Nick B's SWL Blog

This was my first Sony portable. It was pushed into second place behind the ICF-2001D but it provided excellent service as my alarm clock prior to selling it in 2003. I do own the final model in the 7600 line, the ICF-7600GR which has the synchronous detector feature. Lots of information on the 7600 series can be found over at Stephan's excellent website http://stephan.win31.de/sony7600.htm . 

This is my Late Sony ICF-2001D. The station is BBC Radio Scotland 810kHz and the location is Embo, Sutherland in NE Scotland. At the time I bought this (late 1990s) the ICF-SW77 and ICF-SW55 were current models but I chose to buy one of these. It served me well for many years (even as my daily alarm clock!) until it suffered terminal battery corrosion after being left in extended storage. The culprits were actually Duracell branded D cells, not exactly a cheap brand. I considered buying a replacement but with the price these now fetch on the second-hand market and the abundance of modern portables, I am reluctant to spend the money and risk being disappointed. The moral of the story - make sure your remove ALL batteries before placing in storage or if you're not going to operate for an extended period.

Not sure what this could be, sounds like some kind of pager tone, maybe it's breakthough from another frequency. Or maybe it's really here?

Check out those TWIN ferrite rods! Not bad performance for a radio that is almost 60 years old!