Sony ICF 2010

[Robertkoa]

I just ordered a 2010 off Ebay and it will be here in a few more days.

I have been playing around with a Grundig G3 which I also got off Ebay two months ago and want more sensitivity for SSB listening.

I also found a great deal not Ebay on a Satellit 700 which will be here soon.

What is weird about many of these Radios and I am new to this but a technical person so ...when you want to step up to higher sensitivity/ function you have the SONY but there is no BFO and it only tunes to .1 Kilohertz ( 100 hertz ) so how close can you get on SSB ?

Also - units like the Drake SW8 and the Satellit Millenium 800 are similar Designs and again only 100 hertz fine tune no SSB
and the same with the lower end Drakes like the SW1 SW2 which are cheap on Ebay as are SOME of the R8s and the R8s depending on the year have selectable sideband SYNC like my Grundig G3 ( but better ) -
BUT a few models have SYNC like one for sale now on Ebay but are earlier serial numbers- weird- and the Seller doesn't know much about it.
AND if the SYNC is not sideband selectable it would be dual sideband SYNC which is rare..( Eton E1 only ?).

What am I missing here ..?.lol

Anyway I hope the Sony lives up to the hype...

I will keep either the Satellit 700 or the SONY...whichever is more fun..and maybe even get a tricked out SONY with the brighter LEDs IF they perform well for SSB and maybe some AM Dx...

It's so funny when you read Reviews of Radios that alternately suck and are great...BUT the SONY ICF 2010 is probably one of the most consistently high rated of all the under $400 to $500 range and in Videos it does seem really sensitive- so it will be fun to get my hands on one....

 

[KevinC]

Welcome to Radio Reference!

I moved your post here for better visibility since it was not a review.

 

[nd5y]

I had a ICF2010. The sync function is sideband selectable. It switches when you tune above or below the station's frequency.

 

[ka3jjz]

The 2010 was the gold standard for high end portables up to a few years ago, and in fact, is the standard of comparison.I know more than a few VoA employees who carried this radio around with them when they traveled. It has been EXTENSIVELY reviewed and there are many web pages devoted to this radio. We have a few of them listed at the bottom of...

Other HF Receivers - The RadioReference Wiki

The one bugaboo that may bite you is that this portable, like many others, can lose sensitivity due to a blown FET in the amplifier. This is often caused by a static discharge that gets in through the antenna jack. I have no idea whether Sony - or anyone else, for that matter - is still doing the repairs on this. There is a simple box you can construct that will alleviate the chances of this to some degree, as well as give you a real RF gain control. This thread discusses this issue...

http://forums.radioreference.com/receive-antennas-below-30mhz/295299-great-first-timer-project.html

This is by no means unique to the 2010- most any portable can have this happen at some point.

Assuming you get a good one (you never know with fleaBay) it's a real keeper.

Mike

 

[Robertkoa]

Mike. Thanks ..well I will have a good little portable to compare the 2010 which is or should be a tier down from the 2010.

So when I get the 2010 I can compare it to the Grundig G3 and of course the 2010 if not a blown FET at front end...should be much more sensitive.

The little G3 is very ergonomic single sideband works well and tuning is accurate but I want more sensitivity to pick up HAMs etc.

IF the SONY is not more sensitive I will send it back and look for another if I like it.

I also have a really nice not from Ebay Grundig Satellit 700 coming so will see which I like better- from Reviews I assume the SONY will be much more sensitive but not as good for SSB because it has no BFO fine tune..

Sony gets you to within 100 hertz ..
Satellit 700 gets you within 100 hertz but still has BFO ..

Anyway..the 2010 that will be here Friday is probably older because it's adapter is white...so I will see if front FET is fried or not.

Once I do get a good one ...diode protection sounds like a good idea...

 

[ka3jjz]

I see the Kiwa website is still listing mods for the 2010, including fixing the FET if it is indeed blown. Here is the webpage

Kiwa Filters for Sony ICF-2010/2001D

I would make sure you email them first before doing anything. Mike

 

[mbott]

I have had mine since 1991 and it is probably one of the radios that I will not part with.

The simple test for the status of the FET goes like this:

1. Retract the antenna.
2. Tune the 2010 to 1620.0 Khz and note the amount of hiss coming from the speaker.
3. Tune the 2010 up, to 1620.1 or higher. *If you notice a dropoff in the hiss level, the front end FET is ok. If the hiss level remains the same between 1620.0 and 1620.1, the FET has been damaged.

Some additional I’ve come across over the years.

Per Rod / KB8DNS:

“SONY began adding a double diode package around the year of 1987 as reports of Q303 failure on early models of the ICF-2010 and ICF-2001D. The added diode was a SOT-23 surface mount diode package with the marking of A7 on the body. This package is two switching diodes on a common substrate, the package is a three pin style . Pins 1 and 2 are on one side with pin three on the opposite. Pin three is the connection of one diode's anode and the other diode's kathode (cathode), pin 1 is an anode with pin 2 the other diode's kathode. Pins one and two are soldered to a ground plane and pin three is soldered to Q303's gate.

I have found several newer examples where the diode was not there, either because the factory missed this installation or the diode was removed as Q303 was replaced. The most common addition for protection by the owner or repair shops is to add two solder through switching diode across the antenna terminals to ground. There are several JPEGs of this in the photo section. Some have used four or even six diodes with the idea that more will afford better protection. Two are sufficient and any more may lead to less protection (debatable).

Serials numbers of this factory modification were around 107,000 for the 2010 with no serial number that I have found for the 2001D. Restricted band coverage types are not well known as to the addition of diodes.

Late production examples had addition grounding and capacitor suppression added to reduce any static and possible damage not only to Q303 but to sensitive logic chips on the CPU and signal board. I have found the serial number range of 365,000 and higher to have this done with the date codes to be around 2001 and later.”

Rod does do 2010 repair, too.

 

[ka3jjz]

Do you have a website for him? Mike

 

[mbott]

Unfortunately, I've only seen email addresses for Rod. The two addresses I've seen are poikaarod@gmail.com and/or KB8DNS@yahoo.com. Neither have been verified by me. He is listed in QRZ.com.

--
Mike