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Old 22nd Mar 2023, 3:45 pm   #1
Keith956
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Default ICF-SW100 repair

My old Sony ICF-SW100 I've had since 1994 decided to succumb to the flat cable problem (it breaks at the hinge between the lid and the body) last week. Has anyone else successfully repaired one? It looks fiddly!
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Old 22nd Mar 2023, 4:17 pm   #2
Ken
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Haven't tried a repair yet but I have bought the two ribbons cables to make the repair. There's bits on the web on making this repair in terms of videos but I haven't found one that I consider to be particularly helpful. Have had the case partly dismantled before to make another repair and I found opening the case without damaging the plastic catches very fiddly. A lot more dismantling is required to replace the ribbon cables than I've done. I'll be very interested to read how anybody else who has done this job carried it out.

Regards,

Ken.
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Old 22nd Mar 2023, 4:50 pm   #3
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Ken, I managed to get the case open OK and then removed the ribbon cables to verify that they were infact broken.

First take batteries out, and undo 4 philips screws on the back, conveniently marked with arrows.

Then using a spudger, carefully prise off the back.

Similarly prise off the cover of the lid to reveal the lid PCB. The two ribbon cables go into sockets on this PCB, the way to unplug them is to gently push either side of the white clamp on the socket away from the socket, then the cable will pull out with little force.

With the lid part open the keyboard cover comes off quite easily, the keyboard PCB comes off easily just one clip to slightly push to free it. Then you can unplug one of the cables from the keyboard PCB using the above method.

You then need to get the PCB on the base off, to do this first unscrew the philips screw on the volume control and take the knob off. Also take off the small piece of plastic that surrounds the phones socket/power socket. The PCB is clipped to the black plastic frame with 3 clips, 2 by the ferrite rod and one near the shield can on the PCB. The PCB will lift off but will remain connected to the ferrite aerial on the frame so handle gently so as not to break the wires.

The other cable socket is on the PCB underside, and is slightly more tricky to remove as there is a sticky foam pad next to the socket that holds the cable in place. To free it I used a Qtip and some solvent (I used xylene, you need a 'sticky stuff' remover) and dabbed it on the exposed foam pad edges until the cable would come unstuck. Be careful not to get any solvent near the plastic case!

With both ends of the cable free they can be wiggled out of the slot in the lid.

Pic below shows the main PCB lower left attached to the ferrite rod on the frame, one socket is top middle of this PCB. The lid and its PCB in the top and (just out of view top right) the keyboard PCB. The cables look OK but testing for continuity showed a break for many of the tracks where the cable is repeatedly bent as the hinge opens ans closes.

As you say there are cables on ebay, I found someone from Farringdon who is selling a pair for £10. I'll post again when they arrive and have tried to fit it all back together!

- Keith
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Old 22nd Mar 2023, 7:24 pm   #4
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Hello Keith,
Thanks for the very detailed set of instructions on how to take the Sony ICF-SW100 apart. They're the best I've seen. The photo of the radio disassembled was also useful.
I think I have an almost identical spudger.
Quote:
I found someone from Farringdon who is selling a pair for £10.
That's where I got mine and at the same price. They are quite different from the original in that the are not shaped like them and have parallel sides. They are supposed to be an improvement in that it's claimed that they are less prone to damage. They came through the post in an envelope very quickly after they were ordered.
Quote:
I'll post again when they arrive and have tried to fit it all back together!
I think I might wait for that. I should probably pull mine apart but I think I'll have to wait until I'm in the mood.

Regards,

Ken.
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Old 23rd Mar 2023, 8:50 am   #5
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Hi - I successfully repaired this failure in mine a few years ago using a kit of parts supplied by a member on this forum (unfortunately I can't remember his name).

Sadly mine has succumbed to the common battery cover/clip failure which has gone missing together with the batteries making it unusable again.

Has anyone managed to obtain another battery cover/clip?

