MW DXing with thrift store Sony Walkman headset radios

As I've mentioned before on this blog numerous times, one of my hobbies is Medium Wave radio long distance listening -- also known as 'MW DXing'. It's a hobby I discovered by accident as a child while tuning around the MW band (known as the "AM band" in the US) on my bedside radio.

The sounds of distant stations from other 'countries' like Oregon, Idaho, and California was very exciting (at that time I didn't realise that there is a difference between countries and U.S. States -- I was very young at the time. In fact, the first time my parents took me to Oregon when I was 5 years old, I was expecting border customs!).

Sony Walkmen can make great MW distance-listening and disaster radios. Some Walkmen, like the Sports Walkman on the lower left of this picture, can be found at thrift stores for decent prices.

The distant signals in the speakers or headphones just sounded like they were coming from far away. To a young child, it was a fascinating sound, almost like traveling without leaving your bedroom. Sometimes I'd pull out the road atlas to figure out where the stations I was hearing were located -- this led to an interest in geography, and navigation. GPS? Who needs GPS when you have the map ingrained in your memory?

But I digress.

THRIFT STORE SONY GEMS

My dentist is located in Black Diamond, Washington -- a small city about 11 miles south of Renton, where I live. And near the dentist's is a Goodwill -- a thrift store. Over the past four or five years I've been able to buy numerous good books there, as well as a few radios: a Panasonic clock radio that works well, as well as several Walkmen. Cheap. Less than five bucks.

If you have read my previous MW DXing articles here on my blog, you already know I like to DX on the cheap!

I like to see what one can hear with a radio that is more or less consumer grade (as opposed to a Drake R8 or Icom R-75), with decent sound.

Although I use my GE Superadios and other DX portables a lot, I also use my Walkmen and DX-350's, usually with an external loop. DXing with such radios has a certain charm about it. I think it's the fuller sound you get through headphones. Then again, it's fun to DX on the cheap. And the fact that the Walkmen are so portable helps -- I also use them to listen to FM music in stereo, or AM sports talk, at work or when I'm out in the yard.

As most are probably aware, "Walkmen" radios / cassette players were a Sony invention in the late 1970's, and they became popular in the 80's when everybody had one. Sony wasn't the only manufacturer: nearly every popular Japanese and American radio maker had a "walkman" style player. I have an old Sanyo from the 1980's I got used at a thrift store years ago -- it has excellent FM and AM reception. AM is even DXable. I didn't get an actual Sony Walkman (with the actual "Walkman" logo on it) until I found that Goodwill thrift store -- which I previously mentioned -- several years ago.

This 1990's-era thrift store Sports Walkman works great. The only 'damage' was a missing battery cover. The "battery cover" is now a cut piece of Duct Tape.

USED 1990's and 1980's era SONY WALKMEN -- CHEAP

The Walkmen radios I got at Goodwill are mostly Sonys. I have one Panasonic that probably works great on cassette, and the radio works well on FM. It is useless on AM. Somehow the tuner mechanism was damaged, perhaps through heat. So far, even though I was able to get it apart, I haven't been able to fix it.

The Sonys, however, work great.

I had previously bought a couple Sony headset radios new -- an SRF-59 and SRF-42 -- and I also have them pictured here, for reference, as they are better known. The SRF-59 is famous for AM and FM reception, and the Sony SRF-42 is well known as a good performer, and it also has AM Stereo, which is useless for stereo AM listening but useful for IDing stations on a crowded channel because the stations are in different places in the stereo spectrum.

This short article will concentrate on the three Walkmen I bought at Goodwill used: the Sony SRF-M78 Sports Walkman ($3 at Goodwill), the Sony WM-FX101 Walkman ($1 at Goodwill) and the Sony WM-FX241 Walkman ($2 at Goodwill).

All three of these are not 'DX machines', per se. But they are excellent performers considering the cost ($2-$3) and the fact that you couple them with a loop, you can hear DX on them quite well. Even without an external loop, you can hear DX stations and regional stations -- vital during emergencies.

Being able to hear regional AM radio stations is a good thing, especially during large emergencies, like a huge power outage or an earthquake. Walkman radios are vital for anyone's emergency kit, as most of them will bring in strong regional AM stations, when the local stations may not have power.

I'm sure similar radios to the one pictured in this blog post are still available at some thrift stores in the US and maybe overseas.

(I also found a Panasonic walkman and a GE walkman for sale at the thrift store. Both were good bargains -- the GE the better of those two. For the sake of simplicity, I'm concentrating more on the Sonys in this blog article.)

