The End of Sony Shortwave?
 

Hello everyone.

Here's a link to PASSPORT's latest posting which, I am sure, will be
of interest to all.

http://passband.com/pages/receivernews.htm

It looks to me that Sony wants to exit thie market. Better "get 'em
while you can!"

With a large number of SW radios being sold in the US (not to mention
Europe, Asia, and Africa), you kind of wonder what goes through the
heads of these marketing "geniuses?" Sure they don't sell in the
numbers of the Apple IPod, etc., but, then, they don't have to be
redesigned every three months. Once development costs are amortized,
it costs very little, relatively speaking, to manufacture a product
that sells in small but consistent numbers over many years. At least
this is what I have been told. I guess they just don't want to bother
even "thinking" about SW radio. Akio Morita was a true genius; the
"managers" who have followed him seem to be sadly lacking in
brain-power.

I hope that one of the other manufacturers can license Sony's "sync"
circuitry (or, even better, design their own, perhaps superior, one).
It's the "sync" circuitry which makes the Sony radios stand way out
ahead of the competition. Sony's radios, truth to tell, are no better
than anyone else's except for that circuit (and, of course, their
build quality). I'm surprised that Sangean and Degen have not tried to
design one and I'm very surprised that Eton, with their Drake
connection (Drake's circuit is better than Sony's), have not tried to
incorporate it into a Yacht-Boy 400 "A" model.

Frankly, after using synchronous selectable sideband circuitry for the
last six years or so (and having plenty of experience without the
circuit), I won't buy any receiver which does not incorporate it.

Lawrence

LHB,

If in-fact Sony is getting out of the Shorwave Radio 'business'.
Then they may be able to leverage their current SW Radio Knowledge
Base (Design and Patents) into a deal with a Chinese Manufacture
for a Percentage of the Company and a 'share' of the Up-and-Growing
Chinese "Made" Radio Market.

Imaging a Tecsun GEM China built Sony ICF-2010 'clone' for under $200 :o)

jm2cw ~ RHF
..
..
= = = (Lawrence H. Bulk) wrote in message
= = = . com...
Hello everyone.

Here's a link to PASSPORT's latest posting which, I am sure, will be
of interest to all.

http://passband.com/pages/receivernews.htm

It looks to me that Sony wants to exit thie market. Better "get 'em
while you can!"

With a large number of SW radios being sold in the US (not to mention
Europe, Asia, and Africa), you kind of wonder what goes through the
heads of these marketing "geniuses?" Sure they don't sell in the
numbers of the Apple IPod, etc., but, then, they don't have to be
redesigned every three months. Once development costs are amortized,
it costs very little, relatively speaking, to manufacture a product
that sells in small but consistent numbers over many years. At least
this is what I have been told. I guess they just don't want to bother
even "thinking" about SW radio. Akio Morita was a true genius; the
"managers" who have followed him seem to be sadly lacking in
brain-power.

I hope that one of the other manufacturers can license Sony's "sync"
circuitry (or, even better, design their own, perhaps superior, one).
It's the "sync" circuitry which makes the Sony radios stand way out
ahead of the competition. Sony's radios, truth to tell, are no better
than anyone else's except for that circuit (and, of course, their
build quality). I'm surprised that Sangean and Degen have not tried to
design one and I'm very surprised that Eton, with their Drake
connection (Drake's circuit is better than Sony's), have not tried to
incorporate it into a Yacht-Boy 400 "A" model.

Frankly, after using synchronous selectable sideband circuitry for the
last six years or so (and having plenty of experience without the
circuit), I won't buy any receiver which does not incorporate it.

Lawrence

"Lawrence H. Bulk" wrote:

Hello everyone.

Here's a link to PASSPORT's latest posting which, I am sure, will be
of interest to all.

http://passband.com/pages/receivernews.htm

It looks to me that Sony wants to exit thie market. Better "get 'em
while you can!"

With a large number of SW radios being sold in the US (not to mention
Europe, Asia, and Africa), you kind of wonder what goes through the
heads of these marketing "geniuses?" Sure they don't sell in the
numbers of the Apple IPod, etc., but, then, they don't have to be
redesigned every three months. Once development costs are amortized,
it costs very little, relatively speaking, to manufacture a product
that sells in small but consistent numbers over many years. At least
this is what I have been told. I guess they just don't want to bother
even "thinking" about SW radio. Akio Morita was a true genius; the
"managers" who have followed him seem to be sadly lacking in
brain-power.

I hope that one of the other manufacturers can license Sony's "sync"
circuitry (or, even better, design their own, perhaps superior, one).
It's the "sync" circuitry which makes the Sony radios stand way out
ahead of the competition. Sony's radios, truth to tell, are no better
than anyone else's except for that circuit (and, of course, their
build quality). I'm surprised that Sangean and Degen have not tried to
design one and I'm very surprised that Eton, with their Drake
connection (Drake's circuit is better than Sony's), have not tried to
incorporate it into a Yacht-Boy 400 "A" model.

