Monthly Archives: August 2015

Moshe restores a Ben-Gal “Duet-Stereo”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Moshe, who writes:

About 2 weeks ago, a very good friend called me and exclaimed, “you just have to see this radio…I’m keeping it for you!”–so, I drove to his aunt’s house and saw this beauty.

After hauling the radio to my place, I started to check it out, to see what would be needed for restoration; it was working, with bad contacts, poor frequency response and low output.

I took hi-res pictures of this radio, some during restoration. Now the radio sounds great. It has been recapped, a couple of bad resistors and bad wires replaced, contacts have been cleaned, and some good cleaning for the chassis as well.

As I wanted to keep the original appearance of the chassis, I kept the original filter capacitors on board, but disconnected them from the circuit, added terminal strips and new capacitors from underneath.

The radio uses an EF85 tube as the RF stage. With the addition of a grounding connection and random wire antenna, it’s very sensitive on shortwave.

About the Ben-Gal Duet-Stereo:

It was made in Israel by Ben-Gal, a label inside shows it was made at 12th of December, 1965.

It is a console model with record player. As the model name suggests, the amplifier and record player are stereo (though the tuner is not…).

The radio has longwave (marked in meters), mediumwave (marked in meters) and 3 shortwave bands (with megacycle and meter band marks).

The shortwave bands overlaps with each other, so cover is continuous:

SW3 2.3MHz to 6MHz,

SW2 5.5MHz to 15.5MHz,

and SW1 14.5MHz to 23MHz.

Many thanks, Moshe, for sharing photos and this description of this beautiful Ben-Gal Duet-Stereo. I bet the audio fidelity is amazing. My father has a 1960’s console–with a similar configuration–made by Admiral, though it was limited to mediumwave and FM reception. Some day, I will try to restore it to its former glory!

Thanks for the inspiration, Moshe!

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Lansing Named CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors

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John Lansing (Source: BBG)

(Source: Broadcasting Board of Governors Press Release)

WASHINGTON – The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the independent federal government agency that oversees all U.S. civilian international media, today announced the appointment of John Lansing as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the BBG. Lansing will begin his service at the BBG in September.

Lansing joins the BBG with nine years of experience as President of Scripps Networks, where he is credited with guiding the company to become a leading developer of unique content across various media platforms including television, digital, mobile and publishing. As President of Scripps Networks, Lansing was responsible for strategic and operational oversight of the $2.5 billion division of Scripps Networks Interactive, including the company’s portfolio of six cable networks – Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country – and the $100 million Scripps Networks Digital division. Prior to joining Scripps Networks in 2004, Lansing was Senior Vice President for Television in the broadcasting division of the E.W. Scripps Company, managing the company’s portfolio of 10 network affiliated television stations. Earlier, he held various senior management positions at Scripps-owned affiliates, including WEWS TV in Cleveland, Ohio and WXYZ TV in Detroit, Michigan.

Most recently, Lansing was President and Chief Executive Officer of Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), a marketing association comprised of 90 of the top U.S. and Canadian cable companies and television programmers. There, Lansing oversaw the development of business strategies and marketing initiatives that position cable television companies for continued growth as they compete with emerging digital content platforms.

Lansing also brings a deep understanding of journalism from roles as an award-winning Photojournalist and Field Producer, Assignment Manager, Managing Editor, and News Director at several television stations earlier in his career.

Lansing is currently Vice Chair of the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees and was named to the Bellarmine Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2010. He serves on the National Advisory Board of the Bellarmine University’s Institute for Media, Culture & Ethics; National Council for Media and Public Affairs of George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs; and, until recently, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies Foundation, one of the nation’s top schools for professional journalists.

“John is a proven executive and a remarkable, transformative leader in multiplatform content strategies, development and distribution,” said BBG Chairman Jeff Shell. “With his journalistic sensibilities and success in leading media companies through periods of challenges and growth, John is the ideal person to lead the BBG as we accelerate efforts to shape a global, world-leading media organization that is up to the challenges of the 21st century.”

“We are very fortunate to have John take on the CEO role at this critical time when U.S. international media is on the front line of the United States’ most important and complicated foreign policy issues,” added Shell. “From eastern Ukraine to China to ISIL and Iran, the programming of the BBG is the most important, and in many cases, the only voice of honest and open journalism. John also understands that conveying and critically assessing official U.S. policy is a key component of BBG’s mission. American leadership in the world depends in part on international audiences knowing where the United States stands with respect to their countries and the issues that affect them.”