The Sony SRF-M78 Sports Walkman I found at a thrift store for $2.99 US. The arm band clips into the back of the radio.

SONY SRF-M78 Digitally Tuned SPORTS WALKMAN

The Sony SRF-M78, the Sports Walkman, is handiest of the three radios to use (on most of the AM band) without a loop. I often take it to work with me with a set of earbuds because the radio is handy, small, built like a tank, and has a clock, which is also helpful. It came with an armband. It clips into the back of the radio and works well.

The Battery cover was also missing -- now it's Duct Tape. The radio is bright yellow like most 'sports' Walkmen, and it's water resistant, which means if you take it out in the rain it should still work without damage to the radio.

I don't know when it was first introduced. At first guess, I thought it came out during the 1990's some time, as it has the AM X-band on it (520-1700 khz on MW). According to the Sony manual, the SRF-M78 came out in 1996.

The SRF-M78 will DX reasonably well at night on the AM band -- I've taken it on night bike rides when I didn't have to worry about other traffic on the trail and have heard KFBK 1530 Sacramento with a readable signal. I also have heard KFBK at work in Seattle on this Sony.

The selectivity is decent enough that you can hear adjacent channel DX stations with a certain amount of splatter.

There is only bleedover on the strongest locals -- on a couple 50 KW stations and a closer 1 KW station. I'm guessing the reception is a bit similar to the SRF-M37W that a lot of MW DXers talk about online -- perhaps a bit less.

Where the SRF-M78 falters is above 1600 khz. Although the radio has the Top Band (or "X-band"), performance isn't good. It's almost like it was an afterthought. Even with an external loop it isn't that great on the X-band.

The Sony SRF-M78 has five presets on each band, AM and FM. They are very easy to program. Use the up or down tuning button, and tune in your station. Then press the 'Enter/Clock' button, then press the preset button where you want to store the station, and hold it until it beeps. That's it.

SWITCHING THE SONY SRF-M78's MW CHANNEL SPACING

If you live in areas of the world outside the Americas, you can switch the MW channel step from 10 khz to 9 khz in three easy steps:

1) turn the radio OFF.

2) press and hold the "Enter/Clock" button.

3) press and hold the "Power" button for more than 5 seconds.

That's it. This procedure toggles the radio between 9 khz and 10 khz steps on the MW band. It will erase all five memories, and you'll have to reset the clock.

With the armband and a pair of earbuds, the Sony SRF-M78 Sports Walkman is pretty handy to take out and about. In this picture, I'm listening to an NFL football game on KJR 950.

I use my Sony Sports Walkman sometimes while working in the yard, and sometimes while biking -- either at night, or on the local Trail. I keep the volume down while on my bike, and listen to AM only. Stereo FM seems to interfere with hearing nearby traffic and I want to stay safe. AM, being in mono only, doesn't limit what I hear that much.

Some online reviews mention that the volume control moves around on its own through contact with the armband. I haven't had that problem at all. Maybe the online reviewer was wearing the radio upside down.

SONY WM-FX101 Analog Tuned WALKMAN

The all-black, subtly marked Sony WM-FX101 looks like it came out in 1990 or so, although the info on the internet I've found says it was introduced in 1995. The all-black color is a dead giveaway that it's a 90's radio -- black radios were popular during that decade.

The WM-FX101 is an analog tuned Walkman with a switchable automatic volume control (you can switch it on to cut the Decibel level if you want) -- I've used that feature only once. I DX'ed with it in 2012 and 2013 -- for a while it was my main DX radio. Without a loop it's fair for distance listening -- definitely not a high performance DX radio, but it will pull in regional stations well enough for listening, and some DX, too.

This black Walkman is probably the best overall performer of my AM-FM-cassette Sony Walkmen.

A Sony WM-FX101 Walkman I got at a thrift store for $.99 US. It's a decent DXer and a set of AA's lasts a long time if you just use the radio. For a while this was my main MW DX radio -- I used it with a loop.

You add a loop and it works very well. The selectivity is wide enough that the fidelity is terrific -- listen to an NFL football game you almost think you are there. There is more splatter on this radio than you'll get on the famous SRF-59 -- but you can add to the selectivity by moving this Walkman away from the loop. I heard maybe 15-20 new stations on this radio when I was DXing with it in 2012-13.

Unlike the SRF-M78, the WM-FX101 works well on the X-band.

