Brad McConahay

I recently decided to replace my little portable shortwave radio, the Sangean ATS-505, with something better. My #1 requirement was to get something that didn’t have the “chuffing” problem. When using the tuning knob, the sound is muted between every frequency. My main use is to tune through the amateur radio bands, so chuffing is very annoying. Getting better sensitivity and a backlight color other than puke-green were secondary wishes.

After a lot of online research, I thought maybe the Sangean ATS-909 would do, but I would still need to do the anti-chuffing modification. Then I ran across RadioLabs and their “Super 909“. This is an ATS-909 with many great modifications. New filters, a better speaker, a blue backlight, increased sensitivity, anti-chuffing, and removal of the tuning knob detent for smooth tuning. There were several favorable reviews of the Super 909 version of the radio on eHam.net, so I pulled the trigger.

I labored a bit over whether or not to pay $100 more for the mods, but ended up deciding it would be worth it. Well, I was right. With regard to both sensitivity and audio quality, it outperforms the 505 by leaps and bounds. I could only hear the strongest signals with the 505 and a longwire. With the Super 909 and the telescoping whip, I hear so much more. And with a longwire or active antenna, it rivals my ham HF gear. Granted, this isn’t the best comparison – I wish I could hear the difference between it and an un-modded ATS-909. Speaking of which, they will mod your existing ATS-909 with these modifications if you already have one.

As odd as it sounds, my only complaint was the way they offered free ground shipping on the Super 909. They had it set up as the only shipping option. I would gladly have paid more to get the radio here more quickly. Since it was traveling from California to Ohio, it took almost two weeks to arrive. Very aggravating.

But I’ve been enjoying listening to the HF ham bands without having to go into the shack for several weeks now, and I’m damn happy. I highly recommend this modded version of the radio. Good job, RadioLabs!

A couple years ago, I ran across a story on 60 Minutes that opened with, “Chances are you have never heard of Tim Howard, and if you don’t follow a sport Americans call soccer, there is no reason you should know the name.” It told of a mild-mannered goalkeeper dealing with Tourette’s Syndrome. And it told of his excellent first season at one of the biggest football clubs in one of the most widely followed football leagues in the world: Manchester United and the English Premier League (EPL). Shortly after, I discovered that one could watch Tim Howard and Manchester United play regularly on the Fox Soccer Channel. Having played a year of little league soccer in elementary school, I was already familiar with the particulars of the game … and thus started my recent slow road to Soccer fandom.

But by this time, Howard had found his way into the ManU doghouse and was only starting occasionally. Luckily, it turned out to be equally intriguing to follow some of the team’s other star players instead. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular. This last season, my interest expanded even more while keeping tabs on other American players in the EPL, such as Brad Friedel at Blackburn Rovers, and Clint Dempsey at Fulham. (See Yanks Abroad.) That led to following other individual players on other teams in the EPL, such as Didier Drogba and Joe Cole at Chelsea, and Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham Hotspur. Finally, I started reading up on the history of the English Premiership League and how it works within FIFA (the world), UEFA (Europe), and the FA (England). Especially interesting is the relegation of the bottom three teams to a lower English league every season. So cutthroat.

As the EPL season was wrapping up in May with a fantastic title by Manchester United, attention started turning toward Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA. Despite trying, and failing, to become interested in the MLS last year, I decided to buy the MLS Direct Kick package on cable this year. My main intention was to follow the Columbus Crew as my home team. And since David Beckham will be coming to the LA Galaxy in July, I figured I’d follow them too. Between the EPL and the MLS, I started packing two DVRs with games every week – the wife accused me of becoming a full-blown addict!

Although the Columbus Crew have crawled along near the bottom of the league during the first couple months, they’re currently on a three game winning streak, unbeaten in the last five, and are moving toward the middle of the pack in the Eastern division. I’m optimistic with the likes of Frankie Hejduk, Ned Grabavoy, and newly signed Guillermo Barros Schelotto from the famed Boca Juniors in Argentina. The LA Galaxy aren’t faring so well and remain in the basement in the west. But, the arrival of David Beckham will be a fun circus any way you slice it, so they’re still a team to look forward to.

Even though Tim Howard was loaned to Everton, and eventually signed with them permanently, I continue to rabidly follow Manchester United as though they’re my home team. As the EPL starts up again in August, it will be curious to see if the new interest in soccer can compete with an already long-term interest in the NFL, and the long and sordid plight of the Cincinnati Bengals…