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- Subject: Supercharging the ICF-2010 SSB Receiver
- From: d1028gary@xxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:12:43 -0400 (EDT)
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Hello All,
For those who are interested, a major update of the May 2008 article (posted at http://www.mediafire.com/view/404c61oxxbd992n/SuperchargingtheICF2010LargeComplete.doc , to greatly increase the MW and LW band sensitivity of the classic Sony ICF-2010 SSB receiver) is in the works. The updated article should be completed during the Fall season, and will provide specific instructions for transplanting and securing a much more sensitive loopstick into the Sony portable's circuitry. The new loopstick will be based upon recent Litz wire improvements.
The ICF-2010 SSB receiver is an ideal portable for tracking transoceanic DX station carriers during Ultralight radio ocean coast DXpeditions, although its relatively deaf stock loopstick has nowhere near the sensitivity of modern FSL antennas. Performing the loopstick transplant will correct this deficiency, and enable the ICF-2010 to accurately track weak SSB carriers that are easily within the reception capability of the new FSL's. After four major DXpeditions using a stock ICF-2010, I finally got tired of the stock model's failure to show even a weak carrier on DU stations that managed good audio with the new FSL's. Of course, even if an ICF-2010 owner has no interest in Ultralight radios or DXpeditions, the loopstick transplant will still boost the MW and LW sensitivity of the model, providing a great increase in DXing satisfaction.
For those who are interested in purchasing an ICF-2010 for this purpose, care should be taken to obtain a fully functional model. None of these radios were manufactured recently, and many eBay sellers are not DXers or radio enthusiasts, but simply ordinary people trying to sell something that they accidentally came across. Carefully check the feedback of any eBay seller before purchasing, and make sure that they are knowledgeable about the ICF-2010 and its functions before trusting any claim of perfect performance.
73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)
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