But you won't get a ton of DX on it up there without a loop. I was able to receive a very weak XEPE 1700 (in Tecate, Mexico) the other night, and 1640 KDZR from Portland (200 km away) comes in without a loop when conditions are fair to good.

But overall on the X-band, signals are just mostly too weak to get readable DX, as they can be on any portable AM radio.

Compared to the famous Sony SRF-59, this Walkman is slightly less sensitive, but it will hear every station my SRF-59 hears -- just at slightly reduced quality. The selectivity is a bit wider, and the AGC isn't as tight, which is refreshing as the SRF-59's AGC is very tight. Overall, the sound of the WM-FX101 makes for a more pleasant listening experience while monitoring or DXing.

I'm certain all of these thrift-store Sony radios have the same Sony CXA1019 chip, which is a hot chip, and was very popular in Sony Walkmen and Dream Machine clock radios during the 1990's and 2000's. The main reducing factor in these Walkmen for AM reception is the loopstick antenna. I haven't been able to get any of these apart yet to see what the inside looks like. I'm guessing the loopsticks are equally small on all of these radios. But considering they are small, they have decent reception.

SONY WM-FX241 Digitally Tuned WALKMAN

The Sony WM-FX241 is similar to the WM-FX101, except it's digitally tuned. It looks a lot like a 1990's Walkman radio -- from the model number, I thought it came out in the late 1990's. But -- according to Sony -- it actually came out in 2002.

It works surprisingly well on the AM band, considering it's just a Walkman. It doesn't perform up to SRF-59 standards, but it is still a decent listening radio. Its X-band performance is as good as the rest of the AM band. It's slightly less sensitive than the analog tuned WM-FX101.

A Sony WM-241 Walkman, which I got at a thrift store for $1.99 US. Works great. I sometimes DX with it, just for fun. Here I have it tuned to KBRE 1660 The Bear, a rock station from California.

It has 40 presets -- I haven't used them all. There are 30 memory presets for FM, and 10 for AM. I have maybe 8 of the FM presets used -- all three rock stations I listen to (KVRQ, KFOO, and KISW) and the three pop stations in Seattle (KBKS, KPWR and KQMV), a news station and an NPR station. From the factory the presets are already set to various spots on the dial, which could be handy if you don't fill them all -- it would be sort of like jumping randomly to another part of the band.

The memories are easy to program: you press the "Enter" button once, scroll up and down the memory locations using the + or - key (plus or minus "Preset" keys, big grey ones just below the readout), and press the "Enter" key again.

The WM-FX241 will DX with an external loop, even on the X-band. It's slightly weaker than the FX101 on the X-band without the external loop, but it's miles better than the SRF-M78.

Compared to the WM-FX241, the earlier model WM-FX101 seems a bit more sensitive, and it has tighter AGC. But the WM-FX241 seems to have more usable selectivity. It's a toss up between the two. Both work well with my loops. Of course, the digital tuning on the 241 is handier to use.

Unfortunately, this radio doesn't have a way to adjust the MW channel step from 10 khz to 9 khz steps, or vice versa. If there is a method, it's either not documented or I just haven't been able to find the button sequence. For most Walkman users, this wouldn't be an issue. If you're traveling overseas a lot, you probably already have a radio capable of MW 10khz / 9 khz channel steps.

The WM-FX241's sound -- like the other two used Walkmen -- is excellent. This means it undoubtedly has a single ceramic filter, which is adequate for MW DXing if you pull the Walkman away from the loop a bit, but it also sounds good. And with a little wider response, it's easier to catch ID's. On FM, it sounds better than the SRF-M78, and a little clearer on fringe FM stations than the WM-FX101.

This radio has "mega bass", which scoops the sound on both FM and AM and is like a loudness boost. I haven't found it useful with regular Sony headphones, but I have a cheap pair of earbuds that are a bit on the thin side, sound-wise. The WM-FX241's "Mega-bass" button makes them sound better.

ADEQUATE ON FM -- REALLY NICE STEREO SOUND

On FM none of these are probably FM DX radios. But they are adequate for local FM listening. They are probably as good as your average 1980's / 1990's boombox or clock radio. The sound is similar on all three Sonys: overall, they deliver good quality stereo.

Online I've read mixed reviews about all three of these radios on their indoor FM reception. The problem seems to be when the user is inside a gym or an office building, and the headphone cable acting as an antenna can apparently alter FM reception if you move around. I haven't had any such problem, but most of my listening on these radios has been at home, at work, or outside.

