Sony ICF-SW7600GR
 

Although that receiver is a broadcast-all-frequency portable radio, I
think that this info could be of some interest to homebrewers and
especially beginners. Many young future amateurs often ask me where they
could buy a good amateur-band receiver. However, all the devices in the
market today are transcievers, which are quite expensive and you must
have a licence, too. So, I could not give them a satisfactory answer. I
usually recommend some kit and my technical support, but this seldom
works. The other day I had an opportunity to use a Sony ICF-SW7600GR
receiver, and I was pleasantly surpised. The receiver is a double
conversion superhet; it has all amateur bands, SSB mode (USB and LSB),
CW, a BFO and an attenuator in the antenna. The VFO is a PLL covering
all frequencies between 150 kHz and 30 MHz. There as a key-pad where you
can type in the frequency, but after that you can change it in 1 kHz
steps up and down by means of four press-buttons in the lower right-hand
corner of the receiver. Finer tuning is easy with the BFO. The
sensitivity is about 1.5 microvolts, and the selectivity about 4 kHz.
Since the CW signal is strictly one-sided, it is easy for a homebrewer
to add an active AF CW filter, if he thinks it to be necessary. I use
the RX also as a precision and very sensitive frequency meter for the HF
oscillators I build.

I think that SWL listeners, and QRP TX builders could use that receiver.
Since the RX has been catalogized as a general consumption produce, it
is easy to order it with any Sony seller. The price is about 170
dollars. This is not an advertisement, because I have not any
connection with Sony, but I believe that this info will be useful to
amateurs. I have been licenced since 1953, being a half-century
homebrewer, and I am glad that I could find such a product in the
market. You can find something more about it at
http://stephan.win31.de/sony7600.htm.

You can also read about my Tayloe homebrew receiver at
http://www.hanssummers.com/electronics/gallery/4/. Best wishes,
Bozidar, 9a2hl