Just for reference- C420 220uF 4v, C426 47uF 4v, C431 47uF 4v, C607 100uF 4v, C608 33uF 4v, C613 220uF 4v, C828 220uF 4v, and if needed C625 (backup cell) 47000uF. Hope that helps. If you search for "Sony ICF-SW1 Capacitor Repair Kit" online there's a few out there, but they're cheap enough to put together from a multi box of caps. All the best from Ast..
Also, if you want to, you don't have to use electrolytic's, you could use tantalum capacitors, which would last longer, but cost approximately twice as much. Ast...
Hello Aston, My beloved Sony radio has been stored in a little box ever since it failed back in January 1992 (30 years ago!!) waiting until I had the time to try to fix it. Your video was priceless and now my little Sony is back up and running! Thank you for taking the time to produce your excellent video.
Thanks for this clear instructions, Aston. 4 Years ago I bought a set of 6 capacitors, but i didn't manage to solve the problem. Now, with this video I could fix the difficult soldering job. It took me a whole day but it has been worth the time. Also my appreciation for your clearly spoken English.
so we have to replace all 6 capacitors? what model do we buy? I'm confused because Ast doesn't show in the video that he does it, right? why does he avoid showing it? Thank you !
Thank you for the very clear and detailed video. Finally managed to replace the caps with like-to-like aluminum caps - I see that some people replace with tantalum caps. I hope modern caps last better than the original ones. Replaced the supercap as well and replaced the led with a white one. Works like a charm and have stunning sound. Another precious piece of kit saved from the landfill 🙂
I’ve just bought a mint one of these on eBay… mint, full set including the spy briefcase, aerial, power supply and manuals, and has had the capacitors already changed by the vendor, and the display led swapped out for a brighter white one. Hope it comes up to expectations when it arrives! I grew up in Africa in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and shortwave was one of the few reliable sources of news back then. And we had a whole selection of Sony shortwave radios back then, they dominated the market. So sad they’ve recently abandoned the SW market due to cheaper Chinese competitors like Tecsun.
I'm sure you won't be disappointed, they are fantastic little radios. The Sony's of the 80s were quite advanced for the time, and even after all these years still stand up to the competition pretty well. It's nice to have the full kit too. All the very best from Ast.
I have a tecsun 310ET to compare with Sony SW1 and the 9600GR. I must say that, while tecsun is a bit more advanced, with DSP, I prefer Sony sound. Have fun with your Sony!
I don't think Sony abandoned their shortwave radio business due to Tecsun, Sangean or other Chinese companies. Sony saw no future in it and quit making radios with shortwave bands. Their final product was the ICF-SW7600GR, which the company discontinued in 2018, after an 18 or 19 year production run. If Sony were still interested in selling (not manufacturing) portable world band radios today, they could have contracted a third party electronics manufacturer like Tecsun. The Japanese brand Aiwa for example, sells a few pocket shortwave radios that are made by Tecsun and rebadged as Aiwa for the Japan market. I've seen them in department stores in Fukuoka and Tokyo and one of them is actually a rebranded Tecsun PL-310ET. 📻😊
This little radio made by SONY is an excellent performer on mediumwave and shortwave. It's still available on eBay for astronomical prices. The size of it and the leather pouch is suited for backpackers who haven't enough space to carry many things.
I'm collecting courage for a couple months now to start fixing mine. Videos like yours help me encourage myself, so many thanks for that! Please show how you slde in the replacment capacitors next time. What about the battery or gold cap you touched in the beginning as "capacitor"? Have you also replaced that?
Hi there, if you mean the big black memory backup capacitor, unless it's leaking I would leave it well alone, most of the time they're fine. If it is leaking however, you will need to remove the other board from the chassis and desolder it from the other side. All the best from Aston.
@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp thanks. Glad that you putting out videos. Theres not many people showing how to fix some of the more modern sets especially as they are starting to fail. Look forward to the next one. Cheers Graham
The pads are quite delicate in these, added to the fact that they have probably been weakened by acid damage, I just wanted to be careful. I've had them come in with lots of the pads ripped off before, when they realise what they've done, I get the job of repairing it. 😛
@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp I bought this marvel a few years ago on eBay and it started motorboting, just getting it repaired by Keith Electricronics in PA. I am not too handy with such repairs and it is best to leave such delicate work to Professionals.
Thanks for the very helpful video. I used it yesterday to replace the SMD caps in a Sony ICF-SW1. One question: The kit I used provided only 6 SMD electrolytics and one LED. Your video discusses replacing 7 electrolytics. I think you change the one removable cap which I think is C-625. I wonder why my kit did not include that cap. Could it be that C-625 was not afflicted with the leakage problem that afflicted the others? I posted about this on my SolderSmoke Daily News blog. Search for Sony. Thanks Bill
C625 is the big black memory backup capacitor, unless it's leaking I would leave it well alone, most of the time they're fine. I guess they didn't include it because they're quite expensive. If it is leaking however, you will need to remove the other board from the chassis and desolder it from the other side. All the best from Aston.