“I thank Chairman Shell and the Board for this opportunity to help lead this fantastic organization,” said Lansing. “As one of the world’s largest media enterprises, the BBG provides balanced, reliable and authoritative news in the face of partisan media and heavy propaganda from repressive nations and extremist groups. I am honored to enter into public service and to join a team of world class journalists and media professionals who are dedicated to expanding freedom of information and expression worldwide. I also welcome the opportunity to work with this distinguished Board, which has steadily guided the BBG forward.”

Chairman Shell also thanked André Mendes for his service as BBG Interim CEO. “On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to express our deep appreciation for the tireless work of André and his dedicated team. During this transition period, André and his colleagues have worked diligently to produce outstanding results and to spur on forward momentum at the BBG.”

BBG’s Critical Importance in a Fragmented World and Rapidly Changing Media Environment

U.S. International Media (USIM) operates today in a challenging environment in which global audiences have vastly increased access to information from both public and private sources and in which modes of communication are changing in fundamental ways.

The global information space has become a battleground, where new international actors have “weaponized” information to try to undermine not only Western values but also Western resolve to confront the challenges of the 21st century. The emergence of well-funded state-sponsored broadcasters have demonstrated how propaganda can directly influence events on the ground. Elsewhere, non-state actors including al-Qaeda, ISIL and Boko Harem are using social media to recruit fighters and sow fear.

The BBG is sparing no effort to bring global audiences alternative narratives – built on accurate, fact-based journalism – to foreign propaganda in Ukraine and across the former Soviet Union as well as in the Middle East, South Asia and the African Sahel. MBN’s Raise Your Voice, an interactive audience engagement initiative on TV and radio in Iraq exemplifies BBG’s response, empowering moderate secular and religious voices to discuss the root causes of ISIL while providing Iraqi leaders with constructive feedback on the lives and hopes of the Iraqi people.

Gallup research underscores impressive results, most notably where extremism is a palpable threat; BBG networks boast weekly adult audiences of 44% in Iraq, 53% in Afghanistan, 28% in Iran, 51% in Somalia, and 18% in Nigeria. Globally, BBG networks increasingly are engaging new audiences, reporting on issues of human rights, government corruption and other issues, which contributes toward an all-time high measured BBG weekly audiences in excess of 215 million and rapid growth across all media platforms including social media and mobile.

Telling America’s story is a significant part of BBG’s statutory mandate. BBG covers the United States in all of its complexity, reflecting the nation’s democratic process, so that the countries that are struggling to nurture their own democratic systems might learn from the American experience.

BBG has also developed a robust portfolio in Internet anti-censorship. The agency focuses not only on disseminating content, but also on expanding access to the Internet, and offering to citizen and professional journalists the tools to report safely without detection by government surveillance. Increasingly, this work is important in countries such as China, Venezuela and Iran that are bolstering their firewalls to stop the free flow of information.

About The Broadcasting Board of Governors

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is the independent federal government agency that oversees all U.S. international media. BBG is also the name of the board that governs the agency.

The BBG Board is focused on how to best leverage the combined power of the five media networks it oversees – Voice of America (VOA), Radio and TV Martí, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) – in countries where vital U.S. interests are at stake and freedom of the press and freedom of expression are under attack.

All current BBG Board members have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to their positions since August 2013. Board members are well-respected leaders in U.S. foreign policy, media, and government and operate in a collegial bi-partisan manner.

Current Board members include: Jeff Shell, Chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment; Matthew Armstrong, author and former Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy; Dr. Leon Aron, Resident Scholar and Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, whose 37-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service included service as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon; Michael Kempner, founder, president, and CEO of MWW, one of the world’s top five independent public relations agencies; Ambassador Karen Kornbluh, Executive Vice President of External Affairs for Nielsen and former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and Kenneth Weinstein, President and CEO of the Hudson Institute. Secretary of State John Kerry is represented on the Board by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, former managing editor of TIME.

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DSP noise may come from clock and data line harmonics

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In response to our review of the Sangean ATS-405–which noted DSP noises on 800 and 1600 kHz–SWLing Post reader, Steve Yothment, comments:

“Yes, modern radios usually have a micro communicating with the DSP IC through I2C communications.

