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> Sony icf-SW77 shortwave am fm radio super cond & w/ box
Sony icf-SW77 shortwave am fm radio super cond & w/ box
If you are familiar with the Sony ICF-SW77 and have been looking at this model, then this radio may offer what you have been looking for. As you can see, this Sony SW77 comes with it's original packing inserts and original box. In addition, the SW77 is supplied with the original owner's manual and power supply and both are in excellent condition. Finally, the radio comes with a CD containing the user manual should the new owner desire to access it via computer or take it along with the laptop for remote access.
This Sony SW77 is in fantastic condition showing only minor signs of use. I did not see any scratches or serious issues and the only thing noticeable upon close inspection is what appears to be a little surface shine on the speaker grill. These shiney places on the grill can be seen from certain angles and it is hard to know whether this is was a result of the manufacturing process or something resulting from wear. Beyond the shiney areas, there is nothing worth mentioning and the SW77 is a 9+ overall appearing virtually brand new. Please see the variety of pictures to confirm my verbal description.
Electronically, the SW77 works beautifully. I tested out the tuning, bandwidths, sync detector, keypad, etc, etc, and found everything operating as designed by Sony and so there are no shortcomings during use. Based on this evaluation, the new owner should be pleased with this SW77 and find it to be a good receiver for many years to come.
If you are not familiar with the SW77, let me tell you a bit about the radio. First of all, it was often cited by Sony and by shortwave enthusiasts as a replacement for the worthy Sony ICF*2010 radio that had been produced by Sony for nearly 20 years. In the end, it was not that the ICF*2010 had ceased to sell, but rather it's manufacturing technique had become too expensive for Sony to produce in an era of surface mount components and miniturization.
Thus, Sony discontinued the favored ICF*2010 radio and fans of this radio were heartbroken with it's demise. However, Sony had introduced the SW77 in 1992 and this radio was the intended replacement and finally began to come forth from the shadow of the ICF*2010 once the 2010 was no longer available. The 2010 had done so many things well....namely the selectable sideband sync detector, easy keypad entry along with slew tuning, and sensitive reception off of the whip antenna for a portable receiver.
The SW77 carried many of the 2010 features forward, but also added some new features to the mix. Let me make things easy and by sharing with you a compiled list of features on the SW77:
* Reception of LW, AM, Shortwave and FM with frequency range of 150 - 30,000 khz plus FM
* Variety of tuning including 2 tune speeds, slew, direct entry, seek signal scan, meter band, and page tuning
* Synchronous selectable sideband
* Two bandwidths (well chosen) of 6.0 and 3.3 khz
* Fine tuning of 50 hz allows for superb SSB clarity reception
* Separate bass / treble controls
* Two illuminated multi-function liquid crystal displays
* Dual time zone clock (displays separate from frequency)
* Station name appears on LCD when station preset is used
* 10 level signal strength indicator
* Excellent stability (less than 20 hz drift after 10 second warmup)
* Flip up chart on top of radio to calculate time differences
* Easily accessable display contrast control
* VCR style 5 event timer controls radio and optional outboard recorder (sleep timer, etc)
* Passband filter to avoid strong stations showing up outside intended receiving band
* Stereo FM through the headphone jack
* 162 station presets that can be updated, as desired
This is a lap portable radio which means that while it is portable and can be easily toted to the RV, beach, campsite, etc, it cannot be placed in the shirt pocket when heading out the door. The advantage to the larger size is the ability to include a larger speaker for better sound, having a larger keypad for ease of use, and a larger display containing more information that is easier to see. Thus this lap portable carries it's own advantages as a larger portable and since it can operate off of 4 C cells in addition to AC current, can be toted along for listening outside the home.
The SW77 is fun to use and offers the owner a multitude of listening options whether tuning to utility stations, AM broadcast listening, amateur radio transmissions, marine traffic, international shortwave, CB transmissions, or standard FM broadcasts. The 5 event timer is sophisticated and allows the owner to have the radio automatically turn on at certain times, for specific time intervals on specific frequencies. Basically, there are lots of features and options to explore and the SW77 will offer the owner many hours of fun in discovering and using the features as-well-as tuning into a multitude of transmissions.
As for me, I am a shortwave broadcast fanatic tuning into such broadcasts several hours each day as I work from home. Due to the time contraints, I do not have the freedom to DX as much as I would like, but every few days will spend an hour or two discovering unfamiliar waters. Shortwave is unique in this respect. Unlike with AM and FM broadcasts, shortwave bands are contantly changing. What bands work during the day change with different bands working at night. What station is received on a frequency in the Summer, needs to switch frequency during the Winter due to seasonal changes in the ionosphere. Thus, there is always a point of learning, discovery, and challenges of receiving broadcasts from all over the world.
If you are new to shortwave, you will find a lot of unique information in the English broadcasts being beamed all over the world from dozens of stations. One of my favorite sites that updates the English transmissions is Primetimeshortwave that can be found here:
If you are open to hearing broadcasts not intended for an English audience, you will find this site helpful. I regularly tune to music from Portugal, Greece, Russia, Cuba, and Brazil and you can find an updated XL file with a combined list of broadcasters here:
For those of you wanting to research the SW77 more, here are some places to start. First is a review by Jay Allen who offers some of the nicest shortwave summaries on whatever he writes about:
http:// /review-sony07-77.htm
And here is some reviews from other users offering their experiences:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/480
Finally, here is some features and specs as given on the Sony page for this receiver:
http:// /webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=11027514
