Michael's Hearty Recommendation for the $25 Sony ICF-38 for Good Value on AM

Mike has a robust recommendation for those who seek the best in AM radio:

Sony makes a model ICF-38.
Its an analog radio. It has no bells or whistles, just a radio.
This thing is an incredible value. It looks good, sounds good, has great reception, the batteries last forever and its a Sony and costs $25.00 
You cannot find these in any stores other than Frys and I'm convinced its because they make everything else look inferior by comparison. Ive compared this puppy with several high-end Eton radios and a Grundig S350DL and the Sony can get any AM/FM stations they can get. I bought three, one for myself and two as gifts. I cant believe something that works this well can be had for $25.00

Comments

[jeffrey McMahon]

Of course, this model can be found on my online venues.

[Tom Welch]

The Sony ICF-38 recently replaced the older ICF-36 radio that also included the NOAA and TV bands. The ICF-36 also got positive reviews.

A pretty basic radio, the new Sony ICF-38 runs on 4 AAs or built in AC cord...no wall wart. I just might head over to Fry's next weekend and buy the ICF-38. I try to buy portable radios that run only on AA batteries, that way I only need to stock one battery size.

You can never have too many radios!

[Paul]

I had the ICF-36 and returned it to Target after a few days. Poor reception, poor selectivity, drift. The only good thing about it is that it doesn't need an AC adapter and it's cheap. Cannot recommend it. I assume the ICF-38 is basically the same radio without the Weather/TV bands. If you're interested, buy it from a local shop and test it out, since you may end up returning it.

[Scooby214]

I have the ICF-36. I purchased it back in 2004. It looks exactly like the ICF-38, though the 38 lacks the TV and weather bands. Its AM is pretty good, but its FM is quite weak. It only gets in strong local FM signals. The FM is worse than my wife's cheapo Emerson CD Clock Radio on the FM side, and that's pretty bad!

I never returned it, as I was only listening to AM when I got it. It lasts a long time on its 4 AA batteries.

I never listen to the ICF-36 anymore, as I have better portables for both AM and FM listening.

[Michael Brent]

Im wondering how many of these reviews, my own included, have to do more with location than quality of the radio itself.
I did indeed try this Sony against my Etons and a S350DL and it did get all of the same stations just as clearly.
I live in Pacifica, a small town on the coast just south of
San Francisco.
The coastal hills are between me and any radio broadcasters so if I have a radio that gets all of the stations Im going to assume that its a good radio.
If we all lived on top of a mountain then these reviews might be a bit more consistent.

[Scooby214]

It's true that location does make a difference. I live in central Oklahoma, which is quite flat. My radio is the ICF-36, not the 38, so perhaps they have improved the tuner in the 38. My viewpoint of the 36 is based on my comparisons of the radio to many other radios that I currently own and use.

I have many radios that get in about five FM stations clearly that are barely audible or entirely missing from the ICF-36. I put a fresh set of batteries in mine, and the stations that are missing from my ICF-36 are found on other radios at 88.5 KZTH, 93.3 KKNG, 96.9 KQOB, 99.7 K259AM (a nearby translator), and 105.7 KROU. Other than the nearby translator at 99.7, these are all rimshot stations, meaning they have moved in as close to Okla. City as possible, but aren't really located in the city.

My radios that get in these frequencies well are my BA Recepter, Sangean WR-1, Tivoli Model One, Kaito 1102, Tecsun R-308, and Sony ICF-9650. My old Grundig S350DL got these in as well.

My Brazilian Motobras radio gets in most of these, though it doesn't get in 99.7. My Sony CD boombox CDF-S300 gets in all but 99.7, though the other four frequencies are fuzzy.

My two Emerson radios and my Sony ICF-36 have the poorest performance on these frequencies.

Keep in mind, that four of the five frequencies mentioned are rimshot signals into the Oklahoma City market, so they are weaker at my location than the many local 100KW stations that are less than 20 miles away in the city's antenna farm.

I hope I don't sound inflamatory, as that's not what I mean in either of my posts. I just want to share my experience with the ICF-36. I venture to guess that many of the purchasers of the 36 are likely to listen to the popular, strong local stations, as opposed to my listening habits of listening to rimshooters.

