I own this model, as is typical for me, mine has been modified. The AM filter was changed for a more symmetrical one. The SSB tuning was 'slowed down' to make tuning much easier. The FM filters were replaced with much higher quality versions; with the newer filters, it behaves like a typical DSP based model.
What a fantastic find! You’ve found a real bargain here. I hope you enjoy countless hours of fun with it while it lasts. Just a friendly reminder: like all radios, this one will eventually need some maintenance, such as capacitor replacement, after about 30 years. But don’t let that dampen your spirits-it's all part of the journey! Enjoy every moment with your new treasure!
My daughter bought one for my birthday somewhere around 2005. I still use it. It's one of my favorites, the only "portable" shortwave radio I owned that was better was the old DX440, sold in the US under the radio shack brand and everywhere else by Sangean. That was my radio that I started my day off when I lived in Germany and would end it in the evenings. It's funny how a radio can become a standard part of your life like that.
It is great to hear you have such a long history with the Sony and that your 2005 model still works. It's always a bit of a gamble with older radios, you never know for how long they will keep working. Your experience gives me some confidence in mine. The DX440 sounds like an interesting radio!
That's the danger with these radios, the capacitors fail at some point and leak all over the IC. I took a chance here and mine still seems OK, but I know I will need to replace the capacitors before they fail.
@@swlistening Do you know how to replace capacitors? Have you ever soldered before? You must be careful not to make the soldering iron too cold, or else the solder will be foggy and have worse contact with the motherboard. One more thing, you have to find the correct solder wire, and once you find it, never inhale the fumes. Please never do that, it feels awful, giving you a terrible headache, and if inhaled too much can get you high. I can tell this to you from experience from my father, but I have also done some of these things. If you touch a soldering iron, it feels like many times worse than touching a hot oven or stove plate. If there is one big thing I need to tell you, if you are soldering an electrolytic capacitor, never solder it backwards. It will explode when the circuit goes live.
@FamtechVideos Hi Deniz, thanks for all the tips. You know, I will not replace the capacitors myself, I would rather let someone with more experience than me do it. I don't mind soldering something simple like a wire, but I would rather not fiddle around with the capacitors on this one. I know people who are very skilled who have struggled with capacitors on some Sony radios. They can be troublesome because they used aluminium electrolytic capacitors that are known to leak sometimes, damaging the IC board. I will leave this to the experts, removing the old capacitors and adding new ones.
I miss mine! The caps went bad and I gave up on it. I don't recall mine having an external antenna jack. (It was the black model.) The original Sony reel antenna has a clip for attaching to the whip. My ICF-4910 finally gave out, also.
@@WilliamParmley I think that was what had happened to my ICF-SW7600G (the model before Andre's). I kept it in the drawer for years and had also left Duracell alkalines inside the battery compartment. They leaked and my Sony became toast. 📻😥
@@swlistening If you know a good radio repairer in Johannesburg, it might be worth replacing all of the electrolytic capacitors, bru. Who knows after a total replacement your radios' FM performance is restored to its original glory! 😀 Even the backlit lamp can be replaced with a more battery friendly, LED. I've seen examples of the 7600GR having a green LED illuminating the panel. An odd colour for this radio but an interesting one, nevertheless. 🙂
Hey André, you bet it's a bargain! These radios go for 125-200 euros here on eBay when in excellent condition. After the deal you got on the Hammarlund, I'm starting to think that South Africa is a paradise for SWL shoppers! It seems to be a great radio, although I find the muting when tuning quite annoying. Did your microphone make it worse than it is too? The line out connector is a rare but very useful feature on radios. The poor sensitivity in FM could be due to component ageing. My own Sony ICF-SW7600 (older black generation) that I bought used was totally deaf on FM and had severe audio amplifier issues too. Unfortunately I couldn't find someone to fix it 😮💨 You could even power your MLA30+ from the radio by hacking a micro-USB cable and soldering two wires to the 3.5mm jack. But it would probably deplete the batteries of your Sony too quickly to be convenient. Enjoy your new toy, at that incredible price...
Thanks Alain. I think the reason why I find such bargains here is simply that there is no market. There are SW listeners here, of course, I see that on my channel. But they are not many. So SW radios usually don't have many buyers. Makes me very happy, because I can find some great radios at very great prices! About FM. Maybe it is due to component aging, but I have read some reviews online that also mention the FM performance. It has always been kind of average. Not terrible, but not great either.
