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Reviews For: SONY SHORTWAVE RECEIVER ICF-SW40

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : SONY SHORTWAVE RECEIVER ICF-SW40
Reviews: 4MSRP: 130
Description:
multiband digital and analog receiver LW (150 - 285 kHz), MW (530 - 1620 kHz),SW (3850 - 26100 kHz)and FM STEREO (76 - 108 MHz)
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.sony.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0043.3
STEVEB Rating: 2005-09-19
Poor Receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The ICF-SW40 has no front end; its inability to reject noise and adjacent channel interference makes it all but unusable for the serious listener. On shortwave bands, even strong stations far away overwhelm megahertz after megahertz of the HF spectrum of this radio with their noise, obliterating all other stations. Sensitivity appears to be somewhat below even what one would expect in a smaller portable, too. Performance even on FM is similarly lamentable.

While the "40" does offer a tuning dial and some versatile tuning features, the "analog" style tuning scale that takes up so much front panel space has a needle that "jumps" in large increments. This makes for a very unconvincing tuning scale and is really not useful nor pleasant to use.

I must completely agree with the first above. After owning this unit for over a year it is clear to me that it is useless for serious listening. I own other Sony and Sangean portable shortwaves that cost 1/2 what this radio does and are much more than twice the radio.
KL6Z Rating: 2004-06-09
Bad apple. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
It has absolutely no front end filters. All the noise existing around penetrates it. In the result, it receives noise, not signal. Strong chugging when you try to scan with the side tuning wheel.
Strangely enough, Sony takes off production decent world band models, but keeps making this kind of overpriced trash.
It would be a barely acceptable value at $30-$40, not at its current price. Buy instead incomparably better radios from Degen/Kaito, models 1102 and 1103. 1103 has an electronic needle scale blowing away that of SW40, and it is a competently engineered and very well finished radio. Its tuning works almost as smooth as that of an analog receiver. It also costs less than a half of SW40.
EXZL2TWC Rating: 2003-07-11
Good Value Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I live in Samoa and have used the "40" every morning and evening for the last 4 years to listen to Radio New Zealand, Radio Australia and the African BBC service. Just using the whip a good signal is received. Get about 25 hours on 3 x 1300ma rechargables. I'ts a solid little radio this one has made in japan on the back ( puchased from universal radio)and has bounced off a concrete floor, no marks no damage, amazing!. Pretty good sound too. The dial memory selection sold me, all portables should have something like this. Highly recommended.
RPENA Rating: 2003-03-31
Great shortwave receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a SONY ICF-SW40 receiver, the performance of this equipment is great on shortwave, i am living in North Mexico and i can listen the Voice of Turkey, Radio Quito, and a much more distant stations without external antenna only with the telescopic wip, the tuning is very smooth and easy, if you connect a external antenna the reception is incredible without overloading of powerful stations in other frequencies.
The performance in AM is good, the only problem is the overloading of near stations in the higher section of the band.
The performance in FM is fair but this radio will be used for shortwave reception.
The price is excellent and the size is clearly for portable use.
Highly recommended!.