Sony ICF-36 Portable TV/Weather/AM/FM Radio

Rating:
Summary: The best (reasonably priced) portable I've yet found ...
Review: First of all, I didn't buy this multiband Sony for the weather, rather for the TV reception. in addition to the excellent am/fm tuning. It just boils down to the fact that sometimes I'm in a room such as the kitchen preparing a meal and still want to listen to the likes of Charlie Rose on PBS. Btw, this is my second Sony ICF36 - one for use in the kitchen and one for the bathroom.

As to the reception, having had approximately half a dozen TV/AM/FM radios over the last 25 years, this one beats them all, especially in clarity of reception. No, it's not perfect but far better than you'd expect for one in this price range.

An added bonus is it takes 4 AA batteries. Since I do a lot of digital photography, I simply use rechargeable batteries interchanged from my Olympus digital camera and get about 10 to 15 hours play time on a charge. This way, when I move the radios from room to room, there are no cords to worry about or get in the way.

Lastly, with the long play time the batteries seem to give, it makes a terrific power outage radio as you can at least hear the sound on that favorite TV show of yours when the full size TV's without power.

All in all, I think you'll you'll like the Sony ICF36. Obviously I do :-)


Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Radio
Review: I have tried a lot of different portable radios for around the house use. And I like this one the best, I get great reception on AM, I don't use FM, Weather or the TV bands very much. I bought it to listen to AM. And I was not disappointed. I am receiving New Orleans, Chicago, New York City, Atlanta and Denver in the evenings, BTW I live in the Midwest. If this is the type of radio your looking for you should like it. I had the CC Radio, it worked ok, but it was so big that it was hard to lug around. I still have the GE Superradio, but I dont use it much because of size. And neither seem to bring in stations any better than this little Sony does. Digital radios use batteries up too fast. The batteries last a long time in this Sony.

Rating:
Summary: Great Radio
Review: If you are looking for an emergency radio or for something to listen to while out on the deck, this radio is a great option. It is small enough to throw in an overnight bag if you are going on a weekend trip. I have no problems with reception. The weather band is a great option. Sound is more than adequate for the price. Very happy with this product.

Rating:
Summary: The best radio of its type
Review: This is the best radio of its type on the market. Absolutely a superb design. Great sound quality for its size also. This is the radio you want for general talk radio use and for staying informed. It takes C size batteries that will last a very long time. Just what you need if the power goes out. This radio is not digital, which is what you want in a radio like this. Digital radios really drain batteries fast so a pure analog radio is best when you want long battery life. Tuning is no problem on this radio.

Rating:
Summary: The best radio of its type
Review: This is the best radio of its type on the market. Absolutely a superb design. Great sound quality for its size also. This is the radio you want for general talk radio use and for staying informed. It takes C size batteries that will last a very long time. Just what you need if the power goes out. This radio is not digital, which is what you want in a radio like this. Digital radios really drain batteries fast so a pure analog radio is best when you want long battery life. Tuning is no problem on this radio.

Rating:
Summary: Good deal
Review: we have found this product to work well, and recommend it without reservation -- great to have ac and battery power sources and price is right

Rating:
Summary: Competent Radio
Review: While this radio is not a great radio, it is competent for the task at hand. I compared its AM/FM performance against a Sony analog Walkman, which has surprisingly good performance. As expected, this radio was better than the Walkman, but not a great deal better. I also checked the TV bands against the known local stations and all of the local stations came in fine. The weather band also worked fine. The downsides are that the radio is best used for voice, since its sole speaker is not great. I wish its AM performance were better than average, but it is just average. It has some difficulty with strong station rejection. You will find spots on the FM dial where two or more stations combine in places they do not belong. For the price, a worthwhile purchase. It is better than Radio Shack products.