Sorry, Alain, I did not answer your question about the mic and the muting. The mic did not make that worse, it is as bad as you can hear in this video. Very annoying. The mic only seems to clip SW signals. FM and MW are fine. No idea why it happens, but that is why these days, 99% of the time, I don't use the mic. I only use it to demonstrate actual speaker sound with new radios I get.
@@swlistening mine stops muting for as long as I keep it pressed. I would consider a modification if it 'refused' to let me hear the stations as I tune.
@@Henry-d9d Hi Henry, I tried that now, and it does not mute! That's great. Thanks for the tip. It is as you say, when I hold in the button it does not mute.
Hi Lew, I am so sorry that this happened again. I wish I could offer a solution, but I really don't know why it happens. Sometimes there is just one key word that triggers a removal, or sometimes it happens when comments are very long. What I suggest to viewers is to keep a copy of the comment if it is very long, and if it is removed, to break it up into a series of shorter comments. Some key words that RUclips does not seem to like are names of its competitors. Adding links to other websites also often leads to removal of a comment.
Synchronous detection works very well on this model.
I own this model, as is typical for me, mine has been modified. The AM filter was changed for a more symmetrical one. The SSB tuning was 'slowed down' to make tuning much easier. The FM filters were replaced with much higher quality versions; with the newer filters, it behaves like a typical DSP based model.
Interesting modifications!
What a fantastic find! You’ve found a real bargain here. I hope you enjoy countless hours of fun with it while it lasts. Just a friendly reminder: like all radios, this one will eventually need some maintenance, such as capacitor replacement, after about 30 years. But don’t let that dampen your spirits-it's all part of the journey! Enjoy every moment with your new treasure!
Thanks for the reminder, I will surely get someone to service mine at some point and replace the capacitors.
@@va2wlt capacitors are easy to find and replace. You only have to worry about some electrolytics, ceramics can last a very long time.
God loves you, André, always remember that! Love your videos.
Thanks so much, I appreciate that!
You'll love the SYNC
Sync detection does work very well!
Very cool “new” radio for you. You should really appreciate the sync.
On these Sonys works very well.
The sync feature does work really well, I have tried it!
How nice!
I am really happy with it!
Well done! As I said earlier ....
Thanks!
My daughter bought one for my birthday somewhere around 2005. I still use it. It's one of my favorites, the only "portable" shortwave radio I owned that was better was the old DX440, sold in the US under the radio shack brand and everywhere else by Sangean. That was my radio that I started my day off when I lived in Germany and would end it in the evenings. It's funny how a radio can become a standard part of your life like that.
It is great to hear you have such a long history with the Sony and that your 2005 model still works. It's always a bit of a gamble with older radios, you never know for how long they will keep working. Your experience gives me some confidence in mine. The DX440 sounds like an interesting radio!
@swlistening There was a seller on eBay that would have the 440s and a few others re-capped and cleaned up for sale.
Really nice ... thanks for sharing🙂
@@RickMunday Thanks Rick! Fortunately I also have a few contacts here in Johannesburg who might be able to help with replacing the caps.
@@sentul5558 My pleasure!
I see that it is a good radio.
I picked one up in 2022 used. Lasted all of 12 months and it packed up. Assuming it was capacitor issues. I binned it.
That's the danger with these radios, the capacitors fail at some point and leak all over the IC. I took a chance here and mine still seems OK, but I know I will need to replace the capacitors before they fail.
@@swlistening Do you know how to replace capacitors? Have you ever soldered before? You must be careful not to make the soldering iron too cold, or else the solder will be foggy and have worse contact with the motherboard. One more thing, you have to find the correct solder wire, and once you find it, never inhale the fumes. Please never do that, it feels awful, giving you a terrible headache, and if inhaled too much can get you high. I can tell this to you from experience from my father, but I have also done some of these things. If you touch a soldering iron, it feels like many times worse than touching a hot oven or stove plate. If there is one big thing I need to tell you, if you are soldering an electrolytic capacitor, never solder it backwards. It will explode when the circuit goes live.
@FamtechVideos Hi Deniz, thanks for all the tips. You know, I will not replace the capacitors myself, I would rather let someone with more experience than me do it. I don't mind soldering something simple like a wire, but I would rather not fiddle around with the capacitors on this one. I know people who are very skilled who have struggled with capacitors on some Sony radios. They can be troublesome because they used aluminium electrolytic capacitors that are known to leak sometimes, damaging the IC board. I will leave this to the experts, removing the old capacitors and adding new ones.
@@swlistening Ok, I hope you find the right person soon! Best of luck, and Happy Day of Reconciliation!