Very informative video, thank for sharing. I had two old Sony SW radios I bought long times ago both not working. After watching your video, I have hope that I may able to re-start them. The problem for 1. SW1 nothing appear on the screen, what is the problem. 2. SW7600 figures appear on the screen but very weak and no sound at all. Can it be due to the leakage of battery then. Hope you can enlighten me as to the causes of the above problems. Thanks
Definitely sounds like capacitors on both of them, and also check for corrosion that may have caused the tracks on the circuitboard to no longer be making contact. It's also possible that battery leakage may have caused extra problems as well, but you'll only find that out when you take them apart. Many thanks from Aston.
Hello there, you'll probably find, that most modern day capacitor manufacturing is of sufficiently high quality to last at least 20 years or thereabouts, so, any kits that you find on eBay should be more than ample for the job. The only reason that they went faulty in the first place was because of a technical error due to the manufacturing at the time, where the wrong chemical was used in the production across all of the manufacturers stock. Hope this helps. All the best from Ast...
Were can i buy these 6 capacitors Aston? And what are the types? Great video! I have 2 of them and they've got the same problems. Thanks you Aston. Grtz from Holland
There are kits available on ebay and other sites for most Sony radios. But just search google for "Sony ICF SW1 Radio 100% Panasonic Capacitors Complete Repair Kit + Memory Backup" that one seems to have all the caps to do the job. If not available where you are, try a different variation of the search. Lots of sellers worldwide. Best regards, Ast..
a great video and an excellent tutorial, nevertheless, forgive my question since I'm everything but a technician... i have this beautiful radio, and it has the same problem as yours; the question is that i didn't see you replacing the capacitors, you've just removed them?! i live in Munich/Germany and i would try to fix it myself if you've just removed them. you can find a technician here ... thanks for answering dear! finally can you please mention the name of the capacitors, so i can try to buy them here ... in case they should be replaced i mean
Hi there, it's probably best to find a kit of parts on eBay instead of trying to find them individually, as you'll probably end up buying bags of things that you won't use. Just search for 'Sony ICF-SW1' and the word 'capacitors'. Yes, the capacitors were indeed replaced with brand-new ones, which I didn't show, just to keep the video concise. There is another video that I produced, that shows you how to solder those types of components back in. All the very best from Aston.
One last question dear, i just received the new capacitors, but instead of 4v it is rated 6v, is that a problem? Also, does it mean that this new set will also stop working in some years? And what about the other sony radios? Why only this model has this problem. Thanks again!
@@81naji 6volts is fine, if it was less than 4volts that would be a problem. Sadly in another 40 years time, the same may happen again, but that is a long way away. All radio's that have this type of capacitor (and in fact most ageing capacitors inside all electronics) will go bad at some point. As with all things, time is not kind to electronics. :D All the best, from Aston.
Thank you for fantastic video, mine has a clean sound on headphone but only motor boating sound on speaker. Do I need to change all smd capacitor? And where I can get them? Thanks again
Yep, afraid so, it's worth replacing them all while you're in there, otherwise you'd only be opening it back up again to replace them later. I just got mine from eBay, the kits work out about the same price as if you individually bought capacitors. All the very best from Aston.
That really is a great video, very clear and informative. I have the SW1 radio which was a lifeline to the outside world when I worked in Africa. I recently had the capacitors replaced and the unit (mostly) works really well, after more than 30 years. However, the earphone socket does not work and my repair man has been unable to fix it. I have tried a number of different earphones but it only works on speaker. Have you any advice on who might be able to repair the earphone socket or where I might pick a replacement part. I really want to return the radio to full working order and any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks in anticipation,
Sadly that is a Sony proprietary part, if you leave a search reminder on eBay, one will eventually turn up, though you may have to wait a little while. Sorry about that. Thanks for the kind words though.
Great video. I've had this repair done to my radio but recently the batteries now drain very quickly when the radio is switched off. Any ides on what the fault might be?
More than likely a faulty SuperCap, the big one that keeps the memory in the radio. At least that's where I would start to look first. Possibly something that the engineer has actually done by mistake like a solder splash, causing the batteries to be drained through something they shouldn't be. If it's a recent repair, take it back to them and see if they can resolve the problem. I hope you get it sorted, all the best from Aston.
