Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who points out this “Like New In Box” (LNIB) Sony ICF-6800W on eBay.
Even the box appears to be in good shape:
Dan has been watching this auction and forecasts that it’ll fetch a healthy sum in the end. I’m pretty sure he’s correct.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who noticed my comments about the Sony ICF-6500W in the Shelby Hamfest photos and replies:
Speaking of the Sony ICF-6500W, I just brought one back from the dead. Have a few comments I just added to the bottom of my Sony page.
http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/sony.html
The good old long band selector switches were extremely dirty in my case (it has 2). Not sure if the 6500W has the nasty “well known” bug that plagues ALL similar designed Panasonic sets from that era (RF- 2600 / 2800 / 2900 / 4800 / 4900 etc..) , where those switches TOTALLY fail in time. In the case of this Sony it was just the extremely dirty switches (at least for now).
Very cool, Dave. Honestly, I don’t think I had ever seen the ICF-6500W in person until Saturday. The seller had noted that the pots were “scratchy.” I suspect it needed some healthy, strategic doses of DeOxit!
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Recently I have spent a little more time listening out for Tropical Band stations from my shack in Oxford UK, attempting to emulate some of the very nice signals I have previously recorded out on DX’peditions. The obvious problems with this (and they are numerous) include the relatively weak signal strength of many tropical band stations, the ubiquitous blanket of QRM, resulting in generally poor SNR, lack of space for a large antenna……need I go on?! Fortunately, the Elad FDM DUO has proven to be a very senstive and selective receiver, capable of, at times, incredible SNR, coupled with almost limitless signal conditioning options and SSB, SYNC, ECSS etc. Throw the Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop into the mix (not literally!) and you have a very powerful Tropical Band receive set-up. The Wellbrook is able to null most (although not all) QRM in my shack and that really can make the difference between simply observing a carrier and actually hearing audio. Clearly one cannot expect to hear DX at home under heavy QRM as well as you might outdoors, however, the following stations were logged in the past month or so, with respectable signals, with the ALA1530 indoors:
Video links also follow below, thanks for reading/ watching.
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Logos 4810 kHz, Peru
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Cultura Ondas Manaus 4845 kHz, Brazil
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; AIR Bhopal 4810 kHz, India
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Rádio Educação Rural 4925.2 kHz, Tefé, Brazil
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log video; Radio Mosoj Chaski 3310 kHz, Bolivia
Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.
Hi there, I thought some of the readers of SWLing post might be interested in my reception of Mayanmar Radio, Yangon, during a late-night DX’pedition in Oxfordshire, UK. I managed to catch them on 5985 and 7200 kHz; the latter was a personal first and perhaps further confirmation that my 200 metre longwire is contributing in a positive way to my mobile listening post. Subscribers and regular visitors to Oxford Shortwave Log on YouTube will know that I am forever trying to push the performance of my vintage portables to the limit of what’s possible, in the hope that I might hear something very exotic. it’s happened once or twice and thus worth all the effort in the small hours. Thanks for watching/ listening.
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for Mayanmar Radio reception video 5985 kHz
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for Mayanmar Radio reception video 7200 kHz
Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.
Hi there, I thought I would share some Brazilian shortwave catches with you, obtained using my Sony ICF-2001D receiver and 200 metre experimental longwire. The first is Radio Bandeirantes, Sao Paolo on 9645.4 kHz. This is a station that I’ve only heard once or twice previously, but was received with excellent signal clarity and strength recently, using my deployable longwire antenna. I would rate this station as moderately difficult to receive with reasonable discernibility. The second is Radio Novo Tempo from Campo Grande, on 4894.9 kHz. This station I would rate as difficult to hear with discernible audio. The key is always signal-to-noise, thus moving yourself out of the ubiquitous blanket of QRM most modern environments endure will usually achieve this and of course coupled with sufficient space outdoors to erect a larger antenna will hopefully also improve signal strength. My final video on this post is Radio Nacional Brazilia on 6180 kHz. I would regard this station as quite easy to hear well; their effective TX power towards Europe is around 2 MW, however, outdoors, this station can literally boom in, with what might be perceived as local-AM signal strength. I hope you enjoy watching the videos and seeing/ hearing what’s possible with a modest set-up. As for the Sony ICF-2001D? Well the design is more than 30 years old, but in my opinion at least, still one of the very best portable shortwave receivers ever manufactured. Thanks and 73.
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Bandeirantes
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Novo Tempo
Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log for reception video of Radio Nacional Brazilia
Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Francis, who left the following reply on our Battery Endurance Contest Results post:
Dear Thomas,
I have been using a Sony ICF-11 for 5-6 years now, still sold new at 50-70 euro. It’s analog and rather well featured: FM (stereo on earbuds), LW, AM, and 9 SW bands. It runs on 2 cheap AA batteries I get in low-cost supermarket, for sure not the best ones.
Using it at least one hour a day on the speaker, I have to change the batteries after 9-12 months. I am convinced a set of good Duracell or Energizer batteries would last some more months.
