Vtg Sony ICF - 2010 Shortwave Radio AM FM SSB CW Receiver Amateur HAM “Powers Up”
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:49054556 | Brand: Sony |
| Type: Radio | Model: ICF-2010 |
| MPN: ICF-2010 |
This listing is for a Sony ICF-2010 Shortwave Radio AM FM SSB CW Receiver. The item is from the estate of a lifelong operator and repairman. I have no other info or history on the radio. I installed batteries and the unit powers up and changes modes but I cannot get any sound out of the speaker. There is no antenna but the screw and a copper washer are there. There is no power adapter, batteries or anything else that come with it. I do not know if this is a repairable unit or a parts d...onor. Please let me know if there is something you would like me to check and I will do my best.Thank you for looking and good luck in your bidding.
Here is some background on the ICF-2010 radio.The Sony 2010 radio was manufactured from 1984 until about 2001, but was available until about 2005 in various markets. Thus, the 2010 held a remarkable record for nearly 20 years of being an outstanding and highly desirable portable despite dozens of new portables being introduced in that same time period. The Sony is actually an outstanding example of an ideal consumer product that met a real need and introduced a real leap forward in receiver technology. It was this sort of innovation that placed the last nail in the coffin of most of the American radio manufacturing.Over the years, the American radio manufacturers like P*hilco, R*C*A, Z*enith, and scores of others manufactured outstanding products. Especially after WW2, the sky seemed to be the limit. However, while our national manufacturers began to cheapen their cabinets and offer an array of inexpensive products, Germany was still offering fine wooden cabinets with the resulting warm sound to it's customers. Manufacturers like G*rundig and T*elefunken produced world renown radios that are still heralded today as some of the best radios from that era. Z*enith was in the midst of it's long and successful line of Trans*Oceanic radios that were popular with the public as well due to their sensitivity and portability.During the 60's the Z*enith TO's 1000 and then the FM version called the 3000 were absolute dynamite with the public, though costly to purchase. The radios could gather information from all parts of the world due to their world band capabilities and were extremely popular with the US troops deployed in Vietnam at the time. However, once the 70's arrived, the Trans*Oceanic line began to look a bit dated as newer models of radios began to emerge from Japan taking advantage of the latest transistor technologies. In the late 70's, the TO sales fell dramatically as the Japanese began to emerge as market leaders with digital readouts in their P*anasonic and Sony units.Then in 1980/81, Sony introduced the state-of-the-art ICF*2001 receiver that could direct dial any frequency by virtue of it's keypad and lock in the signals using a more sophisticated Phase Locked Loop by picking up on the famous Wadley Loop concept and furthering this to the next generation of sophistication with superb stability. The result of all of this was that the last remaining vestige of the American radio industry, and Z*enith in particular, ceased producing their radios.The Sony ICF*2001 was not without its drawbacks, however. It was known to consume batteries at a rapid rate, did not offer the user a way to slew tune or band scan with it's push buttons, and did not offer some of the same sensitivity as some of it's earlier predecessors. Personally, I was not discouraged by these facts and still own and regularly use my *2001 purchased as one of the first radios off of the shipping dock from Japan.However, the Sony Corporation was listening to its consumers of the *2001 and went back to the drawing board and came out with the ICF-2010 in late 1984. All of the issues that had surfaced with the *2001 were now resolved, but Sony did not stop there. They introduced the 2010 to much fanfare because it now offered features not typically found on portable radios such as multiple timers, multiple memories, keypad and dial tuning, unprecedented sensitivity, AND perhaps best of all, a new invention for consumer portable shortwave radio called Synchronous Detection. The sync detector was not only new for a portable in 1984, it was exceedingly good, sideband tuneable, and even near the end of the 2010's manufacturing cycle some 20 years later was considered one of the best ever offered in a radio.In the end, it was not the fact that a better radio came on the market to kill the production of the 2010, but rather, it became unprofitable for Sony to continue manufacturing it. In the 20 years since manufacturing it had begun, the cost for labor and materials had risen and with the introduction of surface mount circuit board technology, the price to pay electronics workers to solder and assemble was now unreasonable. Sony had a variety of nice radios to offer, but had no direct high-end portable receiver like the 2010 to offer to the public when production ceased. Shortwave enthusiasts grieved the loss.Today, for portable receivers, the 2010 remains as a classy receiver in the market and thousands of them are still in use each day worldwide and can be purchased on the used market in such places like on Ebay.These 2010's are great shortwave radios. Not only are they sensitive using the whip antenna, but they give the user the ability to listen to longwave, AM, and FM radio. In addition, since they have a sideband detector designed in them, you can tune into amateur radio transmissions. The synchronous detector is absolutely fantastic and allows the listener to use it on either upper or lower sideband. You merely tune the radio slightly off the direct frequency and can select the portion of the wave that is less distorted from propagation or side channel interference. In my opinion, Sony created a classic piece with this radio, and if it is not hampered by the bad FET, can even outperform the vast majority of radios sold over the past 25 years.Why shortwave radio? In an era when one can tune into hundreds of satellite TV channels or thousands of internet stations, shortwave still offers the listener the ability to hear signals transmitted over a considerable distance. There is little advertising on shortwave and little filtering of content to satisfy advertisers. The TV channels are selected based on your cable TV provider's choice of programming and not all countries offer their programming on the internet. Shortwave listening is a medium that offers unfettered reception of signals. As a hobby, you learn when to listen, how to listen, and what to do to improve listening. If you like "easy" listening, then you would listen to the major broadcasters. However, tuning into signals not destined for your area sometimes offers some surprises. Over the years, we have learned a lot on shortwave that we would never, ever, hear on the regular broadcast mediums. Since most stations do not require advertising, you understand that you will hear a wider range of programs that may "offend" advertisers that use the TV or the internet. Shortwave listening is definitely a hobby. There are a lot of avenues to explore and avenues of interest. This Sony ICF-2010 is an excellent unit to really experience the hobby.Here are some reviews for the ICF-2010 on eHam from other users...note that it is given a 4.7 out of 5.0 by 70 reviewers...very high marks:https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/479 (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser)