I did a quick FM test using all three of these thrift store Walkmen. I used KFOO Tacoma, 102.9 Mhz (classic and alternative rock) as a target station, as it is a 'fringe' station here and some of my radios bring it in only in mono. Some of the cheaper clock radios don't bring it in at all.

The WM-FX241 had the edge in overall FM performance. It brought in 102.9 in clear stereo with slight fuzziness depending on how the headset cable was moved. But it was the best overall. The SRF-M78 brought it in in mono only, and a bit dicey at times. The WM-FX101 brought 102.9 in stereo, roughly equal to the 241. It took a bit to center it using the analog tuning. Like with the other two Walkmen, moving the headset cable altered the reception a bit, but both the 101 and 241 kept KFOO in stereo.

On a stronger station, 98.9 KVRQ (the rock station I wrote about several blog posts ago), the SRF-M78 has a bit wider stereo than the other two radios, with the WM-FX241 having a bit tighter bass response.

None of these three Walkmen are probably FM-DXer's, which is no big deal to me as I don't DX the FM band. The best sounding FM Walkman I have is the digitally tuned WM-FX241.

My Panasonic 'Walkman'. I got this Walkman style radio at Goodwill for $1.99. This particular one is virtually useless on the MW/AM band, because the tuner mechanism is misaligned or damaged -- usually, Panasonic makes good AM radios, so if this were working correctly I'd expect better performance. However, FM reception is still good. Most local FM stations occur in stereo. As most people listen to FM, a cheap $2 radio like this would still be handy. A lot of people listen to FM radio on their smart phones. The problem with doing that is the data usage, plus -- if my own smart phone is any indication -- the FM chip inside a smart phone (that is, if it is activated) isn't very robust. My own smart phone gets marginal FM in mono only.

A GE 3-5468A I bought at the Black Diamond Goodwill store recently (only $5), in the package. It looks like a 1994 model, from the shadowy black look popular in the 90's, and its GE date code. It has the AM X-band (520-1710 khz). As soon as I took it out of the package and loaded it with batteries, I was pleasantly surprised: it brings in KOH 780 from Reno, which is right next to a local station on 770. On a marginal DX night it brought in KBRE 1660 The Bear -- about 800 miles / 1000 km away -- although it wasn't very readable without a loop. The loop brought it in fine. Still, it passed the "Bear test". GE's have a good reputation for AM and FM radio reception and this 1990's era GE walkman is no exception! It would undoubtedly be an good emergency radio.

SONY WALKMEN ARE GOOD PREPAREDNESS RADIOS

As I live in Earthquake country, preparedness is always in the back of my mind somewhere when I consider radios, flashlights, etc.

When the big one hits, we'll be on our own for a while. And in Seattle it's not just one 'big one' we need to worry about, it's both big ones: Seattle has its own fault which bisects the city, and it is supposedly set to go off sometime soon; and the Cascadia / Juan De Fuca subduction zone which is off the BC-Washington-Oregon coast is also set to go off any time now. 

If either quake hits, chances are fairly high that local radio will be marginal or off the air for at least a while. Powerlines would go down, numerous bridges would be damaged or outright destroyed, fuel supplies would dwindle, highways would have damage, rail lines could be damaged, communications and broadcast antennas may not survive the shaking, etc.  Some cell sites have generators but if the power's out for longer than a couple days charging your phone would be a challenging proposition.

The internet could be down in places, as it runs on buried fiber cable that -- in many places around here -- runs through valleys that would shake severely. There have been cases in the past of cables being damaged or severed during an earthquake.

The fact is we don't really know all of what will happen when the big one hits.

It's at times like this that the long distance capabilities of AM radio are important. There are at least 8 or 9 strong AM stations (KGO, KSL, CBR, KFBK, KOH, KUMA, KONA, CFFR, KIT and a handful of other S-4 or stronger signals) from Eastern Washington and Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, and two provinces in Canada which put a steady signal into the Seattle and Portland areas on any given evening. Stations east of the Cascade Mountains and further south in California would be less affected by an offshore 9 point earthquake.

This is one reason the US government is concerned about AM radio's survival. In a severe emergency (like a Cascadia Earthquake), AM radio is one of the most dependable regional emergency broadcast tools.

This isn't just the opinion of a long distance AM radio aficionado. A recent Oregon and Washington government document called "Cascadia Rising" concluded that in event of a Cascadia Earthquake, AM radio may be the only emergency broadcast media available to hard hit Coastal and other areas:

"With AM radio's longer broadcast range, survivors with power, or those who attempt to listen in their vehicles, may be able to receive AM radio signals."

