Modifications for the Other ICF-2010 19-07-1998 Sony 2010 SSB Adjustment English language 19-07-1998 Sony ICF-2010 adjustment revisited English language 19-07-1998 Detect and fix common Sony 2010 problem English language 02-10-1999 New 2010 SSB Clarifier mod English language 19-07-1998 add a comment Sony 2010 SSB Adjustment I recently got sick of listening to SSB on my Sony 2010, because it was just a bit off frequency, and I actually got better sound 100 Hz lower, for instance, 11175.9 rather than 11176.0. Now, I've been told that the BFO adjustment is detailed in the service manual, but not having it, I decided to go poking around inside anyway. Well, I found the adjustment for the BFO, and thought some of you might like to try it as well if you're in my previous position... But first, a warning.... Poking around in your radio without a service manual can be hazardous to your future listening habits! Don't try it if you're not comfortable with taking apart your radio or don't have confidence that it will work when you are done! Otherwise, it might become time to take a trip to the closest Sony repair center. :) And of course, I am not responsible for whatever you do to your radio... Okay, now for the description. (Now might be a good time to write down your frequencies stored in memory, if they are important...) You can disconnect power if you wish, but you'll need it later when adjusting, so it doesnt matter, really. Remove screws on back and take off the back lid. Don't forget the screw in the battery compartment. You will see a circuit board and the back of the speaker. Remove the screws in the board with arrows pointing to them and release the plastic snap-clamps along the edge of the board. For the next step, be careful not to rip out any wires; yours might be shorter than the ones in my radio. Separate the boards enough so you can get to the bottom of the board that is now loose. Take care to avoid pulling out the ribbon cables for the keyboard--they are only held there mostly by friction. (I found out the hard way; the ribbon slipped out partially, without me noticing, and suddenly the keypad didnt work... Had me scared for a while :).) You can see a metal case labeled 'sync unit' about 3/4"x3/8"(?) that is mounted on the board. Next to it is a blue trimmer pot, the only pot in the near vicinity of the metal case. This is the BFO adjust. Now tune in a somewhat strong SSB frequency that can be clearly heard. Military stations are best, since their equipment is going to be more accurate than a ham radio operator's (in most cases :)). I used the GHFS frequencies. Wait until some traffic comes on and adjust the pot in VERY small increments. The pot is very sensitive, and not much turning will be needed to realign your receiver. This adjustment is best done with a non-metallic screwdriver or other instrument, since metal might temporarily affect the capacitances, inductances, etc. of the circuit, and cause it to be off frequency again once you remove the metal object. Of course, if you make small adjustments and then check it, a metal screwdriver will do the job. After getting the receiver sound to your liking, which may take a while depending on the amount of traffic, switch to some other freqs, both USB and LSB, Ham and Military, to see if you need to make any final adjustments before closing it all up again. Just reverse the process to get your 2010 back together. Make sure the volume, RF gain, and tone switch all align with their counterparts on the case. Best way to do this is to push them all either up or down fully. Now, hopefully, your Sony 2010 is now back on the right track, and SSB no longer has that hint of D.Duck in there! The adjustment will also affect the SYNC setting, so if your sync LEDs didnt always light up on the correct freq, that probably is fixed now too. I think Sony should have added a 'user-servicable' pot on the back or side with a little hole in the case where an 'inclosed' screwdriver could be inserted to fine-tune the SSB without delving into the innards of the radio or taking it to a service center; are you listening Sony? :) Does anyone know what the other blue pot is for on that board, the one that is more or less off by itself? The PCB is labeled, but there is a blob of hardened sealer gunk on mine that makes it illegible. I really should pick up the service manual... I still want to do the mod to the tone switch. It would also be nice if there was some way for the radio to select WIDE instead of NARROW when a band is selected...oh well, can't have everything... :) It's still one heck of a radio for the price... This modification has been read 1960 times. top of page add a comment 19-07-1998 add a comment Sony ICF-2010 adjustment revisited I have a Service Manual for the Sony ICF-2010 and the alignment procedure forwarded by you from Genie is partially correct and I am amazed how the original author stumbled into it just by looking at the radio. Following is the instructions taken from the manual, which leave something to be desired, since pictures of the actual circuit board are part of the procedure and are important for identifying the adjustment points. Sync Adjustment Note: Frequency setting may alter when adjusted with shield plate (K) removed from sync board. Setup: Band: AM Mode: as directed AM RF GAIN Control: as adequate Frequency: as directed MANUAL TUNE MODE: SLOW SYNC switch: as directed Remove shield plate (K) and connect a test lead to pin 6 (varicap voltage) for VTVM and frequency counter and reinstall shield plate (K). (There is a picture of a PC board trace with arrows where to attach the VTVM, Frequency counter, and Oscilliscope which defy any way of being described here. There are three adjusting points; CT601 (a variable cap) which is located through a small hole in the shielded SYNC unit itself, VT1 (a pot) which is located directly next to the shielded SYNC unit on the right, and VT2 a pot) which is on the left of the shielded SYNC unit near the corner of the printed circuit board.) Procedure: Correctly and just tune in the set to a known, stable and strong AM station in NARROW and SYNC MODE off modes. Set mode to USB. Adjust VT1 for a 1.5V DC VTVM reading. Adjust CT601 for a zero-beat note and waveform. (There is a picture of the proper and improper oscilliscope waveforms.) Turn SYNC switch on and, adjust VT2 and set it to the point at which SYNC LOWER indicator just turns off to SYNC UPPER indication. Slowly turn VT2 back to the point at which SYNC UPPER indicator just