The inter-IC communications includes a clock and data line. The clock for I2C is typically 400 kHz nowadays. Harmonics from this clock line are probably the source of the interference.

The manufacturer should have designed the product to ensure that this interference does not occur. It may be that they resolved it at one time but with limited manufacturing quality and component substitutions that often occur in mass production, the problem is occurring now even though it may have looked OK earlier in development. At least, that is my experience with such things. (I used to design car radios for the Panasonic Company.)

You can learn more about the I2C bus at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C2%B2C.

Many thanks for your comments, Steve! I recall a similar metronomic sound on another DSP-based radio, but can’t remember which model. I need to dig through my reviews as I’m sure I noted this. I believe checking 400, 800 and 1600 kHz will become a standard checklist item when I review DSP-based radios.

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The Aiwa FR-C33 AM\FM\WX portable radio

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A few weeks ago, SWLing Post contributor, Ron, sent me an eBay listing for a radio with which I was not familiar: the Aiwa FR-C33.

Ron wrote:

“I know you are primarily HF but here is something rather special and unique and inexpensive:

Aiwa’s response to C-Quam in the late 90’s was “AM Wide.” Apparently all this meant was a somewhat wider Murita ceramic filter.

But…the bandwidth just matches the 10,200 cycle limit imposed on AM stations today…try a Sony SRF-42 or SRF-A1 C-Quam receiver at night on today’s band and note that they’re just too wide.

I have one of these and can tell you the build quality is great…it has a tone control and on Sony Walkman headphones stations like WSM are just flat-out unreal in sonic quality…the speaker isn’t bad, either.

A nice big ferrite bar makes it a bit of a DX machine, too.

FM is also very good; even the weather-band add-on works too.

Very much worth a go for your collection and enjoyment[.]”

Aiwa-FR-C33-Back I’ve been enjoying the FR-C33 for a few weeks now; Ron’s assessment is spot-on.

The FR-C33 produces clear audio via its internal speaker, but where it really shines is with a pair of good headphones plugged in. Though it has no “Mega Bass” feature like many radios of its era, the Aiwa produces great bass tones via a good set of “cans” (I’ve been using my Sennheiser HD 428s).

The FR-C33 has a very useful tone control with a smooth, wide spread between the full bass and treble settings.

All of the FR-C33’s controls are fluid and functional.

AM (mediumwave) reception is truly fantastic. I find that the analog tuning wheel is easy to use and there’s enough room for the needle to easily travel across the dial without skipping stations inadvertently (a problem I often find with smaller analog portables).

It really shines, however, when you can center on a local broadcaster with a quality AM signal. While the FR-C33W doesn’t receive C Quam stereo, of course, its wide AM filter offers up excellent fidelity.

FM reception is also sound. While I haven’t done a formal comparison on FM, it receives my benchmark FM stations with ease and produces great audio fidelity via headphones. Sensitivity-wise, it might lag slightly behind some of the better DSP-based radios out there, but for an inexpensive analog receiver, it must be at the lead of the pack.

Ron, I really appreciate the recommendation–thank you! The FR-C33 is a keeper for sure.

Though these don’t pop up regularily on eBay, you can search for an Aiwa FR-C33 by clicking this link.

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Winner of the Virtual Radio Challenge III

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Dennis Blanchard (K1YPP), author of Three Hundred Zeroes: Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail, recently contacted me from the road, en route to another lengthy trail in Vermont.

Before this latest hiking expedition, Dennis spent many hours pouring over the Virtual Radio Challenge III entries, looking up weights and specifications of radio gear and accessories…And the upshot? He’s chosen a winner of our Reader Challenge.

Again, in summary, a participant’s goal was to find the best and most portable radio gear to receive shortwave, AM (medium wave), FM, and NOAA weather to support a long through-hike on the Appalachian Trail, to plan each day’s hike, and to make accommodations for frequent spring and summer thunderstorms (as well as occasional spring snow or sleet)…all for a budget of $300 US. [Read full details of the Challenge by clicking here.]

This year, Universal Radio rewarded–and has already dispatched!–a brand new CountyComm GP5/SSB portable receiver to the winning entrant.

Below are Dennis’ comments, along with those of the Challenge winner.

Dennis Blanchard (K1YPP) writes:

“This photo was taken in NJ. Shortly after I took these photos, and walked down the trail about a 100 feet, a bear came over to check the table to see if I had left anything.” (Photo: K1YPP)

Dennis Blanchard operating a portable radio on the Appalachian Trail. (Photo: K1YPP)

I’ve just spent about five hours going over the entries. There are several that are very good…indeed, Challenge participants obviously put lots of thought into their entries.

