I mentioned in a previous post that SWLing Post contributor, Ed Earps, recently gifted me his Sony ICF-7600A.
I’ve been having a field day with this radio!
Well, many field days, in fact. Early on, I packed the ‘7600A in my Red Oxx Hound EDC pack–it fits in the Hound’s interior pocket perfectly and is well-protected on all sides. The radio has pretty much lived in my car and truck since then, thus has gotten a lot of air time when I take short breaks throughout the day.
In November, I took the ‘7600A to Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet/2,037 meters above sea level) and to coastal South Carolina (sea level). It’s been a great radio companion and has given me an excuse to go “old school” and do a little analog band-scanning.
The ICF-7600A certainly has some strengths.
For one thing, although I’ve let this radio on for extended listening sessions, I’ve yet to deplete the eneloop rechargeable batteries (Amazon affiliate link) I originally installed in October. Obviously, this radio will run for days on batteries–a serious plus if DXing off-grid.
The ‘7600A is a fantastic portable for mediumwave DXing. Although it’s also a very sensitive and selective shortwave receiver–especially in this class and era of analog portable–I think mediumwave may be its strong suit.
On the negative side, some of the shortwave band selections are truncated and for some reason, it doesn’t have a back stand (quite an odd omission). Still, these are pretty minor cons.
Obviously, the pros outweigh the cons on this brilliant vintage portable that seems to have held up very well over the years.
To ensure its longevity–and as a precaution–I do think I’ll take it to Dr. Vlado to have all of the caps replaced soon.
My thoughts? If you ever stumble across an ICF-7600A at a hamfest or on eBay, I say grab it!
Post readers: Anyone else love the ICF-7600A? Did I miss any major pros or cons? Please comment!
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I have an old one but cannot find the directions. Do you know how to set it for weather alerts?
I found one in our municipal electronics recycling trash, in the box. I thought for sure it was broken…. a pity they didn’t try to have it fix. Got it home, opened up the battery compartments, some corroded crap came out, but battery contacts seemed fine. Put some fresh batteries, and it works.
I can’t believe I found this beauty. The frequency on the dial seems to be a BIT off from what they really are. When I have time going to open this baby up and see what’s going on inside, see if I can do some sort of alignment, and see what shape the electrolytic capacitors are in.
I first bought this radio brand new in 1987 from a NYC electronic shop for $85. I remember tuning into Radio South Africa (RSA) with its bird chirping jingles. I do agree that 7600A is an excellent analog dual conversion receiver. I loved it so much that since my original purchase I bought 3 more of the same at different times from eBay in good used condition….just in case if the first one acts up which rarely happens though.
Just picked up a NOS off eBay for $125! Will post soon
I just bought an ICF-7600A on Etsy for $27 shipped! It holds up well against my Tecsun PL-880 on MW.
This and the Toshiba RP-F11 are amazingly sensitive radios and among the best of the old analog portables