I am not a radio expert, but I am quite pleased with its audio performances, specially on LW (used most of the time ) and AM, where it is vastly superior to my Tecsun PL-660. SW looks OK for what I can say from listening quite occasionally these bands. I would be curious to see a serious review of this Sony to know how it compares with others, but I didn’t find any on the web so far (hint?). [Yes, Francis, hint taken!]
I am so pleased with this small radio that I recently bought a second one as a spare.
Thanks for your very interesting blog and reviews.
Francis
Thank you, Francis, for sharing your thoughts on the Sony ICF-SW11 and your photos as well!
It appears Amazon.com (US) has a few options for ordering a Sony ICF-SW11–click here to show search results. Prices vary between $50-$55; Amazon even has replacement telescopic whips available.
Of course, an eBay search will also uncover a number of SW11’s.
I searched the web, but couldn’t find many other retailers selling new ICF-SW11’s. It appears many of the ones on Amazon are imports from Japan.
At $50 shipped, it seems like a bargain to me, so I just pulled the trigger on one.
On August 4, 2016, the same day I received my new Sangean DT-160CL, I popped a fresh set of CVS Max Alkaline batteries into the DT-160CL as well as into my trusted Sony SRF-39FP. The mission? To see which radio could perform longest on a set of batteries.
I set my stopwatch as I turned on both radios, tuned to the same frequency, set the volume to the same levels…and waited.
And waited. And waited. And as I waited, I posted updates.
But at last, the waiting is at an end: here are the contest’s final results.
On August 9, I reported that the Sangean DT-160CL finally threw in the towel, logging an impressive 116 hours 30 minutes of operating time–!
Without a doubt, this is one of the longest run times I’ve ever experienced from an AM/FM radio with digital display.
Interestingly, the day after the DT-160CL shut down, I turned it back on, and it operated for an additional 45 minutes or so, obviously absorbing a little more voltage from rested cells. During that 45 minutes period of time, the audio and overall performance was respectable. No doubt the DT-160 shuts down before audio is terribly compromised.
Amazingly, the Sony SRF-39FP kept running well beyond 116 hours. Well beyond…
By Wednesday morning–one full week from the time I began the endurance contest–the Sony SRF-39FP finally began showing signs of low-voltage: the audio had a small amount of splatter and sensitivity began to be compromised.
Unlike the Sangean DT-160CL, which clearly has a cut-off voltage, the SRF-39FP kept milking the battery for its last vestiges of power.
I decided that I would call a “time of death” for this AA battery when the Sony struggled to receive local AM stations, as well as transmission from my in-house SStran AM transmitter.
This happened approximately 163 hours and 54 minutes into its marathon run.
This stopwatch app tracked the full endurance test. I pressed “stop” when the Sony SRF-39FP finally gave up.
Wow, wow, wow. I simply had no idea any portable could operate almost one full week on one AA cell–!
In truth, I’m sort of relieved the ’39FP finally gave up the ghost. I was beginning to think the thing was powered by some supernatural force…
When I started this test, I thought the Sony SRF-39FP was rated for about 40-80 hours of run time on a single battery. I couldn’t remember where I got that number until I recently re-read this article from The New Yorker, which highlighted the 39FP’s role in correctional facilities:
“The SRF-39FP is the gold standard among prison radios in part because it runs on a single AA battery, and offers forty hours of listening time…”
Wait, just forty hours? Perhaps from the cheapest AA battery made…
With an advanced chemistry cell like the Duracell Quantum or Energizer Advanced Lithium series, you’ll clearly get three to four times that performance.
And here’s the thing: I’m convinced I could’ve gotten much more time out of the SRF-39FP.
Like similar Sony portables, the SRF-39FP has a “DX/Local” switch. When set to DX, the receiver is made to deliver maximum performance.
If you’re listening to a local station, however, “Local” mode is a better choice. You’ll still be able to receive your target station, yet draw much less from the battery.
I left the Sony SRF-39FP in “DX” mode for the entire battery endurance test. Had it been in “Local” mode, I believe I’d be reporting an even longer run time. How much longer, I don’t know, but you can bet that my curiosity will soon get the best of me…I plan to do a separate endurance test to find out.
No doubt, our little test has proven that radios marketed to the prison system do offer excellent battery performance.
Now I’m very curious whether the standard Sangean DT-160 will offer the same battery performance as its clear-cased counterpart, the DT-160CL. The only difference in the two appears to be that one offers a clock, while the other doesn’t. I wonder if that would have any significant difference on battery life.
Additionally, the Sony SRF-39FP has shown us that analog receivers can be much more efficient than their digital counterparts. We’ve known this a long time at Ears To Our World, and which is why almost all of the radios we supply to schools in remote, rural locations are analog.
Sadly, analog radios are getting much more difficult to find these days as DSP-based receivers have become more affordable to produce.
The Sangean DT-160 is available at Amazon.com and Universal Radio. The Sangean DT-160CL (the version tested) is available through Amazon.
Click here to search eBay for the Sony SRF-39FP.
Readers: Know of any other battery-miser radios? Please comment!