It was really tough to decide, but I had to go with most practical.

Weight is a big consideration for me, and that leaves out solar panels, hand crank generators, and the like.

What most don’t realize is that the AT has a nickname: “The Long Green Tunnel.” This eliminates solar panels because there is little sun to be had, as you’re in the shade most of the time. By the time you get to camp it is usually too late in the day for any charging, and wearing a panel just doesn’t do any good because of the shade (and weight).

Not only is weight an issue, so is space in the pack…hikers need all the room they can get for food, and in the cooler weather, heavy clothes.

Anyway, out of five finalists, I would have to go with Eric McFadden (WD8RIF).

Eric’s winning entry

So, what did Eric choose? The following is Eric’s winning entry, beginning with his radio choice and following with a clear, practical explanation for it:

C.Crane CC Skywave, AM/FM/SW/Air/WX, $89.95 at Universal Radio

Sangean ANT-60 Roll-Up 23′ Antenna, $12.95 at Universal Radio

Energizer L91 Ultimate Lithium Cells, AA, 12-pack, $17.45 at Amazon

“The C.Crane Skywave is small (4.75″ x 3″ x 1.1″); light (5.5oz); power-stingy (30mA with headphones); and receives AM, FM, SW, NOAA Weather, and VHF Aviation.The Skywave runs on two AA cells, and comes with a case and CC Earbuds.

The Energizer L91 Ultimate Lithium AA cells provide 1.5v at approximately 3000m Ah, weigh 1/3 that of an alkaline AA cell, and last several times longer than an alkaline cell.

The Sangean ANT-60 would be tossed over a handy tree-limb and clipped to the Skywave’s whip antenna when the Skywave’s built-in 16″ whip isn’t quite adequate for listening to a shortwave broadcast station.

The purchase price of the Skywave, six pairs of Ultimate Lithium AA cells, and ANT-60 would be about $121 plus shipping, well under the $300 limit. The entire station should be small enough and light enough for easy carry in a backpack. If the twelve Ultimate Lithium AA cells don’t last the entire hike, enough of the budgeted $300 remains to purchase more cells (either Ultimate Lithium or alkaline, as available) along the route.”

To this sensible explanation, Eric adds:

“Being a ham radio operator, I’d want to have a ham rig along, too. While I’d love to be able to operate HF CW along the AT, my Elecraft KX3 is too large and heavy to carry that far. However, my current Yaesu FT-60R 2m/70cm HT and Diamond SRH77CA whip should travel nicely clipped to a backpack strap and would serve as a back-up receiver for NOAA Weather and be available for pedestrian-mobile QSOs (chats) and calls for help, if needed.

In order to save weight and not have to hassle with charging batteries, I’d leave the NiMH pack at home and carry the FBA-25 six-cell AA holder and stuff it with additional Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells in order to save weight.

Since the C.Crane Skywave already meets all the requirements of the Virtual Challenge, and since I already own the HT, battery holder, and antenna, I won’t consider the cost of the HT, antenna, and batteries as part of the challenge.”

About Eric’s entry, Dennis notes:

Eric’s solution is small, lightweight, and does everything needed. He speculates that he would also bring along his Yaesu FT-60R, but didn’t feel he could include it because of cost. Curious, I looked it up on Amazon; should he take it along, this addition would still keep his total well under the $300.00 limit.

This would provide Eric with two receivers, [the ability to enjoy] ham radio communications, and not much weight to haul. He includes the AA Lithiums, and I have to say that, without a doubt, these are the finest hiking batteries out there: they’re light, last forever, and are readily obtainable. I only had to change mine out once on the entire, six-month AT hike, and I was on the air a lot.

Several of the other entries were winners also great; I basically had to use a dartboard to pick a winner. Good thinkers out there, especially considering none of them have actually ever done a hike of this magnitude.

Congrats, Eric! Thanks, Dennis! And more to come…

Congratulations to Eric McFadden for such a well thought-through entry!

I must say, I don’t envy Dennis in making this selection: it was obviously a challenging process on his end, too, and I’m glad I didn’t have to make it!

Dennis informed me that he plans to post and comment on some of his favorite entries in a few weeks, once he completes this latest multi-week hike. We will, of course, post his comments along with the finalist entries.

