Hi Kevin,

 

     Thanks for your comments.

 

     One of the reasons why this loopstick experimentation (both Slider and monster composite bars) is so fascinating is that you never really know what will happen, until you transplant your fanatical creations into a new radio design.  You can have a phenomenal technical breakthrough (like the slider E100's and slider DT-200VX), or the biggest technical dud in recent history, like the ICF-S5W.  Although I've never been to a casino, the feelings of anticipation must be about the same.

 

     The ICF-S5W's stock loopstick is 6 1/4" x 3/8", so it's pretty close to the transplant size (that is, not a huge difference like the E100, or DT-200VX). The ICF-S5W is completely unimpressed by the Slider function, with all frequencies optimized within about 1/10 inch, and changing mostly in audio, not signal strength.  Having performed about 15 alignments on the ICF-S5 (W) series radios, I was kind of worried this might happen, since peaking the coil on 600 kHz was mainly an audio judgement call, and not a sharp signal strength peak.  The best Slider results are obtained when an alignment shows a razor-sharp peak on the 600 kHz weak station (i.e. the E100, DT-200VX, and C.Crane SWP turkey units), making a sliding coil system critical in "spreading out the sensitivity" over the entire AM band.

 

     The ICF-S5W's stock 455 kHz IF filter is not bad for the basic portable genre, and it can be replaced by the Murata CFJ455K5 premium filter for razor-sharp selectivity (at the expense of its great audio fidelity, however).  But an analog radio like the ICF-S5W is never going to be the first choice of transoceanic DXers, no matter how selective.  A Slider E100 will run circles around it, because of the digital tuning and memories.

 

     The ICF-2010 and ICF-SW7600GR stock portables both have fixed loopstick coil systems, and cannot accept a Slider system.  Both of them respond well to larger, composite ferrite bars, however (the 30" loopstick ICF-2010 is "King of the Hill" here).

 

     Anyway, loopstick experimentation is a fun way to spend the Puget Sound deep freeze :>)

 

     73,  Gary

 

     

 

Hey Gary:

Thanks for delving into this project, even though the results were less
than exhilarating.  Your experimentation is a big part of what makes this
hobby keep growing!

Does the Amidon version benefit at all from being able to tweak the
position of the sliding coil, or is the stock unit well-matched to the
stock ferrite antenna up & down the band?

I think you had mentioned before that the filters in the S5W were not able
to be changed out, so perhaps the S5W is as good as it will ever be.  The
engineers at Sony probably never guessed that something like the Slider
e100 would make the sensitivity and selectivity on the S5W seem....just
OK.

Praying the power stays on - Kevin



> Hello Guys,
>
>      Not every loopstick transplant is amazingly  successful-- some are a
> lesson in humility.
>
>      After carefully creating a 7.5" Amidon ferrite bar  loopstick wound
> with
> 40/44 Litz wire matching the ICF-S5W stock inductances (on  two coils),
> and
> painstakingly threading the four Litz wires through a tiny hole  so they
> wouldn't snarl the dial string, the net result was....  exactly the  same
> sensitivity as the stock unit!
>
>      With amazing successes in the E100 and DT-200VX  Ulttralights, the
> overconfident transplant tech was probably in need  of a lesson in
> humility, and it
> certainly was delivered-- big time.
>
>      So now it's back to refining the E100 and DT-200VX  Slider radios,
> both
> of which have managed to thrill everyone who has tried  them.  With a deep
> freeze here, there should be time enough for  many fanatical technical
> projects.
>
>      73,  Gary DeBock
>
>
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>