Say hello to the next addition to my Sony shortwave radio collection. This time, we have the ICF-7600D, which was offered only to Germany. This model is the same exact as the ICF-2002, with the exception that it tunes continuous from 150 kHz through 26,100 kHz (instead of 150 kHz through 29,995 kHz on the ICF-2002).
Other than the frequency range, the ICF-7600D is the same radio as the ICF-2002. This model arrived in the original box and includes the original AC Adaptor, soft suede case, long-wire antenna, and the instruction manual. No Sony "Wave Guide" booklet was included in the packaging. Photo below (click to enlarge):
This radio did arrive with a major problem which was not at all documented by the seller. The problem consisted of the radio being stored with batteries dating back to the early to mid 1990's. As you can probably of already guessed, when I opened up both battery compartments, I was greeted to a nasty, corroded mess. Nice. Especially since the seller never even bothered to check the battery compartment(s). At this point, I was pretty pissed off. I immediately grabbed my digital camera and took photographs of the battery compartment(s) in order to clearly document the condition the radio had arrived in. At that moment, I walked away from the radio for a while and pondered in my head as to what I was going to do with the it. I then emailed the eBay seller and described my dissatisfaction with the radio and how he completely "forgot" to mention the battery compartment(s) condition. I told the seller on how I felt misled by his description of the radio in his auction.
A few minutes passed, and I decided on cleaning the battery compartments to see what would happen. Armed with a disposable plastic cup, a new toothbrush (I keep a couple new toothbrushes handy for "dirty" cleaning jobs like this), a roll of paper towels, q-tips, and a box of baking soda, I got right down to work. I mixed a strong solution of luke-warm water and baking soda in the plastic cup and stirred until the baking soda was completely dissolved. I then dipped the toothbrush into the baking soda, dabbed the excess off of the toothbrush onto a dry paper towel, and got to work on both battery compartments. After about 1/2 an hour of cleaning, both compartments turned out just fine, including the battery removal ribbons. I finished up with q-tips dipped in the baking soda solution for the touch-up work. Finally, I dried the compartments with my air compressor set on about 10-15 psi.
I filled both battery compartments with fresh AA batteries, powered on the radio, and it works perfectly. Way cool!
By the way, the eBay seller of the radio offered to take back the radio and refund all of my money, including shipping, or to knock off 20% of the purchase price back to me if I decided to keep and clean the radio myself. I opted for the 20% refund, and I am glad I did. The radio is in pristine condition, with the exception of a very small and minor discrepancy on the underside of the unit where the battery(s) seeped out, which did nothing more than darken the paint a bit. Since this is located on the underside of the unit, it doesn't really bother me all that much. Besides, this radio is proof enough on how one can restore a radio back to health again if it has corroded battery compartments.
Here is a photograph of the radio before I cleaned the battery compartments (the "radio power" battery compartment was not as bad as the "computer/clock" battery compartment):
Here is a photograph of both battery compartments after I thoroughly cleaned them up:
Sweet!