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Reviews For: Sony SW100S Receiver

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Sony SW100S Receiver
Reviews: 15MSRP: 399.95
Description:
Miniature portable shortwave receiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00154.5
SWL377 Rating: 2004-02-05
One major problem Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have one major complaint about this radio: MICROPHONICS. The radio is sensitive to movement or acceleration (changes freq if mechanically accelerated, eg tapped or hit) and if the speaker is turned up loud, the radio gets a sort of acoustic feedback caused FM that wrecks SSB reception. I returned one set and the second haad exactly the same problem. Using headphones solves it, but I like being able to listen to a spkr. Too bad Sony didnt make this a QRP xcvr. Most of the cktry is already there. The radio is an amazing piece of engineering, TINY, full of features and reasonably priced. Hopefully they have solved the microphonic problem. I sold my SW 100 eventually because of this annoying fault.
G7VAK Rating: 2002-03-10
Good Portable RX Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have the SW100E version. It performs well from a 30 foot antenna strung up at work. The unit is neat and easy to use although I did not like the portable wire antenna that was supplied with it. The manner in which it clips to the antenna is particularly poor. The active antenna socket on the LH side has circa 3v DC on it so has to be capacitively decoupled [I use 470nF which works fine]to allow the antennae systems that I particulary like, including a loop; hence the decoupling.
The tuning is fiddly but there are 10 pushes of the two centre buttons to move a whole kHz and so on. The memory is configured logically and is also easy to use. It is easy to forget the mode that you are in or use the wrong setting, but familiarity corrects that.
The tape output is dependent on volume control setting [!!!!]which is a great pity. If you remember the small speaker and the somewhat non-linear action of the volume control good audio is possible although I prefer headphones and it is here that the tone selection switch comes into its own. The missing item is an S meter. A good receiver, but not great!
NI0C Rating: 2002-03-04
Great, but not flawless Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Like WI2Q, I use mine as a nightstand radio. I leave the case open most of the time to minimize wear and tear on the ribbon cable. I don't take it with me on trips anymore, since the telescoping antenna broke off the active antenna box (again due to fatigue). Fortunately I was able to repair the active antenna with a drop of epoxy. Another peculiarity of this radio is a noticeable transient oscillation when the wake-up timer turns on a station that is programmed with the synchronous detector. It sounds like the PLL searching for a lock. Bottom line is it is loaded with features in a tiny package, but it is somewhat fragile. Now when I travel I take along my Icom R-3. Time will tell how that one holds up. Of course, the R-3 doesn't have SSB/CW, nor is it as sensitive on HF.

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Earlier 5-star review posted by NI0C on 2001-01-30

I've had this little gem for several years now. I use it at home with the AC adaptor as an alarm-- I wake up to Radio Australia (9580 khz) every morning. I take it with me on vacations (the receiver and active antenna both fit in an electric shaver case). On my last vacation to Colorado, I heard BA4DW (Shanghai) on 40m CW with it! Although it can be used with just its own telescoping whip, I always use the active antenna (included with purchase). I've seen reviews complaining about poor audio quality-- but really how much can be expected from a receiver the size of an audio cassette tape?
WI2Q Rating: 2002-03-04
Still Terific after all these years! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had this radio over 10 years and still love it. It's amaizingly small and sensative. The only problem I've had (which will happen to yours) is the ribbon cable between the clamshell will eventually crack. The symptoms are various. I ordered the plugin cables from Sony and got them really quick..... very easy fix. If you have to fix yours yourself, be sure to make the slots that the cable fits thru bigger and add a piece of masking tape around the cables where they pass thru the slots so it doesn't happen a second time. For travel you can't beat it. Very good on SSB for the ham bands... has a perminant place on the night table! Even tho I've had the cable problem, I feel compelled to give it a 5.
For the sake of comparrison, I've also had 7600g, 2001, 2002, Yatchboy's and Sangeans..... they're all gone but the sw100 stays!
NO9E Rating: 2001-01-30
Amazing but with limitations Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought it used without the active antenna. Very good audio considering its size. Overall feeling of quality. Fairly good SSB selectivity. Tuning on SSB/CW is in 100 Hz steps by membrane buttons, not easy but possible. VCO is susceptible to vibrations. Sensitivity on HF with the built in antenna is poor but is OK with 10 ft of wire. Ideal for trips where one wants to hear some HF activity but small size is a must.

Once I listened to 20m in a hamac. Heard a new country (TT?), went into the shack and worked it.

The weak side of the radio is the ribbon connecting the keyboard with the display. Upon frequent closing/opening, the ribbon fractures. The new ribbon costs about $10 but don't expect Sony's parts dept to locate it unless you have the part number.

Summarizing, an amazing radio considering its size.