Description
This Sony Shortwave receiver was manufactured in Japan from 1988-1993 and originally sold for about $350 which would be closer to $850 today when adjusted for inflation. It is, in its simplest terms, a gadget persons dream. Some have even referred to it as a James Bond receiver due to its carry case and components. These radios all suffer from capacitor failure after the passing of a few years regardless of whether the radio has been in operation or not. If the you have one of these and the capacitors are still working, they will eventually need replaced. However, this radio has had the defective capacitors recently replaced so it works perfectly. This can be an expensive repair, but this servicing was done prior to listing this radio on Ebay. The capacitor failure manifests itself as a motorboating sound when turning on the radio and when you are trying to hear a station. If you ever purchase one of these radios, you need to inquire of the seller if the caps have been replaced. The caps on this radio were quite bad and the audio was unintelligible. However, since the cap replacement, the audio sounds great and as it did originally when sold by Sony and likely will never need done again for the life of this unit. With this unit, when it was in the repair shop to have the audio caps replaced, we also requested that the display lamps be upgraded with LEDs to brighten up the output and you can see this upgrade in one of the pictures at the top of this listing. Everything on this SW1 works well and as designed by Sony. Cosmetics are very nice and this radio and its components look to be in great original condition. We encourage you to look closely at our pictures as they will provide precise cosmetic detail using the magnifier. Please note that the wristband is flaking some of its vinyl coating and this is virtually guaranteed with these SW1 radios as all of the radios suffer this same and small problem. The buyer of the SW1 will receive a complete ensemble:restored ICF-SW1 radio (with batteries)fabric case for the SW1 (shows a little wear to the corners)original purchase receipt from 1994original user manualSony Wave Handbookcopy of the service manualplastic carry case for the ensembleAC wall adapter (will also work for 230VAC with adapter)plug adapter for European AC outletsexternal antenna module (requires 4 AA batteries - included)antenna controllerSony ICF-SW1S system setup color chartSony ICF-SW1 brochure copySony ICF-SW1 advertisementcopy of Gilfer Shortwave radio catalog pagecopy of Barry Electronics advertisementcopy of EEB catalog page (Electronic Equipment Bank)WRTH review - 1989 (World Radio & Television Handbook)Passport review - 1991 (Passport To World Band Radio) CD containing many of the above documents plus more. This is no mere radio, but rather, it is a complete shortwave listeners package and travel radio. In its basic form, the radio can be used without any of the other gadgets. With the SW1, you can tune into any AM, FM or Shortwave signals as the frequency extends from the bottom of the AM band in the longwave section of 150 KHz. Europe still uses these lower frequencies and the band extends into the AM band which is very heavily used both in Europe and North America and also other parts of the world including South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The radio listener can then expect to get frequencies in the medium wave band that extends into the marine and ham bands in the middle range of 2 to 4 MHz. Just above the 4 MHz range, the listener enters into the tropical bands where, depending on your location, you can expect to receive some of the exotic sounds from the Latin and African stations intended for their domestic audiences. Just above the tropical bands, the listeners then enters into the HF or high frequencies of shortwave where one can receive broadcasts from all over the world at the push of a button. The frequencies then extend all the way up to 29995 KHz (29.995 MHz) and cover the rest of the HF amateur radio bands, commercial shortwave bands, and CB bands. And finally, it receives FM broadcasts, but not just the 88 to 108, the frequencies extend down to 76 MHz to include the complete European FM band. This radio is amazingly small. It is about the size of a deck of playing cards and yet is capable of picking with dozens of signals across its many bands. The SW1 is also highly sensitive...surprisingly so. You look at it and figure that anything that small would have to certainly compromise sensitivity on reception. Just to check out its capabilities, we used one of my desktop communications receivers with outside antenna to tune in a weak station. We then typed the frequency into the Sonys calculator keyboard and hit the execute button (James Bond again) and was amazed to hear the same weak station on this tiny device. And if the sensitivity were not enough, the folks at Sony came up with an over the top solution for the most challenging reception conditions...a remote active antenna. Here is how it works. If you determine that reception is poor...say you are in a hotel room with thick walls and away from the window...you visit the carry case and remove two components...the antenna module and antenna controller. You pick up the radio and retract the on board radio antenna and then snap on the antenna controller. Next, you pull out the connector from the winder in the antenna module and connect it to the antenna controller. At this point, you reel out wire from the antenna module and locate the external antenna to a better receiving area...lets say a window that is 10 away. You turn on the antenna controller and expand the antenna on the remote module and now discover that reception has dramatically improved so that you can hear the broadcast that was weak just a short time before. If this sounds complicated, try to write a physical description of how to tie your shoes. It is actually very easy, despite the lengthy instructions. (easier than tying a shoe) This is the coolest device and the fact that it fits neatly into its own formed plastic case gives you the sense that the radio and its accessories were extremely well considered. There are even retainers built inside the case to hold the AC adapter and power adapter in place so that they dont swim around inside during movement. The radio has a clock on it that has a built in alarm for travel or bedside use. Additionally, you will find a DX-local switch so that you can choose between local or distance listening, a tone control for news or music choices, a sleep feature to turn the radio off after you doze off, an on board scanner to help locate stations, output jacks for both headphones and tape recording (or inputting into your computer sound card), and a dial light for use once the lights go out. On the carry strap is a plastic tab that when inserted into the back of the radio, gives a nice tilt stand...very clever. You can use 2 AA batteries to power the SW1 or chose to connect the power adapter for more economical use. Tuning can be done by direct keyboard entry, slewing up and down the band with the arrow controls, pushing a memory button for a selection or scanning for stations. With this radio tuned into shortwave, here on the east coast, you will expect to readily hear China, Cuba, Romania, Turkey, New Zealand and more. All the above are easy DX catches here on the east coast in central PA and all of them can be listened to in English. Wherever you live and depending upon the time of year and daily receiving conditions, you will receive some stations better than we do and others you will receive less capably. That is the interesting thing with radio propagation, especially on shortwave, as there are so many variables. The world of shortwave radio is fantastic as you can not only get stations from all over the world, but each broadcaster has unique programming. Almost all offer some sort of news, whether local or world or both, but many also offer cultural music...folk music from Romania, middle eastern music from Turkey, Latin music from Cuba, and Mediterranean music from Greece. In addition, you will learn info as if you traveled through the country, hear language lessons, get cooking tips, hear interviews with historians, authors, entertainers, and other people of interest, hear plays or drama and tune into religious programs or sports. For us, we especially like the alternative news sources that an interesting option to the big media owned news here in the USA. We do not suggest that alternative news is more accurate, as indeed it has often proven, but rather we suggest that we hear an alternative whether we agree or not with the slant of the news. During the day while at home, domestic broadcasters featuring programs like Alex Jones on Infowars or The Power Hour offer interesting bits of information that typically shows up in local TV broadcasts within a few months or years, if it shows up at all. The news is that original and often that cutting edge! Feel free to email with any questions that you may have. Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost. This cost includes proper packing materials for safe delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss.Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase from us. We have shipped to 111 countries during the past 24 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world. You may use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.Please keep in mind that this cost may not include any import, customs, or VAT fees. If you are uncertain of these costs, we ask you to check with your local post office prior to making a purchase from us. Thank you!Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at our Ebay items!
| 
Live search