{"id":23522,"date":"2017-01-20T19:57:58","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T23:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=23522"},"modified":"2018-08-28T06:36:47","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T10:36:47","slug":"the-diminutive-but-brilliant-sony-icf-sw100-a-few-autumnwinter-dx-catches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/the-diminutive-but-brilliant-sony-icf-sw100-a-few-autumnwinter-dx-catches\/","title":{"rendered":"The diminutive but brilliant Sony ICF-SW100: a few autumn\/winter DX catches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23523 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood.jpg\" width=\"1366\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/icfsw100wood-624x351.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hi there, I posted an article on this brilliant little radio a few months ago because\u00a0it had demonstrated a level of performance way beyond my expectations. Notwithstanding it&#8217;s incredibly small size the DX results I obtained with it were beyond my ICF-SW55 and up there with the iconic ICF-2001D. Armed with\u00a0synchronous detection, selectable side bands, SSB, CW and sensitivity seemingly boyond\u00a0it&#8217;s tiny form factor I can&#8217;t recommend this radio\u00a0highly enough.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23533\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" height=\"175\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors-624x351.jpg 624w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100indoors.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23534\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"309\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor-624x351.jpg 624w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sw100outdoor.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Originally introduced into the market in 1993 and discontinued in 2005, the ICF-SW100 won&#8217;t ever be repeated &#8211; a point I made in my original post, but of course they are available on eBay and prices remain robust for what is now essentially a vintage receiver. Unfortunately, I don&#8217;t get to use my ICF-SW100 very much as I have various other receivers and have been involved in antenna building\/testing and MW DX for the past few months. However, on the couple of\u00a0occasions when I have taken the Sony on a <em>mini<\/em> DXpedition, it&#8217;s resulted in some fine DX. As demonstrated in the examples below, Mali, Guinea, Alaska and Japan are amongst the more difficult signals to copy in Europe and yet the ICF-SW100 delivered them! <em>Text links to reception videos on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/oxfordshortwavelog\">Oxford Shortwave Log<\/a> YouTube channel follow below and futher down you will find embedded videos. Thanks for reading\/watching\/listening and I wish you all great DX!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"vm-video-title-content yt-uix-sessionlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SPUx5KwiEtA\">Miniature shortwave marvel: Sony ICF-SW100, Radio Mali 9635 kHz, Bamako<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"vm-video-title-content yt-uix-sessionlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=49eZ5PE8-SI\">Miniature shortwave marvel: Sony ICF-SW100, Radio Guin\u00e9e 9650 kHz, with ID<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"vm-video-title-content yt-uix-sessionlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y_UzChxLQIE\">KNLS WCB 11870 kHz, Anchor Point, Alaska, clear reception on 25 metres<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"vm-video-title-content yt-uix-sessionlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TbNAjzdR0Ls\">NHK World Radio Japan: 11815 kHz, best reception to-date on 25 m<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"vm-video-title-content yt-uix-sessionlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2cFyEJHKIY8\">KNLS WCB 9655 kHz, Anchor Point, Alaska, best reception to-date on 31 metres<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SPUx5KwiEtA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/49eZ5PE8-SI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y_UzChxLQIE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TbNAjzdR0Ls?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2cFyEJHKIY8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i>Clint Gouveia\u00a0is 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:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UChtXnzopFIr6wTIA6QwIeLw\" target=\"_blank\">Oxford Shortwave Log<\/a>. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi there, I posted an article on this brilliant little radio a few months ago because\u00a0it had demonstrated a level of performance way beyond my expectations. Notwithstanding it&#8217;s incredibly small size the DX results I obtained with it were beyond my ICF-SW55 and up there with the iconic ICF-2001D. Armed with\u00a0synchronous detection, selectable side bands, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,3607,56,399,3194,960,3196,196,26,746,43,154,3727],"tags":[5846,2224,5499,5778,4082,737,4086,495,3395,681,5847],"class_list":["post-23522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-antennas","category-broadcasters","category-dxpeditions","category-guest-posts","category-international-broadcasting","category-portable-radio","category-qrm","category-radios","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","category-shortwave-radio-reviews","category-ultralight-dx","tag-anchor-point-alaska","tag-dxpedition","tag-radio-guinea","tag-radio-mali","tag-shortwave-radio","tag-shortwave-radio-recordings","tag-shortwave-radio-reviews","tag-sony","tag-sony-icf-sw100","tag-vintage-radio","tag-world-radio-japan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-67o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21474,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/the-sony-icf-sw100-a-miniture-dx-marvel-never-likely-to-be-repeated\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":0},"title":"The Sony ICF-SW100: a miniture DX marvel, never likely to be repeated","author":"Clint Gouveia","date":"September 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi there, I've owned my Sony ICF-SW100S for about a year now and in that time it has demonstrated a level of performance way beyond my expectations. Notwithstanding it's incredibly small size (about the same as a packet of cigarettes, give-or-take), the DX results I have obtained with it are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DXpeditions&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DXpeditions","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/dxpeditions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"sw100s","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/SW100S-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/SW100S-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/SW100S-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28701,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/from-the-shortwave-archives-radio-rsa-reviews-the-sony-icf-2001\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":1},"title":"From the Shortwave Archives: Radio RSA reviews the Sony ICF-2001","author":"Thomas","date":"October 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've mentioned many times before what a joy it is to curate the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA). Sometimes I'm sent recordings that evoke a flood of memories. SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, just submitted another such recording. Tom included the following notes with his Radio RSA - Voice of South\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sony-ICF-2001-003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sony-ICF-2001-003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Sony-ICF-2001-003.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15509,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/sunrise-and-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":2},"title":"Sunrise and shortwave","author":"Thomas","date":"November 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"It doesn't matter that propagation is rather poor this morning: I have a Sony ICF-SW100, a good cup of coffee, a beautiful sunrise and Radio Australia is loud and clear on 9,580 kHz. All is well.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sony ICF-SW100","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_20151111_071240128_HDR1-619x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_20151111_071240128_HDR1-619x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_20151111_071240128_HDR1-619x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11330,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/sony-icf-sw100-difference-between-mki-and-mkii\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":3},"title":"Sony ICF-SW100: difference between MKI and MKII","author":"Thomas","date":"November 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to our post about the Sony ICF-SW100, Michael comments: \"I've found that, with some patience and a willingness to search outside of eBay, that the ICF-SW100 can be found for under $250. It's more than a fair bit of money for a shortwave receiver. If I had to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sony-ICF-SW100","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15717,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/video-shortwave-listening-and-radio-astronomy\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":4},"title":"Video: Shortwave listening and radio astronomy","author":"Thomas","date":"November 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday I attended an event at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI)--location of the 2015 SWLing Post DXPedition. During a break, I had a couple of free hours, so I reached in my messenger bag and pulled out the Sony ICF-SW100: a radio that has quickly surpassed all others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EDC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EDC","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/edc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sony-ICF-SW100","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15190,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/the-bands-are-open-make-time-to-listen\/","url_meta":{"origin":23522,"position":5},"title":"The bands are open! Make time to listen.","author":"Thomas","date":"October 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Though I've spent the entire day sawing and splitting firewood, I've been actively recording spectrum on the 31, 25, 19 and 16 meter bands with the WinRadio Excalibur, Elad FDM-S2 and the SDRplay RSP. Why? Propagation--especially on the higher bands--has been the best it's been in several weeks. As I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sony-ICF-SW100-Outside-Fall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sony-ICF-SW100-Outside-Fall.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sony-ICF-SW100-Outside-Fall.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sony-ICF-SW100-Outside-Fall.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sony-ICF-SW100-Outside-Fall.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23522\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}