Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception
Digital camera Review: Excellent carry on everyday advanced radio
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using this for last 5 years, around the world, and it has worked like charm all these years. This is one of the high quality advanced radio available in such a small form factor. Go for it, you would not regret it.Digital camera Review: Great Radio
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this radio for about 4 months, and I am pretty impressed with it. The 7600 is a big radio stuffed into a small package. It is extremely portable yet carries a full load of features. The only downside I've found is the battery life. I opted for a wall plug in, and don't regret it. It comes in much better using the wall plug-in also. I wish it had a dial, but it's not that big of a deal. I would recommend this radio to anyone looking for a quality multi-band radio but doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars.Digital camera Review: Synchronous detection circuitry sets it apart from the rest
Summary: 5 Stars
The 7600GR has been around for many years now. There's not much to not like about it. It performs great. It has synchronous detection circuitry which most other portables don't have. It's not quite as good as the sync detection on the legendary Sony 2010, but still very good. The only thing I don't like about the 7600GR is the fact the AC adapter is not included, and you can't charge the batteries inside the radio. All in all, the 7600GR is still a top world band portable. Many newer models have come and gone over the years, but the 7600GR is still going strong. If the 7600GR costs more than you want to spend, look into the Kaito KA1102. It's also a great performing radio, that costs little over 1/2 the price of the Sony.
Digital camera Review: Excellent radio, especially if you also get the accessory antenna
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had mine for a couple of years now, so I have had ample time to play with it and sort through it's idiosyncrasies. So this review is a bit late in the offing.
I don't know how Sony managed to stuff so many features into such a small package. Well, I do know because the thing must weigh 10 pounds (not really). Seriously though, I have diving weights that are lighter than this radio, it is a real brick. If it becomes necessary to do so, you can wield the thing as a bludgeon, like the old Nikon cameras from the 60's and 70's. So be careful not to drop it on your foot unless you are wearing steel-toes.
The synchronous selectable sideband feature is GREAT. It actually works and locks on to "iffy" signals very solidly, something radios costing 10x+ as much as the Sony still cannot get right. And the single sideband also works fairly well, even if the trimmer pot is a bit touchy, at least on my radio. And 100 presets are nice, although I can never remember what they are since you cannot put any kind of alphanumeric information along with the preset frequency.
OK, things to complain about. MW frequencies stop at 1620 kHz (oops). And it is not possible to do a full-spectrum scan without switching bands. And even then you miss the stuff between the bands unless you know the "trick" to make it scan between bands. Compared to my other radios it EATS batteries at a pretty good rate. And there is no really good AC power supply available for the thing which is guaranteed not to hum. There should be some sort of indication on the display that the antenna attenuator is "On", that has caused me grief on occasion. And the controls on the sides are damned crowded, but that is only because there are so many features crammed into such a small package. And to get REALLY good SW reception you need to get one of the accessory AN-LP1 active antennas, which are no longer available in the US (oops again). I got mine from a fellow in Japan off of EBay for a very reasonable price (<$100 new in box) with unbelievably fast shipment via EMS, the Japanese post office. The antenna actually shipped faster than the radio, and the radio came from one state away, not halfway around the world.
But in spite of these minor shortcomings, which are really just annoying idiosyncrasies and not actual faults in the equipment, I give it a good solid 5 stars. You will not find a radio that does as much as well as this one for less than 2-3 times the price.
Digital camera Review: Excellent performance but beware of costly spare parts!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had the Sony ICS-SW7600GR shortwave radio for almost a year, and it has performed flawlessly. My only hesitation is that the speaker sound is somewhat thin, but it does sound much, much better with headphones.
The radio cabinet is very compact and almost too thin. In fact, it is so thin that it fell off my counter with the FM/SW whip antenna fully extended and the antenna got bent and eventually broke. From this I learned that the radio is more stable when it is resting at an angle on its built-in fold-out back support.
I called Sony Parts and they wanted $51 plus tax and shipping for the whip antenna! (About a third the price of the radio!). I found an identical Sony antenna on the Internet for $17. I bought this one and it fits perfectly.