Frankly, after using synchronous selectable sideband circuitry for the
last six years or so (and having plenty of experience without the
circuit), I won't buy any receiver which does not incorporate it.

Lawrence

Sony is actually considering getting out of all consumer electronics
products. Guess what that leaves?


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starman wrote in message ...

Sony is actually considering getting out of all consumer electronics
products. Guess what that leaves?


Sony is "a ass!"

Lawrence

Great thought, but would the build quality be good? Sony's
Chinese-made ICF-SW35 is excellent, the best of any Chinese-made
portable I have seen. Even the Chinese-made Sangean ATS-606A is very,
very good; but, as we all know, the Grundig Satellit 800 has never had
consistency of quality. (Don't misunderstand - I like very much my
Sat. 800. But I had to have the encoder and some knobs replaced and
the set generally refurbished by Drake, for $109, after less than four
years of careful use and care. My wife even made a cover for the radio
which I keep on it when it is not in use.)

I'm a bit dubious about a sophisticated radio, designed elsewhere,
being manufactured in China.

Lawrence

(RHF) wrote in message . com...
LHB,

If in-fact Sony is getting out of the Shorwave Radio 'business'.
Then they may be able to leverage their current SW Radio Knowledge
Base (Design and Patents) into a deal with a Chinese Manufacture
for a Percentage of the Company and a 'share' of the Up-and-Growing
Chinese "Made" Radio Market.

Imaging a Tecsun GEM China built Sony ICF-2010 'clone' for under $200 :o)

jm2cw ~ RHF

Don't want to toot my own horn, but if you remember that I first
posted that the SW-77 was being phased out back in October when I
purchased mine for $300 from the Sony Store here in San Juan, PR. The
manager of the store told me that the receiver was no longer going to
be available this year. After that, I received a few incredulous
emails from different posters demanding where I got that information
and why was I so irresponsible in making such a post without verifying
it first from industry officials. It's unfortunate however that my
information was correct.


Marty
San Juan, PR

In article ,
Lawrence H. Bulk wrote:

Sony is "a ass!"

No, the're smart. Up until 1999 Sony was a consumer electronics company.
Since 1999 they have been an electronic game company that made about 10%
or so of their income from ALL of their other products.

In 1999 they made more money from the Playstation than all of their other
products combined in the history of the company.

The best thing they could do is sell off what is not Playstation related and
concentrate on their "cash cow".

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson

If Sony does indeed get out of all of their shortwave radio products, they
could make a killing selling their "synch detector on a chip" to Chinese
manufacturers.

--- Stinger

"LW" wrote in message
om...
(RHF) wrote ...

Imagine a Tecsun GEM China built Sony ICF-2010 'clone' for under $200
:o)


A 2010 clone for 2 bills?

I'll take one. Maybe 2.

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:

In article ,
Lawrence H. Bulk wrote:

Sony is "a ass!"

No, the're smart. Up until 1999 Sony was a consumer electronics company.
Since 1999 they have been an electronic game company that made about 10%
or so of their income from ALL of their other products.

In 1999 they made more money from the Playstation than all of their other
products combined in the history of the company.

The best thing they could do is sell off what is not Playstation related and
concentrate on their "cash cow".

But there's still money to be made in consumer electronics, and even
shortwave radios. Look at Degen's product line, which is almost
exclusively SW capable radios. Problem is, Japan is an extremely high
cost country, and Playstation is a high cost (and high yield) product,
and consumer electronics is low yield, so it makes sense for Sony to
focus on Playstation. The danger is that somebody else will come along
with a better game console and PS will become the next Sega Genesis
(remember that?) and Sony, having put all its eggs in one basket, will
go casters up. Personally, I think the future of consumer electronics is
in China instead of Japan, and Sony's betting the farm on PS is a
reflection of a struggle to stay afloat in the face of Chinese
competition.

Dan,

Is the Sync Detector on a Grundig Sat800 really better than the one in Sony
2010's (or better still, Sony SW07's and SW77's)? I'd really like to hear
an objective observation from someone that has both (or any combination).

I had planned to buy a Grundig Sat800 this month, but with Sony ditching
high-end shortwave portables, I wonder if I shouldn't grab a SW77 while I
can still get one "brand new."

Also, does anyone know if the Sat800's synch detector is a single-chip-based
solution, or is it a module made up of several components? (Just curious.)

-- Stinger

"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 18:25:09 -0500, "Stinger"
wrote:

If Sony does indeed get out of all of their shortwave radio products,
they
could make a killing selling their "synch detector on a chip" to Chinese
manufacturers.

Nah, they don't need it. The Chinese already have the best Sync
Detector in world in the Satellit 800, courtesy of Drake.

Dan

Drake R8, Radio Shack DX-440,
Grundig S650, S700, S800, YB400, YB550PE
Degen DE1102, Kaito KA1102
Hallicrafters S-120 (1962)
Zenith black dial 5 tube Tombstone (1937)
E. H. Scott 23 tube Imperial Allwave in Tasman cabinet (1936)

Thanks, Dan.