I'm not quite sure exactly what you need, but here is the service manual with all the part numbers freeservicemanuals.info/en/servicemanuals/viewmanual/Sony/ICFSW1/
This was very useful in helping me replace the 6 capacitors with Panasonic caps but now the FM reception is poor. I'm thinking that due to maybe placing too much solder on one of the caps there might be a short circuit? Does anyone happen to know whether any of the 6 caps are responsible for the FM reception? Or do you think it might be something else? Antenna improves reception when I pull it out so it's not the antenna.
There is a DX / Local switch to the left hand side of the radio. Switch it to DX to increase reception quality. So simple I've forgotten about that little switch. I was about to sell the radio for spares. Now it's getting good reception and quality sound.
C420 220uF 4v, C426 47uF 4v, C431 47uF 4v, C607 100uF 4v, C608 33uF 4v, C613 220uF 4v, C828 220uF 4v, and if needed C625 (backup cell) 47000uF 5.5v. Hope that helps. If you search for "Sony ICF-SW1 Capacitor Repair Kit" online there's a few out there, but they're cheap enough to put together from a multi box of caps. All the best from Ast..
Wonderful video Meastro! I just bought one at a Flea market for about 25€. I'm changing the capacitators now and I have a question: Did you change the fat solitary capacitator? I've seen others who let the old one stay. If you did change it, how did you reach to unsolder/solder? Best wishes!
Hi there, if you mean the big black memory backup capacitor, unless it's leaking I would leave it well alone, most of the time they're fine. If it is leaking however, you will need to remove the other board from the chassis and desolder it from the other side. All the best from Aston.
Ok so i have two questions. How much is a complete set worth, in the box, never been used, in the case and cardboard box? And where do i sell one? many thanks
Lovely Video Aston Not a Big Fan Of SMD Radios Like My Radios a Little Older And Bigger he he, But Theres No Denying Your Great Expertise With Surface Mounted Parts Really Nice Start To Your RU-vid Videos !! Regards mike. ps Just Subbed.
Sadly, that is a custom-made part. Best thing to do is keep an eye out on eBay for a very badly damaged radio that has a good aerial. All the best from Aston.
I have an ICF-SW1S with a similar fault. However, I know that if I tried to emulate your process, I would ruin it. So my questions are whether you would be able to undertake the repair of my radio and, if so, your terms?
Hello there, unfortunately the workshop has got a pretty steep backlog at the moment, and I'm not taking on any more repairs for some time. Sorry about that. All the best from Aston.
I do, but only if brought in to the shop in Plymouth. Radiocruncher does repairs by post, but I think he's got quite a lot on at the moment. Give him a shout, he's on youtube too www.radiocruncher.com/contact/ All the best from Aston.
Yep, check out the service manual - pages 18 and 19. The manual is available from here www.radiomanual.info/schemi/RX/Sony_ICF-SW1_serv.pdf You'll need a RF signal generator and a frequency counter and possibly a scope or VTVM (Vacuum Tube Volt Meter). All the best from Aston.
Yep, indeed, that's because the entire global suppliers of surface mount capacitors came from one company in china, who decided to use the wrong blend of chemicals in the capacitors, thus sealing the doom of half the electronics of that era. 😞
Thank you so much for the video. I have a question for you: I can't find 4V capacitors anywhere. Can I use high resistance capacitors? For example 220µF/16V or 220µF/10V instead of 220µF/4V
Yep, as long as they are about the same size and they'll fit in the space that's there, you'll be fine. You can even use standard caps, but you'll have to bend the legs very carefully to fit and they would need to be the extra small ones, but it can be done, as I've done it for a customer who wanted it that way. All the best from Aston.
Well, all of them really. There are kits available on ebay and other sites for most Sony radios. But just search "Sony ICF SW1 Radio 100% Panasonic Capacitors Complete Repair Kit + Memory Backup" that one seems to have all the caps to do the job.
@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp Thanks for the tip. With the exception of the two 220uF capacitors, the other 4 (2x47uF, 33uF, and 100uF) were all defective. Replaced all as recommended, with tantalum capacitors. Working fine.
Not really enough space for that in this little radio, plus the legs/solder tabs travel quite far under the caps and on Sony's are extremely fragile. Torsional stress can easily (and frequently does) just rip them off. Especially if any of the leakage has got them.
Any torque on a vertical axis, would translate into vertical mechanical stress on the pads. The same goes for torque on a horizontal axis. Same case for what the video shows are being done while attempting to melt the solder on one pad while the other is suffering some stress. But if you cut the capacitor right where the aluminum meets the plastic base, and orthogonal with the direction of the pad pair axis, then that sheer stress is very much forgiving to the pads. This last technique is what I used while replacing the caps.
Well, it was a pretty long video already, and I didn't want to bore the pants off the viewers. In response however, there was a surface-mount video showing a capacitor being taken off and replaced in the very next video, demonstrating how these were done.