Mark
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Old 23rd Mar 2023, 12:12 pm   #6
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Hello Mark,
Quote:
Sadly mine has succumbed to the common battery cover/clip failure
Yes mine also has this problem for which there are again suggestions on the web. I used the woven black nylon strap from a pound shop camera bag. It's about 6mm wide. I cut it to length, heat sealed the ends, glued it and then sowed it for good measure. Once the battery case is closed you slip this round the case to hold the clip in place It makes quite a neat repair.
Quote:
Has anyone managed to obtain another battery cover/clip?
I haven't see the battery cover/clip but I have seen PSUs for them on the web at various prices. Don't know about the quality of these things. I suppose you pays your money and you takes your choice. If it worked it would make it usable again but I suppose you'd lose the portability.

Regards,

Ken.
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Old 24th Mar 2023, 12:27 pm   #7
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Well the ribbon cables arrived in the post this morning, two days after I'd ordered them on ebay. They are different from the originals, being just a straight length of flat cable, so they need a bit of bending behind the lid but nothing impossible.

The steps to fit the cables and reassemble:

- (pic 1) First start with the cable to the main PCB. It is the slightly wider of the two. It attaches with the conductors uppermost (blue end of the cable down). Make sure it's a push fit into the socket then push the white clamp back so the cable is firmly in place. At this point it's worth checking the continuity from a trace at the other end of the cable to one of the pins on the socket, guess who put it in the wrong way round first then had to disassemble and start again!

- (pic 2) Feed the cable through the frame as in the picture, this means the cable is effectively doubling back on itself so as not to route through the battery compartment. I guess that's why they put the sticky pad on the board to keep it in place.

- (pic 3) Attach the keyboard cable (the narrower one) to the keyboard PCB with conductors down, blue end up.

- (pic 4) Replace the keyboard PCB onto the frame with both cables coming up between the PCB and battery part of the frame. The PCB just clicks into place. Then with the keys on the upper body in place, fit the upper body to the main PCB and frame. A bit fiddly as the keys tend to drop out, what helps is to put some sticky tape over the plastic the keys fit through so they stay in place until the top and frame are fitting together.

- (pic 5) After replacing the volume control knob and the small bit of plastic around the headphone socket etc, carefully place the green on/off slider plastic part so its 'leg' mates with the tiny on/off switch. Then put the bottom cover on gently, making sure the slider fits and can slide on/off. This is a bit fiddly too.

The ribbon cables in the lid need to be bent and fitted into the lid connectors, conductor side down, blue side up and the clips pushed back. It's virtually impossible to fold the cabled tidily but no-ones going to see them when the back cover of the lid is fitted!

With all that done, mine powered up and is working fine again. These are lovely little radios, let's hope the cables last another few years!
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Old 24th Mar 2023, 8:22 pm   #8
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Hello Keith,
Thanks for the detailed notes on reassembling the ICF-SW100. It will be good to have notes made by someone who has done this when I get round to doing mine. The images also look useful. I'm glad yours worked after all the effort. I'll post again when I've done mine.

Regards,

Ken.
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Old 24th Mar 2023, 10:54 pm   #9
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

One thing to keep in mind if you go through the trouble of replacing the display flexboard is to make sure it never breaks again.

The initial display case has a sharp edge and a narrow entry point, which puts significant stress on the ribbon when in closed position bending it at a very steep angle, eventually cutting the copper traces given enough open-close cycles.

Sony released an improvement kit for this issue, composed of a spare ribbon - but most importantly - a modified version of the front panel of the display section (and a small piece of black foil for cover). Later SW100 units were produced with this improved design, but they seem to be pretty rare.
Meanwhile it is almost impossible to source the kit, and the only time i found one on eBay it was being sold for 300USD - which makes it practically unobtainable.

I was however able to find photos of that modified front panel, and according to them I modified my own (old design) to achieve the same result.
One needs a scalpel, a steady hand, patience and possibly some sort of visual aid - I used a stereo microscope for precision.

The concept is that by removing plastic just slightly wider than the flexboard, it gives it room to bend at a much more comfortable angle when the display section is closed.
You need to be careful as the plastic is really soft, and a sharp scalpel will cut through it with very little effort. I cut away slowly, removing small pieces at a time and stopping to check that I didn't cut too much and that it was still straight.