-- Stinger

"Dan" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 19:34:03 -0500, "Stinger"
wrote:

Is the Sync Detector on a Grundig Sat800 really better than the one in
Sony
2010's (or better still, Sony SW07's and SW77's)? I'd really like to
hear
an objective observation from someone that has both (or any combination).

I don't have a 2010 (or any Sony radio), but everything I've read says
that the 800's sync is at least as good as the 2010's, if not better.
It locks solidy, it doesn't rumble during lock and it doesn't drift or
lose sync once it gets it. My 800's sync is better than my R8's sync.
In fact, I haven't used my R8 since I got the 800. Note that my R8
is the original model, which does not have selectable sideband sync.
It's double sideband only.

I had planned to buy a Grundig Sat800 this month, but with Sony ditching
high-end shortwave portables, I wonder if I shouldn't grab a SW77 while I
can still get one "brand new."

Not a bad idea.

Dan

Drake R8, Radio Shack DX-440,
Grundig S650, S700, S800, YB400, YB550PE
Degen DE1102, Kaito KA1102
Hallicrafters S-120 (1962)
Zenith black dial 5 tube Tombstone (1937)
E. H. Scott 23 tube Imperial Allwave in Tasman cabinet (1936)

I own two electronic devices that were so advanced that, after
ten-plus years, they're still going strong: my HP-48SX calculator and
my Sony ICF-SW100.

Like the Sony 2010, the SW100 was one of those rare grand slams.

Yeah, I angrily retired the SW100 after the second ribbon cable
failure, but then I read how to modify the case so it wasn't such a
good wire cutter.

Now I've returned to the incredible pocket-sized receiver as my
portable-of-choice.

If Sony really is bailing from short-wave, I guess they'll just join
Hallicrafters and the rest in the hall of fame.

Then we'll just have to wait for the next innovator to come along.

---------------------------
Registered Monitor BR549
The Shack on the Bayou - www.ghg.net/cliffwatts/

Drake R8, Sony ICF-SW100, Heathkit GR-64 (retired)
Realistic Pro-2006, Bearcat BC-245XLT

= = = (Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote in message
= = = ...
In article ,
Lawrence H. Bulk wrote:

Sony is "a ass!"

No, the're smart. Up until 1999 Sony was a consumer electronics company.
Since 1999 they have been an electronic game company that made about 10%
or so of their income from ALL of their other products.

In 1999 they made more money from the Playstation than all of their other
products combined in the history of the company.

The best thing they could do is sell off what is not Playstation related and
concentrate on their "cash cow".

Geoff.


GEOFF,

The key thing is those things that are PlayStation 'related'.

You can give the basic PlayStation away and your can make all
your money on the softwave/games. This is the high value
Human Based {Intellectual Property} that can be the Jobs
of the future for the Japanese.

jm2cw ~ RHF

..

Hello.

Well, I suppose the 7600 series is next. As I said, get 'em while you
can. Probably the last SW radio which will remain in their lineup will
be the 'SW35 as it is manufactured (to a very high standard) in China.

If they had real brains, they would turn all their shortwave product
over to Aiwa, their division which has never had real direction. They
could then concentrate on their "Play Station" and have Aiwa make a
small but very consistent profit.

National, Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, Sony ... ?

Lawrence

(Geoffrey S. Mendelson) wrote in message ...
In article ,
Lawrence H. Bulk wrote:

Sony is "a ass!"

No, the're smart. Up until 1999 Sony was a consumer electronics company.
Since 1999 they have been an electronic game company that made about 10%
or so of their income from ALL of their other products.

In 1999 they made more money from the Playstation than all of their other
products combined in the history of the company.

The best thing they could do is sell off what is not Playstation related and
concentrate on their "cash cow".

Geoff.

On 20 Apr 2004 22:02:50 -0700, (Cliff at the
Shack) wrote:

I own two electronic devices that were so advanced that, after
ten-plus years, they're still going strong: my HP-48SX calculator and
my Sony ICF-SW100.

Like the Sony 2010, the SW100 was one of those rare grand slams.

Yeah, I angrily retired the SW100 after the second ribbon cable
failure, but then I read how to modify the case so it wasn't such a
good wire cutter.

Now I've returned to the incredible pocket-sized receiver as my
portable-of-choice.

If Sony really is bailing from short-wave, I guess they'll just join
Hallicrafters and the rest in the hall of fame.

Then we'll just have to wait for the next innovator to come along.

---------------------------
Registered Monitor BR549
The Shack on the Bayou - www.ghg.net/cliffwatts/

Drake R8, Sony ICF-SW100, Heathkit GR-64 (retired)
Realistic Pro-2006, Bearcat BC-245XLT


You don't need to modify the SW100 case. There is a part number for
an updated display case and two ribbon cables as a kit. It's at
partsolver.com and costs about $20.

Regards