turns off to SYNC LOWER indication, and leave VT2 as is. Turn MANUAL TUNING knob to obtain a frequency indication just 100 Hz above the carrier of the station being received. (only one advancement in the final digit). Now, the SYNC UPPER indicator should light. Frequency counter should read 3.640 MHz + or - 100 Hz. Refer to the original message from Gary Pupurs on Genie as forwarded to this echo by Bill Oxner for a description on how to open, precautions to take, and how to identify the SYNC unit. Since my display is spot on, I did not open up the radio to verify the colors of the pots. The service manual is quite comprehensive and includes the owners manual instructions, disassembly instructions, adjustments and alignment procedures, voltage testpoint tables, sample waveform patterns, mounting diagram (ghost of PC board and components), schematic diagram, and parts list. It can be ordered by calling 816/891-7550 and going through the automated voices to publications. Cost was around $10 when I got mine three years and they do charge $3 for shipping and take plastic. As Gary Pupurs warned, fooling around without a Service Manual is not for the faint hearted and a trip to the Sony Service Repair Center will most certainly be more costly than the Manual. I order a Service Manual as soon as I acquire any consumer electric item and they have certainly paid off. This modification has been read 1891 times. top of page add a comment 19-07-1998 add a comment Detect and fix common Sony 2010 problem How to detect and repair the commonly blown transistor in the Sony 2010 Michael Covington, N4TMI As is well known, transistor Q303 in the front-end of the Sony ICF-2010 general coverage receiver is easily damaged by static electricity. Here is information on how to diagnose and fix this problem. What are the symptoms? A 10- to 20-dB loss of sensitivity on AM (longwave, medium wave, short wave). If you have a good antenna you may not even notice the loss. In all other respects the radio functions normally. How do i test it? If you buy a used 2010 it's a good idea to perform this test even if you do not notice a performance problem. Remove the back cover and locate transistor Q303, near the antenna input. Identify its three terminals (D, G, and S). Now measure the voltage from each of those terminals to ground, with the receiver turned on and receiving shortwave. (A convenient ground connection is the outer part of the antenna jack.) The voltages should be: S 0.2V - G 0.0 V - D 2.9 V Note: Especially the drain (D) voltage. If it is substantially lower than 2.9V, the transistor is leaky. (Mine measured 1.6V when defective.) If it's substantially higher (like 4.5V), the transistor is open. How do i fix it? The popular MPF-102 transistor, available at Radio Shack, is a suitable replacement. (Sony used a 2SK152, not widely available in the U.S.A.) Simply unsolder the old transistor and install the new one, then check voltages again. No alignment is necessary. How do i prevent further trouble? By connecting the shortwave antenna through a protective diode network, as shown below. |/ Antenna | +-----------+--------+----------------------------> tip of plug | | / --- Sony 2010 --- / Four 1N914 or antenna | | 1N4148 diodes jack / --- (do not substitute) --- / | | +-----------+--------+----------------------------> sleeve of plug | ------- ----- --- Ground (optional) The diodes limit all voltages going into the receiver. Use the specified types; other kinds would produce loss of signal, signal mixing (resulting in image frequencies), or both. The 2010 has a built-in protective diode network connected to the built-in telescoping antenna but not the antenna jack. Michael A. Covington, Ph.D. mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu ham radio N4TMI This modification has been read 2031 times. top of page add a comment 02-10-1999 add a comment New 2010 SSB Clarifier mod Yes, after some exploritory surgery, and some advice from John Crabtree, I have installed a fine tune on my 2010. It resolves those sideband voices that are a little too high or too low. I now am happier with the 2010. The mod is basically just an extention off the internal blue trimmer pot. It makes it possible to fine tune LSB or USB. This mod will not affect the operation of the sync detector. John Crabtree says: "When running USB or LSB the BFO frequency is controlled via the blue trimmer pot. When running in SYNC mode, the BFO voltage is controlled by the output from loop filter." I used an old guitar volume pot. for my tuning knob. It was suggested by John Crabtree that a 10k resister in series with the pot will reduce the range. However, you can experiment with slightly lower values if this is not enough. The mod involves locating that blue trimmer pot's contacts on the solder side of the main board. You don't have to "lift" any boards to do the mod. You also don't have to adjust or mess with the blue trimmer pot.You just have to get to three contact points. John Crabtree says: Note the zero beat frequency for your favourite station. (The blue trimmer pot. is located slightly under the left metal shield, to the right of the bottom / middle shield solder leg.) Put a 5k or 10k pot connected as follows: one end of pot goes to 0V other end of pot goes to +3V ( I located +3V on a chip pin: third from the right, under and a little left of the blue trimmer pot.) the wiper is connected via a series resistor (try 10k to start with) to the upper end of the blue pot on the board (ie not the wiper or lower end, both of which are connected to 0V) best to use screend cable with the shield connected to 0V. (I had to un-solder a couple of the shield's legs to get to the upper end of the blue pot.) Adjust pot so that the zero beat frequency is the same, Check the amount of frequency shift that you can get going up and down To mount the pot , I drilled a 3/8" hole on the top between the left corner and the on/off/timer switch. There is a space there that is a perfect fit for the pot.. (I had the pot. stuck on the radio for a long time but got tired of the wires being on the outside so I decided to make it permanent and drilled a hole.) Rick This modification has been read 1827 times. top of page add a comment Have you any tips, trick or modifications you can't find here, please send a mail to me. Can't you find a modification, then don't e-mail me please. All mododification that i have, is listed on this site.! Have you problem with www.mods.dk then you can visit the support page. Start page