An additional improvement not apparent in the attached photos, is rounding up the edges of the plastic on the flexboard port of the lower portion of the radio (where the flexboard exits the keyboard to enter the display), you will understand what I mean once you open it up.

The black material seen on the photo (with some yellow on the left side) is just some textile tape I used to hide the ribbon behind. It's not glued on the ribbon, and I didn't cut it cleanly enough so it has that yellow portion visible. Sony's kit included a piece of black plastic foil to do the masking - I had to improvise and if done cleanly nothing will be visible.

One last thing you can do since you will open it up: on eBay you can find kits composed of those generic white ribbons, a new lithium battery to store stations (found next to the LCD), and high power/low consumption orange LEDs to improve display illumination. The kit costs just a few dollars so it's definitely worth purchasing, even if you already have ribbons from elsewhere.

In case no LED's are included in such a set you can find those sold separately, as drop-in replacements for the SW100.

Hope the above helps.

Nick.
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Old 28th Mar 2023, 1:15 pm   #10
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken View Post
Hello Mark,
Quote:
Sadly mine has succumbed to the common battery cover/clip failure
Yes mine also has this problem for which there are again suggestions on the web. I used the woven black nylon strap from a pound shop camera bag. It's about 6mm wide. I cut it to length, heat sealed the ends, glued it and then sowed it for good measure. Once the battery case is closed you slip this round the case to hold the clip in place It makes quite a neat repair.
Quote:
Has anyone managed to obtain another battery cover/clip?
I haven't see the battery cover/clip but I have seen PSUs for them on the web at various prices. Don't know about the quality of these things. I suppose you pays your money and you takes your choice. If it worked it would make it usable again but I suppose you'd lose the portability.

Regards,

Ken.
Hi Ken - Yes does that sound like a nice neat repair.

I do have various PSUs I could use, but as you say I would loose the portability.
I bought mine while working in Singapore (where I purchased alot of my gadgets at greatly reduced prices) specifically for travel. It has accompanied me on most of my travels around the globe.
I suspect that the battery cover and batteries ended up on some hotel room floor somewhere !
Maybe a scrap one will turn up on day

Mark
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Old 29th Mar 2023, 2:52 pm   #11
Ken
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Default Re: ICF-SW100 repair

Hello Nick,
Thanks for the images and your description of how you repaired your ICF SW100
Quote:
Later SW100 units were produced with this improved design, but they seem to be pretty rare.
I think mine is one of these as it seems to have both the wider gap at the hinge and you cannot see the ribbon cables as they are covered with black tape/foil as you describe.
Quote:
One last thing you can do since you will open it up: on eBay you can find kits composed of those generic white ribbons, a new lithium battery to store stations (found next to the LCD), and high power/low consumption orange LEDs to improve display illumination. The kit costs just a few dollars so it's definitely worth purchasing, even if you already have ribbons from elsewhere.
Can you provide a link as to where you got the above mentioned components. It's always useful to know that someone else has bought stuff from a site and that they worked.

Hello Mark,
Quote:
I suspect that the battery cover and batteries ended up on some hotel room floor somewhere !
Yeah it's a pity that you've lost the battery cover. It's hinge mechanism is a little more complex than usual which makes it difficult to substitute with something other than the original. However, when I was trying to find a repair for mine in terms of holding the damaged battery cover in place I did use a large button at about the same diameter. This worked quite well with the strap idea I described before. I was wondering if you could use a button together say a cupro-nickel coin, perhaps glued to the button, as a conductor. This could be connected to the pcb via a thin piece of insulated wire. This would also mean that if an original battery cover did turn up you would have done nothing irreversible. Just a thought.

Finally, I've found it reasonably easy to find a free pdf download of the repair manual. Mostly these are readable but the circuit diagram is very poor in the ones I've found. If either of you or anybody else have found a legible copy of the circuit diagram could you point me at the link or even upload it.

Regards,

Ken.
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