Here is some background on the ICF-2010 radio.The Sony 2010 radio was manufactured from 1984 until about 2001, but was available until about 2005 in various markets. Thus, the 2010 held a remarkable record for nearly 20 years of being an outstanding and highly desirable portable despite dozens of new portables being introduced in that same time period. The Sony is actually an outstanding example of an ideal consumer product that met a real need and introduced a real leap forward in receiver technology. It was this sort of innovation that placed the last nail in the coffin of most of the American radio manufacturing.Over the years, the American radio manufacturers like P*hilco, R*C*A, Z*enith, and scores of others manufactured outstanding products. Especially after WW2, the sky seemed to be the limit. However, while our national manufacturers began to cheapen their cabinets and offer an array of inexpensive products, Germany was still offering fine wooden cabinets with the resulting warm sound to it's customers. Manufacturers like G*rundig and T*elefunken produced world renown radios that are still heralded today as some of the best radios from that era. Z*enith was in the midst of it's long and successful line of Trans*Oceanic radios that were popular with the public as well due to their sensitivity and portability.During the 60's the Z*enith TO's 1000 and then the FM version called the 3000 were absolute dynamite with the public, though costly to purchase. The radios could gather information from all parts of the world due to their world band capabilities and were extremely popular with the US troops deployed in Vietnam at the time. However, once the 70's arrived, the Trans*Oceanic line began to look a bit dated as newer models of radios began to emerge from Japan taking advantage of the latest transistor technologies. In the late 70's, the TO sales fell dramatically as the Japanese began to emerge as market leaders with digital readouts in their P*anasonic and Sony units.Then in 1980/81, Sony introduced the state-of-the-art ICF*2001 receiver that could direct dial any frequency by virtue of it's keypad and lock in the signals using a more sophisticated Phase Locked Loop by picking up on the famous Wadley Loop concept and furthering this to the next generation of sophistication with superb stability. The result of all of this was that the last remaining vestige of the American radio industry, and Z*enith in particular, ceased producing their radios.The Sony ICF*2001 was not without its drawbacks, however. It was known to consume batteries at a rapid rate, did not offer the user a way to slew tune or band scan with it's push buttons, and did not offer some of the same sensitivity as some of it's earlier predecessors. Personally, I was not discouraged by these facts and still own and regularly use my *2001 purchased as one of the first radios off of the shipping dock from Japan.However, the Sony Corporation was listening to its consumers of the *2001 and went back to the drawing board and came out with the ICF-2010 in late 1984. All of the issues that had surfaced with the *2001 were now resolved, but Sony did not stop there. They introduced the 2010 to much fanfare because it now offered features not typically found on portable radios such as multiple timers, multiple memories, keypad and dial tuning, unprecedented sensitivity, AND perhaps best of all, a new invention for consumer portable shortwave radio called Synchronous Detection. The sync detector was not only new for a portable in 1984, it was exceedingly good, sideband tuneable, and even near the end of the 2010's manufacturing cycle some 20 years later was considered one of the best ever offered in a radio.In the end, it was not the fact that a better radio came on the market to kill the production of the 2010, but rather, it became unprofitable for Sony to continue manufacturing it. In the 20 years since manufacturing it had begun, the cost for labor and materials had risen and with the introduction of surface mount circuit board technology, the price to pay electronics workers to solder and assemble was now unreasonable. Sony had a variety of nice radios to offer, but had no direct high-end portable receiver like the 2010 to offer to the public when production ceased. Shortwave enthusiasts grieved the loss.Today, for portable receivers, the 2010 remains as a classy receiver in the market and thousands of them are still in use each day worldwide and can be purchased on the used market in such places like on Ebay.These 2010's are great shortwave radios. Not only are they sensitive using the whip antenna, but they give the user the ability to listen to longwave, AM, and FM radio. In addition, since they have a sideband detector designed in them, you can tune into amateur radio transmissions. The synchronous detector is absolutely fantastic and allows the listener to use it on either upper or lower sideband. You merely tune the radio slightly off the direct frequency and can select the portion of the wave that is less distorted from propagation or side channel interference. In my opinion, Sony created a classic piece with this radio, and if it is not hampered by the bad FET, can even outperform the vast majority of radios sold over the past 25 years.Why shortwave radio? In an era when one can tune into hundreds of satellite TV channels or thousands of internet stations, shortwave still offers the listener the ability to hear signals transmitted over a considerable distance. There is little advertising on shortwave and little filtering of content to satisfy advertisers. The TV channels are selected based on your cable TV provider's choice of programming and not all countries offer their programming on the internet. Shortwave listening is a medium that offers unfettered reception of signals. As a hobby, you learn when to listen, how to listen, and what to do to improve listening. If you like "easy" listening, then you would listen to the major broadcasters. However, tuning into signals not destined for your area sometimes offers some surprises. Over the years, we have learned a lot on shortwave that we would never, ever, hear on the regular broadcast mediums. Since most stations do not require advertising, you understand that you will hear a wider range of programs that may "offend" advertisers that use the TV or the internet. Shortwave listening is definitely a hobby. There are a lot of avenues to explore and avenues of interest. This Sony ICF-2010 is an excellent unit to really experience the hobby.Here are some reviews for the ICF-2010 on eHam from other users...note that it is given a 4.7 out of 5.0 by 70 reviewers...very high marks:https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/479 (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser)
