New Sangean ATS-902X2 world band receiver
Sangean ATS-909X2 is the most recent incarnation in a long line of world band receivers. It offers some interesting new functions and a few positive ergonomic changes.
This medium-size portable radio comes in ‘graphite’ and white with measures 208 x 41 x 135 cm and weigth of 1.6kg. The promotional materials emphasize several noteworthy features, such as the smart battery function (which detects faulty batteries), the airband mode (118-136 MHz), the advanced bandwidth, memory and squelch features, and some of the nifty automatic tuning options.
The set covers Airband, FM (with RDS), LW, MW and SW (100-29999.00kHz). Notice that the ribbed tuning wheel is at the front and the (non-ribbed) volume control is on the right-hand side of the set. If you like, you can just use the comfy Automatic Tuning System (ATS), where the radio performs a comfortable scan-and-store routine on all bands; this works slightly differently, depending on the frequency band you are after.
This is always a useful thing to do when you arrive at a new destination. In manual scan mode, the scan stops (and does not resume) at any stations found. You can also tune by meter band, which can save time.