This Sangean The Ultimate FM/SW/MW/LW/Air Multi-Band Radio has been widely regarded by ham radio enthusiasts as one of the best portable shortwave radios out there. Now with the improved second generation ATS-909X2, it boasts some significant improvements over the functionality while refining the already-excellent features on the original model. Another worthy upgrade is the newly designed smart battery compartment. The radio will now be able to detect faulty batteries and locate its position in the battery compartment when plugged in for charging under standby mode.