I've had a great Sony SW7600 portable shortwave/AM/FM radio for years and it has worked very well. It's probably been on for more than ten thousand hours overall. This is the model:
A few months ago it started giving only loud static when turned on, even when tuned to a standard station. If I left it on for an hour or two it would usually snap back to normal operation and the station would come in clear again. But now it's gotten to the point that it never comes back: only loud static when turned on, and for all the time it is left on. You can faintly detect the signal in the background in most cases, but it's drowned out by the static. (These are strong stations I've listened to for a long time; something changed in the radio, not the environment.)
My mechanical intuition tells me the problem is simple, but I know nothing about electronics. Is anyone familiar with these old workhorse portables? If the repair is more complex than whacking it with a hammer I probably couldn't do it myself, but perhaps it would be worth sending it out for repair? Or should I toss it in the wastebasket? Sell it for parts on eBay?
Many thanks.
Bob