Sony ICF-S5W
This radio was given to me many years ago. I didn’t think much of it initially and put it away - It appeared to be lates 70’s or early 80’s and that time period was not of much interest to me. Turns out it was released in 1979 in Japan as a model ICF-S5 and subsequently released in North America as the ICF-S5W in 1980. (the Japanese version has a different FM band)
A few days ago I decided to pull it out of storage and check it out. I put in 3 fresh ‘C’ cell batteries and was blown away! Remarkable to say the least. Firstly I was impressed with the tone, especially on vocals (AM radio is predominently talk radio these days)
Very warm and present for such a small speaker. Toronto’s AM 740 which plays oldies also sounded great. Next I cruised the dial all along the AM band and was impressed with the radios selectiviy and sensitivity. Located on the tuning indicator are three small LED lights which illminate from two green lights to one solid red light when optimun signal is reached. (If you look closely you will notice that the radio was playing when I took this picture. You can see the LED illuminated)
The FM band performed well too and the tone was an improvement from AM.
Click on the link below to get much more information on this great radio. Turns out it’s a popular radio with many DXers and is considered by some to be a “classic”
www.dxer.ca/11-news/the-dxerca-blog/63-blog-the-sony-icf-s5w
Sony ICF-S5W
This radio was given to me many years ago. I didn’t think much of it initially and put it away - It appeared to be lates 70’s or early 80’s and that time period was not of much interest to me. Turns out it was released in 1979 in Japan as a model ICF-S5 and subsequently released in North America as the ICF-S5W in 1980. (the Japanese version has a different FM band)
A few days ago I decided to pull it out of storage and check it out. I put in 3 fresh ‘C’ cell batteries and was blown away! Remarkable to say the least. Firstly I was impressed with the tone, especially on vocals (AM radio is predominently talk radio these days)
Very warm and present for such a small speaker. Toronto’s AM 740 which plays oldies also sounded great. Next I cruised the dial all along the AM band and was impressed with the radios selectiviy and sensitivity. Located on the tuning indicator are three small LED lights which illminate from two green lights to one solid red light when optimun signal is reached. (If you look closely you will notice that the radio was playing when I took this picture. You can see the LED illuminated)
The FM band performed well too and the tone was an improvement from AM.
Click on the link below to get much more information on this great radio. Turns out it’s a popular radio with many DXers and is considered by some to be a “classic”
www.dxer.ca/11-news/the-dxerca-blog/63-blog-the-sony-icf-s5w