the layout of the buttons and knobs, the display is FANTASTIC, and the sound is AWESOME. For the money, you get it all. If you don't like the factory presets of all the SW Frequencies, program it the way YOU want it. The RDS is great! You can lable the stations with the call sign or whatever you like. Buy it, use it, learn to operate it like a pro, and you with respect this radio for the rest of your life.