The Walkmen I've featured here in this article are all probably good for preparedness. The Sports Walkman, as I said, works on two AAA's, and they seem to last a long time. I've never used it daily or nightly, so I don't really know how long the batteries will last under heavy use. So far, with weekly use, the present set of AAA's has lasted several months.

With the WM-FX101, the two AA's last a long, long time. It's probably because of the analog tuning. The WM-FX241 digitally tuned radio, which runs on two AA's, is somewhere in between.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST -- MY OLD SANYO!

I got this Sanyo Walkman, Model MG-27, in 1985 at a thrift store for maybe two or three dollars. I think it's a 1982 model -- it probably came out the same year as my favorite boombox, my Sanyo M9926. 

The Sanyo had a bit of wear and tear, but it worked great on both AM and FM. I used to take it to the University with me, storing it in my bookpack. I would listen to the local FM rock and pop stations while drinking coffee and doing some in-between class reading out on the UW's Red Square.

A few years later I dropped the radio by accident -- hence the black electrical tape holding in its four AA batteries.

This Sanyo Walkman is a really good radio on AM, and DX'es quite well, as it has a very good IF chip and the loopstick is fairly thick. Sanyo made great radio and stereo products.

I even used this MG-27 to log AM DX that I posted on the IRCA radio club's log pages.

Of course, now these 80's marvels are as rare as hen's teeth.

Chances of you finding an 80's Walkman of any brand are probably slim to none -- most people either have tossed them, broken them, or they are otherwise holding onto them for old times' sake. But if you come across one, and have the money, they are well worth the expense -- providing they work.

In the 1980's the Japanese manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Sanyo, Aiwa and the like made very good radios, and this Sanyo MG-27 is no exception.

NOT ALL NEW WALKMEN ARE AS GOOD AS THE OLD SONYS and SANYOs

Last week I saw a walkman style AM-FM-cassette player in a local box store for $17. I decided to try it out. It was nothing like my old Sonys and older Sanyo. The AM band was full of mostly whistles, with only strong local stations coming through. With an external loop, I could pull in KFBK Sacramento very weakly. It was apparent the radio has a DSP IF chip, from the way it tuned across the band, but it had very low performance.

I'm sure some newer, off-brand headset radios work O.K. But not all are good for DXing or emergency situations. Of the newer headset and small, personal portables available, Sony and Sangean seem to offer the best quality for radios that are readily available today. In my view, you can't lose with a Sony or a Sangean.

SO -- DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT SECOND HAND AND THRIFT STORES

In closing, for those MW DXers out there, don't forget to check out the electronics aisle when you go to a thrift store or second-hand store. You never know what gems you'll find.

Add a loop -- you're in business for MW DXing. And you can't beat the price -- either for a cheap DX radio, or for a preparedness radio you can sock away in an out-of-the-way, safe place with a couple spare sets of AA's or AAA's. Used Walkmen radios can't be beat for that!


I originally penned this blog post in 2016, and then I completely forgot about it. 

It needed a couple photos of headset radios to finish it, and somehow it went overlooked for almost five years. Finally, this article gets published. A lot of the info is still valuable, although over the last couple years anytime I've been in a thrift store there haven't been many Walkmen radios for sale. Mostly a few alarm clock radios, and other stuff that's mostly junk, really... My last great find was my Sony XDR AM-FM HD radio boombox, and that was in 2017.

As 2021 hits us, MW conditions are still poor overall but seem to be improving slightly as the sunspots increase (or the sunspots TRY to increase). As DX conditions get better, these Walkmen radios will be even more useful for hearing distant stations, as a loop antenna and good propagation conditions are the great equalizers. :-)

Right now Christmas has passed; New Year's is upon us (and yes, here in WA state we add the 's at the end of the term, typically). I didn't really celebrate Christmas, and won't really celebrate New Year's either. I'll ride my ten speed tonight down the trail, and practice slide guitar. Perhaps I'll drive down to get a hamburger or latte. Maybe around midnight I'll fire up my bagpipes, although I haven't touched them in a couple months.

Most of my non-working hours lately have been (aside from the usual chores) playing slide guitar several hours a day and watching music videos on YouTube, really. I also work a lot on my fiction writing. With corona messing with society in general, there really isn't much else to do.

Hopefully 2021 will have a bit more positive to offer than 2020 did. Once can always hope.

Happy New Year's, everyone, wherever you are in the world.

Peace,

C.C. 12-31-2020