I truly hope that Sony has improved the tuner in the ICF-38, and I'm glad that yours performs well. :)

[Scooby214]

Michael,

if you want to see where the stations I mention are located in relation to me, go to www.radio-locator.com. You can type in the calls for each station, and it will show you a coverage map. I live just west of downtown Okla. City. (KZTH is still operating under a construction permit, so it doesn't have a coverage map showing.) The site also allows you to show stations in your area by Zip Code. I love using the site when I DX an unknown AM frequency.

I forgot to mention one other radio, my Radio Shack DX-396. It is very hot on AM, but not so much on FM. It is sensitive, but has poor selectivity. It gets in 93.3, 96.9, and 105.7. 88.5 has a local station bleeding over it, as does 99.7.

[Michael Brent]

Yeah I've got that list. You put in your zip code and it tells you everything you should be able to get. Kind of cool.
Speaking of Oklahoma, when I was a kid in 1967 I got stuck in El Reno for 12 hours hitch-hiking back from N.Y.
Somebody told me later it was because there was some kind of reformatory nearby and nobody will pick up hitch-hikers.

[Scooby214]

You're right. The reformatory is near El Reno, in Hinton, OK. One of my current favorite radio stations of choice is KZTH, which is right along I-40 near Hinton. It's just "a stone's throw away" from that reformatory.

I have friends in Hinton, and they feel safe in town. I wouldn't want to break down along that stretch of I-40.

[Michael Brent]

While we are on the subject of radio, what do you think about SW radio? Is it dead?
I've tried a bunch of different ones, Grundigs, Etons, Sangeans.
Ive strung ant wire across my backyard and I can get a few stations; Australia, New Zealand ,Cuba but as a whole I am beginning to think that its more trouble than its worth.

[Scooby214]

Ed is probably the king of SW listening here. Hopefully he will chime in with his suggestions for bands and times of day.

I have two SW radios currently, the Kaito 1102 and the Radio Shack DX-396. The 1102 is the better of the two for SW listening, but I rarely listen to SW these days. The ones you mention are strong stations that target the US, so they come in easily on my portables. I've found others from time to time, but I haven't listened much lately as I've heard that summer is the worst season for SW reception.

I spend most of my time doing AM and FM DX listening. Being flat, central Oklahoma seems to be a good location for DXing.

[Scooby214]

I decided to play around a bit with the ICF-36 on AM, as I just put in a set of batteries. I had forgotten about how well it performs on AM. While it doesn't have a narrow filter like some of the other radios, the tone switch does a pretty good job of cutting out the high freq. hiss on weak AM stations.

It's a shame that the TV band on the thing is about to become obsolete.

[Ed]

Don't claim to be a shortwave royalty of any kind, just an SWL-er (short wave listener) of long standing. The SW bands are a shadow of their former selves. Unless a country beams programs in English to North America, all you are left with is Hi-powered religious stations, conspiracy-crazy right-wingnuts and the odd propaganda roadcasts from Cuba or China. On the Left Coast, pickings are slim, mainly Australian and Japanese/Taiwanese stations. Europe is easier to receive on the East Coast of course.
The key is lower frequencies are better at night, higher frequencies (ie above 10 MHz) are better during the day. I usually scan the 3-8Mhz frequencies at sundown, say 6 or 7 pm. Do it on the hour, when stations identify themselves. But to really catch a specific broadcast, you need a copy of ""Passport to World Band Radio 2008" available on Amazon and in bigger bookstores. There is an online listing I'm sure, but I don't have the URL.
75 meters has some old-time hams still chatting away, but you need SSB or BFO to hear them. Otherwise they sound like Donald Duck. What they discuss is usually boring, where they are, what gear they're using, how's the weather, etc. But those foreign broadcasts sometimes give a different slant on the news you don't always get from the mainstream media in the US. Can be interesting.

[Paul]

I agree 100% with Scooby on FM performance of the ICF-36. This radio is just plain poor on FM. On FM it is also extremely location and antenna direction sensitive. Move it around the room and stations come in and go out. Orient the antenna one way, pull it out, push it in, and you either get overload or nothing! All these point to poor sensitivity and selectivity on FM. This radio does not deserve its Sony label.

Furthermore I doubt if Sony did any improvements on the tuner for the ICF-38.

I have been told a good all around and cheap AM/FM/SW portable is the Tecsun R333 which can be had on ebay for $24 + $14 shipping from China.

[Paul]

Chinese radio enthusiasts meet for lunch - photos:

http://hkradioer.googlepages.com/39meet