Sony 7600GR

[nickcarr]

Just bought a new 7600GR for just SW BCB listening - especially while on the road. I didn't realize how tiny this radio was...

I should get it some time tomorrow. I'll post a mini-review tomorrow night.

[elzebub]

I have one, it is a good little radio, sound quality is about what you would expect from a radio it's size, but it sounds good all things considered, mine is very good at pulling in signals, and the SSB works very well, the sync is another feature not found on many radios in this price range, the quality is excellent also.

[electricman]

Interested in the memory scan, if you could include in your mini review.

Thanks

[ridgescan]

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1534

Got great reviews Nick! Looks like a good little unit.

[nickcarr]

Originally Posted by electricman

Interested in the memory scan, if you could include in your mini review.

Yes me too. I'm actually compiling a list of English stations that I'll program into the radio.

[TOUGHLIFE]

A very good radio for the price and features.

[nickcarr]

Got the 7600GR tonight. It's incredibly small. My last true shortwave portable was a RS DX390... and if anyone remembers this model... it was painful. Simple to use, but 5khz steps on non BCB SW bands don't cut it. That was then... this is now.

I bought this for pure enjoyment. I'm going on a trip this week and I wanted something fun to play with in my down time. I'm taking my other radios too but this was purely for entertainment value.

From my research of portables, this model was rated quite highly by its users. A very simple design, it really does define "portability" for a SW radio. This is NOT designed to be a Grundig 800 or 750 where you have a dial to tune freely. This is a true "portable" radio. Simplicity rules.

So far, I'm quite impressed with the unit. Everything seems to work well. I'm not surprised at the lack of SSB sensitivity with the whip while indoors. (I'll try it outside tomorrow.) But it did pick up a few amatuer radio stations. I never will complain about my 300ft longwire antenna again. I've been very spoiled compared to the portable whips.

What is really amazing is the radio's LW capability. It has a built-in ferrite rod antenna for LW/MW use. These bands tend to pick up a lot of noise, but when given a noise-free environment, it's quite amazing. I was picking up LW beacons quite easily.

MW and FM stations sound very crisp. The speaker isn't Bose-quality but it's very good for what it was intended.

Memories are simple to program and the scanning feature works okay. It's nothing fancy but it seems to work fine.

Included with the radio is the optional wire clip-on antenna spool and a nice leatherette carrying case.

I have yet to use the radio for a long period of time, but so far it's quite impressive. Before putting it away for the night, I found a great feature. The HOLD key also acts as a button lock. So when the radio is in its case, you can't accidentally turn the radio on or hit the LCD light toggle.

I'll follow up later this week with some pictures and maybe a video.

[ridgescan]

Do a video!!!! I want to see it in action!

[eorange]

I've had the 7600 for 2 years now; mostly use it for SSB listening. I've had pretty good luck picking up EAMs, COTHEN, and USCG traffic with the whip indoors; it's certainly not deaf with the whip. Better with the random wire accessory, of course.

The scan feature is nice; it works very well considering you're scanning HF with lots of noise. I only wish the scan would keep cycling instead of stopping after the 1st pass.

I am not am AM DXer, but this winter I gave it a shot and pulled in some stations from Chicago, Philly, and SC. I thought that was pretty good.

Overall I like the radio, and as was mentioned previously, it's nice and simple.

Erik

[dxace1]

Originally Posted by elzebub

I have one, it is a good little radio, sound quality is about what you would expect from a radio it's size, but it sounds good all things considered, mine is very good at pulling in signals, and the SSB works very well, the sync is another feature not found on many radios in this price range, the quality is excellent also.

Proof of the capabilities of the 7600GR for me came during a visit
to Florida.

On the beach near Boca, I had the 7600GR and my SW-55 -- I had
both tuned to 6,055 attempting a near sign off reception of Radio
Rwanda.

I had no expectation of hearing them at all, but there they were --
and the 7600 GR SYNC made all the difference. But more impressive
was the stability of the 7600 GR in LSB/USB which I also used at
the time.

I have a recording of this reception if anyone would like to hear
an excellent example of small portable performance.

[gcgrotz]

I've had a 7600F for many years now, I think since maybe 2000? Mostly the same, only has 10 mems.

Yes, the MW/LW works great. The ferrite rod has a sharp null. Picks up about the same as my much bigger CCRadio. The only problem I've had was the back case cracked from the strain of the whip antenna, so be careful there. I fixed it with some JB weld. Use the clip on wind-up wire when you can, or make up a wire with a plug for the external antenna jack. Remember that the whip isn't used on MW/LW anyway.

I have taken it all around the world, mostly on cruise ships. Listened to a lot of LW in Europe, and love scanning the MW band, or even FM, when passing time on those sea days, parked in a deck chair. I enjoyed listening to a jazz FM station while docked in St Petersburg. It sounds just fine with stereo headphones or small mp3 player speakers.

I keep hearing it may be discontinued and I think I will buy a new one before it is. Enjoy your new toy!

[nicksat]

After reading the reviews, I ordered one from Amazon. Peace

[nickcarr]

Yeah it's a nice compromise for receiving HF. The whip was a bit disappointing on SW but with the extra wire antenna - it wasn't terrible. It's very sensitive but with that comes sensitivity to noise as well.

I spent a few days in Idaho at my dad's place and I found out (rather quickly) that he lives under two different power lines (on a major street corner.) So a few bands were literally zapped out. For example, at 12mhz it sounded like someone hooked up my radio to a bug zapper.

I am impressed with the radio's battery life. I put some of those high-energy batteries (meant for digital cameras) and despite my listening, the radio still is going strong.

For the price, it's a very good value.

***

I know it would be hard and probably not economical but it would be neat if Icom could take their newer RX-7 scanner design and make a handheld HF receiver. I know this have a limited user-base, but a small package like that would be very handy. I would think with Icom's expertise, they could do this rather easily.