Sony ICF-S10MK2 Transistor Radio

Remarkable little radio – current model ICF-P26: small size though chunky. Fits shirt pocket. You barely notice it tucked under your pillow! Slide type selector for on/off_am_fm; thumb wheel on rhs for tuning, lhs for volume. Earphone jack on lhs - you supply the earphones. Surprising degree of precision in manufacture. Precise tuning, clear output and reasonable volume… Read more

from inbuilt speaker. Far from cheapest little 'tranny' on the market, but best I've found. In my experience Sony a reliable brand in this category.

Great little radio for the price when using the built-in speaker – I bought this model for my mother to use while she was in hospital. It appears to be the most robust of the portable radios in its price range and the controls are all simple and reliable with a good feel. The tuning dial is a good size and easy to read. Mum is in her eighties, with some arthritis in her fingers and has no trouble using it at… Read more

all.

We've been very impressed with the reception on both AM and FM and the battery life seems excellent.

If you are looking for a product like this and only plan to use the built-in speaker, you probably don't need to look any further and I would rate it 5 stars.

If you are looking for something to also use with headphones or earphones, then I would suggest taking your 'phones to the store and trying it out first. To begin with, if you plug stereo headphones into it, you will only get the audio in one ear. This can be solved with a simple mono-to-stereo adapter.

Secondly, I found the volume very high at a very low setting, which made it very difficult to adjust for a normal listening level. I checked it with a number of low and high efficiency phones that I own and all had the same issue.

I'm a keen DIYer, so I solved both problems by making up a short adapter cable that provides the mono-to-stereo connection and adds a 270 Ohm resistor into the signal path and am very pleased with the result.

Lets hope Sony address these issues in MK3!

AM band cut – Compact radio with very good selectivity on AM band. It is the best I have found for quite some time. It does not cover full AM broadcast band to 1701kHz--- definitely a mistake. Non-linear volume control. Ask at Jaycar for an adapter (around $2) to get monophonic sound in both ears when using stereophonic headphones. Ah, well, I bought a second one, but would like a full coverage one.

Bonza radio for the price – I currently own one of these radios and will most definitely be purchasing another due to their solid performance and reliability. Selectivity is excellent, battery life is outstanding, reception is brilliant. For the price, these are excellent as a general radio for listening to your favourite station or for emergency situations such as natural… Read more

disasters. You will not be disappointed. reliable, cheap, batteries last for ages, great reception in open spaces.

Great little radio! – I'm no Audiophile, but I do like Sony radios. I've had a few car stereos and a couple of home ones, and they all have done a good job - good reception and decent sound (noticeably better that other radios I have had), which is all you can ask for I guess. This little radio is no different. It's just a cheap, basic, little radio but it does… Read more

the job nicely. It picks up stations really well and sounds good for a small, basic radio. It runs from 2x AA batteries which provide good battery life.

This radio is nothing flash, with really basic controls and no fancy features, but to my mind it is none the worse for it. It just works, and should continue to do so for some time.

The only negative for me is the mono output for headphones - meaning that if you plug headphones in, it only plays through one side. It would be nice if it played through both.

This is a great little radio, I can certainly recommend it. Great reception, decent sound for what it is, good battery life, cheap Would be nice if headphones played on both sides

Perfect for a BOB bag for that SHTF situation! – I have two of these radio's and they would have to be one of the most solidly performing personal radio's available! One is wrapped tightly in its own Faraday cage and put away for the SHTF situation. The other has come on countless fishing trips with me, where it's played continuously for hours at a time, and the radio still has its original… Read more

batteries which are the Duracell Power Pic's.

The antenna is a telescopic type and the tuning and volume controls are on either side of the radio. I find that sometimes when you pick it up and move it you can knock the controls, so I grab it by the front and back now to avoid this.

I find that the reception gain on these radios is perfect for such a small radio, I feel that everyone should have at least one for an emergency radio, for either a natural disaster or big out situation - just keep fresh batteries in them and wrap it up well.

Otherwise, after 7 months of solid use, it has been working flawlessly and keeping me company faithfully on every dark moonlit fishing trip away. Reliable, good battery life, light, well engineered, cheap Only comes in black, silver available overseas...