Note that when I originally received the reader inquiry which prompted the idea behind this Reader Challenge, the CC Skywave had not yet entered the market. Yet several of you chose it as your sidekick for the Appalachian Trail; clearly, clever minds think alike. Obviously, a radio that would function well on the Appalachian Trail would also be a great radio for your BOB (“bug out bag”), go kit or emergency supplies.

Thanks again to Dennis Blanchard, our intrepid judge, thanks to Universal Radio for the great prize, and many, many thanks to all our Reader Challenge participants, who made this process even more exciting and challenging! Meanwhile, don’t worry if you didn’t win the CountyComm GP5/SSB this time; we’ll soon have another opportunity to win one of these handy rigs in a completely different–and fun!–way.

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It might not be your radio: poor propagation

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Lately, I’ve had a number of emails from new readers that read something like this:

“I just purchased a new portable shortwave receiver, but I can’t seem to hear anything on it other than the strongest of stations. Should I return this radio? Am I doing something wrong?”

The SWLing Post attracts a lot of new shortwave listeners–which is terrific–but there’s nothing worse than being excited about a new hobby (and new radio) only to find that you can’t hear much of anything.

But right now, it may not be your fault–nor your radio’s.

Propagation conditions don’t get much worse than this.

There are many factors that influence what you can receive, so I typically send new listeners to this article, which is full of tips to help you get the most out of your radio.

But lately, even if you follow all of these handy tips, you may still find it difficult to receive distant stations–especially during daytime hours. The fact is, for the past few weeks, we’ve been experiencing fairly dismal shortwave radio propagation conditions.

How can we tell? Well, the K index–a scale from 0 to 9 which indicates the magnitude of geomagnetic storms–“K0” equating a quiet magnetic field, while “K9” indicates extreme storms–has risen to K6 and even K7 for the past two days, unusually high, indeed. The result? In radio terms, such unsettled conditions mean that shortwave signals simply can’t effectively propagate across the globe. To add insult to injury, sun spot numbers–which can indicate effective radio propagation–have also been somewhat low.

I understand how Post readers are feeling. I’ve been particularly sensitive to the crippling effects of the geomagnetism during this weak cycle, as I’ve been attempting to hear the elusive Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel in Antartica…alas, not really possible right now.

Should we just give up, then, letting the sun and geomagnetism rule the day–? Not at all! Typically, these periods come and go within a matter of weeks. No worries, readers; you’ll soon find that your radios work just fine. In fact, at the conclusion of poor solar conditions, there are often excellent band openings…

The take-away here? Just stay tuned! Better listening conditions await.

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A repair story: Vlado’s fix for the classic Sony ICF-SW100

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In June, I made a small leap of faith and purchased a (dead) Sony ICF-SW100 from Universal Radio (see the listing on right).

ICF-SW100-Used-NonWorking You see, for many years, I’ve dreamed about owning this wee little receiver, now a classic among tiny radios, but used ones are typically too expensive for my modest budget.

This time, seeing the ad at Universal, I spoke with Universal Radio directly to obtain more details about their defunct unit; while they simply didn’t know what was wrong with the Sony, they were able to very accurately describe its cosmetic and functional condition…I took a deep breath, and decided to take a chance on it anyhow.

In full disclosure, I have a secret weapon in my camp: my talented friend, Vlado (N3CZ), who is not only the most adept electronics engineer/technician I’ve ever known, but one who truly welcomes a challenge. The thought had occurred to me as I admired the wounded Sony, Wonder if Vlad would like to take this on–?

The answer, of course, was Yes! So I dropped the DOA Sony off at Vlad’s home last week. He disassembled the radio, only to discover that my ICF-SW100 was a victim of the (dreaded) damaged ribbon cable.

A short history of the Sony ICF-SW100 and SW100S

These radios are indeed brilliant, incredible performers for their miniscule size. Yet the first generation of ICF-SW100 radios–those produced before the fall of 1997–have a design weakness: the ribbon cables which connect the upper and lower portions of the radio’s clamshell design eventually fail. Multiple openings and closings bend and cut the cables, rendering the otherwise remarkable little radio useless.

SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, recently shared his knowledge about the ICF-SW100 series. Dan notes:

SW-100 Seekers Beware

As shortwave veterans know, the classic SONY miniportables — SW-1, SW-100(S) and SW-07, represented some amazing technological achievements. SONY managed to shrink some fantastic technology into these receivers, including (with the last two in the line) — SYNC capability. The SW-07, which was the last of these receivers, still brings some high prices on Ebay.

But if you are searching for the ICF-SW-100S there are some things to consider and beware of. As everyone knows, the SW-100 suffered from the well-known ribbon-cable failure problem. SONY addressed this problem in later serial numbers, and changed the design of the radio case.

Modified SW-100s have a notch where the top cover meets the base.

There are some dishonest sellers out there who are trying to pass off older version SW-100s as modified ones. Usually, the tip-off is that the photograph in the Ebay auction will be dark or out of focus, so it’s hard to tell if the radio is the modified version or not.

It has become quite rare to find an original SONY modification kit, which includes a new top cabinet of the SW-100. And some sellers are trying to get as much as $300 for these, though they rarely sell at this level.

This repair kit was on eBay at time of posting.

ICF-SW100 modification kit found on eBay at time of posting.

It’s also becoming rare to see SW-100S radios new-in-box. I had two of these, sold one and kept the other.

If you’re after one of these marvel radios, do what everyone should do when considering items on Ebay — ask many questions about [the] cosmetic condition, accessories, serial numbers, etc.

Universal Radio, a trustworthy seller I know, had fully disclosed the model number and problems with this radio, so I knew exactly what I was buying. Dan has a very good point, though: unless you know the seller to be honest, do your research and ask questions!

The ailing ICF-SW100

Vlado discovers the faulty ribbon cable (click to enlarge)

Back to my ailing unit: Vlado delivered the news about the ribbon cable via text message, and though I was well aware that the chances were high that was the ribbon cable, I was a little bummed, to say the least, to get the formal diagnosis.

Why? As Dan mentions above, you’ll find that the SW-100S upgrade kit Sony produced in the 1990s is no longer available new; sellers typically list these kits at prices in excess of $300 US. Out of my budget.

But Vlado, ever the intrepid engineer, had no idea I would be disappointed with this news; he was just giving me this FYI via text. Indeed, he seemed entirely unfazed, as in, hey, no serious internal damage here…

Another hour passed. Then came another message from Vlad; this one simply said: “Call me.”

Oh no, I thought. But I called, and Vlado answered cheerfully, “Hello? Tom, is that you? Sorry, I can’t hear you very well because your SW100 is playing too loudly. Hang on–let me turn the volume down!”

Vlad installs the replacement ribbon cable (click to enlarge)

“What!?!” I responded, in utter disbelief.

Yes, he’d got it working! It seems that Vlad had unearthed an old DVD player in his garage that he’d kept merely for parts. He opened it up, identified a ribbon cable with the right pitch, then cut and folded the cable to fit into the SW100. Ingenious!

That’s Vlado for you!

And should I be interested in replacing this used cable with a new one–or in repairing other Sonys–Vlad directed me to eBay listings for new cables which only total about $20, shipped. Truthfully, I’m in no hurry, as this one is functioning perfectly and changing out the ribbon cable seems to have no effect on stored memories, etc. With a single affordable eBay purchase of multiple cable sets, it occurred to me that Vlad would have enough replacement cables to repair the SW100 many times over…

So I bought the cables. (This one for the narrow cable and this one for the wider one.)

My “new” Sony ICF-SW100

Needless to say, I’m very pleased with my “new” (to me) SW100. It’s a little masterpiece of receiver engineering in such a tiny package. And since the ICF-SW100 is unquestionably the smallest portable I own–and is one of the few I own with a proper line-out jack–it may very well become my go-to radio for one bag travel.

It’s in the bag: listening to the ‘SW100 before I pack it for my next trip!

Stay tuned the review…

Vlado’s radio E.R.: the doctor is in

As I’ve said, Vlad is one of the most adept repair technicians I’ve ever known. At my prompting, he’s kindly agreed to let me promote his services here on the SWLing Post. Vlad acknowledges that he “likes a challenge,” adding that he enjoys nothing more than making repairs even when”parts are scarce” and radio”surgery” is required. Moreover, his bench fees will be quite reasonable, especially considering what you receive: new life for a failing radio. So, if you’ve got an ailing rig on your hands, and don’t mind waiting for Vlad to get to it, send it to his radio emergency room, where radios (like my Sony) have life breathed back into them once again.