Sony ICF-2010 Shortwave Radio AM FM SSB CW Receiver w/ Documents *LATER SERIAL*

Description

NOTE: The following listing details offers some background and historical information. In order to remain in compliance with Ebay’s listing policies, we have used an asterisk
*
to prevent accidental keyword spamming.
This Sony ICF-2010 being offered for sale has a variety of signs of age and use and we have priced this radio a bit lower than our usual selling price to acknowledge current cosmetics.  These 2010’s often are well “loved” and typically show marks from age and use and this radio shows some of these marks.  Please look closely at our pictures for precise cosmetic condition.  Serial number is 360565 and this is a later serial ICF-2010 that did not have the FET issue commonly found with earlier serial numbered 2010’s.  The serial of 360565 would place the manufacture date around 2001 and roughly about the last 5% of production which occurred over 20 years.
The telescopic antenna extends and retracts beautifully.
We have tested all the features and found the 2010 to be operating within spec and showing no signs of failure or problems with any of the controls or functions other than the display lamp is weak.  This was a common issue as these 2010 radios age and the light loses its intensity.
This ICF-2010 comes with more documents than you are likely to ever see with any 2010 sale on Ebay.  These documents add great value to the 2010 enthusiast.  Included in this sale are:
copy of the user manual
copy of the service manual
antenna ideas for the Sony 2010 – Sept 1988 Monitoring Times
Sony Aviation Guide copy
Universal Radio catalog page 1998
colored advertisement page – EEB 1993 catalog
catalog page copy – Gilfer Shortwave 1991
catalog page copy – Grove Enterprises Dec 1995
catalog page copy – EEB 1993 (Electronic Equipment Bank)
Sony Company flyer copy
Medium Wave Circle review
Sony ICF-2010 “An All Time Classic” review – Jay Allen
Radio Receiver Choice or Chance review
WRTH review – 1996 (World Radio & Television Handbook)
QST review 1997 (amateur radio magazine)
Passport review – 1991 (Passport To World Band Radio)
Passport review – 1997
Passport review – 1999
Passport review – 2002 (retested)
Passport “Engineering Triumph” – 1998
Passport’s Sony ICF-2010 Whitepaper – edition 5.0
Improvements to the Sony ICF-2010 – Steve Johnson
Modifying The Sony ICF-2010 A Compendium – Proceedings Newsletter
Get The Best From Your Sony ICF-2001 (ICF-2010) – Steve Whitt (1990 – 28 page booklet)
Get Even More From Your Sony ICF-2001 (ICF-2010) – Steve Whitt (1990 – 8 page booklet)
Finally, you will receive a CD that contains most of the above documents plus more totaling about 273 MB of files
The above printed materials are passed along free with the sale of the ICF-2010 radio.  Some of the items are very hard to locate elsewhere and may no longer be available from online sources.  To power the radio, you will need 2 AA batteries for the CPU (included) and either a 4.5 volt AC adapter (not included) or 3 D cell batteries (not included).
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)
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