I miss mine! The caps went bad and I gave up on it. I don't recall mine having an external antenna jack. (It was the black model.) The original Sony reel antenna has a clip for attaching to the whip. My ICF-4910 finally gave out, also.
I am concerned about the caps, but I hope mine will last a while longer...
@@swlistening I probably let mine sit unused for too long. If you just use it occasionally they might hang on for a long time (we can hope!).
@@WilliamParmley I think that was what had happened to my ICF-SW7600G (the model before Andre's). I kept it in the drawer for years and had also left Duracell alkalines inside the battery compartment. They leaked and my Sony became toast. 📻😥
@@swlistening If you know a good radio repairer in Johannesburg, it might be worth replacing all of the electrolytic capacitors, bru. Who knows after a total replacement your radios' FM performance is restored to its original glory! 😀
Even the backlit lamp can be replaced with a more battery friendly, LED. I've seen examples of the 7600GR having a green LED illuminating the panel. An odd colour for this radio but an interesting one, nevertheless. 🙂
@@WilliamParmley I hope so.
Interesting radio find you have on your hand, Andre. 😃
Did you enjoy using it?
Hi Andrew. I did, it is a very nice radio and SW reception in particular seems to be very good. I just don't like the muting while tuning.
I got a new second-hand toy today! It's an old TECSUN PL-330 which I'm looking forward to 'playing' with :)
Nice radio I have one. Make sure it has 3306 firmware installed otherwise your SSB tuning will be a headache.
Nice find Caroline!
It's possible to modify this radio so that it doesn't mute when tuning. I have modified some models to keep them from muting.
Thanks for the tip Henry, that sounds like a possible solution. Are there videos or instructions online on how to do it?
@swlistening there were some instructions, but it was a long time ago; I haven't checked recently.
Good snag!
I agree, it was a real bargain!
Hey André, you bet it's a bargain! These radios go for 125-200 euros here on eBay when in excellent condition. After the deal you got on the Hammarlund, I'm starting to think that South Africa is a paradise for SWL shoppers!
It seems to be a great radio, although I find the muting when tuning quite annoying. Did your microphone make it worse than it is too? The line out connector is a rare but very useful feature on radios.
The poor sensitivity in FM could be due to component ageing. My own Sony ICF-SW7600 (older black generation) that I bought used was totally deaf on FM and had severe audio amplifier issues too. Unfortunately I couldn't find someone to fix it 😮💨
You could even power your MLA30+ from the radio by hacking a micro-USB cable and soldering two wires to the 3.5mm jack. But it would probably deplete the batteries of your Sony too quickly to be convenient.
Enjoy your new toy, at that incredible price...
Thanks Alain. I think the reason why I find such bargains here is simply that there is no market. There are SW listeners here, of course, I see that on my channel. But they are not many. So SW radios usually don't have many buyers. Makes me very happy, because I can find some great radios at very great prices!
About FM. Maybe it is due to component aging, but I have read some reviews online that also mention the FM performance. It has always been kind of average. Not terrible, but not great either.
Sorry, Alain, I did not answer your question about the mic and the muting. The mic did not make that worse, it is as bad as you can hear in this video. Very annoying. The mic only seems to clip SW signals. FM and MW are fine. No idea why it happens, but that is why these days, 99% of the time, I don't use the mic. I only use it to demonstrate actual speaker sound with new radios I get.
My version didn't mute if the tuning controls were kept 'pressed' (original factory version).
Mine mutes even if I do this.
@swlistening the buttons above 'TIME DIFF' below 'TIME SET' don't mute on mine; you just keep it pressed.
@@Henry-d9d Thanks Henry, I tried it but mine does mute.
@@swlistening mine stops muting for as long as I keep it pressed. I would consider a modification if it 'refused' to let me hear the stations as I tune.
@@Henry-d9d Hi Henry, I tried that now, and it does not mute! That's great. Thanks for the tip. It is as you say, when I hold in the button it does not mute.
It's almost like new.
Indeed!
Congrats! It's a real bargain for so low price.
Thanks. I was very lucky with this one.
My comment was removed again by YT
Nothing controversial or advertising anything whatsoever.
Very frustrating
Hi Lew, I am so sorry that this happened again. I wish I could offer a solution, but I really don't know why it happens. Sometimes there is just one key word that triggers a removal, or sometimes it happens when comments are very long. What I suggest to viewers is to keep a copy of the comment if it is very long, and if it is removed, to break it up into a series of shorter comments. Some key words that RUclips does not seem to like are names of its competitors. Adding links to other websites also often leads to removal of a comment.