Sunday afternoon ritual when at home a nice bath listening to the radio - done this all my life....the radio in the bathroom these days is my little Sony ICF-SW100 radio. I've owned this radio since 1997 and it accompanied me on some epic journeys....has many thousands of miles under its belt. Now relegated to second line duties, largely replaced by DAB or iPad but it can still do stuff that they can't. Lovely bit of kit..
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-World-Band-Receiver-ICF-SW100-FM-Stereo-SW-MW-LW-PLL-Synthesiser-/380895905950
|
I've got two of the similar specced but larger ICF SW7600. About the size of a paperback book.
The older is a G model bought s/h at a Picketts Lock Amateur Radio Show c1997/8. Getting a bit ropey now as not all the buttons work but it's OK in bathroom where it only needs to toggle between 5Live and R4. Might try a bit of dismantling to see if I can fettle.
Second is the more recent GR model grabbed in a sale at Berrys in Holborn c2003. More memories and a few other control tweaks but basically same set up.
Both are capable of resolving SSB so I can pick up hams and earwig on Oceanic ATC etc. and have synchronous mode in AM which helps lock onto fading broadcasts. Performance is almost on par with my Lowe HF250 - an all singing/dancing comms receiver.
The SW100's achilles heel was supposed to be the connection between keypad and screen - has your's lasted? I also seem to recall there was a model specific active antennae for the SW100, did you have one?
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 11 May 14 at 17:35
|
|
Yes I have the active antennae somewhere....the keyboard/screen has been fine. sadly spends most of its time open now.
|
My ICF2001D, still in mint condition after years of travel, now lives in its original packing in the attic, along with all original accessories and books. I feel quite bad about deserting it really but the internet and Radio 3 by satellite does the job here and while travelling these days.
I can't stop picking up nice kit though. Near me as I type is a lovely Sony Air 8 I picked up in the UK a few years ago for a song, a mint Schneider portable that looks like a Roberts or Hacker, from 1968, that I bought for 4 euros at a car boot sale and, the latest addition, a mint Panasonic RF-B60 I bought back along for 1 euro when I spotted it in a box of dusty bits and pieces at a car boot sale. They all work beautifully and I have others...
I thought the day of 'world band' portables was over but a pal from the UK was here a couple of weeks ago and he showed me a radio he had bought new off Ebay for 50 quid not long ago. It looked the spit of my Panasonic but with single sideband as well and a rechargeable lithium battery. It was well made too.
Another friend of mine used to say men are like magpies - always fascinated by small, shiny objects. Sounds fair enough to me.
|
Homage to a gadget.... - Bromptonaut
