Every now and then someone sends me a comment or asks me a question about a vintage radio that I’ve never seen or owned. There are so many of these that it is impossible to obtain all of them, but occasionally one seems to grab my attention, either because I’ve read about it and known about it for years or simply because it occupies a unique niche in portable radio history and seems to hold a special place in many people’s hearts. One such radio is Radio Shack’s Realistic DX-440/Sangean ATS-803A from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

What Makes the DX-440/ATS-803A so special and how does it perform compared with other vintage radios and today’s portables? All will be revealed in the Realistic DX-440/Sangean ATS-803A Review.   (

Jay Allen       radiojayallen@gmail.com