Not quite happy owner of new 7600 gr ;-) ... Just bought at Amazon.com. Bad things first:
Telescopic antenna is shaky, I wonder if anybody had this little problem. It doesn't affect the reception. Detailed symptoms: with radio flat on the desc and antenna extended and tilted vertically (i.e. 90 degrees to the front panel) it rotates about 15 degs left-right, and has few degs "play" back/forth.
Details (I hope, not too confusing):
the bottom part is the collar sitting in the plastic case of the receiver. This collar is a little loose in the hole of the case - less than 1 mm difference between the collar OD and the hole ID. I added a strip of electrical tape inside the hole, around the collar (not complete circumference of the collar, as the crack is tiny). This helped a little. The screw holding the collar to the case is tight, I checked this. (I opened the case, of course).
The next telescopic part is a short tube inside the collar and it has a pivoting screw holding the rest of antenna. This short tube can slide a little in/out of the collar, to make possible tilting antenna at the angle to the front panel. This short tube has a "play" inside the collar - rotates about 15 degs left-right, when looking from the front. Tried to tighten the collar with pliers - doesn't help. Pivot screw has nothing to do with this - with radio flat on the desk and antenna at 90 degs to the front panel it's rotating left-right, not tilting back/forth (the latter is the function of the pivot screw, and the screw is tight).
Uff... took too long to explain. Again, - I didn't notice it to affect the reception. Anybody had this problem (and is this a problem)? Return shipping is a pain. Bought it from "Amazon Marketplace", had to drive 30 miles to the US border as they don't ship to Canada, and would have to drive there again IF they would replace me the radio.
Briefly other impressions, compared to Chinese "competition" Kaito 1103 (a.k.a. Degen 1103).
Pros: Better sound, lower power consumption (batteries last 1.4-1.5 times longer). Scan on SW works better (this radio would've been difficult to enjoy without a good scan, - see below). Better controls for Volume, Direct entry, USB/LSB. Brighter display, larger Khz numbers. Designated button to display UTC time (great thing).
Cons:
1) larger by 1"x1", heavier (by 2 oz may be).
2)No tuning knob. To browse leisurely, one way is to press 1Khz Up/Down button repeatedly, and the signal shuts off for 0.3-05 sec during this. (Kaito's pseudo-analog tuning knob scrolled with 1 Khz increments seamlessly, without interruption in listening). Another way is to use the Scan - - it works well, but might need a manual fine tune-up after it has found a station. Besides, I love browsing manually through the airwaves. There is, of course, a Direct frequency entry, and it is easy to use. (I have to note that my beloved tuning knob on Kaito had to be glued onto the spindle, as it fell off once).
3) Changing the band is a relatively easy 2-button operation, but it shows only the lower-end freq of the band - not 25m, 31m etc that I've got used to (Kaito does show the band "a la analog style", though in tiny, dim, low-contrast numbers.
4) Display shows either time or freq, but not both (and neither does Kaito).
5) No built-in battery charger, but this I consider a trifle - everybody has some good charger at home.
PS: answering to possible questions "Why not getting something like YB or Grundig Satellite" - I don't print money yet, and besides, SW/SSB I need mostly for outdoors, so size and weight are important. Sony 7600 gr has a size of a small book and costs mere 130 bucks.
Telescopic antenna is shaky, I wonder if anybody had this little problem. It doesn't affect the reception. Detailed symptoms: with radio flat on the desc and antenna extended and tilted vertically (i.e. 90 degrees to the front panel) it rotates about 15 degs left-right, and has few degs "play" back/forth.
Details (I hope, not too confusing):
the bottom part is the collar sitting in the plastic case of the receiver. This collar is a little loose in the hole of the case - less than 1 mm difference between the collar OD and the hole ID. I added a strip of electrical tape inside the hole, around the collar (not complete circumference of the collar, as the crack is tiny). This helped a little. The screw holding the collar to the case is tight, I checked this. (I opened the case, of course).
The next telescopic part is a short tube inside the collar and it has a pivoting screw holding the rest of antenna. This short tube can slide a little in/out of the collar, to make possible tilting antenna at the angle to the front panel. This short tube has a "play" inside the collar - rotates about 15 degs left-right, when looking from the front. Tried to tighten the collar with pliers - doesn't help. Pivot screw has nothing to do with this - with radio flat on the desk and antenna at 90 degs to the front panel it's rotating left-right, not tilting back/forth (the latter is the function of the pivot screw, and the screw is tight).
Uff... took too long to explain. Again, - I didn't notice it to affect the reception. Anybody had this problem (and is this a problem)? Return shipping is a pain. Bought it from "Amazon Marketplace", had to drive 30 miles to the US border as they don't ship to Canada, and would have to drive there again IF they would replace me the radio.
Briefly other impressions, compared to Chinese "competition" Kaito 1103 (a.k.a. Degen 1103).
Pros: Better sound, lower power consumption (batteries last 1.4-1.5 times longer). Scan on SW works better (this radio would've been difficult to enjoy without a good scan, - see below). Better controls for Volume, Direct entry, USB/LSB. Brighter display, larger Khz numbers. Designated button to display UTC time (great thing).
Cons:
1) larger by 1"x1", heavier (by 2 oz may be).
2)No tuning knob. To browse leisurely, one way is to press 1Khz Up/Down button repeatedly, and the signal shuts off for 0.3-05 sec during this. (Kaito's pseudo-analog tuning knob scrolled with 1 Khz increments seamlessly, without interruption in listening). Another way is to use the Scan - - it works well, but might need a manual fine tune-up after it has found a station. Besides, I love browsing manually through the airwaves. There is, of course, a Direct frequency entry, and it is easy to use. (I have to note that my beloved tuning knob on Kaito had to be glued onto the spindle, as it fell off once).
3) Changing the band is a relatively easy 2-button operation, but it shows only the lower-end freq of the band - not 25m, 31m etc that I've got used to (Kaito does show the band "a la analog style", though in tiny, dim, low-contrast numbers.
4) Display shows either time or freq, but not both (and neither does Kaito).
5) No built-in battery charger, but this I consider a trifle - everybody has some good charger at home.
PS: answering to possible questions "Why not getting something like YB or Grundig Satellite" - I don't print money yet, and besides, SW/SSB I need mostly for outdoors, so size and weight are important. Sony 7600 gr has a size of a small book and costs mere 130 bucks.
Last edited:
...runna pile-up on 6m SSB